The Best Crescent Roll Appetizer – Filled With Sausage & Cream Cheese

Although you can make a lot of appetizers with store-bought, refrigerated crescent roll dough, I believe that this is Best Crescent Roll Appetizer that I have ever made.

However, I know there are some other great appetizers made with crescent roll dough. And most of them are much fancier than this recipe.

Although I am giving it the ‘best’ label because of not only how delicious they are, but also on how easy they are to make. And this time of the year, a quick and easy appetizer is much appreciated!

This recipe requires only 3 basic, easy to find ingredients. Sausage, cream cheese, and of course crescent roll dough is all that is needed!

Not only do they make the perfect appetizer for your holiday parties, they are also great to serve for your television watching gatherings, as part of your tailgate spread, or even to serve at the next bridal or baby shower.

But don’t just think of these delicious bites just for an appetizer. They also make a great addition to any breakfast or brunch buffet as well.

Best Crescent Roll Appetizer

INGREDIENTS

• Breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled
• Cream cheese, room temperature
• Refrigerated crescent rolls

More About The Ingredients

1. Sausage

You can use any type of ground sausage that you prefer. Do you like things a little spicy? Then use a hot & spicy Italian sausage. If not, stick to a mild sausage blend instead.

If I am serving this for a crowd, I always play it safe and use a mild breakfast sausage. However, if I am making this crescent roll appetizer for the adults in my family, then the hotter the better!

You can even substitute turkey, chicken or plant based sausage if you want to make this appetizer a little healthier. Just be sure to add a little oil to the pan to prevent it from sticking to the skillet.

2. Cream Cheese

You will need a block of cream cheese for this recipe. Any variety and any brand will work to make the filling.

Therefore, I recommend saving a few calories here and use a fat-free version instead of the original cream cheese bars.

And if you are following a vegan diet, it is okay to use plant based cream cheese substitutes as well.

3. Refrigerated Crescent Rolls

The refrigerated crescent roll tubes can be found next to the biscuits, cinnamon rolls, and refrigerated cookie dough at the grocery store.

Although there are several varieties to choose from, I find that the best crescent rolls to purchase for this appetizer recipe is the original or reduced-fat crescent rolls.

Stay away from the butter or honey flavored rolls, as the flavors will interfere with the sausage and cream cheese filling.

In addition, if you are making this appetizer to please a crowd, the original and reduced-fat varieties are most often vegan friendly, depending the brand that you choose.

INSTRUCTIONS

Before you start this recipe, be sure that your sausage is cooked and drained and the block of cream cheese is softened to room temperature.

If I plan far enough in advance, I will brown the sausage a day or two ahead of time. Then all I have to do is to pull it out of the refrigerator and add it to the room temperature cream cheese.

However, there are times where I am throwing this crescent roll appetizer together at the last minute. In that case, I will take the cream cheese out of the packing and place it on a plate in the microwave.

Then I press cook for 10 seconds. Once the time is up I flip the cream cheese bar over and microwave for another 10 seconds. Then I let the bar of cream cheese sit in the closed microwave while I brown the sausage.

Once the sausage is browned and drained, preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Silicone Baking Mats

• I absolutely love my Silicone Baking Mats. I was hesitant to make the plunge and buy one, but now I wish I would have made the purchase years ago. Not only are they non-stick and easy to clean, I have saved so much money not having to purchase rolls of disposable parchment paper.

Set the baking sheet aside and begin to make your crescent roll appetizer filling. In a medium bowl, mix the cooked sausage and cream cheese together either with a silicone spatula or hand mixer.

I prefer to use a hand mixer, especially if I am using sausage that has been cooked and refrigerated. This allows the beaters of the mixer to break any clumps of sausage that may be stuck together.

If you would like to add a little extra flavor, add in a can of drained diced green chiles. This will give you the same flavor as my Cream Cheese Sausage Dip.

Once the filling is evenly mixed, set the bowl aside and prepare the crescent rolls.

Open the tube of crescent rolls and separate them into the perforated triangles. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut eat triangle in half lengthwise, making two smaller triangles.

Assemble The Crescent Rolls

Use a teaspoon or small scoop to pile the sausage filling onto each crescent roll at the largest part of the triangle. Then starting at the edge where the sausage filling is located roll the dough until it reaches the small, tapered end.

Place each roll on the prepared baking sheet, with the crescent roll end facing downward. Repeat until each crescent roll has been filled and rolled.

Now place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the dough turns golden brown.

Serve warm.

Enjoy! Mary

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