This Low Carb Slow Cooker Pumpkin Monkey Bread is the perfect comfort food for a special holiday breakfast or even a special family gathering. Tasty cinnamon and sugar bread with a creamy pumpkin filling cooked to perfection in the slow cooker. This recipe is so delicious you’ll look forward to it every year!

What is Monkey Bread?

I love growing up eating Monkey Bread and it was always something we looked forward to since we only had it on special occasions. This special treat was so delicious and sticky-sweet. Have ever tried Monkey Bread, or is this a new term to you?

If you are someone that has never heard of or tasted this dessert (how is that even possible though) you may be wondering what in the world I’m talking about. Well, if that’s the case, let me clarify and introduce you to a favorite all-time favorite treat of mine.

Monkey bread is a soft, sweet, sticky dish served in the United States for breakfast or as a special treat. It generally consists of pieces of soft-baked dough sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, doused in butter, then baked to perfection in a Bundt Pan.

Being from the south, this is something we had from time to time for our birthday or holidays and when we did it was usually made from those canned biscuits you could buy at the grocery store.

I’m sure some talented bakers out there make their own pastry dough for this dish, but it is more common for people to rely on canned biscuits because they are so cheap and so easy.

I mean let’s face it, by the time that dough is covered in butter and then rolled in sugar who could really tell it wasn’t from scratch?

According to online sources, I was looking at while I was researching and working on this recipe, I read that Monkey Bread is sometimes served at fairs and festivals in some areas as well.

Around here we had funnel cakes at our fairs so we left the monkey bread for our home baking, but I can see where it would definitely fit into fair food. 

Of course, with most classic recipes of my past, I can no longer enjoy the traditional Monkey Bread I grew up eating because it is simply way too many carbs and sugars for my weight loss journey.

Thankfully, I’ve found a swap out for that old classic recipe, plus I’ve added a slow cooker to the equations and a yummy pumpkin twist.

Of course, I had to jazz it up with pumpkin, after all, it’s Pumpkin Spice season and this slow cooker treat would make an amazing family breakfast on Thanksgiving or Christmas morning!

I’m so glad I decided to convert this recipe. As you can see it looks so good and ends up having such a good flavor and a nice soft bready texture.

Since we aren’t working with canned biscuits this has a slightly different texture and you can’t always pull it apart like you do most Monkey Bread.

In the end, it has the pull-apart pieced around the edge and the middle ends up being something like a cross between a pull-apart bread and a warm and gooey bread pudding! It is so heavenly and I think you will love it as much as we did. 

Let’s check out how I made this!

How Does One Make Low-Carb Monkey Bread?

I knew the biggest hurdle to converting a monkey bread would be of course the dough since we have to find a way to replace those canned biscuits.

I am no stranger to the low-carb dough and I like to think of myself as somewhat of a “pro’ at it these days as I’ve made it so many times over the course of the last six years for all kinds of savory recipes I’ve converted. 

But I had not successfully used this low-carb cheese dough in a dessert recipe that had turned out well. Okay, none of them that I had tried to create have been edible so far if I’m being honest!

After much contemplation, I decided it was my best hope so I made a few minor tweaks to my dough (like adding in some coconut flour and more sweetener) and this time I can say that I was so pleased with the dough and it worked well for a biscuit substitute!

Since this recipe is designed for a slow cooker it is super easy once you get the dough made and rolled up into bite-sized pieces.

It has a few steps as you’ll see in the recipe card, but again once you have that completed it is smooth cooking!

Once the dough is all rolled up and in the sprayed slow cooker you can mix up the yummy pumpkin mixture that is nothing more than pumpkin puree, butter, sweeteners, and spices.

This pumpkin mixture gets poured right over the dough in the slow cooker and then on goes the lid! All that is left is to cook the Pumpkin Monkey Bread for 2.5 hours or until completely baked.

I highly recommend checking out the tips and tricks for this recipe below for more on the cooking process.

Tips For Making This Recipe

Before I end the post and let you get to the recipe, here are a few helpful tips and tricks that I think will help you when you make this recipe. I hope you enjoy this Slow Cooker Pumpkin Monkey Bread if you make it this season.

