I stumbled across this recipe for crescents with cream cheese sausage a few years back when I needed something quick for a bonfire. I wasn’t even sure they’d turn out, so my backup plan was to just not bring them. They came out of the oven golden and flaky and I knew right then I had a winner.
Everyone at that bonfire asked me for the recipe before the night was over. I’ve been making these sausage cream cheese rolls on repeat ever since.
The filling is what gets people. Warm, savory sausage mixed with melted cream cheese, all wrapped up in buttery crescent dough. Your kitchen smells so good while these bake.
My kids will eat four of these before I can even get them on a plate. They’re one of those crescent dough recipes that works just as well at breakfast as it does for a game day spread. And we love making these during the holidays when we have more people in and out of the house. Kids home from college, and their friends.
If you’ve been looking for stuffed crescent roll recipes that deliver on flavor without a ton of work, this is the one. Three main ingredients. Maybe 30 minutes of your time.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This is one of those Pillsbury crescent roll recipes with cream cheese and sausage you’ll come back to over and over because it’s just that easy and that good.
- Only three main ingredients: Sausage, cream cheese, and crescent roll dough. That’s the whole grocery list.
- Make the filling ahead of time: Mix up your sausage and cream cheese filling the night before and keep it in the fridge. Saves you time on busy mornings.
- Works for any occasion: Breakfast, brunch, appetizer, snack. These fit wherever you need them to fit.
- Total crowd pleaser: I’ve never once come home with leftovers when I bring these to a party. People go after these like they haven’t eaten in days.
- Budget friendly: You can feed a crowd for under ten bucks, and that’s hard to beat.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
You can switch things up here pretty easily to make these crescent roll recipes work for what you’ve got on hand.
- Sausage: I use Jimmy Dean’s regular breakfast sausage roll. But any ground sausage works. Italian, turkey, maple flavored. Just make sure it’s ground sausage, not links.
- Cream cheese: Full fat gives you the best flavor and texture. But low-fat cream cheese works fine too.
- Crescent roll dough: I grab the Pillsbury brand every time. The reduced fat crescent rolls work just as well. Honestly you can’t even tell a difference when they’re baked.
- Garlic powder: This rounds the whole filling out. Don’t skip it.
- Want some heat? Toss in a few red pepper flakes or a little bit of cayenne pepper to your filling. Start small. Give it a taste. Then add more if you want it spicier.
Tips for Success
A few things I’ve picked up from making these Pillsbury crescent roll appetizers more times than I can count.
- I like to pulse the cooked sausage in a food processor a few times so it’s chopped real fine. Makes the filling spread better and you get a more even bite.
- A pizza cutter makes slicing these into squares way easier than a knife.
- Pinch those crescent dough seams well. If the seams open up while baking, the filling leaks out. It still tastes great but it won’t look as clean.
- Don’t worry if a little filling pokes out while it bakes. Just nudge it back in with a spoon when the pan comes out.
Storage and Reheating
Let your sausage cream cheese rolls cool down on a wire rack before you put them away. Once they’re cooled off, store them in an airtight container in your fridge for up to four days.
The crescent dough can get a little soft sitting in the fridge, so I recommend popping them in an air fryer to reheat. It crisps them right back up. A toaster oven works too.
Freezing these isn’t recommended. The crescent dough doesn’t hold up well after being frozen and thawed. But you can make the filling ahead and keep it in the fridge for up to three days before you’re ready to assemble and bake.
Serving Suggestions
These are great straight out the oven or at room temperature. One of my favorite recipes for crescent dough because they hold up so well.
For breakfast, serve them alongside scrambled eggs and some fresh fruit. For a party or tailgate, set them out with ranch, ketchup, or barbecue sauce for dipping. They don’t really need a sauce because the filling has so much flavor on its own.
FAQs
What’s the difference between puff pastry and crescent rolls?
Puff pastry is a thinner dough that bakes up into lots of light, flaky layers. Crescent roll dough is thicker and more dense, like a soft bread. Both are good for recipes for crescent dough like this one, but they give you a totally different texture.
Can I make these in an air fryer?
You sure can. Spray your air fryer basket with a little cooking spray and cook them at 320 degrees for about 5 to 7 minutes until they turn golden brown. You don’t need to preheat the air fryer. Just do them in batches so they aren’t crowded.
Do I have to use an air fryer to cook the sausage?
Not at all. A skillet on your stovetop over medium high heat works perfectly fine. Just cook it until there’s no pink left and drain the grease before mixing in the cream cheese.
Can I use these as sausage balls with cream cheese instead?
Yes! Roll the filling into small balls, wrap each one in a piece of crescent dough, and bake them on a sheet pan. Sausage balls with cream cheese are one of the best Pillsbury crescent roll recipes with cream cheese and sausage you can make for a crowd.
Notes
I found this recipe right before a bonfire a few years ago and almost didn’t make them because I wasn’t confident they’d turn out. My neighbor had shared it with me and said everyone always asked her for it. She was right. I pulled them out the oven that afternoon and knew immediately they were coming with me. Every person at that bonfire wanted the recipe, and I’ve been making them for every get together since.
My daughter’s friends request these whenever they come over now. That’s how you know a recipe is a keeper.
Sausage Cream Cheese Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Bulk breakfast pork sausage mild or hot
- 1 package 8 oz. Cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup Sharp cheddar cheese shredded (optional)
- 2 cans 8 oz. each Refrigerated crescent roll dough sheets
- ¼ tsp. Garlic powder
- Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a large, flat baking sheet with parchment paper or spray it lightly with non-stick cooking spray to ensure an easy release.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drop in the bulk breakfast sausage and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, using a firm wooden spoon or meat chopper to break it apart into tiny, uniform crumbles. Cook thoroughly until the pork is evenly browned with no pink remaining.
- Pour the cooked sausage crumbles into a fine-mesh colander to drain away all excess pooling grease. If desired, blot the meat gently with a paper towel; removing excess surface fat prevents the crescent dough from getting soggy during baking.
- Transfer the warm, drained sausage into a medium mixing bowl. Add the softened block of cream cheese, garlic powder, black pepper, and optional shredded cheddar. Stir firmly with a sturdy spoon until the residual heat melts the cheeses, binding the sausage into a smooth, uniform paste.
- Pop open the tubes of crescent roll dough and unroll the pre-perforated triangles onto a clean cutting board. For smaller, bite-sized appetizers, use a pizza cutter to slice each triangle in half lengthwise to create two narrow triangles.
- Spoon a rounded teaspoon of the savory sausage and cream cheese mixture onto the widest end of each dough triangle.
- Roll the dough up loosely toward the pointed tip, tucking the edges slightly around the filling to help trap the cheese matrix inside. Place the assembled rolls seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet, leaving an inch of space between them to allow for steam expansion.
- Place the sheet onto the middle oven rack and bake at 375°F for 12 to 15 minutes. Watch the pastries closely; they are finished the exact moment the crescent dough puffs up and takes on a beautiful, golden-brown color.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let the bites rest flat on a wire cooling rack for 5 minutes before handling. The internal cheese emulsion will be exceptionally hot right out of the oven; letting it settle prevents the rich filling from spilling out on the first bite. Serve warm.
- For a quick visual look at blending a rich, savory filling and rolling
