20+ Recipes That Start With Canned Dough

Updated October 30, 2019
Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos

Dough is delicious, but it is not always convenient. That's where pre-made, refrigerated types, like canned crescent rolls and canned biscuit dough, come to the rescue. Canned dough is a shortcut that can yield incredible appetizers, casseroles, pull-apart breads, and finger foods that people will swear are homemade. It's always worth it to stock a can or two in your fridge, and here's some of our favorite ways to use it. 

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Pizza Rolls

Credit: Kelsey Hansen; Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland; Food Styling: Deb Wise

Pizza Rolls Recipe

These tender, buttery snack rolls are akin to cinnamon buns in structure… but they’re full-on pizza perfection in flavor. Using canned crescent roll dough and prepared marinara sauce keeps both the prep time and ingredient list short, making these cheesy, kid-friendly bites easy to whip up at a moment’s notice. Of course, you can also prep them ahead to enjoy as after-school snacks or on-the-go breakfasts throughout the week. Feel free to customize you homemade pizza rolls with your own favorite toppings. 

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Reunion Pea Casserole

Credit: Greg DuPree

Reunion Pea Casserole Recipe

Refrigerated crescent roll dough gives this comforting casserole a golden, buttery crust with minimal effort. Add coleslaw or salad on the side, and you’ll have an easy, homey supper that will feed the whole family—and then some.

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Sausage and Cheese Biscuit Pull-Apart Bread

Credit: Photo by Kelsey Hansen

Sausage and Cheese Biscuit Pull-Apart Bread Recipe

If a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich married a batch of warm, buttery biscuits, their children would be this sausage and cheese pull-apart bread. Premade biscuit dough provides a base for this easy-to-tear loaf before it’s loaded with cooked sausage

In terms of cheese and sausage, you should feel free to have fun with the flavors. Here we’ve used classic country sausage, sharp cheddar, and salty Parmesan, but why not change it up? Try spicy chorizo with monterey jack and cotija, or chicken-apple sausage with yellow cheddar and a bit of grated manchego. 

Sausage and Cheese Biscuit Pull-Apart Bread

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Chicken and Dumplin Soup

Credit: Oxmoor House

Chicken and Dumplin Soup Recipe

Refrigerated biscuits make this ultimate comfort food ever so easy!

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Ham Biscuit Casserole

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Ham Biscuit Casserole Recipe

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Crescent Jalapeno Poppers

Crescent Jalapeno Poppers Recipe

This unusual twist on chile poppers, with herb cheese and a dollop of sweet salsa, roll up fast with prepared Pillsbury® crescents dough.

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Big & Meaty Sloppy Joe Hand Pies

Big & Meaty Sloppy Joe Hand Pies Recipe

Enjoy these hand pies made using beef and Pillsbury® Big & Flaky crescent dinner rolls - a delicious dinner that's ready in 30 minutes.

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Sausage and Cheese Crescent Squares

Sausage and Cheese Crescent Squares Recipe

Sausage and two kinds of cheese turn Pillsbury® crescents dough into a rich and tasty appetizer.

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Spinach-and-Artichoke Bites

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez

Spinach-and-Artichoke Bites Recipe

We took the classic spinach-artichoke dip and made it easier to enjoy while holding a cocktail. Try arugula instead of spinach for a peppery flavor.

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Stuffed Pepper Mummies

Credit: E. Spencer Toy

Stuffed Pepper Mummies Recipe

An adorable take on jalapeño poppers, these sweet pepper "mummies" are stuffed with a gently spicy mix of Mexican chorizo, cream cheese, sharp cheddar, and cilantro.

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Tiny Cinnamon Rolls

Credit: Ralph Anderson; Styling: Trinda Gage

Tiny Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

If you need a holiday breakfast in a hurry, these 6-ingredient mini cinnamon rolls are the perfect choice. The secret shortcut is using refrigerated crescent rolls.

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Chocolate Crescent Mufflers

Chocolate Crescent Mufflers Recipe

Looking for a yummy breakfast treat?  Then check out these chocolate crescent mufflers made with Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls - ready in 40 minutes.

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Cinnamon Apple Pull-Apart Bread

Credit: Annie Campbell

Cinnamon Apple Pull-Apart Bread Recipe

For a special breakfast that’s sure to impress, this easy Cinnamon Apple Pull-Apart Bread is a must. Not only is it a looker, but every fluffy crevice and golden fold of this loaf is smattered with irresistibly buttery, apple and cinnamon-brown sugar goodness. Using canned biscuits keeps this pull-apart bread recipe simple enough for bakers of all skill levels; however, it’s what you bring to the convenience dough product that yields a treat that tastes completely homemade. If you find that your melted butter begins to re-solidify slightly after you’ve stirred in the vanilla extract, no worries—just pop it back into the microwave for a few seconds and proceed with brushing the biscuit dough rounds. When arranging the stacks of dough into your pan, keep in mind that the dough will need space to rise and expand a bit as it bakes. A tangy cream cheese drizzle over the warm cinnamon-apple bread is certainly a welcome finishing touch, but it’s not essential if you’d rather dig in immediately. 

