There's nothing better than warm bread. You know, the kind that steams when you tear apart the flaky layers and smells like yeast and butter and everything good. One of our favorite breads to pile in a basket for any meal is the crescent roll. They're easy to make, taste amazing, and everybody loves them. But we also love crescent rolls because they're the perfect foundation for appetizers, snacks, main dishes and desserts. If you've got a favorite food, there's a crescent roll recipe for it.
We've rounded up 15 of our favorite recipes that use crescent roll dough. They range from savory to sweet, but they all turn out golden brown and yummy. These crescent roll recipes will take any meal time from boring to fun.
All of these recipes can use either store-bought or homemade crescent rolls. If you want to make your own batch of crescent dough (it freezes beautifully, too), here's a recipe to get started.
Homemade Crescent Rolls
This crescent roll dough is so easy to make. The important thing to remember is to keep your butter as cold as possible and to fold the dough to get those flaky layers. The dough doesn't take long to make, but you will need some time to let the dough chill out in the fridge well-wrapped in plastic wrap.
You can make the dough and freeze it, too. If you're going to freeze the dough, you can shape the rolls and freeze for no prep time baking (which baking one or two dinner rolls at a time so, so easy) or you can freeze the dough before shaping it so that you can use it however you like in a variety of recipes.
Get the recipe here.
And now, here are 15 recipes that use crescent rolls.
1. Buttery Garlic Cheese Bombs
Want to make your buttery flaky crescent rolls even better? Hit them with garlic butter and mozzarella cheese. Yes, please!
Get the recipe here.
2. Pigs in a Blanket with Cheese and Parmesan Ranch Butter
Pigs in a blanket is the easiest of easy recipes using crescent rolls. It's basically hot dogs, some cheese if you like, and crescent rolls. Here's a variation on the basic recipe that uses lil' smokies, sharp cheddar, melted butter, ranch seasoning and Parmesan baked on a cookie sheet. Also, Parmesan Ranch Butter might be our new favorite thing.
Get the recipe here.
3. 8 Minute Mini Cinnamon Rolls
Mini cinnamon rolls are such an easy and fast part of breakfast for a crowd. Plus, you can add nuts or dried fruit if you like. And the maple glaze on these two-bite wonders is perfect.
Get the recipe here.
4. Sausage and Hashbrown Breakfast Pizza
Plenty of crescent roll recipes use the dough in ways other than the standard crescent shape. Here, the dough triangles get rolled out on a baking sheet with the narrow tips all pointing in; pinch the seams together to make a single crust. This breakfast pizza will be a hit with your whole family, and because it uses crescent dough, it's fast and simple to make.
Get the recipe here.
5. Ham & Cheese Pinwheels
Looking for an easy brunch recipe? Or an afternoon snack for a crowd of hungry teens? Or a game day party appetizer? Here you go. It's better than a regular sandwich (and you can swap out deli meats and your choice of cheese, too).
Get the recipe here.
6. Italian Sub Crescent Roll Ring
Honestly, half the reason to make this Italian sub ring is because it's so pretty. The other half of a reason is because it's so good. Skip the footlong party sandwich; the crescent roll version is easy to make and it's so much better than any sandwich shop catering.
Get the recipe here.
7. Sausage and Crescent Roll Casserole
Breakfast casseroles are good for any meal, especially where you've got a crowd. And using crescent roll dough makes this meaty, cheesy casserole a cinch to put together.
Get the recipe here.
8. Chicken Pot Pie Crescent Braid
This chicken pot pie looks far more complicated than it actually is. Make sure to get the seamless crescent roll dough (or press the seams together). The end result is a pot pie that looks as good as it tastes.
Get the recipe here.
9. Cranberry Cream Cheese Crescent Bundles
Instead of rolling up the crescent dough, you can fill it with cream cheese, cranberries walnuts and pinch it into these cute little bundles. They're perfect finger food for any kind of party, but especially around the holidays. Try them for a cocktail party or your office holiday potluck.
Get the recipe here.
10. Mushroom Spinach Ricotta Crescent Ring
Basically, this crescent roll recipe takes spinach dip and wraps it up in a crispy bread crust. It's homemade party food that looks and tastes like you spent hours on it, even though it's so easy to make.
Get the recipe here.
11. Mexican Stuffed Crescent Roll Recipe
If you squint just right, this recipe turns out a little like a klobasnek (the savory, meat-filled version of a kolache). It's tasty and easy to make, if you can't make it home to Texas for the real thing.
Get the recipe here.
12. Just Ordinary Cheesecake Bars
This dessert is so easy to make and it's always a party favorite. There's a version with cinnamon, but this one leaves it out and it works. So if you have someone in your life who loves cheesecake bars, but not cinnamon, you definitely need to make this recipe for them.
Get the recipe here.
13. Nutella and Banana Stuffed Crescent Rolls
Nutella and banana is a combo that works for breakfast, a quick snack or dessert. All this crescent roll recipe takes is a banana chunk on the wide end of crescent dough smeared with Nutella, all rolled up and baked. Roll the rollups in cinnamon sugar for an extra sweet crust.
Get the recipe here.
14. Lemon Raspberry Cream Cheese Danish Rolls
This crescent roll wreath of raspberry goodness works for dessert, or or a sweet bite at breakfast or with coffee.
Get the recipe here.
15. Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings
Made popular by the Pioneer Woman herself, these Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings are easy and surprisingly good, even if you're not a fan of drinking soft drinks. Try it, and then you can blame us when it becomes your favorite new dessert.
Get the recipe here.
