Crescent Chicken is a super simple, family-friendly chicken recipe.
This was one of the first recipes I ever made as a blooming cook back in college. The short list of easy-to-find ingredients and the use of refrigerated crescent rolls made it seem approachable. I found the recipe in a little chicken cookbook that my Mom had put in my Christmas stocking, but I’m pretty sure it originally came from Pillsbury. It’s easy to make and it’s quite delicious. My son has asked for Crescent Chicken for dinner many times since I first made it for our family.
How to make Crescent Chicken:
Begin by making the chicken filling. It’s a combination of cream cheese, butter, chopped cooked chicken, milk, onions and salt/pepper.
The crescent dough is popped out of the can, and then laid onto a work surface. Separate the dough into four rectangles. Each rectangle will have perforations with the purpose of separating them into two. You don’t want to do that, so you’ll press on the dough to seal those perforations. Then you’ll end up with four rectangles of crescent dough. The filling is divided between the dough, and then the dough is wrapped around the filling and pinched at the top to make little balls.
About refrigerated crescent:
Locate canned refrigerated crescent dough in your market in the same place you’d find canned refrigerated biscuits. You might be able to find crescent dough that is sold in one giant sheet instead of perforated pieces. If you use the giant sheet of crescent dough, you’ll just want to cut it into four equal rectangles.
Each ball of chicken-stuffed crescent dough is brushed with melted butter.
And then the crescent chicken balls are rolled into breadcrumbs and placed on a baking sheet to bake. Since the chicken is already cooked, they just bake for a short time- about 20 minutes.
How to make your own breadcrumbs:
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Place 2 slices of torn-apart bread in a food processor and process it into crumbs. Then combine the breadcrumbs with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning and a sprinkle each of garlic powder and onion powder. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Give them a stir and bake for another 5 minutes. Check them at this point to make sure they’re dry and crisp. If not, give them a couple more minutes.
Here’s what the Crescent Chicken looks like when it comes out of the oven.
To make it pretty on a serving plate, give it a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley.
When you break into the middle, you’ll find a piping hot, creamy chicken mixture inside. Serve with a side salad or your favorite vegetables. Enjoy!
Here are a few more chicken recipes you might like to try:
- Indian Butter Chicken
- Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas
- Apricot Balsamic Chicken
- Thai Curry Chicken
- Ranch Chicken Enchiladas
- Cranberry Chicken
- Garlic Butter Chicken
- Easy Chicken Santa Fe
Crescent Chicken
Ingredients
FILLING AND ROLLS:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups diced, cooked chicken
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
- salt and pepper, to taste
- One 8-ounce can refrigerated crescent dough
TOPPING:
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- ¾ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- In a medium bowl, use a sturdy spoon to blend the cream cheese with 1 tablespoon butter until smooth. Stir in the chicken, milk, onions, salt and pepper.
- On a work surface, separate the croissant dough into 4 rectangles- press the perforations to eliminate the seams. Spoon ½ cup of the chicken mixture onto the center of each rectangle. Pull the 4 corners of the dough to the top. Twist and seal to form a round ball.
- Brush melted butter over each ball and then roll in breadcrumbs. Bake on an un-greased baking sheet for 20 to 25 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve made this several times. This time, I sautéed the onions in the butter, then added the cream cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Folded in the chicken and 1/2 c frozen peas. Finished recipe as printed. Turned out very good! I do freeze leftovers. They reheat well
Can I make extra of these and freeze? If so, would it be best to freeze after baking or before? If freezing after baking, how would you recommend to reheat? Thanks!
Because it’s a refrigerated croissant, I don’t know if freezing this one will work.
Can we use crescent rolls? I’ve never seen croissant rolls in my supermarket. I’m nit sure if that is a regional product or not.
Yes! Same thing 🙂 thank you!
These are fantastic. I always end up with more than the minimum required chicken; I had the Grands Croissants on hand which worked perfect. I tried sharing on Facebook but the main image is not working, it wants to grab the ads instead 🙁
This is delicious! It was so easy but looked like a dish that I had spent much more time on. Thanks again!
So super yummy! Love it, thanks again Recipe Girl!
I liked how the tanginess of the cream cheese disppeared leaving a unique, light cheesy flavor and kept the chicken moist! All the great taste of a chicken pot pie without the gooey mess!