Chicken Pillows with Creamy Parmesan Sauce
If you have never tried chicken pillows please try them. Your family will love you! These chicken pillows with creamy Parmesan sauce are simply awesome.
According to my advanced scientific polls, I’m assuming that about 28% of you know exactly what I’m talking about when I say “Chicken Pillows, baby!” and the other 72% have no earthly idea what a chicken pillow is. Am I right or am I right?
Regardless of the stats, I’m encouraging whatever percentage of you that have not come into contact with chicken pillows to do so immediately.
In short, tender, cooked chicken is mixed together with cream cheese and simple seasonings and dolloped in the center of buttery crescent dough, coated in crunchy, buttery deliciousness and baked. Then, THEN!, they are smothered in a delicious, creamy sauce.
Recipes for these pillows abound and nearly 99% (see? I’m all about stats) of the recipes already out there are comprised of tubed crescent roll dough and cream of chicken soup sauce.
I’ve nothing against those two ingredients (cream of chicken soup lovers, please do not send me hate mail!) except for the fact that a) I don’t keep them on hand and b) I had a gut feeling these little beauties would taste 100% better with homemade components (just like my Hawaiian Haystack experiment among other things).
I have to say that although making my own buttery crescent roll dough made the process approximately 33% longer than using tubed crescent dough, they were one-million-percent tastier – so much so that we were even snatching them cold, out of the refrigerator, for the next couple of days as little snacks here and there.
Honestly, delicious. And talk about kid-friendly! My kids loved these so much they slathered me with about 76% more hugs and kisses than normal because I made them. I’ll take that.
(Please note that the percentages contained in this post may or may not be 100% accurate.)
What To Serve With This:
Green Salad
Steamed vegetable or this Fresh Green Bean Salad
Fresh fruit
Chicken Pillows with Creamy Parmesan Sauce
Ingredients
Filling:
- 4 large large boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 1/2 – 3 pounds)
- 2 packages (8-ounces each) light or regular cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Rolls and Coating:
- 1 batch buttery crescent rolls
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 2 cups panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Parmesan Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cube chicken bouillon, or 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup sour cream, light or regular
Instructions
- To begin, cook the chicken (or use already cooked, shredded chicken). My preferred method is to put the chicken breasts in 2 cups chicken broth seasoned with salt and pepper in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours. When the chicken is cooked and cooled slightly, shred or cut into small pieces. In a medium bowl combine the chicken, cream cheese, garlic powder and salt and mix until well combined. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.
- Make the buttery crescent rolls according to the recipe but after the first rise, deflate the dough and separate into two pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a 13X20-inch rectangle and cut each rectangle into 12 pieces (cutting lengthwise in half and then each half into six pieces). One by one, flatten each dough piece slightly and spoon about 1/4 cup of the chicken/cream cheese mixture into the center. Fold up all the sides and pinch them together to seal well.
- When all the chicken pillows have been formed, combine the panko crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a bowl or flat dish (like a pie plate). One by one, dip each chicken pillow in the melted butter and roll in the panko/Parmesan mixture. Place seam side down about 2 inches apart on baking trays lined with parchment paper, a silpat liner or lightly greased.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 18-20 minutes, until the chicken pillows are lightly golden brown and the dough is baked through.
- While the rolls are baking, prepare the sauce. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour, cooking over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture is golden and bubbly. Slowly whisk in the milk, stirring in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper once the milk has been completely added. Stir constantly over medium heat until the sauce thickens and bubbles, about 5-10 minutes, taking care to adjust the heat accordingly so the sauce doesn’t burn on the bottom. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and cook, stirring, until the cheese is melted. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the sour cream. Thin the sauce with a little milk if needed.
- Serve the rolls warm from the oven with Parmesan cream sauce drizzled over the top.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
135 Comments on “Chicken Pillows with Creamy Parmesan Sauce”
I am making these Friday. Could I fill the rolls the day before and take out and bake next day? How long would it need to come out before baking? Would I do tue rise at that point?
Yes, you could definitely assemble them and bake the next day. I’d take them out of the refrigerator about an hour before you want to bake them.
I’ve made a variation of chicken pillows for years, but just tried your sauce last night as a replacement to the cream of chicken version that accompanied my family recipe. THE SAUCE!! Knocked our socks off! My very picky 7yo raved about it, which is the highest praise one can attain. SO glad I discovered your version! Upped our chicken pillow game!
Hello Mel 🙂 which method of cooking the chicken prior do you recommend if i don’t have a slowcooker ?
This is a great stovetop method: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/how-to-simple-shredded-chicken-and-another-recipe-collage/
Made this tonight I did switch it up and add the sauce to the chicken mixture instead of cream cheese and it was delicious!!! Perfect for my kids to grab my son is eating his second right now. Easily can add veggies too I did add carrot and onion it was perfect. The dough was so easy to work with really hard to screw it up. Love it!
This recipe makes 28 which won’t fit on 1 of my baking sheets. If I use 2, what is the best position for the oven shelves and do I rotate partway thru to prevent overbaking?
If I freeze half unbaked, how do I thaw and cook later?
Try baking them with one rack in the top third of the oven and the other rack in the bottom third and rotate halfway through. If they are unbaked, you can bake from frozen (reduce the oven temp by 25 degrees and add time as needed until they are cooked through OR thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as directed in the recipe).
Mel
I made these last night for the first time!! So delicious we loved them. I must admit I cheated and used store brought crescent rolls. But the sauce is so good! And I had enough left over I think I’ll use it as a quick dinner tonight with spinach fettuccine! Thanks again for delicious recipes.
Am I correct that there is no second rising on these rolls? One just bakes them once they are assembled?
Yes, I bake them once the filling is wrapped inside the dough. You can let them rest for 15-20 minutes before baking if you want a puffier outside crust, but I usually don’t.
Love it, I used a ham bone to make stock and the leftover ham, onion and cheese to make ham pillows. Delish!
These are so delicious…how could they not be?
I did end up freezing half the batch and I’m just wondering if you have any tips on how long/what temp to cook them from frozen?
Did you freeze them unbaked or already baked?
Literally, THE BEST receipe. My husband will take this over any other meal and he is not a chicken lover while I am. WIN-WIN!
Next time i might add some broccoli to up the nutrition of these.
How long will these keep in the freezer?
Probably a month or two.