Chicken Crescent Squares

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Discover this delicious, crowd-pleasing Chicken Crescent Square dish that pairs succulent chicken in a creamy sauce with a soft crescent roll crust rolled in a crispy coating. 

A plate with a chicken crescent square and a pile of French fries.

As a child I loved to be in the kitchen whenever my parents cooked.  My dad worked night term when we were kids so he would be home with my brother and I during the day while my mom worked.  She was then home with us in the evening while he slept.

While this might have seemed hard, it worked for our family.  It also gave my brother and I good, quality time with both my parents both inside the kitchen and out.

Since I was home all day with my dad, he often cooked our breakfast and lunch.  He would make eggs or sausage in the morning and then sandwiches or made up chicken recipes for lunch. 

One thing I loved was whenever he would break the eggs into a bowl and let me beat them.  I felt like such a big helper and he enjoyed having me in the kitchen. 

what are some ways to get kids into the kitchen?

  • Let the kids help with measuring.  This is a great life skill and it’s fun to learn how to measure.
  • Kids can help stir or mix ingredients together.
  • Learning how to crack an egg into a bowl and not get the shell into the bowl may be difficult but kids feel accomplished when they can do it!
  • Kids can help fold the crescent rolls in this recipe, can stretch dough, or manipulative dough products in other ways.
  • If you are baking kids love helping to decorate cookies and cakes!   No one cares how they look, just let the kids have fun!
  • Children can help wash and peel fruits and vegetables.

My mom was the same way.  If we were having chicken for dinner she’d let me put it in the bag of bread crumbs and shake it up to help.

A cutting board with ingredients for making chicken crescent squares.

Looking back it would have been easier for them to cook without our help but it was fun for us and it was nice for them to spend time with us.  Now that I’m a teacher I see how easy it would be to have kids help in the kitchen and learn too. 

Young kids can be responsible for washing fruits and vegetables, mixing the ingredients in a bowl, or even measure in cups. Teach them to sort items by size or color.   Older kids can help by peeling vegetables, measuring ingredients in measuring cups or teaspoons, and even help by chopping fruits and vegetables.  If they are working on multiplication or division in school you could even ask for their help in halving or doubling a recipe.

I wanted to share a favorite recipe from my childhood but it was hard. I used to love hot dogs, scrambled eggs and sausage, and chop suey. I don’t eat any of those things now which is funny because I ate them almost daily. The one thing I can remember eating over and over again were Chicken Crescent Squares.

Ingredients:

  • cream cheese
  • cooked chicken (you can use rotisserie chicken or simply leftover chicken)
  • onion
  • bell pepper (use your favorite color of bell pepper or use a spicy pepper if your family likes a bit of heat)
  • fresh chives (these grow like crazy in my garden)
  • salt and pepper
  • milk
  • refrigerated crescent roll dough (you can buy the ones that are already cut or the ones that are in squares and made for recipes)
  • butter
  • Shake n Bake (your favorite flavor)

This recipe is fairly easy to make.   Since you are using chicken that is already cooked the filling is mixed together in minutes.

The hardest part of the recipe is filling the crescents with chicken and pinching the seams together so nothing falls out.  I forgot to cook my chicken ahead of time and had to wait until it cooled to make the filling and fill the crescent dough otherwise it would have easily ripped.

Two crescent roll sheets with chicken and cream cheese mixture in the middle of them.

Do I have to use already cooked chicken?

It’s easier if you cook the chicken ahead of time so you don’t have to wait for it to cool.  I often cook an extra chicken breast or two so that I have them for lunch the next day.  You can also use rotisserie chicken from the market.   If you haven’t cooked your chicken go ahead and cook it an hour before you plan on making dinner so that it has plenty of time to cool.

If you ask anyone they will tell you I’m a chicken and cheese kind of girl.  That isn’t a new thing.  I’ve always liked chicken and cheese more then almost anything and this dish has a crescent roll filled with chicken and cheese. 

Once the crescent rolls are filled they are dipped in melted butter and then rolled in Shake n Bake.  This helps give the outside a nice crispy and flavorful crust.  It also helps the crescent rolls to not bust open.

A crescent roll packet stuffed and rolled.

Do I have to use Shake n Bake?

You don’t’ have to but it’s hard to get all that flavor in regular breadcrumbs.  If you choose to use regular breadcrumbs I would go with a half and half mixture of regular breadcrumbs and panko breadcrumbs so you get some of the texture.  Then add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and as many other seasonings and herbs as you would like.

Finally the crescent rolls go into the oven and are baked until they are golden brown.   They aroma of the baking chicken, cheese, and crescent rolls was mouthwatering and totally reminded me of my childhood.

While I love the original recipe my mom made, I tweaked it just a bit to my more adult taste.  I added onions and peppers to the filling along with the chives.

Text title, a plate with a Chicken Crescent Square and a pile of fries.

The original flavors and the basic recipe are still the same though and I still like it as much as I did when my mom made it.  It’s one of those recipes that both kids and adults would enjoy.

more Chicken Recipes:

The first bite of this chicken dish brought back memories.  The outside is crunchy and full of flavor.   The crescent roll is buttery and delicate and holds in the creamy and cheese chicken filling.  The combination is simply perfection.

Serve this chicken with mashed potatoes, rice, or couscous and a vegetable for a complete meal that kids and adults will love!

If you’ve tried my Chicken Crescent Squares or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on:

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A plate with a chicken crescent square and a pile of French fries.

Chicken Crescent Squares

Buttery crescent rolls covred in a crunchy coating and filled with a creamy and cheesy chicken filling.
5 from 19 votes
Print Pin
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Author: Hezzi-D

Ingredients

  • 5 oz. cream cheese
  • 2 c. cooked chicken cubed
  • 2 Tablespoons onion chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons green pepper chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh chives chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon milk
  • 1 can Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls
  • 2 Tablespoons butter melted
  • 1 c. Shake N Bake

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese, chicken, onion, green pepper, chives, salt, pepper, and milk.  Mix well to combine.
  • Separate the dough into 4 rectangles, pressing on the seam to seal. 
  • Spoon 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture in the middle of each rectangle.
  • Pull the four corners of the dough to the center and pinch together.  Press firmly to seal the seams.
  • Brush the tops and bottoms of the crescent square with butter and then press into the Shake N Bake covering the entire crescent square. 
  • Place on a greased baking sheet.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Pillsbury

A close up of a plate with a chicken crescent square cut in half and showing the insides and a pile of French fries.

14 Comments

  1. Very cool you coat the squares in shake n bake. I never saw that, but now need to try it! It is true, we can all cook faster and easier without the little ones helping, but it’s important to get them in there with us. It doesn’t have to be every night, but often enough to stay connected.

  2. Seeing shake and bake in your ingredient list brought back memories for me because my mom totally would shortcut on some nights and shake n bake chicken or pork. I can taste it now!

  3. It sounds like a good solution for the kids to spend quality time with both parents 🙂 Having kids help in the kitchen certainly does not make cooking easier but oh so much fun for the child and parent 🙂

  4. Crescent rolls, chicken, and cheese = yummy!! Now why wasn’t this one of the meals of my childhood? I so missed out on this one. I guess I’ll have to make it so I can finally enjoy such goodness.

  5. Love your pictures Heather! It is so true that for busy parents, it is so much easier to whip up a meal without the help of our children. What a great learning experience that will last a lifetime, when we take the time to let our kids into the kitchen!

  6. I haven’t made these in years!! And they are definitely a childhood favorite of my oldest. I’m going to have to resurrect the recipe and invite him over for dinner 🙂 Your recipe is a wee bit different and I’m going to tweak mine now…

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