Caramel roll pull-aparts are simple pull-apart rolls made with frozen bread dough and topped with a gooey caramel sauce. Save this recipe!
We have the ultimate breakfast bread recipe to share with you—caramel roll pull-aparts. This recipe is so simple. It starts with a 5-ingredient homemade caramel sauce poured into a 9 x 13 pan and then topped with pieces of frozen bread dough. After a short rise time, these delectable rolls are baked together to make the tastiest caramel roll monkey bread – you can grab a little or a lot!
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✨ What are pull-aparts? We call this type of bread “pull-aparts,” but you may be more familiar with the term monkey bread. It’s like caramel rolls but uses chunks of dough to make the bread easy to pull off and enjoy.
They are excellent to make ahead of time and serve when you have company. You can even make and freeze several pans in advance for large gatherings. This is especially helpful during the holidays. You will want to save this recipe!
At breakfast family get-togethers, we typically have a batch of these pull-aparts ready to go, along with our Mom’s tea ring (a divine cinnamon roll ring with maple frosting).
Ingredients
Here are a few notes about the ingredients for the best outcome each time you make these pull-aparts.
2 loaves frozen bread dough – we use Rhodes frozen bread dough loaves, which normally come in an orange bag in the grocery store’s freezer aisle.
1/2 cup margarine – we recommend margarine instead of butter. Otherwise, you may not end up with a smooth caramel sauce.
1 cup brown sugar – light brown sugar. Use fresh brown sugar, not hard and clumpy brown sugar, for best results.
1 large package vanilla pudding mix – make sure to use cook and serve vanilla pudding instead of instant pudding. This is important. We’ve made this mistake before, and the caramel turns out almost rubbery.
2 tablespoons milk – 1% or 2% milk.
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon – ground cinnamon.
Supplies & Favorite Tools for Making Pull-Aparts
- Medium-sized mixing bowl
- Mixing spoon and spatula
- 9 x 13 metal pan
- Baking spray
- Cookie sheet or large cutting board
- Serving tray or storage container
How to Make Caramel Roll Pull-Aparts
Follow these simple steps to make this delicious breakfast bread.
Step 1 | Preheat oven to 350°F
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then prepare a 9 x 13 pan by lightly greasing it with baking spray.
Step 2 | Make the caramel sauce
Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together in a medium-sized bowl. This includes the melted margarine, brown sugar, vanilla pudding, milk, and ground cinnamon.
Step 3 | Cut or tear the first loaf and place in pan
Next, take one loaf of bread dough and tear it into small chunks. (Or use a kitchen scissors to cut the dough apart.) Add them in a single layer to the greased 9 x 13 pan.
Step 4 | Pour caramel mixture over bread dough pieces
Pour the caramel mixture over the first loaf of frozen bread dough.
Step 4 | Cut or tear the second loaf and place on caramel
Next, tear or cut the second loaf of bread dough into chunks and place on top of the caramel mixture.
Step 5 | Allow to rise
Allow the bread dough to rise until it doubles in size.
Step 6 | Bake for 20 minutes at 350°F
Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. The top of the bread will be golden brown. You can also check by pulling up on a few of the pieces of bread (from the middle). Make sure it looks baked and not doughy.
Step 7 | Place cookie sheet on top of pan and flip to release
Finally, place a cutting board or cookie sheet over the 9 x 13 pan. Flip the pan over to release the caramel pull-aparts. (Or store them in the baking pan, covered once cool, until ready to serve.)
Step 8 | Serve immediately or store (and enjoy!)
We recommend serving these caramel roll pull-aparts warm, if possible. They are gooey and delicious right out of the oven (cooled slightly, of course!). You can also serve them with butter, but not necessary.
If you plan to store or freeze the rolls right away, you can add them directly to a storage container after they’ve cooled completely.
More About This Recipe
- Easy and tasty: This caramel roll pull-apart recipe is simple to make using frozen bread dough and a yummy caramel sauce.
- Sweet and gooey: Enjoy delicious caramel sauce dripping over sweet bread dough pieces that you can easily pull apart.
- Shareable treat: These rolls are great for sharing with family and friends. You can have a little or a lot, whatever you like!
- Prepare ahead: Make these ahead of time and keep them ready in the freezer. Perfect for when you have guests over or just want a tasty treat.
- Warm and yummy: They taste amazing right out of the oven (cooled slightly, of course!), and you can even serve them with butter for extra goodness.
Tips for Making Caramel Roll Pull-Aparts
Here are a few tips for perfect caramel pull-aparts every time.
- Choose quality dough: Opt for frozen bread dough like Rhodes, typically found in orange bags in the freezer aisle.
