Savory Monkey Bread with Creamy Veggie Dip

  • Level: Intermediate
  • Yield: 6 to 8 servings
  • Total: 3 hr 30 min (includes rising and cooling times)
  • Active: 40 min
Molly remembers her mom making a sweet caramel version of monkey bread when she was growing up, and she loved how fun it was to pluck off all the little balls. This is Molly’s savory version, filled with tons of hot fluffy dough balls dunked in butter and colorful herbs and seasonings. It’s a really cool party app or part of a lunch.
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Ingredients

Bread Dough:

Neutral oil, for the bowl

3 3/4 cups (488 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

4 1/2 teaspoons (19 grams) granulated sugar

1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 cup (240 grams) warm water (between 90 and 110 degrees F)

1/2 cup (120 grams) warm whole milk (between 90 and 110 degrees F)

5 tablespoons (71 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Coating:

6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted

3 tablespoons (23 grams) grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons (16 grams) dried garlic flakes

1/2 teaspoon paprika

2 tablespoons (18 grams) poppy seeds

2 tablespoons (16 grams) white sesame seeds

4 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams) chopped fresh chives

4 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams) chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley

Flaky salt, for sprinkling

Dip:

1/4 cup (20 grams) roughly chopped carrots

1/4 cup (20 grams) roughly chopped celery

1/4 cup (30 grams) roughly chopped red bell pepper

1 tablespoon (3 grams) chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley

1 scallion, finely chopped

4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup (120 grams) sour cream

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Special equipment:
a 2-quart nonstick bundt pan
  1. For the bread dough: Lightly grease a large mixing bowl and set aside.
  2. In a separate large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast and kosher salt. Add the water, milk and 3 tablespoons of the butter and use a stiff rubber spatula or wooden spoon to mostly combine into a shaggy dough. Knead, either on a work surface or adhere the bowl to the stand mixer and knead on medium speed (adding more flour if the dough is too sticky), until the dough is slightly smooth and sticky, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to the oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
  3. Brush a 2-quart nonstick bundt pan well with the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter.
  4. Punch the dough down and divide into 4 equal-sized pieces. Cut each piece into 10 small, equal-sized pieces, yielding 40 pieces total.
  5. For the coating: To prepare the various toppings, pour the melted butter into a small bowl. Into another, separate small bowl, add the Parmesan cheese. In another small bowl, combine the garlic flakes and paprika. In separate small bowls, add the poppy seeds and sesame seeds. In the final, small bowl, combine the chives and parsley.
  6. Take a dough piece and gently roll into a ball. Dip in the plain melted butter, then dip in one of the toppings and place in the prepared bundt pan. Take turns dipping the buttered balls in the toppings (one topping per ball), and place in the prepared pan, making about 2 layers (you don’t need to worry too much about the layers, it will all sort of happen naturally as you layer). Make sure to end the layering with lots of toppings face up. Drizzle any leftover plain melted butter over all and sprinkle with flaky salt. Cover with plastic or a clean towel and let rise for 30 minutes.
  7. Position an oven rack in the lower third. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  8. Bake until the top is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. (The internal temp of the bread should read 190 degrees F.) Place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
  9. While the monkey bread is cooling, make the dip.
  10. For the dip: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, add the carrot, celery, bell pepper, parsley and scallion. Pulse until roughly chopped. Then, into the same bowl of the food processor, add the cream cheese, sour cream, garlic powder, kosher salt, lemon juice and several grinds of pepper and process until light and smooth, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer into a serving bowl.
  11. To unmold, place a plate over the monkey bread and invert. Place onto a serving platter bottom-side up, and serve warm with the dip.
  12. Monkey bread is best right after it is made, but leftovers will keep well wrapped at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. Reheat in an oven or toaster oven to serve. Extra dip will keep covered in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.

Let's Get Cooking!

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Anonymous

Nice presentation. Used refrigerated biscuit dough which made it easier but maybe making bread dough would result in better taste. Dip was really runny (more like a sauce), so that was a disappointment.

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