Crescent Roll Crack Chicken

CRESCENT ROLL CRACK CHICKEN RECIPE

This Crescent Roll Crack Chicken is the ultimate 25 minute dinner! Just a few ingredients, specifically ranch, crunchy chicken, bacon, and cheese, tucked into store-bought crescent roll dough.

The best of everything and incredibly easy to make.

TWO THINGS THAT WILL RUIN THESE IF YOU IGNORE THEM

If you try to work with warm, sticky crescent roll dough: Separate the crescent roll dough triangles and lay them out on parchment paper. If they’re warm and sticky, cover and return to the fridge for 5 minutes.

Then work with one triangle at a time, drizzling ranch on top of it and piling on the rest of the ingredients. Roll up and transfer to a prepared pan.

Repeat until all of the dough is used.

If you put too much filling on a roll: One piece of crunchy chicken, one slice of bacon, and one square of shredded cheese is plenty for one crescent roll triangle. Anything more than that and they’re likely to burst or fall apart in the oven.

COMMON MISTAKES

Not baking them long enough. When these are done, they will be deep golden brown, similar to your favorite flaky, golden, buttery croissant color.

If they’re pale, they need more time in the oven.

Not brushing the rolls with melted butter when they come out of the oven. The rolls will be fine without the butter, but they’ll be shiny and gorgeous with it.

UPGRADES WORTH TRYING

Stir a little garlic powder, everything bagel seasoning, or other herbs into the melted butter before you brush the rolls with it.

Sub in pepper jack cheese in lieu of cheddar for a little heat without adding buffalo sauce.

Drizzle extra ranch or buffalo sauce over the rolls when you plate them for dipping/drizzling purposes.

Sprinkle a little dried parsley or smoked paprika over the rolls before they go into the oven for a pop of color.

WHAT WE EAT THESE WITH

We love these as an easy weeknight dinner. They make an addictively delicious main dish and only take maybe 25 minutes to make!

Adults will probably want two rolls apiece and kids one to two apiece depending on appetites. They’d also make a fun addition to an appetizer or snack board or a super easy and delicious addition to a game-day spread.

Serve with a basic green salad to balance out the rich flavors of the rolls, or serve with vinegar-based slaw that will complement the buttery dough. You could also cut some carrots and celery into sticks and serve those alongside for crunch.

They all go well with ranch.

These are perfect for an appetizer so they’d be delicious with some veggie sticks and ranch. Make them part of your meal by serving them with some tomato soup for a perfect cold weather cup o’ soup.

THREE WAYS TO CHANGE THEM UP

BUFFALO VERSION

Skip the ranch and use buffalo sauce, or my favorite, Frank’s RedHot. Follow the same steps, just use buffalo sauce instead of the ranch and drizzle it on your rolls.

Use less than you think you’d like…the last thing you want is sopping wet crescent rolls. The excess liquid in the sauce can make the rolls a little spongy.

Use a light coating and they’ll be perfect.

USE ROTISSERIE CHICKEN INSTEAD

Mix together a cup of shredded rotisserie chicken with 2-3 Tbsp cream cheese and a packet of ranch seasoning. Spoon about 2 Tbsp of chicken mixture on top of each triangle and bake according to directions.

They won’t be as crunchy, but will be creamier and totally delicious.

CHEESE SWAPS

Swap the cheddar for blue cheese…or provolone or colby jack or monterey jack. Those all melt nicely.

Mozzarella can get a little too stringy. It’s difficult to take a bite, so I wouldn’t recommend mozzarella.

HOW FAR AHEAD YOU CAN PULL THESE TOGETHER

You can prepare the crescent rolls ahead of time. Leave them unbaked on a baking sheet and cover tightly with plastic wrap and keep them in the fridge for several hours.

Take them straight out of the fridge and bake. You’ll probably need an additional 2-3 minutes of cooking time.

STORING LEFTOVERS

Leftover crescent rolls will store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Try reheating in a toaster oven or your regular oven at 350°F for 8-10 minutes for a little more of a crisp.

Microwaved leftovers will be good but the dough will be a little on the gummy side.

CRACK CHICKEN CRESCENT ROLLS FAQ

Can I use frozen crescent rolls for crack chicken rolls?

Defrosting and baking crescent rolls that were originally pre-baked and then frozen results in a somewhat tougher texture. My preference is to use crescent rolls that were never baked before being frozen.

If you use frozen crack chicken crescent rolls that were not originally pre-baked, skip the defrosting instructions. Bake from frozen at 375°F for 18-20 minutes.

Can I make these rolls with raw chicken?

The baking time for crescent rolls is 12-15 minutes which is not enough time to bake raw chicken. Try slicing up grilled chicken breasts, cooked ahead of time and slightly cooled, or use a rotisserie chicken, shredded into strips.

Can I make a double batch of rolls?

If you’re using two packages of crescent rolls, arrange on two different cookie sheets. Bake on separate oven racks and rotate rolls halfway through baking to brown evenly on all sides.

My rolls fell apart in the oven, what happened?

This happens when rolls are too generously stuffed. It can also happen if the filling is placed too close to the pointy end of the triangle.

Stuff rolls right next to the wide end of the triangle and pinch the pointy end tightly together as you roll up and place pointy end under crescent roll to keep rolls tightly closed.

What color should baked crescent rolls be?

Crescent rolls are done when they are deep golden brown in color. If rolls are a light tan color, they’ll be a bit doughy on the bottoms.

Make sure bottoms of rolls are golden brown and feel firm. If rolls are getting dark before bottoms are firm and golden, tent loosely with aluminum foil during last couple of minutes in the oven.

Can I make these with shelf-stable ranch?

Shelf-stable ranch is much thinner in consistency. I like using the thicker ranch dressings found in the refrigerator section of the grocery store, like my favorite, Hidden Valley, as it’s less likely to slide around as much.

I’ve seen recipes call for shelf-stable ranch, but I’ve found that the thinner consistency can make the crescent roll dough a bit soggy.

Can I make these without bacon?

While the bacon adds a salty and smoky flavor that’s absolutely divine, you can omit bacon and use bacon bits found in the salad topping section of the grocery store.

MORE CRACK CHICKEN RECIPES TO TRY

If you’ve never made any of our other crack chicken recipes, they’re all great, too. Ranch, bacon, cheese: it’s an unbeatable trio of ingredients:

• Slow Cooker Crack Chicken Pasta (Crock Pot style with pasta, cream cheese and ranch):
• Instant Pot Crack Chicken – Make crack chicken in your pressure cooker and use it to make sandwiches, serve it over rice, eat it in wraps, and the options are endless. Get the recipe here:
• Crockpot Crack Chicken Sandwiches – This is the original recipe that started it all: crack chicken made in a crock pot: