Savory Thanksgiving Monkey Bread

If turkey stuffing and monkey bread had a baby, this Savory Thanksgiving Monkey Bread is exactly what it would taste like! It's made with a homemade biscuit dough coated in sautéed vegetables and herbs for the best fall flavor. Serve it as an appetizer or side dish this holiday season.

Why You'll Love This Savory Thanksgiving Monkey Bread

Festive and creative! Wow your guests this holiday season with this creative savory monkey bread. It includes all of the great flavors of fall without all of the complicated steps of traditional stuffing.
Great in place of traditional stuffing! You can make this monkey bread in place of the regular Thanksgiving stuffing. No need to worry about drying bread (or waiting for it to get stale) nor shoving your hands up a turkey's butt! Simply bake the homemade biscuit dough with the veggies in a bundt pan, turn it out on a serving platter, and allow guests to pick out as many pieces as they'd like.
Easily prep ahead! Sauté the vegetables and herbs according to the recipe instructions. Then, allow them to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Mix the biscuit dough, remove it from the bowl, and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Store both, separately, in the fridge for up to 2 days. When ready to serve, assemble the monkey bread in the bundt pan, bake, and enjoy warm!
No yeast or rising time! Unlike other homemade monkey bread recipes, this one does not use any yeast or require any rising time. You can quickly make the dough, sauté the veggies, and assemble it in a short amount of time.

Ingredients

A few notes about the ingredients:

Unsalted Butter: The butter in the biscuit dough adds a rich buttery flavor. It also makes the dough flaky with a lightly dense texture. The butter that's sautéed with the vegetables helps them soften, as well as adds additional buttery, herby flavor as the melted butter coats each of the dough balls.
Onion, Celery, Apple: Each of these ingredients is a staple in traditional Thanksgiving stuffing. They add that classic stuffing flavor to the monkey bread.
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary: I love using fresh herbs, instead of dried, for a fresh, bright flavor. They also make this monkey bread taste exceptionally savory and delicious!
All Purpose Flour: All purpose flour is the best flour for this dough. It keeps it light and airy.
Cornstarch: Cornstarch added to the dry ingredients keeps the dough soft on the inside with a light crispiness on the outside. After baking, the dough is flaky, buttery, and the perfect vessel for the stuffing ingredients.

⭐️ See recipe card below for descriptions and quantities of each ingredient. Then, watch this brief tutorial on Instagram!

Instructions

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a large bundt pan by spraying it with nonstick spray.

Vegetables and herbs sautéed in a skillet.

Step 2: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 12 tablespoons butter. Once butter has melted and started to lightly brown, add onion, celery, apple, garlic, parsley, sage, rosemary, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring intermittently, until the onions soften. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Dry ingredients whisked together in a bowl.

Step 3: In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.

Step 4: Use a large cheese grater to grate the remaining 12 tablespoons of cold butter onto a cutting board.

Step 5: Add grated butter to the flour mixture. Use a fork to mix the butter into the flour until evenly distributed and small clumps form. Pour in the milk.

Step 6: Use the fork to mix the milk into the flour. Then, use your hands to lightly knead the dough in the bowl just until all dry flour has been incorporated. However, try not to over-knead it because this may soften the butter too much. You should have a thick, shaggy dough. If at any point, the dough feels too warm and mushy, you can place it in the fridge for 10 minutes to chill.

Stuffing vegetables layered on the bottom of a bundt pan.

Step 7: Scoop a small amount of the vegetable mixture into the bottom of the prepared bundt pan. You want just enough to coat the bottom, reserving the rest of the veggies to layer throughout.

Biscuit dough rolled into balls and layered with sautéed vegetables in a bundt pan.

Step 8: Rip a small piece of dough out of the bowl and roll it into a 1-inch ball. (You’ll have about 45 to 50 balls in total). Place it on top of the veggies in the bundt pan. Continue with a few more balls, until you’ve used about ⅓ of the dough.

Homemade biscuit dough rolled into balls, layered with stuffing vegetables in a bundt pan filled to the top.

Step 9: Spoon a layer of veggies on top of the dough balls in the pan. Make sure to lightly cover each dough ball, as this is what gives it flavor. Continue with 2 more layers, alternating between the remaining ⅔ of dough and veggies, ending with any remaining veggies on top. Scrape any butter left on the bottom of the skillet and pour it on top of the monkey bread.

Step 10: Bake monkey bread, uncovered, for 40 to 45 minutes, or until dough is cooked through. Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before flipping onto a plate to serve warm.

⭐️ Tip: Make sure to dice the vegetables pretty small. If they're too large, they won't stick to or coat the dough.

Substitutions and Alterations

Dairy Free and Vegan - To make this savory monkey bread both dairy free and vegan, you can use plant based butter and milk.

Thanksgiving stuffing monkey bread on a platter with red wine served on the side.

How to Store this Savory Monkey Bread

This monkey bread with homemade biscuit dough is best served warm. It is also best when served the day it's made, right after baking. But if you have leftovers:

To store: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

To freeze: You can freeze this monkey bread in a freezer safe container for up to 1 month.

To reheat: Defrost monkey bread in the refrigerator overnight. Warm in the oven, preheated to 350 degrees F, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until warmed through.

Top tip!

Keep the biscuit dough cold! Using cold butter and milk helps to ensure that the dough doesn't get too warm. If the dough becomes warm, it'll turn soft and sticky. This will cause it to turn into one big dough clump instead of individual flaky clusters of dough.

A hand picking out a piece of monkey bread from the rest of the dish.

Recipe FAQs

What can I use instead of a bundt pan?

For a similar cook time, you can use a tube pan instead. I have not tried this recipe in a muffin tin or loaf pan, which would most likely work, but would require an adjusted baking time.

Looking for more holiday side dish recipes? Try these: