These Homemade Crescent Rolls are a soft and light, buttery copycat recipe of flaky Pillsbury crescent rolls. With a simple foolproof method, easily bake these from scratch at home for weekend brunches, morning breakfasts, and dinner parties with friends.
Our family loves bread at every meal — it’s how I grew up and now it’s tradition. If bread isn’t on the table, the meal isn’t complete! There’s something special about a pan of warm rolls fresh from the oven, and nothing beats a Pillsbury crescent roll, so this easy Homemade Crescent Roll recipe has become one of our favorites. Soft, rich, and even better tasting than the store-bought version, my recipe walks you through each step so anyone can make bakery-style rolls at home, anytime!
I find these rolls are perfect for weeknight dinners, holidays, or any special occasion, and are always a crowd favorite. They’re a required staple on our table for Thanksgiving, no questions asked. Serve them warm for a real treat, and once you make these from scratch, you’ll never go back to store-bought.
If you’re looking for more bread recipes, check out my Homemade French Bread, and these Classic Lion House Dinner Rolls! Also check out my other favorite recipes using crescent rolls, like these Caramel Apple Pie Crescent Rolls, for a sweet treat.
Reader Review: “My 4 year old grandson absolutely loves these as much as the pillsbury ones. He took half the batch home for dinner tonight.” – Caren
Why We Love This Recipe
- Easy-to-follow and a complete step-by-step guide for homemade rolls. This recipe and complete guide will show you step-by-step how to assemble crescent rolls as well as make the dough. It’s homemade, made easy.
- Made with simple pantry ingredients. Everything you need to make these warm, buttery crescent rolls is probably already in your fridge and pantry. So you can whip these up at a moment’s notice.
- Homemade bread recipe with minimal effort.These crescent rolls are easier to make than you think! With just a few simple steps, you’ll have from-scratch rolls on the table with ease.
Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Yeast – Active, dry yeast is best for these dinner rolls.
- Butter – I used salted butter in this recipe – if you have to use unsalted butter, add a dash more salt to the dough.
- Sugar – White granulated sugar will help the dough to rise.
- Eggs – They help the dough rise to get nice and fluffy!
- Salt – Kosher salt will enhance the buttery, sweet, and savory bread flavors!
- Flour – I have used all-purpose flour here, but you can use bread flour or pastry flour if you prefer.
How to Make Homemade Crescent Rolls
It’s easy to make this homemade crescent rolls recipe. This is a quick overview with step-by-step images to help you visualize the process. Scroll down to the recipe card for printable, detailed instructions. Here is the basic approach:
Activate the yeast. Make the crescent roll dough by mixing ¼ cup warm water and the yeast in a small bowl. Set aside until dissolved (about 5 minutes).
Start the dough. In a large bowl with a spoon, or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine the melted butter, the remaining 1 cup of warm water, sugar, beaten eggs, salt, and the dissolved yeast mixture. Mix together until well combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure you’re using all the ingredients.
Mix in the flour. Gradually add the flour to the mixture. Mix until the flour is fully combined and the dough is smooth. No additional kneading is required. The dough will be very sticky, but don’t add any extra flour.
Let it rise. Let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes, then push it down or fold it down to get rid of the air bubbles. Spray the plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover the bowl with the wrap. Refrigerate for 2–3 hours (not overnight).
Roll out dough. Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then divide the dough into two halves. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough half in a circle like a pizza to be ⅛-¼ inch thick. Add flour to the rolling pin (affiliate link) if the dough is sticking.
(If using paper to roll it out on, use parchment and not wax paper.) Cut into 12 equal triangles.
Roll into crescents. Tightly roll each triangle into a crescent shape. To so this, start at the wide end, and roll the dough towards the pointed end, and this will form a crescent (you would do the same with croissant dough).
Put on tray and rise. Place on a baking sheet, point side down. Place rolls about 2 inches apart. You should be able to fit 12 rolls per pan. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for 2-3 hours, or until doubled in size (the rising time depends on the ambient temperature).
Bake. Bake the rolls at 375°F for 7-10 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
Finish and serve! Brush with melted butter and serve!
Recipe FAQ’s
Yes, chilling the dough is necessary to make the dough easier to work with and it provides a better flavor since the dough rises more slowly!
I’m not sure if other crescent roll recipes would say it’s ok, but I wouldn’t recommend leaving the dough in the fridge overnight. Doing this can become too sticky and difficult to work with the next day. For best results, and the easiest dough to roll out, only refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
To cut the dough into 12 triangles, start with a cross so that you have 4 equal sections. Then divide each of those sections into thirds.
To make the rolls rise faster, turn on the oven to 375°F and set the trays on top of the stove or set them next to a sunny window.
Store rolls in an airtight container for 3-4 days for the best freshness.
Tips for Success
- Use room temperature ingredients. Bring your ingredients to room temperature to remove the chill before you begin, they will mix together more easily this way.
- Warm yeast in room-temperature water. Make sure the water temperature is lukewarm to warm to best activate the yeast. Too cold or too hot and it won’t work properly.
- Use a pizza cutter to cut dough. This will help to make cutting the rolled-out dough easy and clean!
