This Cranberry Orange Monkey Bread is covered in caramel sauce and bursting with tart cranberries and sweet orange zest. Made simple by using refrigerated biscuits, it’s the perfect breakfast recipe or simple dessert for the holiday season.
Looking for more monkey bread recipes? You can also try our Apple Cinnamon Monkey Bread, Caramel Pecan Monkey Bread, Traditional Monkey Bread, or this yummy Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread.
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Cranberry Orange Monkey Bread
If you’re on the hunt for a quick and easy holiday breakfast or brunch recipe, this cranberry orange pull-apart bread is one of my all-time favorites. The smell alone is enough to give you that warm and cozy feeling—buttery biscuits slathered in caramel sauce with citrus and cranberry.
To make things extra easy, this recipe uses refrigerated biscuits from the can. Just unroll the can, cut the biscuits into smaller pieces, and toss them in the sugar mixture before adding fresh cranberries and covering in our quick caramel sauce.
For those of you that love the combination of cranberry and orange, we’ve also got recipes for Orange Cranberry Cookies, Orange Cranberry Bread, Orange Cranberry Coffee Cake, and Orange Cranberry Sauce.
Key Ingredients
- Refrigerated Biscuits - you can use any brand of refrigerated, canned biscuit dough. Personally, we like the Pillsbury Grands brand which you can find at just about any grocery store.
- Cinnamon Sugar - this coats the biscuits and gives an irresistible flavor once baked.
- Cranberries - use fresh or frozen cranberries for this recipe. They will pack the biggest burst of flavor. Dried cranberries will work just fine, but they aren’t nearly as strong.
- Orange Zest - the easiest way to add the orange zest is to mix it in with the cinnamon and sugar.
- Brown Sugar - Light brown sugar adds loads of flavor to this quick caramel sauce.
- Cream - any type of heavy whipping cream will work. It helps create a creamy caramel sauce.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Monkey Bread
- Prepare the biscuit pieces. Open and separate the biscuit cans, then cut each biscuit into four pieces. Roll a handful at a time into the cinnamon, sugar, and orange zest mixture, making sure to cover all the dough, then transfer the biscuits to the prepared bundt pan, layering in the cranberries. Repeat until all of the biscuit pieces are covered and set aside.
- Make the caramel sauce. In a medium saucepan, boil the butter, brown sugar, cream, and salt for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour over the biscuits. Let the caramel mixture cool slightly, then pour over the biscuits.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the dough is cooked through.
- Invert and serve. Remove the pan from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes before inverting it to a large plate or serving platter. Serve warm and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
For this recipe, either fresh or frozen cranberries will work and have a much stronger flavor than dried. If you do use frozen, there’s no need to thaw them in advance. Just sprinkle them in as directed.
You can cover the monkey bread with aluminum foil and store in the fridge for up to 2 days. Or, if you want to store it for longer, you can wrap the monkey bread tightly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat, you can either microwave it or place it in a preheated oven until warmed through.
If you don’t have a bundt pan, you could bake this recipe in 2 loaf pans or even a 9” x 13” baking pan. The only difference will be the baking time. The smaller the pan, the less time it will take to bake.
Storing and Reheating Instructions
- Refrigerator: store in an airtight container or cover with aluminum foil and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- Freezer: wrap your monkey bread tightly with plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil and store frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
- To reheat: to reheat your leftovers, either in the microwave or in a low oven, until warm.
Cranberry Orange Monkey Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Biscuits for Monkey Bread
- 2 16.3-oz. cans Refrigerated Biscuits Pillsbury Grands or similar brand
- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
- ½ cup Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Orange Zest
- 1½ cups Fresh Cranberries
Caramel Sauce for Monkey Bread
- ⅔ cup Light Brown Sugar
- 6 Tablespoons Butter
- 3 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon, then mix in the fresh orange zest, and set aside.
- Open and separate the biscuits, then cut each biscuit into four pieces. Roll a handful of the cut biscuit pieces into the cinnamon orange sugar mixture at a time, making sure to cover all the dough, then transfer the biscuits to the prepared bundt pan, layering in the cranberries. Repeat until all of the biscuit pieces are covered and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar, cream, and salt to the melted butter, and bring the mixture to a boil. Continue stirring and cooking at a rapid boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Let the caramel mixture cool for a minute or so, then pour over the cinnamon sugar coated biscuit pieces.
- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the dough is cooked through. (Note: if you use a dark bundt pan, you may need to bake for an extra 5-10 minutes)
- Remove the pan from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes before inverting it to a large plate or serving platter. Serve warm, and Enjoy!
Nutrition
More Sweet Breakfast Recipes
- Pumpkin Stuffed French Toast
- Apple Cinnamon French Toast Bake
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Danish
- Apple Coffee Cake
- Berry Sweet Rolls
- Orange Sweet Rolls
- Strawberry French Toast Bake
- Mixed Berry Muffins
- Berry Coffee Cake
- More Breakfast Recipes
- More Holiday Recipes
Each bite of this pull apart monkey bread is covered in caramel sauce and full of fresh orange zest and cranberries. It's an easy recipe to make for holiday breakfast or brunch.
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