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Mexican Casserole

Mexican Casserole Recipe

Top a sassy Mexican filling with flaky Pillsbury® crescents in a quick and easy casserole ready in just 30 minutes.

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Bacon, Egg and Cheese Sandwiches

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Sandwiches Recipe

Breakfast ready in 30 minutes!  Enjoy these delicious cresent shape sandwiches filled with bacon, egg and cheese made using Pillsbury® crescent dinner rolls.

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Chicks in a Blanket

Credit: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Chicks in a Blanket Recipe

Dough-wrapped chicken-apple sausages are best fresh from the oven, so bake one batch at a time and serve warm.

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Cheesecake Crescent Rolls

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Missie Crawford

Cheesecake Crescent Rolls Recipe

For holiday brunches, overnight company, and any manner of potluck, consider this recipe your secret weapon. Easy as they are to make, these Cheesecake Crescent Rolls will always score rave reviews. 

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Crescent Pizza Pockets

Crescent Pizza Pockets Recipe

Fill Pillsbury® crescent dinner rolls with pepperoni to make these cheesy sandwiches that are ready in 25 minutes - perfect for dinner.

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Blueberry Cobbler with Sugared Star Shortcakes

Credit: Becky Stayner; Styling: Buffy Hargett

Blueberry Cobbler with Sugared Star Shortcakes Recipe

Make a shortcut version of blueberry cobbler by spooning the blueberry mixture over refrigerated biscuits cut into star shapes.

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Doughnut Fries

Credit: photo by alex tepper

Doughnut Fries Recipe

What does America love even more than French fries? Doughnuts. But why choose, when you can just have doughnut fries? Inspired by news of a doughnut fries restaurant in Brisbane, we tried our hand at home-style doughnut fries that, in all honesty, turned out pretty darn amazing. Using our favorite flaky, buttery, canned biscuit dough, we accidentally made semi-savory biscuit-nuts that admittedly weren’t entirely doughnutty—at first. But we persisted, mostly because we wanted some damn doughnut fries, but also because we didn’t have any cinnamon roll dough (which the internet suggested). After rolling the biscuit dough in sugar, we decided we had in fact made doughnut fries, but we also made a hybrid kind of DIY doughnuts that hovered between savory and sweet. 

But why stop there? TBH, we had a random assortment of ingredients around the office and just went to town, but these DIY doughnuts take well to sweet, sour, salty, and creamy dips and toppings, so we got a little bit weird experimenting. Plain old frosting or powdered sugar works fine, but we fell face-first into maple hot sauce, Old Bay butter, a twisted-up peanut butter cream cheese, and a dunk inspired by a Midwest potluck classic. Fry away and see where you end up.

Doughnut Fries and Dips

A few dips we devised

Summer in Maryland: Soften butter, then using a fork, mash it with Old Bay seasoning until it’s as spicy as you desire.

Peanut Butter Cream: In a small bowl, lightly whip cream cheese with a fork. Then mix in salt to taste and—if you can get your hands on some—powdered peanut butter. (We used Mighty Nut). Add regular peanut butter and Nutella and mix in until there is no more white cream cheese visible.

Midwestern Magic Sauce: Dump equal parts ketchup and grape jelly into a bowl and mix together using a fork until they are completely integrated. 

Maple Hot Sauce: Stir together your favorite hot sauce and maple syrup until completely integrated. Then add powdered sugar and mix vigorously until there are no lumps. 

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Pigs in a Blanket

Pigs in a Blanket Recipe

Pigs in a blanket, a classic 5-ingredient appetizer, is a perfect last-minute appetizer for entertaining guests.

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Fiesta Chicken Taco Cups

Fiesta Chicken Taco Cups Recipe

Come home to these baked chicken cups made using Pillsbury® crescent dinner rolls flavored with taco sauce – Mexican dinner ready in 50 minutes.

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Baked Crescent Churros

Baked Crescent Churros Recipe

Just four ingredients in a speedy version of the crispy Mexican classic, cinnamon-sugar-spinkled churros.

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Mini Bananas Foster Sticky Buns

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos

Mini Bananas Foster Sticky Buns Recipe

We turned one of New Orleans’ famous desserts into a sweet brunch treat. These Mini Bananas Foster Sticky Buns are perfect served alongside your usual breakfast casseroles and egg dishes, or alongside a hot pot of tea or coffee. And because they are made with refrigerated crescent roll dough, they’re much easier to whip up than cinnamon rolls. Choose bananas that are starting to show signs of ripeness (small brown dots). They will have just the right amount of sweetness and won’t turn to mush when cooked.

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