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
Thanks for another great recipe, Mel! I switched it up just a bit, adding red and green bell peppers, green onions and fresh dill leaves to the filling and making the roll dough 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 all purpose flour…and instead of the sauce made honey-mustard to dip. Delicious!
I’m planning to make these, but I am wondering about allowing the homemade crescent dough to rise a second time after filling them. I know in the recipe for the crescent rolls it says to let them rise again before baking. Is that not necessary when making this recipe? Thanks!
It’s such a thin layer of dough around the filling that it doesn’t need to rise like if you were making rolls. As they rest (while the oven preheats), they’ll puff a little and that’s perfect.
Maybe the answer is in here somewhere, but I can’t find it. I have baked and then frozen these. I’m wondering how you reheat them when they have already been baked?
I usually pop them in the oven and reheat that way (from frozen, I cover with foil so they don’t get too browned and then uncover for the last few minutes of baking).
How long do you reheat them in the oven?
15 minutes or so on 250 degrees.
Hi Mel! When you freeze these do you bake them and then freeze them? Or do you just get them all stuffed and then freeze them with the dough raw?
I’ve done both, Shelby. It’s a little faster (when you want to eat them) to bake them and then freeze because then you only have to thaw and reheat instead of thawing, letting them rest and rise a bit and then bake.
Making these tonight Mel. I will be cheating with pre-made crescent roll dough. But I am going to try the sauce tonight. Hoping my kids likes it. The youngest doesn’t like his foods touching each other (no casseroles, etc), but disguised as a bun, he might just eat it. (My mom always sauteed mushrooms in with it so we’re totally going that route tonight).
Thanks, Mel! These were ‘Super Yummy’, in the words of my preschoolers. My husband and I really enjoyed them too, but we did find them to be very rich. I think that next time I’ll add a liberal handful of parsley to to filling and skip the sauce.
Huh…never heard of a chicken pillow. I wonder if it’s a regional thing? Our family of self-proclaimed foodies lives in KC and these are totally new – which is never a bad thing. We love your blog and your recipes, Mel, so I definitely want to try these out! However, for some reason, the discription of how to cut the dough is eluding me. I’m revisiting (after a prior aborted mission) and looked through the comments again to see if it became clear, but no such luck. I agree with DessertForTwo and more recently Jen, that one of your handy dandy How To photo tutorials would be very helpful, for us visual types whom are having a hard time wrapping our minds around the lexical description. Please advise, my family needs to quench our chicken pillow curiousity stat!
Hi Andrea – basically, you just want rectangles or squares of dough probably 1/4-inch thick and about 2X3-inches or 3X3-inches or thereabouts. It’s not an exact science, I just try not to get the dough too thick. I’ll try to remember to take pictures next time I make them (sometimes it’s a little crazy around here during dinner time!)
These were so amazing Mel! I grew up eating these with the store bought crescent rolls, same filling except canned chicken and have been making them that way for years. So I decided to keep the simplicity of the canned chicken but was dying to try your home made rolls. Oh. My. Goodness. Seriously? Those were heaven! I even skipped the sauce because we all like them plain around my house, and they were to die for. I was a little skeptical adding the cornmeal to the milk (good thing you had a picture so I wasn’t freaked out I was doing it wrong). Amazing! Can’t say enough! Will never buy store bought crescent rolls again! Ever!
I have made these before and they were wonderful. I’d like to make a batch to freeze for a family. Any additional tips? Have you ever frozen the sauce separately?
Thanks so much!
These freeze great, Kelly! After I’ve dipped them in the butter/crumbs, I freeze them on a baking tray and after frozen, I pop them into a freezer ziploc bag. I’ve frozen the sauce a time or two – it works pretty well but it is slightly grainy after thawing and heating so usually I just make the sauce the day of. Hope that helps!
I just retired and am having a ball cooking dinners from scratch. I made your chicken pillows and they were wonderful. I made only a couple changes. I sauteed chopped red pepper and onions and added that to the chicken mixture. And to cut down on calories I dipped the pillows in egg wash and then rolled in parm and panko mixture. Delish!!!
Turkey leftovers will be perfect with this recipe!!! Topped with gravy! 🙂
These are amazing! Thanks for sharing the recipe! I am thinking green chilis and a jalapeno cheddar cheese sauce next time! The possibilities are endless!
I make these with leftover turkey. My mom rolled then in crushed cornflakes in the 1970’s – I don’t care for that addition, so I don’t use any coating at all. Panko and Parmesan sounds great. My friends put celery in their filling. I put chopped water chestnuts and sauteed onions in mine. I’ve always done a chicken gravy, but will now try it with your Parmesan sauce. (because, as you know. I think any recipe you post is worth trying!) My cousins call them pillows, I call them bundles.
These are super delicious!! My mom came to visit and she loves trying new things at my house and we made these four days ago and she loved them so much we are making them again today before she goes home! Delicious!!
So, Is each strip 13 inches long and only 1-2 winches wide or did I cut the dough incorrectly? I would LOVE to see a picture of how to cut the dough.
