Sausage Cream Cheese Crescent Roll Braid

This sausage cream cheese crescent roll braid is the kind of brunch recipe that looks impressive, tastes ridiculously good, and secretly couldn’t be easier to make. Flaky crescent dough wraps around a rich, savory filling of sausage, cream cheese, onion, and fresh herbs for a breakfast centerpiece that disappears fast.

Whether you’re hosting brunch, planning a holiday breakfast, or want to be the one who brought something other than another casserole to the breakfast or brunch potluck, this braid delivers big flavor with minimal effort.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This sausage cream cheese crescent roll braid feels a little extra without being difficult to make.

The crescent dough bakes up golden, buttery, and flaky, while the sausage and cream cheese filling stays rich, creamy, and full of savory flavor. It’s a great choice for brunch because it looks impressive on the table, slices easily for serving, and pairs well with everything from fresh fruit to egg dishes and pastries.

It’s also ideal when you’re feeding a group since it comes together with simple ingredients and doesn’t require a lot of prep.

I’ll admit that I brushed off versions of this recipe for years, too. Making a fancy-sounding savory meat-filled pastry thing wasn’t my usual style. Then I decided to put my own spin on it when somebody in my social circle was organizing a brunch potluck, and everybody loved it!

Equipment for This Sausage Cream Cheese Crescent Roll Braid Recipe

You’ll only need a few things for this sausage braid recipe. In fact, you probably have all the tools you need in your kitchen already if you do a lot of cooking at home.

• Large skillet
• Cooking spoon
• Plate
• Paper towels
• Baking sheet (I prefer a 12X17 baking sheet, but a 9X13 baking sheet will work in a pinch.)
• Rolling pin
• Pizza cutter
• Cooking spray

Key Ingredient Roles for a Sausage Cream Cheese Crescent Roll Braid

Curious about these ingredients? Each of them brings something important to this recipe. Let’s take a closer look.

Pork Sausage

1 pound pork sausage

Pork sausage forms the meaty base for your crescent roll braid’s filling. Pay attention to what the packaging says about flavor if you don’t like surprises. A quick online search revealed that Jimmy Dean has a few flavors of pork sausage in similar-looking packaging. It sells regular sausage, hot sausage, and maple-flavored sausage.

It would be easy to find all three flavors in the meat section of your local grocery store, and they’ll probably be right next to one another. So choose your favorite, but be sure you’re not distracted when you put one in your shopping cart, so you don’t accidentally get the wrong one.

Onion

1 small onion

I like to use a white or yellow onion for its mild flavor, which complements the sausage’s flavor. If you could only find a “jumbo” sized onion, it’s acceptable to use about half of it. Then wrap the other half in plastic wrap to store in your fridge, and don’t forget it’s there.

Fresh Garlic

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

Fresh garlic brings a bold flavor to the braid’s filling. It typically takes 6 average-sized garlic cloves to make one tablespoon of minced garlic. I know that sounds like a lot, but it’s worth it to get a crescent roll braid that’s not too bland.

Cream Cheese

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

The cream cheese adds a creamy texture and a bit of binding to the sausage mix you’ll use for the filling. It’s easier to mix in if you let it soften at room temperature for a while before adding it to the filling.

Green Onions

3 green onions

The green onions can add a bit of extra onion flavor and a bit of crunch to the filling mix. Have extra green onions? I’ll often like to use them as an optional garnish for another brunch selection like potato and spinach frittata.

Fresh Parsley

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Parsley has a herbaceous flavor that can help balance the flavor of rich ingredients like the sausage and cream cheese.

Salt and Pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

Salt helps bring out the flavor of savory ingredients like the sausage and cream cheese. The trick is to avoid overwhelming the other flavors by adding too much.

Pepper has a mild, woody spice to it. Unlike chili peppers, which get their spiciness from capsaicin, black pepper gets its signature flavor from a compound called piperine.

Crescent Rolls

1 8-ounce package of crescent rolls

I’ll admit that I’m like many people. I often reach for the Pillsbury brand crescent rolls by default. The main thing is to get a crescent roll-like dough that can be easily woven into a braid pattern.

Egg

1 egg

The egg will be brushed on the crescent roll braid right before the whole thing is baked. This helps create the nice, flaky, golden brown crust on top.

Method for Making the Sausage Crescent Roll Braid

Let’s jump right into making this sausage cream cheese crescent roll braid.

Step One: Cook Sausage and Onion

I like to start with the filling because it gives the sausage mix a little time to cool before I assemble the braid for baking.

Add the pound of sausage and a small, chopped onion to a large skillet. Continue to cook and stir occasionally until the sausage is no longer pink. Add 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic and cook another minute or two.

Step Two: Remove Excess Grease from Sausage

After browning the sausage, transfer it to a plate lined with paper towels. Pat the top of the sausage with additional paper towels to remove excess grease. Then return the sausage to the skillet.

Step Three: Add Cream Cheese, Green Onions, and Fresh Parsley to Sausage Mix

Then add 3 ounces of cream cheese, 3 chopped green onions, and 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley. Stir it into the sausage mixture and continue to cook until the cream cheese is melted and everything is blended together well.

Step Four: Remove Sausage Mixture From Heat and Set Aside

Once the sausage mixture is done, remove it from the heat and set it aside.

Step Five: Prepare Baking Sheet and Preheat Oven

Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 degrees Celsius).

