Is there anyone out there who doesn’t love monkey bread? I mean, there is just something so dang good about about it. It’s a gooey, sugary, buttery carbohydrate filled brunch classic that I love to make and love to eat. Growing up, my mom often made it in a simple bundt pan, coating each piece of biscuit dough with plenty of butter, sugar, and cinnamon so that when it came out of the oven, it was like mini-cinnamon roll heaven. A few years ago, I started making it in my cast iron skillet. I loved the cripsy edges it created and really loved the easy clean up and presentation of the skillet. Recently, I decided to change up the bread itself and this Lemon Cardamom Skillet Monkey Bread was born.
This recipe stays true to it’s easy monkey bread roots and starts with two cans of original Pillsbury Grands biscuits. Yeah, that’s right. No need to make your own dough here, friends. Just go ahead and buy the canned stuff. It’s ok, I promise. (PS: This is NOT a sponsored post. I just like these biscuits.)
Melt some butter into your cast iron skillet (this is my favorite pan and a more affordable version, too!) and then grab a pair of kitchen shears and get cutting. Simply snip the biscuits into bite sized pieces and set them aside for a hot minute. Melt a stick of butter and set that aside, too.
In a small bowl, combine some sugar, lemon zest and ground cardamom and give it a good stir. Now, there are two ways to put together the monkey bread. If you have time and want really gooey monkey bread, you’re going to want to dip each individual biscuit piece in the melted butter and then roll it into the sugar mixture before placing it in the buttered skillet. If you’re short on time or just a little on the lazy side (confession: this is what I do most of the time), simply toss all the dough balls into the melted butter and lay them in the skillet. Sprinkle the lemon zest-sugar mixture over the top and you’re almost done.
When your oven is good and hot, squeeze a bit of lemon over the top of the dough and pop the whole pan into the oven (middle rack is just fine) and allow it to bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from the oven and serve warm. The monkey bread is definitely best eaten the day it is made, but it will keep for 1-2 days covered tightly with plastic wrap.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to be in my kitchen eating an entire pan of monkey bread!
Find the recipe for our Lemon Cardamom Skillet Monkey Bread below. Looking for other great breakfast recipes? Check out our Maple Granola, Lemon Blueberry Muffins, or Vanilla Cardamom Waffles.
Lemon Cardamom Skillet Monkey Bread
A light and fresh take on an easy bake breakfast classic! Have this sweet treat in the oven in under 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 cans (16 oz) refrigerated biscuit dough I like Pillsbury Grands
- 1 stick unsalted butter, divided
- 1/2 Teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 zest of a full lemon + 1/2 of the juice of one lemon
Instructions
-
In a large cast iron skillet, gently melt one tablespoon of butter and swirl to coat the pan.
-
Cut each biscuit into quarters and set aside.
-
In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar, the zest of one lemon, and 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom. Stir to mix.
-
Melt the remainder of the stick of butter in a large bowl.
-
Dip each of the biscuit pieces into the melted butter and arrange in a single layer in the skillet.
-
Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the top of the buttered biscuit pieces and then squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon over the whole pan.
-
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the biscuits are cooked and just golden. Enjoy.
[SOME OF THE LINKS IN THIS POST ARE AFFILIATE LINKS AND WE WILL RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION IF YOU MAKE A PURCHASE AFTER CLICKING ON OUR LINK. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR WORK HERE AT WITH TWO SPOONS!]
Ah sounds heavenly and so much easier than I was expecting. I’ve never used cardamom before but I think I will definitely need to add this to my must try cabin breakfast list for our next trip up north!
Perfect for a cabin trip!
I’ve never seen a monkey bread made in a skillet. This is so pretty, and I love the combo of lemon and cardamom. I can’t wait to make this recipe!
We use our skillets for everything!!
Oh gosh this is awesome! Loving how quick and easy this lemon kissed monkey bread is!
Thanks! And thanks for visiting!
Oh wow, this sounds amazing. It would go perfect with some tea. I love this combination of flavors, I’ll have to give this a try some time.
Tea would be the perfect combo!
What a fun combo! Never thought to do lemon!!
Lemon is awesome!
Oh my gosh, this looks incredible! Love the idea of something sweet for breakfast like this.
Thanks! It’s like dessert for breakfast!
wowww this looks SO good!! I love semi-homemade meals like this!! can’t wait to make it!
I love lemon, especially during hot summer months. It’s such a refreshing flavor. This recipe looks delicious!
Thank you! So refreshing!
So warm and comforting! Such a great dessert!
Thanks Jenn!
I love the idea of lemon monkey bread! Making for brunch this weekend!
Easy and delicious!
Oh this looks SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. What an excellent combo of flavors!
Thanks Nicole! So glad you visited!
We love monkey bread, we’ve never had it with lemon and cardamom though.
Try it! So good!
I love that this is such a simple recipe, but delivers such a flavor! I have got to try making monkey bread this way.
It’s fun because it’s different!
Oh my! I love monkey bread, never tried a lemon variety, sounds amazing!
If you like lemon, you’ll love this one!
I love monkey bread!! Definitely have to try this recipe out
Enjoy!
I love this! Such a beautiful recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for visiting!
Love the lemony twist on monkey bread!
Thanks! (We are seriously fan-girling your site!) <3
I can’t wait to try this out!
I hope you LOVE it!
Monkey bread is so fun to make, I love this flavor combination, yum!
YAY! Hope you love it!