It was over 15 years ago when I first used America’s beloved Crescent roll dough to a form a braid; a delicious, edible, almost gourmet like, braid that I could serve. Not only serve to guests because it was so impressively pretty, but also serve to my family on those days when “life” got in the way because it’s was that easy.
I could hardly stand it.
With four little blessings, five years old and under, meal time wasn’t typically an hour of celebration in our home. It was survival mode. Honestly, some days, it still is, but one recipe technique has stayed faithful through the decades and it’s the tiny tip that anyone can take dough and braid it to look like you ordered something from a restaurant.
Now if you want to be super fancy, you can make the crescent roll dough completely from scratch in the form of my Butterhorn roll recipe, but that’s not what I was doing when I had four toddlers. 🙂
If you are a visual learner, you’ll love to know that you can pour yourself some coffee and watch along with me on the video below as I show you just how versatile this technique is, not to mention, the many recipes that come from this one.
These pictures were taken at 10:30 pm and this braid was gone by 10:40. 🙂
We didn’t even have time to transfer it from my Stoneware pan to a pretty serving dish, but it wasn’t necessary with how fast we gobbled it up.
If you are more of a turkey, ham and cheese lover, or maybe Taco filling is your love, click over for those filling recipe, but follow the same braid technique.
Strawberry Stuffed Crescent Rolls (you can braid this as well.)
Come meet me through my video and find a bit of my thoughts on hospitality, as well as easy meal ideas based on this recipe.
Recipe: Chicken, Cheddar and Broccoli Braid
Summary: A long time favorite in our home, this Chicken and Broccoli Braid is so versatile.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast, cubed
- 1 cup fresh broccoli, finely chopped
- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese (or your favorite)
- ½ cup bell pepper, chopped
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- 2 teaspoons seasoning salt
- 2 garlic cloves, minced *
- 1 Tablespoon spicy or dijon mustard *
- /2 cup regular or light mayonnaise
- 2 tubes (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten *
- 1 tablespoon slivered almonds *
- * optional, based on taste preference
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Combine broccoli, chicken, bell pepper, onion, cheese, mayonnaise, minced garlic *, mustard* and seasoning salt.
- Mix well.
- Unroll one tube of crescent dough onto an ungreased baking sheet or jelly roll pan.
- Repeat with second tube to form a 15-in. x 12-in. rectangle.
- The two will overlap a bit. Seal seams to form one large rectangle.
- Using a sharp knife, cut horizontal strips approximately 2 ½ inches long, but 11/2 inch apart down each side of the crescent dough.
- Spoon filling lengthwise down the center third of dough.
- To braid, bring one strip from each side over the filling, meet in center and twist each strip once, then seal ends. Repeat. When you get to the end of the braid, tuck ends of loaf to seal.
- If desired, brush with egg white and sprinkle with slivered almonds.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 25 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 8
Print above directions or click here to download a copy of the Chicken & Broccoli Braid recipe card from incourage!