• This recipe is easy to make ahead of. To prep, the recipe makes the dough and once the dough balls are rolled out you can place them into a zip lock bag and keep them in the fridge until you need them or freeze them if it will be longer than a day or two before you use them.  You can also make up the pumpkin filling the night before as well. 
• If you have trouble with this type of low-carb dough or would just like to see how I do it then take a look at this post where I include step-by-step instructions and a tutorial video. The dough we use in this Pumpkin Monkey Bread has slightly different ingredients because it is a sweet version but the step-by-step process is the same up until the dough is complete.
• When you are rolling out the Monkey Bread dough into balls, try to keep them informed in size. This will ensure they all cook evenly in the slow cooker. I keep mine close to the size of a quarter and get about 45 balls from the dough. 
• For easier clean up be sure to spray your slow cooker very well with cooking spray or feel free to use one of those place liners you can find at the local supermarkets if want.
• Set the slow cooker on high for 2.5 hours but watch your Monkey Bread closely after 1.5 and a half because due to some brands of slow cookers being hotter than others some slow cookers may not need the full-time or some may need closer to 3 hours. I have an older model slow cooker from Black and Decker and mine was perfect after 2.5 hours.
• Use the optional pecans the recipe calls for if you want a nice added crunch to the dish.
• Serve hot and drizzled with icing or a small scoop of low-carb ice cream for the perfect special treat!

Yield: 8 Servings

Pumpkin Monkey Bread || Gluten Free, Keto, THM

Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Total Time: 4 hours

This Low Carb Crockpot Pumpkin Monkey Bread is the perfect comfort food for a special holiday breakfast or even a special family gathering throughout the year. A tasty cinnamon and sugar "bread" topped with a creamy pumpkin filling cooked to perfect in the slow cooker.

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Ingredients

For the Monkey Bread Dough

• 3 cups shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 3/4 cup of almond flour
• 1/2 cup of coconut flour
• 1/4 cup Pyure or 2 Tablespoons THM Super Sweet
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Pumpkin Filling

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup of Pyure Sweetener or 1/4 cup THM Super Sweet
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla

Icing

• 3 Tablespoons of powdered sweetener of choice
• 1/2 Tablespoon of heavy cream

Optional Garnish

• 3 Tablespoons of chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Start by preparing the Monkey Bread dough. To begin, mix the almond flour, coconut flour, and baking powder to a bowl and mix well. Set this aside.
2. Next add the shredded mozzarella, sweetener, pumpkin pie spice, and the cream cheese into to a microwave-safe bowl.
3. Microwave the cheese for short bursts of 30 seconds. After every 30 seconds, remove from the microwave and stir. You want the cheese to be melted enough to stir the cream cheese in completely.
4. Once it is at the smoothest consistency take it out and add in the dry ingredients and the two eggs that you have beaten lightly.
5. Mix the dry ingredients into the cheese until there are no lumps. For the best results spray your hands with cooking spray and knead the cheese dough with your hands. This is the best way, but be cautious because eh dough will be super hot. When there are no visible lumps of dry ingredients your dough it ready. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.
6. After the dough has chilled start forming little round dough balls that are around the size of a quarter or slightly bigger. This is a large batch of dough so I typically get about 45 small dough balls.
7. When you have rolled all the Monkey Bread dough up spray the slow cooker well with cooking spray and then add all of the dough balls to the bottom on the slow cooker.
8. To make the pumpkin filling for this recipes simply add 1/2 cup of melted butter and 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree to a mixing bowl. Stir in the sweetener, cinnamon, and vanilla. I suggest tasting this portion as you mix it so you will know if you need to add more sweetener for your tastes.
9. Pour the pumpkin mixture all over the Monkey Bread dough in the slow cooker making sure to get some on all of the dough. At this point if you are adding the optional pecans you can sprinkle them over the top.
10. Place a paper towel or clean cheesecloth over the top of the slow cooker and then put the lid on. This extra step will prevent the condensation from dripping down into the Monkey Bread and making it soggy.
11. Cook the Pumpkin Monkey Bread on high for 2.5 hours checking on it often to make sure it isn't burning. Because different brands of slow cookers are hotter than others the time may vary slightly but mine took the whole 2.5 hours and it turned out perfect.
12. To make a quick icing for the top of your dessert add the powdered sweetener to a small bowl and add just a tiny bit of heavy cream or half and half to thin it slightly. Drizzle this easy icing over the top before serving.

Nutrition Information

Yield

10

Serving Size

1/2 cup
Amount Per ServingCalories 300Total Fat 24gSaturated Fat 12gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 85mgSodium 359mgCarbohydrates 11gNet Carbohydrates 7gFiber 4gSugar 2gProtein 11g

I am not a nutritionist. If you have strict dietary needs I always recommend using an online nutrition calculator to calculate your totals using your exact brands you're using in this recipe as values may vary per brand.

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Keri Bucci

I am a southern girl through and through that loves to laugh, cook, read and spend time with family. My passions outside of home schooling my son are ministering to those in need and creating art in the kitchen! Every day is an adventure in our little house and I wouldn’t trade it or the chance to share here with you for anything!