- Add flour gradually and don’t worry about lumps. When adding the flour to the yeast mixture it may seem lumpy at first, but it will smooth out and become a dough once all mixed together.
- Curve the edges. With your hands, slightly curve the rolls when shaping them, to give them that classic crescent roll appearance.
- Don’t skip the second rise. Once the dough has risen and the rolls have been cut and shaped, be sure to let them rise again, for the best texture and size.
- Brush with egg wash. Right before baking, brush with an egg wash with beaten egg and water for an extra shine and glossy finish.
Pro tip: The best way to cut the rolled-out dough is by using a pizza cutter!
Storage
Store leftover cooled rolls in an airtight container or food storage bag at room temperature for 2-3 days, and in the fridge for up to a week. It’s best to reheat them in the oven or toaster oven.
You can freeze cooled crescent rolls in an airtight container or food storage bag for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature before reheating in the oven at 300° until warm.
Ways To Use Crescent Roll Dough
There are countless options, but here are some of our favorites:
- Mummy Jalapeno Poppers
- Caramel Apple Pie Crescent Rolls
- Jalapeno Popper Pigs in a Blanket
- Cranberry Brie Bites
- Mummy Dogs
More Homemade Bread Recipes
Homemade Crescent Rolls
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups (296ml) warm water divided
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- ½ cup (114g) salted butter melted
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4½ cups (635g) flour I have used all-purpose flour here, you can also use bread flour or pastry flour
- Additional melted butter for topping
Instructions
- Mix ¼ cup warm water and yeast in a small bowl and set aside until dissolved (about 5 minutes).1¼ cups (296ml) warm water, 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- In a large bowl with a spoon or a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine the melted butter, the remaining 1 cup of warm water, sugar, beaten eggs, salt, and the dissolved yeast mixture. Mix together until well combined.½ cup (114g) salted butter, ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar, 3 large eggs, 1 teaspoon salt
- Gradually add the flour to the mixture. Mix until the flour is fully combined and the dough is smooth. No additional kneading is required. The dough will be very sticky but don’t add any extra flour.4½ cups (635g) flour
- Let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes, then push/fold it down to get rid of air bubbles. Spray plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover the bowl with wrap. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours (not overnight).
- Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Divide dough into 2 halves. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough half in a circle like a pizza to be ⅛-¼ inch thick (add flour to the rolling pin (affiliate link) if the dough is sticking). If using paper to roll it out on, use parchment and not wax paper. Cut into 12 equal triangles.
- Tightly roll each triangle starting at the large end to form the crescent. Place on the baking sheet, point side down (place rolls about 2 inches apart – 12 rolls per pan). Cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 2-3 hours or until double in size (rising time will depend on the ambient temperature).
- Bake at 375℉ (191℃) for 7-10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
- Brush with additional melted butter and serve!Additional melted butter
Notes
- Use a pizza cutter to make cutting the rolled-out dough easy!
- When adding the flour to the yeast mixture it may seem lumpy at first, but it will smooth out and become a dough once all mixed together.
- When the dough becomes too thick to stir, use a folding motion until the flour is well combined.
- Store leftover cooled rolls in an airtight container or food storage bag at room temperature for 2-3 days, and in the fridge for up to a week. It’s best to reheat them in the oven or toaster oven.
- Freezer: You can freeze cooled crescent rolls in an airtight container or food storage bag for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature before reheating in the oven at 300° until warm.
Amy;
Thank you so much for sharing these recipes. Your site is my absolute favorite. Every recipe I have tried comes out beautiful.
Do you have any suggestions for saving yeast as it hasn’t been rising well for me lately. Could be expired. I know there has to be a way to save it.
May you and your family have a very merry Christmas
Merry Christmas! Do you store yours in the refrigerator or freezer? I have always kept mine in the fridge and it lasts for a very long time (well over a year). Or you could try purchasing the individual packets of yeast so you only open and use what you need for each batch of a recipe!
My 4 year old grandson absolutely loves these as much as the pillsbury ones. He took half the batch home for dinner tonight.
Very nice and easy recipe to follow
Thanks for sharing
Im looking to possibly make these for Thanksgiving. Could I freeze the shaped rolls? Should I do it before the second rise or after?
Yes you can freeze the shaped rolls. Right after forming the crescent roll, throw them on a baking sheet and stick it in the freezer. Once frozen, you can place the rolls in a freezer bag or air-tight container. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then take it out to let them rise until doubled in size. Just follow the baking directions after that!
So good
Can you use this recipe for a holiday rink instead of rolling the triangles into crescents and waiting for them to rise for 2-3 hours? Because I’d love to do that since I don’t like pillsbury dough.
These are very good. Have you ever tried using this recipe to replace Pillsbury Crescent rolls in a casserole? If so, is one batch of these equivalent to one tube? With Pillsbury you don’t have to let the dough rise before baking the casserole. Would the same hold true here?
Hi Vanessa. I have never tried using this recipe in a casserole but I am sure it would be just fine. I would let the dough sit in the fridge and then after rolling it out use it for the casserole. This recipe yields about 24 rolls and a canister of crescent rolls has 8 rolls so you could half the recipe if you don’t need that many.