5-Ingredient Crescent Roll Chicken Casserole

You only need 5 ingredients and about 10 minutes to pull together this easy Crescent Roll Chicken Casserole! The buttery, flaky crescent rolls are stuffed with chicken and cheese, then finished with a cheesy sauce. Add broccoli or other vegetables to the dish, or serve them on the side. It's great with salad, rice, noodles, mashed potatoes, or a loaf of crusty bread.

If you have leftover chicken from a previous meal, a store-bought rotisserie chicken languishing in your fridge, or a lone chicken breast hanging out in the freezer, this crescent roll chicken casserole is a great way to stretch a small amount of meat to feed a family.

I like to think of it as a basic foundation, to which you can add any of your family's favorite ingredients. Stir broccoli or green beans into the dish, add a layer of rice on the bottom, or mix in some extra flavor with fresh herbs or other pantry spices. The options are endless!

Ingredients

This is just an overview of the 5 basic ingredients that you'll need for the crescent roll chicken casserole recipe. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

• Refrigerated crescent roll dough: I prefer Pillsbury brand, which you can find in the refrigerated section of almost any grocery store.
• Chicken: you'll need about 1 cup of cooked, finely diced chicken for this recipe. You can use store-bought rotisserie chicken, other pre-cooked chicken strips (like Perdue Shortcuts), leftovers from a previous meal, or even canned chicken. If you prefer to cook your own chicken at home, simply boil 1 chicken breast until cooked through (about 15 minutes).
• Grated cheese: I use extra sharp cheddar, but just about any good melting cheese will work fine. Try Swiss, American, Monterey Jack, Colby, Gouda, or mozzarella.
• Condensed cream of chicken soup: I prefer the Campbell's "Healthy Request" line, which has less sodium, but any variety will work. You can also substitute with another flavor of condensed soup, such as cream of mushroom or cream of celery.
• Milk, water, or low sodium chicken broth: to thin the soup. The condensed soup is already very salty on its own, so you don't want to add much extra salt with a salty broth.

How to Make This Easy Chicken Casserole

This casserole comes together quickly, making it perfect for busy weeknights. Feel free to add vegetables or other seasonings to the dish, too!

1. Toss together chicken and ¼ cup of the grated cheese.
2. Wrap the crescent rolls are the chicken mixture, then arrange in an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking dish.
3. Bake the stuffed crescent rolls in a 375°F oven until golden brown and cooked through, about 12 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, whisk together the cheese sauce by combining the condensed soup, milk, and remaining cheese in a saucepan over low heat. Do not let the mixture boil.
5. Pour enough sauce over the baked crescent rolls to cover the bottom of the pan and come up around the lower edges of the rolls.
6. Return the dish to the oven to cook for about 5 more minutes, or until everything is hot and bubbly.
7. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and serve!

What to Serve with Crescent Roll Casserole

The casserole is perfect served with a side of steamed broccoli or a simple green salad. We also like to combine the dish with rice, noodles, crusty bread, or mashed potatoes to soak up all of that delicious sauce!

Storage

• Make Ahead: You can assemble the stuffed crescent rolls in advance and keep the pan covered in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours before baking.
• Store leftover chicken crescent rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
• Freeze leftover chicken casserole in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
• To reheat the crescent roll casserole, place the dish in a 325°F oven just until warmed through (about 15 minutes). You can also reheat individual roll ups in the microwave for 30 seconds - 1 minute.
• To feed a larger family, double all of the ingredients and use a 9 x 13-inch dish.

Recipe Variations

• This recipe calls for condensed cream of chicken soup, but you can use any soup flavor that you prefer. Condensed cream of mushroom soup or condensed cream of celery soup would both work well, too.
• Chicken Crescent Rolls with Sour Cream: for a creamy filling in your crescent rolls, try adding sour cream or softened cream cheese to the chicken mixture.
• Canned Chicken Crescent Rolls: you need 1 cup of cooked, diced chicken for this recipe. You can use canned chicken, or you can use store-bought rotisserie chicken or store-bought pre-cooked chicken (such as Perdue ShortCuts or Tyson Grilled n' Ready). If you have more time, you can also cook your own chicken at home to use in this recipe. Leftover chicken from a previous meal also works well!
• I used extra sharp cheddar cheese, but you can substitute with just about any good melting cheese. Try Swiss, American, Monterey Jack, Colby, Gouda, or mozzarella.

