Gorilla Bread is classic monkey bread with an amazing twist. Every ball of sweet, cinnamon dough is filled with cream cheese. This kicked up keto monkey bread is the ultimate brunch indulgence! This delicious keto brunch recipe is low carb, keto, gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free, and Trim Healthy Mama friendly.
I grew up making Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread. It's one of the first things I remember making. I would open a can of biscuit dough, cut each circle into four pieces, dip each in butter, roll them in cinnamon sugar, and put layers of them in a bundt pan. This is more commonly known as Monkey Bread.
After I got married I became a Paula Deen fan. Her Gorilla Bread is basically my Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread marrying a Cheesecake. Amazing.
Like the other delicious recipes I have memories of from childhood I just had the make this one healthier. I used the same dough from my Keto Cinnamon Rolls and Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns but stuffed each piece with cream cheese. I was afraid the cream cheese would ooze out but it didn't. Each piece of the gorilla bread is lightly sweetened, flavored with cinnamon, and filled with cream cheese.
How to Make Keto Gorilla Bread
Don't be intimidated looking at the ingredient list in the recipe carb. There aren't nearly as many ingredients as it seems because there are a lot of repeats. You use butter and cream cheese in each part.
First Step: Butter a pie plate or small bundt pan and sprinkle with sweetener, cinnamon, and pecans.
Second Step: Make a basic mozzarella based dough. The trick to these is to have the cheese super gooey before mixing in the other ingredients. If not it can taste cheesy.
Third Step: Brush the dough with melted butter and sprinkle with sweetener and cinnamon. Cut the dough into 24 small squares. Put a cube of cream cheese in each square.
Fourth Step: Roll each square of dough around the cream cheese to form a ball. Dip each into melted butter and then the sweetener and cinnmon.
Fifth Step: Place the dough balls into the pie plate on top of the pecans.
(Optional) Sixth Step: Make a simple caramel sauce.
The caramel sauce is optional. I've made this with and without it. Without it is lightly sweetened like a breakfast pastry. With it, it is more like a dessert.
(Optional) Seventh Step: Drizzle the caramel sauce over the dough balls.
Final Step: Bake the keto gorilla bread. Cool for 5 minutes and then invert it on a platter and serve immediately.
Do I need a bundt pan for gorilla bread?
Traditionally this is baked in a bundt pan but I was afraid my bundt pan was too big. I really want one of the cute little 6-cup, 8-inch bundt pans to make this recipe in. So I just went ahead and baked it in a pie plate. It worked fine but I do think bundts are pretty.
Can I freeze keto monkey bread?
Recipes made with mozzarella dough freeze okay but not great. It is best to eat them right away. If you would like to freeze this anyway simply reheat until warm in the microwave or oven. Don't overdo it in the microwave or they will get rubbery.
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Ingredients
Topping/Filling Ingredients:
- 1 tsp butter
- ½ cup Trim Healthy Mama Gentle Sweet or my sweetener
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup pecans
- 7 oz cream cheese
- 2 tbsp melted butter
Dough Ingredients:
- 8 oz mozzarella
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 oz cream cheese
- ⅔ cup almond flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp Trim Healthy Mama Gentle Sweet or my sweetener
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
Caramel Sauce Ingredients: (optional)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- ¼ cup Trim Healthy Mama Gentle Sweet or my sweetener
- ½ tsp vanilla
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Prep:
- Preheat the oven to 350. Spread 1 teaspoon of the butter in the bottom of a pie plate. Mix the ½ cup sweetener with the cinnamon. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of this in the buttered pie plate. Set aside the rest. Sprinkle the pecans on top.
- Put the mozzarella and one ounce of cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave one minute. Stir. Microwave 30 seconds. Stir. At this point, all the cheese should be melted. Microwave 30 more seconds until uniform and gloopy (it should look like cheese fondue at this point). Add the rest of the dough ingredients and the cheese to a food processor. Mix using the dough blade until a uniform color. If you do not have a food processor you can mix in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon but you may need to dump it onto wax paper and knead it by hand to thoroughly incorporate the ingredients. Once it is a uniform color wet your hands and press it out into a 9×12 ish rectangle on a piece of parchment.
Optional Caramel Sauce:
- Combine the first three sauce ingredients and cook over medium-low heat until bubbly, slightly thickened, and lightly browned. This will takes about 5 minutes. It will thicken further during baking. Remove from the heat and add the salt and extract. Set aside.
Assembly:
- Cut the dough into 24 pieces. Cut the cream cheese into 24 pieces. Sprinkle each piece of dough with ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon sweetener. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each, wrap and seal the dough around the cream cheese. Dip the dough ball in butter. Roll it in the cinnamon sweetener. Put it in the prepared pie plate. Repeat with all 24 pieces. (If you have extra sweetener sprinkle it on top. If you run out of the sweetener before you are done just mix up a little more).
- Drizzle the caramel sauce over the top, if using.
- Bake at 350 45-50 min until the rolls are golden brown and the sweetener is bubbling. Cool for 5-10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate and serve immediately.
Notes
- The caramel sauce is optional. I've made this with and without it. Without it is lightly sweetened like a breakfast pastry. With it, it is more like a dessert.
- Leftovers are best warm. I ate this for breakfast for almost a week. I would microwave a few pieces in the microwave for 30 seconds and enjoy with my coffee.
Nutrition
Originally Published May 25, 2016. Revised and Republished May 7, 2020.
