I sadly must admit that up until about 2 years ago I had never heard of monkey bread. Yes, a travesty as we all know it. But I am happy to say that I have made up for much of my lost time and recipes.
I have made almost every dessert monkey bread recipe out there. From plain old cinnamon and sugar to Reese Pieces to microwavable monkey bread all of them have been without a doubt the best finger food desserts I have ever had! Nothing beats sweetness added to warm, soft dough.
After all the desert making, I decided to broaden my horizon even further and try a little dinner time/appetizer style recipe. The more I looked into it, the more recipes I found that weren't just for dessert!
BBQ chicken monkey bread was by far one of the best and easiest to make apps I have ever had! I made it for a BBQ I had last weekend and people went nuts for it! Pull apart bread with shredded chicken, cheese, bold BBQ sauce and fresh parsley. Perfect flavors with warm dough balls makes for a perfect pull apart appetizer and great for sharing.
Want more monkey bread recipes? Check out:
Cheddar Bacon Garlic Monkey Bread
Bacon, Egg and Cheese Monkey Bread
To make, Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the pizza dough tubes in half lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces, and roll into balls.
Place the pizza dough balls in a large bowl, then add the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss gently with your hands to coat.
Add the mozzarella and onion and toss gently with your hands until evenly distributed.
In a medium bowl, combine the chicken and ¼ cup of barbecue sauce. Add to the bowl with the dough balls and toss gently with your hands to mix.
Fill the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan with dough balls, make sure not to pack them too tightly.
Spray the outside of a small oven-safe bowl with nonstick spray and place on top of the dough balls in the middle of the pan. Fill the area around the bowl with the remaining dough balls.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops of the dough balls begin to turn light brown.
Remove from the oven. Use tongs to remove the small bowl and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the tops of the dough balls are golden brown and bubbling.
Fill the bowl indent with the remaining cup of barbecue sauce and sprinkle with cilantro.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 cans of Pillsbury Pizza Dough
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup red onion, chopped
- 2 cups chicken, shredded and cooked
- 1 ¼ cups BBQ sauce, divided
- nonstick cooking spray
- fresh parsley for serving
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Cut the pizza dough tubes in half lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces, and roll into balls.
- Place the pizza dough balls in a large bowl, then add the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss gently with your hands to coat.
- Add the mozzarella and onion and toss gently with your hands until evenly distributed.
- In a medium bowl, combine the chicken and ¼ cup (65 g) of barbecue sauce. Add to the bowl with the dough balls and toss gently with your hands to incorporate.
- Fill the bottom of a 9-inch (22 cm) cake pan with dough balls, make sure not to pack them too tightly. Spray the outside of a small oven-safe bowl with nonstick spray and place on top of the dough balls in the middle of the pan. Fill the area around the bowl with the remaining dough balls.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops of the dough balls begin to turn light brown.
- Remove from the oven. Use tongs to remove the small bowl and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the tops of the dough balls are golden brown and bubbling.
- Fill the bowl indent with the remaining cup of barbecue sauce and sprinkle with cilantro.
- Enjoy!
