Sausage and cream cheese crescents are a five-ingredient appetizer: browned sausage stirred into softened cream cheese and shredded cheese, spooned onto crescent roll triangles, rolled up and baked until golden and puffed. Two cans of dough make 16 crescents in 32 minutes, and they work for game day, a brunch table or a quick breakfast.
How to make them: Brown the sausage until it reaches 160°F and drain it. Mix it with the cream cheese until smooth, then stir in the shredded cheese and a pinch of pepper. Put a spoonful of filling on the wide end of each crescent triangle, roll it up with the sides tucked in, and bake seam-side down at 375°F for 10 to 12 minutes.
Why You’ll Love Them
- Five ingredients: sausage, cream cheese, shredded cheese, crescent dough and pepper.
- Fast: 10 minutes of prep and about 12 minutes in the oven.
- Breakfast or appetizer: use breakfast sausage for brunch or Italian sausage for a party tray.
- Creamy filling, flaky outside: the cheese melts into the sausage while the dough bakes golden.
Ingredient Notes
Ground sausage: 1 pound of breakfast or Italian sausage. Hot sausage adds a kick; maple breakfast sausage makes them a little sweet.
Cream cheese: one 8-ounce block, softened so it mixes smoothly with the warm sausage.
Shredded cheese: 1 cup of cheddar or mozzarella.
Crescent rolls: 2 cans of refrigerated dough, 8 crescents each.
Pepper: a pinch. The sausage is already seasoned, so you rarely need salt.
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Ingredients
- 1 lb ground sausage (breakfast or Italian)
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or mozzarella)
- 2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls (8 crescents each)
- Pinch of pepper, to taste
How to Make Sausage and Cream Cheese Crescents
1. Cook the sausage. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage until browned and crumbly, breaking it up as it cooks. It should reach 160°F (71°C), or 165°F (74°C) for poultry sausage. Drain excess fat and set aside.
2. Make the filling. In a medium bowl, mix the cooked sausage with softened cream cheese until smooth. Stir in shredded cheese and a pinch of pepper to taste.
3. Prepare the dough. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it lightly. Open the cans of crescent dough and separate into triangles.
4. Fill and roll. Place a spoonful (about 1-2 tablespoons) of the sausage and cream cheese mixture in the center of each triangle. Roll up from the wide end, tucking in the sides to enclose the filling.
5. Bake. Place the rolled crescents seam-side down on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed.
6. Cool and serve. Let the crescents cool for a few minutes before serving.
Tips for Sausage Cream Cheese Crescents
- Drain the sausage well. Extra grease makes the filling runny and the dough soggy.
- Mix while warm. Warm sausage softens the cream cheese so the filling comes together fast.
- Don’t overfill. A rounded spoonful is enough; too much filling leaks out in the oven.
- Tuck in the sides. Folding the corners over the filling before rolling seals it in.
- Bake seam-side down. It keeps the rolls from opening as they puff.
- Keep the dough cold. Work with one can at a time so the dough stays easy to roll.
Crescents, Bites or a Crescent Bake?
The same filling works three ways. Rolled into individual crescents, as here, it makes 16 hand-held appetizers. For a sheet-pan version, press one can of dough into a 9×13 pan, spread the filling over it, top with the second can and bake until golden, then cut into squares. For one-bite party food, cut the dough into small squares, add a little filling and pinch the corners together.
Variations
- Rotel: stir a drained can of diced tomatoes and green chiles into the filling.
- Jalapeño: add diced jalapeño for a popper-style crescent.
- Breakfast: add a little scrambled egg to the filling.
- Green onion: stir in chopped green onions for fresh flavor.
- Everything seasoning: brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning before baking.
Make Ahead & Storage
Make ahead: Cook the sausage and mix the filling up to a day ahead and keep it refrigerated. Roll and bake just before serving so the dough stays flaky.
Leftovers: Refrigerate within 2 hours and eat within 3 to 4 days. Reheat in the oven or an air fryer until hot, to 165°F, so the dough crisps again.
What to Serve With Them
Set out ranch, marinara or honey mustard for dipping. For a brunch spread, add fruit and sausage, egg and cream cheese hash brown breakfast casserole.
More sausage appetizers: Rotel cream cheese sausage balls, Southern 3-ingredient sausage crescent bites and sausage hashbrown bites. For another crescent or biscuit snack, try spinach puffs with cream cheese or garlic butter cheese bombs.
For a no-cook way to serve cream cheese alongside these crescents, try Cucumber Cream Cheese Bites with ranch, dill, and crisp cucumber.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some tips for making sausage cream cheese crescents?
Drain the sausage well, use softened cream cheese, don’t overfill, and bake the rolls seam-side down.
How do I make Rotel sausage and cream cheese crescents?
Stir a drained can of diced tomatoes and green chiles into the filling, then fill and bake as usual.
Can I use turkey sausage?
Yes. Cook poultry sausage to 165°F before mixing the filling.
Can I make them ahead?
Make the filling a day ahead, then roll and bake right before serving.
Can I freeze them?
Freeze baked, cooled crescents in a single layer, then bag them. Reheat in the oven until hot.
Why did the filling leak out?
There was too much filling, or the sides weren’t tucked in before rolling.
How long do leftovers keep?
3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Final Notes
Drain the sausage, keep the filling to a spoonful and bake until golden. If you try the Rotel or jalapeño version, tell me in the comments how they turned out.
Sausage Cream Cheese Crescents
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Ingredients
- 1 lb ground sausage breakfast or Italian sausage
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 cup shredded cheese cheddar or mozzarella
- 2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls 8 crescents each can
- Pinch of pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage until browned and crumbly, breaking it up as it cooks. It should reach 160°F (71°C), or 165°F (74°C) for poultry sausage. Drain excess fat and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the cooked sausage with softened cream cheese until smooth. Stir in shredded cheese and a pinch of pepper to taste.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it lightly. Open the cans of crescent dough and separate into triangles.
- Place a spoonful (about 1-2 tablespoons) of the sausage and cream cheese mixture in the center of each triangle. Roll up from the wide end, tucking in the sides to enclose the filling.
- Place the rolled crescents seam-side down on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed.
- Let the crescents cool for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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Nutrition values are estimates based on the listed ingredients and serving count. Actual values vary with brands, cuts and portion sizes.
1 comment
YUM ????! VERY GOOD! My oldest Daughter in Texas found a recipe for these as Donkey Balls! You roll up crescent rolls with the filling at the top and roll down to bottom. The crescents are cut in half at the beginning. When they are all rolled up You make balls out of them! SO GOOD!