This is our sticky sweet air fryer monkey bread with biscuits recipe. It will make your mouth water! If you haven’t made dessert in your Ninja Foodi yet you’re in for a treat. It’s like our easy monkey bread recipe but without an oven.
Air fryer monkey bread is the best breakfast or dessert ever!! It is a great way to make a small batch treat for just a few people in no time. Try it in your hot air machine tonight and let us know what you think! Favorite easy air fryer recipe ever!
We have made this monkey bread with refrigerated biscuits for years. It is an easy treat to serve when guests show up or for brunch during the holidays with your family. With only 5 main ingredients you can really whip it up in no time.
BUT sometimes I don’t want an entire bundt pan for the 4 of us and want a small batch instead. That is where this comes in really handy. If you have one of these “magic machines” you should try it yourself too, and maybe share with others. 😉
Tips: My Favorite models are the Cosori or making Ninja Foodi recipes with the lid that is attached.
It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. This is how to preheat air fryer first before adding your food so it becomes as crispy as possible. For best results, here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
Just like if you were to bake this in the oven we used refrigerated Grands which are larger than the “regular” ones. Store brand or Pillsbury work just fine. You could use cinnamon rolls for an even sweeter outcome too.
You will just need an Air fryer pan to make your creation and slide it into your basket. It is gooey so you can’t put it right into your air fryer basket. I assure you that it will come in handy for other things though too.
Ingredient Notes
You are going to start out with the large refrigerated biscuits, alternatively you could use refrigerated or frozen rolls but these have to be thawed for 40 minutes before they can be quartered.
Can you use frozen cinnamon rolls?
Yes you could, those just need some defrosting so you can slice them as required to make this. Rhodes frozen cinnamon rolls are a great choice because they last longer in the freezer and you can pull out as many as you like at a time.
Some light Brown sugar will make it sweet. I have heard some use a sugar-free alternative like Splenda offers which they said worked well. White Sugar will be used too.
Cinnamon we like the flavor of so we add some of that as well but really any Fall seasonings like nutmeg would work too.
And melted butter will make it gooey and allow the sugar to stick. I love salted Kerrygold for the richest flavor.
Can you add nuts?
Chopped nuts are optional but a nice add in for texture and flavor. For this one we used chopped walnuts since those aren’t too crunchy and make a nice sort of crumble on top.
All you do is measure out 1 cup of powdered sugar and whisk in just enough milk to create a glaze for the top. Add more for thinner and less for thick. From there you can splash in some vanilla extract, coconut is yummy too.
The sauce is easy to make and creates a sticky sweet sauce so each piece is coated with YUM and irresistible to eat. You can even amp it up like our pumpkin monkey bread.
How Long to Cook Monkey Bread in Air Fryer
Preheat air fryer to 330 degrees F for 5 minutes. Put pan inside and cook for 10 minutes. Then carefully lift out pan and cover with foil. Continue cooking for 15 minutes or until the middle biscuits in pan are no longer sticky.
For icing mix together powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Put plate over top of pan and carefully flip over so monkey bread slides out. Pour icing over the top and serve. Of course you could serve as is right out of the pan but adding that additional layer of sweet glaze and some more nuts is a must for us. The pan will be hot so it is best to flip it over on to a plate when done.
This is where the non stick spray is important. If you put a plate on top and use pot holders to carefully flip the pot over it should slide right out. Then pour your powdered sugar frosting over the top and let everyone dig in.
Air Fryer Monkey Bread Bites
As with our traditional oven baked easy monkey bread recipe, you will need to cut each biscuit into fourths. You could use cinnamon rolls and follow this same method, I love both ways but the 2nd is sweeter.
Air Fryer Monkey Bread Recipe
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
Ingredients
- 1 roll refrigerated biscuits, large or Grands type, if using frozen Rhodes rolls or cinnamon rolls, thaw out first
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp milk
- 1/2 cup nuts, chopped, optional
Instructions
- Cut biscuits into 4ths. In a bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon, toss biscuit pieces in this mixture so they're nice and coated.
- Spray inside of air fryer pan with non stick spray, lay down a layer of nuts.
- Add coated biscuits, topped with more nuts.
- In a small bowl combine melted butter and brown sugar. Stir together and spoon over biscuits.
- Preheat air fryer to 330 degrees F for 5 minutes. Put pan inside and cook for 10 minutes.
- Then carefully lift out pan and cover with foil. Continue cooking for 15 minutes or until the middle biscuits in pan are no longer sticky.
- For icing mix together powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Put plate over top of pan and carefully flip over so monkey bread slides out. Pour icing over the top and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Other dessert recipes you’ll love
Looking for other air fryer desserts? If you’re looking for another fun way to make this breakfast / dessert idea, you can make monkey bread in a smoker too! We did it the other night and OH MY was it a really big hit with everyone.
- We have made air fryer cake that is ooey gooey filled with chocolate “lava” inside.
- And if you haven’t made our air fryer cookies you’re missing out!
Our oven baked traditional or chocolate monkey bread is amazing too.
I made mine in two silicone bread pans and put homemade chunky applesauce down first. Turned out great. Thank you so much for the recipe.
awesome!