Air Fryer Sausage and Cream Cheese Crescents
With a creamy filling and crunchy wrapping, these Air Fryer Sausage and Cream Cheese Crescents are a super delicious appetizer or snack that turn out perfect in the air fryer!
A TASTY AND EASY APPETIZER
Let me tell y’all, whenever I make these or take them anywhere to serve, they are always gone in minutes. They are that good! What’s even more amazing is you don’t even need to brown the sausage in a pan. You are going to do it right in the air fryer! You can even make the filling ahead of time if you need to so everything is ready to go when you want to make them! This Air Fryer Sausage and Cream Cheese Crescents recipe is my go-to when I need something that I know everyone will love!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S):
Of course! Put them on a large baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 375F for about 15 minutes.
This will make 32 bite sized ones or 16 whole ones if you choose not to cut the crescent rolls smaller.
I usually just use ground breakfast sausage, but you can switch it up to mild, hot, flavored etc. Use what you have on hand or what you like best.
No. I like the idea of being able to make all of this in the air fryer but you can certainly cook the sausage in a pan on your stovetop.
Yes! If you are a fan of a little more spice you can use a hotter rotel or you can add some red pepper flakes or a little cayenne or diced jalapeños to the mixture as well.
I would not make the whole crescents ahead of time but the filling can be made 3 days ahead of time and stored covered in the refrigerator.
These can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container where they will keep for up to 3 days. To reheat place in the air fryer at 320 degrees F for 3 minutes.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- crescent rolls
- breakfast sausage
- cream cheese – see my post on How to Soften Cream Cheese Quickly
- Rotel
- garlic powder
- onion powder
HOW TO MAKE AIR FRYER SAUSAGE AND CREAM CHEESE CRESCENTS:
Separate the uncooked sausage into small pieces and place in the air fryer basket.
Cook for 6 minutes at 380F degrees (no need to preheat the air fryer.) Depending on the size of your air fryer basket, it could take a little longer to cook. Just make sure it is no longer pink inside. Remove the basket from the air fryer and crumble the pieces further using a spoon or spatula.
Using a fine mesh strainer, drain the can or Rotel really well and pat dry with a paper towel. Add the softened cream cheese, sausage, drained rotel, garlic and onion powder to a medium bowl. Stir until fully incorporated. Set this aside.
Unroll the first can of crescent rolls. You can make larger rolls by separating on the perforated edges, or you can make smaller rolls by cutting those triangles in half (as shown below).
Fill each crescent roll with the sausage/cream cheese filling.
Roll the crescents up around the filling and pinch to seal.
Lightly spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray and place half of the batch in the air fryer.
Cook at 320F degrees for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown (again, no need to preheat the air fryer.) Repeat the process with the second can of crescent rolls and the remaining half of filling.
Optional: You can brush a little on melted butter and sprinkle on dried parsley to the top of each roll.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Air Fryer Sausage and Cream Cheese Crescents
Ingredients
- 16 ounces (2 cans) crescent rolls
- ½ pound ground breakfast sausage
- 8 ounces (1 block) cream cheese softened
- 10.5 ounce can Rotel, drained
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Separate the uncooked ground sausage into small pieces and place in the air fryer basket.
- Cook for 6 minutes at 380F degrees (you do not need to preheat the air fryer). Depending on the size of you air fryer basket, it may take a few minutes longer. Just ensure it is no long pink on the inside.
- Remove the basket from the air fryer and crumble the pieces further using a spoon or spatula.
- Using a fine mesh strainer, drain the can of rotel and pat dry with a paper towel. (just gently press it down over the top of the drained Rotel.) We don't want to add too much liquid to the cream cheese mixture.
- Add the softened cream cheese, sausage, drained Rotel, garlic and onion powder to a medium bowl. Stir until fully incorporated. Set this aside.
- Unroll the first can of crescent rolls. Separate the perforated triangles. If you want larger rolls keep them as-is, if you want smaller rolls, cut them in half (as I did above).
- Fill each crescent roll with the sausage/cream cheese filling.
- Roll the crescents up around the filling and pinch to seal.
- Lightly spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray and place half of the batch in the air fryer.
- Cook at 320F degrees for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown (again, no need to preheat the air fryer).
- Repeat the process with the second can of crescent rolls and the remaining half of filling.
- Optional: You can brush melted butter and sprinkle on dried parsley to the top of each roll then serve.
Notes
- You can make these spicier by changing up the rotel, adding red pepper flakes or cayenne.
- Freezing these rolls is not recommended.
- Use your favorite ground sausage flavor.
- Make sure to drain the Rotel very well. Rotel is the brand name. It is diced tomatoes and green chiles. You can usually find it with the other diced tomatoes in your grocery store.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Are these in your photo cut in half? Do you cut the crescent roll section in half before baking or after? Any hints on the cutting would be appreciated.
Hey Leann – they are but you don’t have to at all. It will just make more. Timing and everything stays the same regardless 🙂
Made these to have to nibble on while we are waiting for 4th of July parade to start- oh my!!! They are so delicious and very easy to make. We like spicy so I used Rotel with fire roasted hatch chilies and hot pork sausage. Definitely a recipe for the keeper file. Thank you for sharing it.
Yay!! So happy you gave these a try and enjoyed them!!