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This Tropical Monkey Bread is a classic monkey bread that is given a tropical twist with coconut milk, pineapple, walnuts, and shredded coconut. And it is made completely from scratch!

After making blueberry stuffed pull-apart bread I couldn’t stop thinking of other fun ways to jazz up a monkey bread. Who loves monkey bread? I know I do. I’ve even made a slow cooker monkey bread!
I haven’t met a person who doesn’t love a good old fashioned sticky, gooey pull-apart bread. It makes a great breakfast or dessert. I think we can all agree that dessert for breakfast is a win.
The concept of a monkey bread is it’s basically one giant mound of cinnamon rolls that are meant to be torn apart one roll at a time. How fun and delicious does that sound?
I’ve seen so many different variations of it. Stuffed with strawberries, stuffed with cream cheese, and other countless add-ins. But what I hadn’t seen is a tropical version layered with pineapple, walnuts, and coconut.

The dough is made completely from scratch. And instead of using milk in the dough I used light coconut milk. I can’t even begin to explain how incredible this made the bread taste.
Think of a breakfast Danish. It’s very similar to that!
It’s important to use a quality yeast when making any type of yeast dough. My all-time favorite yeast is Red Star and it’s what I use in all of my baking.
The dough is rolled into balls and coated with butter and cinnamon sugar. The dough then gets layered in a bundt pan with crushed pineapple, shredded coconut, and walnuts.
All of the rolls you pull off will be sweet, sticky, pinapple-y, coconut-y, and finger licking good. You will reach for bite after bite.

Think of a tropical island rolled up into the best monkey bread you’ve ever tasted. This monkey bread is just that. It’s a summer vacation in a bundt pan.
Homemade monkey does take a little bit of time to prepare but trust me when I say that from scratch versions are way better than any shortcut versions. You will smell this gooey, tropical paradise bubbling away in your oven and you will thank me.
For more deliciously sweet breakfast recipes, try these baked brown butter beignets with orange brown butter glaze.

Tropical Monkey Bread
A classic monkey bread is given a tropical twist with coconut milk, pineapple, walnuts, and shredded coconut. And it is made completely from scratch!
Ingredients
For the bread
- 2 and ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, (1 packet)
- ¼ cup warm water, (105-115ºF)
- 1 and ¼ cup warm light coconut milk, (105 -115ºF)
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar, divided
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 (8 ounces) cans crushed pineapple, drained
- ½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
For the coating
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup light coconut milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup shredded sweetened coconut
Instructions
Make the bread
- In a small cup, combine the yeast, warm water, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Stir to dissolve; let sit for 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast mixture, coconut milk, remaining sugar, eggs, salt, and 2 cups of flour. Mix until well blended and smooth. Gradually add in enough of the remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. The dough is ready when it springs back when poked with a finger. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until it doubles in size (about 1 hour).
Make the coating
- Meanwhile, melt the butter for the coating in a small bowl. Stir in the coconut milk. In a separate bowl combine the white sugar and brown sugar. Set aside.
- Spray a 10 cup bundt pan with cooking spray. Set aside. Punch the dough down gently. Let rest for 10 minutes.
- Pinch off 2 Tbs of dough and shape it into a ball. Dip the ball into the melted butter mixture then generously roll it into the sugar coating. Arrange the dough ball seam side down in the prepared bundt pan. Once the bottom of the pan is covered, top with half of the pineapples, coconut, and walnuts. Layer another layer of dough over top.
- Top with remaining pineapple, coconut, and walnuts. Top with remaining dough. Pour the remaining over butter over the exposed dough. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF degrees. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert the bread onto a plate. Sprinkle with sweetened coconut. Serve warm.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 18 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 324Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 140mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 1gSugar: 25gProtein: 4g
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the values shown are just an estimate.
I have never made monkey bread before, but this recipe has convinced me I need to change that soon!
This monkey bread looks fantastic Jen! The perfect excuse for a sweet breakfast 🙂
Thank you, Oana! It definitely is the perfect excuse for dessert at breakfast!
holy shiiiiii* this looks so tasty!
Thanks, Kelsey!
I’m totally thinking of making something similar to this soon! Yours looks amazing!
Ooohh! I can’t wait to see it!
That looks fantastic Jen! I love breakfast sweet breads, so fun and so good! Definitely need to try this version!
I am totally a monkey bread lover and think this tropical version looks amazing Jen. Once again you are just SO creative! Love all the yummy things you whip up! Pinned
This looks amazing! I can;t wait to try it!
Okay, I seriously need to get a bundt pan now!!