Step Six: Roll Out Crescent Roll Dough

Unroll a tube of refrigerated crescent roll dough and press all the seams together well to make one rectangle. Roll the rectangle out a little bit using a rolling pin until it is about 12 inches by 10 inches. The trick is not to make it so thin that it’ll tear when you work with it.

Step Seven: Spoon Mixture Onto Crescent Dough

Spoon your sausage mixture down the middle of the crescent dough, being sure not to go to the edge.

Step Eight: Cut Strips Along Edges of Dough

Using a pizza cutter, cut strips down each long side about 3/4″ wide. You can go from the edge of the rectangle pretty close up to the sausage filling in the center. You’ll want these strips for braiding along the top of the sausage filling, so keep that in mind while cutting.

Step Nine: Braid Dough Strips

Start at one end and fold your strips over the sausage, alternating sides as you go down. Just overlap them a little as if you were braiding them. On each end, just fold up your end pieces a little to tuck them all together.

Step Ten: Brush Egg on the Crescent Roll Dough

In a small bowl, lightly beat one egg and then brush it over the outside of the crescent roll dough.

Step Eleven: Bake Sausage Cream Cheese Crescent Roll Braid

Put the tray with your braid on it in the oven. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 degrees Celsius) for about 20-25 minutes until the braided part is golden brown.

Step Twelve: Let Cool Slightly, then Slice Before Serving

Let the braid cool slightly, then cut into slices. You may want to use the pizza cutter for this for more precise cutting.

Substitutions and Variations for This Sausage Cream Cheese Crescent Roll Braid

I’ll sometimes add some chopped green peppers, celery, or fresh mushrooms to the sausage before I cook it. (Mushrooms are my favorite thing to add to many recipes.)

You can replace the fresh parsley with dried parsley if that’s what you have on hand.

If you want the crust to be slightly less brown when it’s done, remove the yolk from the egg and use just the egg white. You could try doing without brushing the egg on top if you want, but the crust will turn out less golden brown.

Since Pillsbury makes a few varieties of crescent rolls, you could experiment with them a bit to see which one is your favorite for this recipe.

I did mention that you should choose carefully when picking up the sausage at the grocery store, so you aren’t surprised by how this tastes when it’s done. However, when I’m feeling a little adventurous, I will use Italian sausage for this recipe.

On the same note, you can adjust the seasoning amounts to your liking. You can use less garlic if you want a less prominent garlic flavor, or more garlic if one tablespoon didn’t seem like enough.

What to know about replacing the pork sausage: Turkey and chicken sausage typically have less fat than pork sausage, which can affect how this turns out. When browning poultry-based sausage, you may have to add a little olive oil to the bottom of the skillet before adding the sausage to keep it from sticking.

Other sausages like chorizo may also have a different flavor profile, which can require some adjustments to the seasoning you use.

FAQ About This Recipe for Sausage Cream Cheese Crescent Roll Braid

This recipe looks pretty easy, right? I’ve found that the hard part is often getting the braid to look right! We do sometimes get questions about it. I try to answer some of the most commonly asked ones here.

If you think of one we haven’t answered yet, feel free to ask in the comments section, and we’ll answer it as soon as possible.

How do I make the braid?

For most bread dough braids, it’s relatively easy. Just divide the dough into strips of equal length, and then braid them like you would braid hair.

Here, it’s easier to cut the edges of the crescent roll dough into strips, then fold them over the sausage so that they overlap. The trick is to make it look like braiding, even though it isn’t exactly.

Why is my crescent roll braid raw in the middle?

This happens most often when the sausage doesn’t cook for long enough in the skillet. The meat should be browned, and the cream cheese should have melted in the skillet.

It’s also possible that the sausage mixture was unevenly spread along the middle of the crescent roll dough sheet. Let the sausage mixture cool slightly before assembling, spread it evenly, and avoid overfilling.

What do I do if I don’t want the top to brown too fast?

If the top is browning too fast, loosely tent it with foil and continue baking until the center is fully cooked. Removing the egg yolk and brushing the dough with only the white may also help.

Why is the bottom of my braid soggy?

There may have been too much grease left in the pork sausage mix. It helps to spoon the sausage onto a plate lined with paper towels and pat off excess grease with additional paper towels after browning it.

Why is my filling leaking out while it bakes?

It might mean the crescent roll dough tore somewhere. The dough might also need to be braided more tightly, or the sausage mix wasn’t distributed evenly along the middle. Overfilling it at any point can cause a leak.

Why did my crescent dough tear?

Crescent dough can tear if it gets too warm or is stretched too aggressively. Keep it chilled until you’re ready to use it, and gently press the seams together before cutting the side strips. If a tear happens, just pinch the dough back together.

Why didn’t my braid turn golden brown?

Brushing egg on the dough before baking helps it turn golden brown. It might also have been underbaked. If you applied the egg wash and it’s still not golden brown, it might just need a few more minutes in the oven.

Can I make the braid ahead of time without it getting soggy?

I’ll often make the sausage filling the day before and keep it in the refrigerator until I need it. Then I assemble and bake the braid on the morning I’ll need it. I try not to keep the assembled braid in the fridge overnight because it can get soggy from the sausage grease.

Can I reheat leftovers without making them soft?

It’s possible to reheat leftovers in the air fryer or oven. I usually just preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and then reheat the leftovers for 5 to 10 minutes.

Tried It? Rate It and Share Your Twist

Did you like this recipe? Did you come up with your own variation? Have any comments or questions? Feel free to let us know in the comments section, and don’t forget to rate this recipe!