- Margarine for smoothness: Use margarine instead of butter in your caramel sauce for a smoother texture.
- Fresh brown sugar: Ensure your brown sugar is fresh and not clumpy, as it impacts the caramel’s consistency.
- Cook and serve pudding: When using vanilla pudding, use cook and serve (not instant) for a perfect caramel texture.
- Serve warm: These pull-aparts are at their gooey best when served warm, but still delicious after being cooled.
Caramel Roll Pull-Aparts
Caramel roll pull-aparts are made with frozen bread dough and topped with an gooey caramel sauce. Excellent to make ahead of time and serve when you have company. Perfect for the holidays!
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 loaves Rhodes frozen bread dough
- 1/2 c margarine
- 1 c brown sugar
- 1 large package of cook & serve vanilla pudding 4.6oz (not instant!)
- 2 tbsp. milk
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Prepare a 9 x 13 pan by lightly greasing with cooking spray.
- Mix all the ingredients for your sauce, melted margarine, brown sugar, vanilla pudding, milk, and ground cinnamon.
- Take one loaf of bread dough and tear into small chunks. (Or use kitchen scissors to cut the dough apart.) Add them in a single layer to the 9 x 13 pan.
- Pour the caramel mixture over the first loaf of frozen bread dough.
- Next, tear or cut the second loaf of bread dough into chunks and place on top of the caramel mixture.
- Allow the bread dough to rise until it doubles in size.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 350°F.
- The bread should be golden brown.
- Finally, place a cutting board or sheet pan over the 9 x 13 pan and flip the pan over to release the caramel roll pull-aparts. (Or store in the baking pan, covered once cool, until ready to serve.)
- Serve warm, if possible. With butter, if desired.
Notes
- Serve these pull-aparts warm — so good!
- Be sure to use cook and serve vanilla pudding, not instant!
- For best results, make sure you are using fresh brown sugar. Not hard and clumpy brown sugar.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Breads
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 175
- Sugar: 28.4 g
- Sodium: 222.1 mg
- Fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 34.4 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 0.1 mg
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Have You Tried This Recipe? Please rate it in the comments and let us know your thoughts!
More Bread Recipes
- Caramel Pull-Aparts in the Bread Machine
- Bread Machine Buns
- Banana Bread
- Cheesy Onion Pull-Apart Bread
More Breakfast Recipes
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Can I use butter instead of margarine??
Can’t wait to make these for Christmas brunch! Yum!!
Hi Dee, These are perfect for Christmas brunch! ❤️ Yes, you can use butter, but I would suggest adding an extra 2 tbsp of milk when you are making the caramel mixture (to compensate for the lower water content in butter compared to margarine). So use 4 tbsp of milk total. That should give the caramel a similar consistency to what you see in the photos. However, do keep in mind the flavor will be slightly different – it’s a little bit richer with butter vs margarine, though still delicious! Merry Christmas! -Kelsey
Slushburgers. Only person I ever heard call them that is my sisinlaw Nancy from Minot ND.
My mom’s recipe for these was always caramel pan rolls and she did and I do use butter without issue. I cut the dough very small so I don’t end up with big chunks of “just bread”.
Always a favorite for guests in my house.
Hi there! I’m planning to make these for a family get together this weekend and wondered about the timing of everything. Approximately how long does it usually take for them to rise?
Do you think it’s possible to make the night before and then let it rise in the morning and then bake it?
Thank you!
Hi Jess! I recommend making/baking at the same time. The night before works great, and then you can warm them up the morning of. If you refrigerate the pull-aparts with the caramel mixture, I’m afraid it will take quite a bit longer to rise and also affect the bake time. Rise time will vary, approx 1 to 2 hours, and can be sped up by placing on a warm oven top and covering. Hope this helps! -Kelsey
My mom made these for decades and now I make them for company. Always assembled the night before and let rise to bake in the morning. I make a batch and a half, and I actually thaw the loaves just enough to cut them up into small pieces with a knife then freeze the little pieces on a tray and store in freezer bags. I also make double the caramel sometimes.
I grew up with basically this recipe. We always called it Kathy’s Carmel rolls as my dad got the recipe from a lady name Kathy at his work. I just recently miss places my recipe card but this was almost the exact recipe. The only difference was my recipe has heavy cream instead of milk. Thanks for saving breakfast!
Hi Hannah! So glad it was basically the same recipe!
-Kelsey
Hi Kelsey, we must have grown up in the same area because it was slushburgers for us too! I make this recipe alot and the big helpful hint I would use is to use your kitchen shears to cut the loaves in little pieces before covering with the sauce.
Hi Lauren! We must have! It is rare to find anyone else that calls them slush burgers. Thanks for the tip, love it! – Kelsey