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If cheesy crescent chicken casserole isn’t your kid’s favorite comfort food meal, it soon will be. Crescent rolls are stuffed with shredded chicken, cream cheese, cheddar, onion and pimentos.

Rectangular glass casserole dish of baked crescent casserole

My kids basically love anything made with those refrigerated crescent rolls that come in a tube. As a food blogger that tried to specialize in homecooked meals, that’s maybe not my proudest moment to admit to. You know what? Who cares? I will go on record and admit the same thing about Kraft macaroni and cheese. They are my kid’s guilty pleasure.

Instead of permanently relegating crescent rolls to something that sits on the periphery of the plate, I made a meal out of it. Each roll is stuffed with a mixture of shredded chicken breast, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, diced onion and pimentos. It’s baked over a creamy white gravy until golden brown, then topped with more shredded cheddar. If this doesn’t become your kid’s favorite comfort food meal, it soon will.

collage of ingredients needed to make crescent chicken

Table of Contents hide

1 Make the gravy

2 Make the filling

3 Assemble the crescent chicken casserole

4 Storage, Freezing and Reheating

5 What to Serve with Cheesy Crescent Chicken

6 Cheesy Crescent Roll Chicken

Make the gravy

Melt three tablespoons of unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in two tablespoons of all-purpose flour and cook for two minutes to get rid of the raw taste of the flour. Reduce the heat to medium low. Then slowly stir in one cup of heavy cream

Bring the cream to a simmer and continue to cook until the cream begins to thicken. When you stir the gravy, you want it to coat the spoon. Remove the sauce from the heat and season with one teaspoon of Creole seasoning (such as Tony Chachere’s). Spread the gravy into the bottom of a 9 x 13 x 2-inch casserole dish.

melted butter and flour mixed together in a saucepan

Make the filling

Melt an additional three tablespoons of unsalted butter and add it to a large mixing bowl with four ounces (half a package) of softened cream cheese. Whip the butter and the cream cheese together.

You will need one cup of cooked and shredded chicken breasts for the crescent chicken filling. I did this by cooking one large chicken breast in five cups of water in my Instant Pot (I was making my Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice for dinner that night an needed the chicken broth). You can boil the chicken, roast it, use a rotisserie from the grocery store or use some chicken leftover from a previous meal. It does not matter.

Add the diced chicken breast, one tablespoon of minced onion, two tablespoons of chopped pimentos and one cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Stir together until the mixture is evenly combined.

melted butter and cream cheese in a metal mixing bowl

melted butter and cream cheese whipped together in a metal mixing bowl

Assemble the crescent chicken casserole

Unroll two tubes of crescent roll dough and separate the triangles along the perforations. Place about one tablespoon of the chicken filling along the wide edge of each triangle. Carefully roll the crescent rolls up around the filling. Arrange the stuffed crescent rolls over the sauce you just spread on the bottom of the casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven and top with one cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until the crescent rolls are brown and the cheese is melted.

hands spoons chicken filling into a crescent roll

hands rolling crescent roll dough over the chicken filling

Storage, Freezing and Reheating

Storage. Cheesy Crescent Chicken can be made ahead of time. Assemble the casserole, but do not bake. Cover and store in the refrigerator. Bake within 24 hours. Any leftover crescent chicken casserole that has been baked can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four days. Again, cover the dish so the crescent rolls do not dry out.

Freezing. I don’t recommend freezing the assembled casserole, either baked or unbaked. However, the filling can be frozen for up for three months. Transfer the filling to a freezer bag and squeeze out as much air as possible. Or seal it in a vacuum sealed bag. Allow the filling to thaw before using.

Reheating. Heat the oven to 250 degrees. Reheat crescent chicken casserole for 20-30 minutes until heated through and toasted.

two servings of crescent chicken on a blue floral plate with green beans on the side

What to Serve with Cheesy Crescent Chicken

Cheesy Crescent Roll Chicken

If cheesy crescent chicken casserole isn't your kid's favorite comfort food meal, it soon will be. Crescent rolls are stuffed with shredded chicken, cream cheese, cheddar, onion and pimentos.

4.41 from 5 votes

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Course: Entrees, Main Courses

Cuisine: American

Cook Time: 24

Servings: people

Calories: 161kcal

Author: Lisa B.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning such as Tony Chachere’s
4 ounces cream cheese softened
1 cup diced cooked chicken breast
1 tablespoon minced onion
2 tablespoons chopped pimentos
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
2 cans of refrigerated crescent rolls
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Melt three tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
Whisk in the flour and cook for two minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium low. Slowly stir in the heavy cream. Bring the cream to a simmer and continue to cook until the cream begins to thicken. Remove the sauce from the heat and season with the Creole Seasoning.
Melt the remaining butter. Whip the butter and the cream cheese together.
Add the diced chicken breast, onion, pimentos and one cup of the shredded cheddar. Stir together until the mixture is evenly combined.
Unroll the crescent roll dough and separate the triangles along the perforations. Place about one tablespoon of the chicken filling along the wide edge of each triangle. Carefully roll the crescent rolls up around the filling.
Spread the sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 x 2-inch casserole dish. Arrange the stuffed crescent rolls over the sauce.
Bake for 15 minutes. Top the crescent rolls with the remainder of the cheese. Bake for an additional 10 minutes until the crescent rolls are brown and the cheese is melted.

Video

Notes

Storage. Cheesy Crescent Chicken can be made ahead of time. Assemble the casserole, but do not bake. Cover and store in the refrigerator. Bake within 24 hours. Any leftover crescent chicken casserole that has been baked can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four days. Again, cover the dish so the crescent rolls do not dry out.