Flaky crust plus a tasty sausage and cheese filling screams delicious in every way. And a finger food is always a hit, especially with kids or for game days or parties. Let everyone grab them and keep the festivities going.
With this particular recipe, the creamy inside with the crispy, buttery outside is the perfect combo, and you’ll see those going fast. For that reason, you’ll want to make sure you have multiple batches if these are for a party. The recipe is straightforward, making it an easy one to double, triple, or even quadruple.
Fortunately, this is a party food — or snack — that only tastes like you worked all day on it. It’s actually quite quick and easy to make and doesn’t require many ingredients, making it a win all the way around for you.
If versatility is a top priority of yours with appetizer recipes, these will make the cut. You can use breakfast sausage or hot sausage, add veggies, include multiple cheeses, and so much more.
Once you’re good at making them, you can try a number of combinations of protein and veggies that would work well. For instance, the ingredients in a loaded steak quesadilla would be an excellent combination.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make, especially when you use premade crescents
- Only requires a handful of ingredients, which you can find at the grocery store
- Simple to change the filling
- Perfect blend of creamy and crispy
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Feel free to use hot sausage, chorizo, turkey sausage, or ground beef, chicken, or turkey to make your cream cheese crescent rolls. Add onions, bell peppers, or spinach to enhance the flavor.
If you’re feeling ambitious or are one of those people who has to make everything from scratch, you could easily make the crescents. On the other hand, if you’re ever in a pinch and don’t have any crescent dough, you could substitute the dough for pizza or bread dough. They won’t be flaky, but they’ll still be as delicious, and you could even make these snacks much larger when the dough isn’t perforated already.
You can add multiple shredded cheeses to the mix besides what the recipe calls for to make these gooier, richer, and cheesier. It’ll change the flavor profile and take them up a notch.
If you want, you can add various seasonings, such as garlic or onion powder, to give these some extra zing. Pepper flakes could turn up the heat, but you may only want to take that approach if you’re not using hot sausage. If not, they might turn out way too spicy, unless that’s how you like them.
How to Make It
Take the cream cheese out a few hours before you’re going to prepare your crescents. If not, the cream cheese won’t blend with the sausage easily.
After you cook the meat, drain any excess grease. This is especially important if you use ground beef because it usually has a higher fat content than other ground meats.
While you’re making your sausage cream cheese mixture, let your crescents sit out at room temperature. You’ll have an easier time unrolling and shaping the dough if it doesn’t come right out of the fridge. Keep in mind that the cold dough will be more likely to tear as you try to unroll and reshape it.
Once they’re done, let them sit for about five minutes after you remove them from the oven. This period gives them a chance to set up and also cool down a bit if you plan to serve them immediately.
Tips for Success
Filling is often the best part of a recipe. However, you don’t want to put too much in. You’ll have difficulty closing them, and you’ll have the filling spilling out as they’re baking. You’ll not only wind up with relatively empty crescents but also a mess on your baking sheet.
Storage & Reheating
If you have any left, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. You could also freeze these sausage and cream cheese crescents for a later date for up to two months in a freezer bag. You’ll want to lay them flat on a baking sheet and freeze them completely before bagging them. That way, they won’t stick together and will maintain their shape for when you’re ready to use them.
To reheat them, either place them in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds. They may be a bit chewy this way, though. Your other option, which will make them crispy, is to air fry them for three to four minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Your final option is to bake them in the oven. For this option, set the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for five to seven minutes.
Serving Suggestions
If you’re serving these as party food, you could make them along with other appetizer recipes like zucchini parmesan fritters. These are a great guilty pleasure as a breakfast food, though you may want to pair them with a fruit smoothie, scrambled eggs, or a fresh fruit bowl so you don’t feel so bad that you’re not eating a traditional meal.
Maybe you feel that these need a bit of moisture. A cheese sauce could work well as a dipping sauce.
Notes
I don’t have a cute story about how I grew up eating these. I actually threw them together one fine day when I was wondering what I could do with the extra cream cheese I had. After discovering I had crescents and sausage, it all came together. And I’m glad it did.
These are now a go-to party snack that my guests ask for time and time again. I might not be a sports fan, but our house has become the place everyone gravitates to when football games roll around because of our snacks. I make sure to give the people what they want.
Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Ground Pork Sausage Maple or Hot, depending on your preference
- 8 oz. Cream Cheese softened to room temperature
- 1 cup Sharp White Cheddar shredded (replaces standard cheddar for a tangier bite)
- 2 cans Refrigerated Crescent Rolls
- 2 Tbsp Fresh Chives snipped (replaces dried pepper for a fresh, onion-like aroma)
- 1 Egg beaten (for egg wash)
- 1 Tbsp Everything Bagel Seasoning for the crust
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
Instructions
- Brown the ground sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into very small crumbles as it cooks. Drain the grease thoroughly and let the meat cool for a few minutes so it doesn’t immediately liquefy the cheese.
- In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, shredded white cheddar, garlic powder, and fresh chives. Stir in the cooled sausage until the mixture is uniform and thick.
- Unroll the crescent dough and separate it into the pre-marked triangles. To make these “bite-sized” appetizers, use a pizza cutter to slice each triangle in half lengthwise, creating two skinny triangles.
- Place a rounded tablespoon of the sausage mixture at the widest end of each dough strip. Roll the dough forward toward the point, pinching the sides slightly to keep the creamy filling from escaping during the bake.
- Arrange the crescents on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the top of each roll with the beaten egg wash—this acts as “glue” and creates a shiny, golden finish. Sprinkle the Everything Bagel Seasoning generously over the tops.
- Bake at 375°F for 14–15 minutes. The rolls should be puffed and deep golden brown. Let them rest on the sheet for 5 minutes before serving; this allows the cheese filling to set so it doesn’t run when you take a bite.