Tips for the Best Crescent Roll Chicken Casserole Recipe

• Add vegetables. If you like a casserole that includes veggies mixed right into the dish, feel free to add steamed broccoli, mushrooms, bell pepper, green beans, peas, frozen mixed vegetables, or any of your family's other favorites. There's plenty of cheese sauce to coat them! I recommend sautéing, steaming or parboiling the vegetables in advance and then adding them to the dish after the crescent rolls are baked (before you pour on the sauce).
• If adding vegetables to the pan, you'll need a larger dish to accommodate the extra ingredients. Try an 11 x 7-inch baking dish.
• Feel free to season your chicken mixture (or sauce) with any of your favorite herbs and spices. Good options include onion powder, garlic powder, basil, parsley, thyme, oregano or chives.
• The condensed soup already contains a lot of salt; therefore I recommend thinning the sauce with milk, water, or low-sodium chicken broth. You might not need all of the sauce in the pan, so just add it slowly until it's exactly how you like it.

More Easy Chicken Casserole Recipes to Try

• Chicken Casserole with Ritz Crackers
• Doritos Chicken Casserole
• Buffalo Chicken Casserole
• Chicken Parmesan Casserole
• Chicken and Stuffing Casserole
• Green Chicken Enchilada Casserole
• Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole with Rice

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4.78 from 18 votes

5-Ingredient Crescent Roll Chicken Casserole

You only need 5 ingredients and about 10 minutes to pull together this easy Crescent Roll Chicken Casserole!

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken crescent rolls, crescent roll casserole, easy chicken casserole

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 17 minutes

0 minutes

Total Time 27 minutes

Servings 4 people

Calories 411kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) tube refrigerated crescent roll dough (8 count)
• 1 cup cooked, diced chicken
• 1 cup grated cheese, divided (I use extra sharp cheddar cheese, but American, white cheddar, mozzarella, gouda, Havarti, Colby Jack, Swiss and Monterey Jack will all work)
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup, not diluted (I like the Healthy Request line for less sodium, but any variety will work)
• ¾ cup milk, water, or low-sodium chicken broth
• Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley or other herbs

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking dish (or a larger dish if you plan to add some extra veggies to the pan as well). Set aside.
• In a small bowl, toss together chicken and ¼ cup of the grated cheese. It’s optional, but you can add any herbs or seasoning that you like at this point too (for instance garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, thyme, basil, oregano or chives).
• Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into 8 triangles. Place about 1-2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture in the center of each crescent roll. Roll the dough and place each rolled crescent roll in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
• Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until the tops and bottoms of the crescent rolls are golden brown and the rolls are cooked through.
• While the rolls are in the oven, stir together the chicken broth, condensed soup, and remaining ¾ cup of grated cheese in a saucepan over low heat. Whisk constantly, just until the cheese melts. Remove from the heat before the sauce boils.
• Once the crescent rolls are browned and cooked through, slowly and carefully pour the cheese sauce over and around the rolls – you might not need all of the sauce, depending on the size of your dish. I like to use just enough sauce so that it covers the bottom of the dish and comes up on the sides of the rolls slightly (you don’t want them totally submerged).
• Put the dish back in the oven for about 5-10 more minutes, just until everything is hot and bubbly.
• Garnish with chopped fresh parsley, if desired, and serve!

Notes

• Add vegetables. If you like a casserole that includes veggies mixed right into the dish, feel free to add steamed broccoli, mushrooms, bell pepper, green beans, peas, frozen mixed vegetables, or any of your family's other favorites. There's plenty of cheese sauce to coat them! I recommend sautéing, steaming or parboiling the vegetables in advance and then adding them to the dish after the crescent rolls are baked (before you pour on the sauce).
• If adding vegetables to the pan, you'll need a larger dish to accommodate the extra ingredients. Try an 11 x 7-inch baking dish.
• Feel free to season your chicken mixture (or sauce) with any of your favorite herbs and spices. Good options include onion powder, garlic powder, basil, parsley, thyme, oregano or chives.
• The condensed soup already contains a lot of salt; therefore I recommend thinning the sauce with milk, water, or low-sodium chicken broth. You might not need all of the sauce in the pan, so just add it slowly until it's exactly how you like it.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 of the casserole | Calories: 411kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 909mg | Potassium: 320mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 612IU | Calcium: 218mg | Iron: 1mg

This recipe was originally published in August, 2018. Thanks to helpful reader feedback, it was updated in September, 2021.