Thanks.
Jen – Each piece of dough should be about 6 1/2-inches long and 1 1/2 or slightly more inches wide…then press them flat a little to make them even a bit wider. If you find another way works to cut the dough, that’s great, too, since it doesn’t have to be exact. I press the dough into a rectangle with the long sides parallel to the counter and cut it in half like a hot dog bun and then cut the strips from there.
I currently have these in the oven.
However with only 2 of us, there is too much chicken mixture. Can that be frozen?
Leslie – Yes, it can be frozen.
Another good recipe. I did adjust it just a bit– used half whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup oats instead of all white flour for the cornmeal/flour part of the rolls (still used the cornmeal etc– just substituted whole wheat flour with 1/2 cup oats for the white flour part) and then added chopped green onions as well as chopped cooked broccoli and carrots to the chicken and cream cheese mixture. Delicious. Thank you very much!
I made these a few weeks ago and froze 2 different ways- I made half the batch into the balls with store bought crescent rolls (I would love to make from scratch but just do not have time) and then got lazy and unrolled the 2nd pack of crescent rolls in a tin foil bread pan and put the stuffing in the middle and folded the rest of the dough on top. They both of turned out perfect! I was really lazy and did not top with crumbs or the sauce and my family LOVED them! Next time I am going to throw in a bag of mixed veggies and have a complete meal in one dish. I love how this is similar to chicken pot pie with out all the extra ooze that my family does not like. Thank you!
I just made this tonight and ALL three of my kids (and my husband and myself) LOVED it! I thought I’d never find a recipe everyone likes (beside mac n cheese!). I love all your recipes. Thanks for being awesome!
I was so excited at how well this turned out. And with your tips, it actually came together quite simply. I used rotisserie, made my dough the night before, the next morning let it sit out for an hour, then rolled it out and made my pillows and refridgerated til that evening. I waited til right before I put them in the oven to brush the top with butter and then just dipped the tops in the crumb instead of rolling the whole thing. It really was quite simple doing it this way. I think next time I’ll put less cream cheese. It was delicious, but it think I could get away with a lot less
And one more question, could I make the dough the night before and let it slow rise over night so I can assemble them first thing in the morning?
So if I make these in the morning, is it okay to put the panko crust on then too, or should I wait til right before I cook them? Wasn’t sure if they would lose there crunch or not if I did it in advance. And do they need to sit at room temp for so long before I cook them? I always get nervous to try yeast recipes, so let’s hope this works!
Marci – I always put the panko crust on them while I’m making them. It makes them maybe slightly less crunchy but I like to get all the mess of preparation out of the way at once. You certainly could wait, though, and bread them before baking. If you refrigerate them for the day, I’d let them sit out of the refrigerator for a half hour or so before baking. And yes, you could make the dough the night before and refrigerate it. Make sure you take it out of the refrigerator an hour or so before using in the recipe – cold dough is a beast to work with!
Ya-HUM!!! These look right up our alley. You have the best recipes on your site. 🙂
OMG!!! I had never heard of a chicken pillow… I was like… a chicken what?
I found your blog last Sunday while I was making my grocery list for the week and looking for crock pot recipes. I pinned a bunch of recipes and printed out the ones I was using in my menu for last week. Every Sunday I roast 2 chickens, one to eat for Sunday dinner and the other to stick in the fridge for some other meal during the week that calls for precooked chicken.
I made these last week, and because it was a weeknight, I opted for the store bought reduced-fat crescent rolls. I made half the amount of filling and that made 8 pillows. Instead of rolling them in bread crumbs I brushed the tops with melted butter and sprinkled Parmesan Cheese on top. I had NOTHING left over to put away that night. My family devoured these and asked when I would be making them again!
We also tried your pork chop with gravy recipe (crock pot) another night and my family can’t wait to taste more of your recipes! Here I am again on Sunday, making my grocery list from the grocery store sale flyer and your blog.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
These look 100% phenominal!! I was looking for some easy “finger” style food for my daughters birthday! These may be it…a smidge smaller crescents with the topping served in a little “dipping bowl”…can’t wait!!!!! going to “try them out” tonight!!!
So…I can’t freeze the sauce, I take it? And then thaw it?
Susie – you could definitely try it although my experience has been that creamy sauces like this turn a little grainy and sometimes separate after being frozen and reheated.
Have you ever tried subbing plain greek yogurt for some of the cream cheese? Just wondering if it would work…but I would hate to go to all of the effort & then have them come out tasting funny. I don’t have a lot of experience with subbing yogurt for cream cheese or sour cream – so just thought I would ask someone who isn’t a cooking novice like myself. 🙂
Hi Trish – I haven’t tried that. I think it would make the consistency of the filling a bit too runny. The thick cream cheese helps give it some stability.
Beth – I think any roll dough could work well here, as long as you press it fairly thin to enclose the filling.
Mel, these look like a great way to use up all the turkey I have in my house. Would it work to use any roll dough (I am thinking of the one with instant potato flakes here, which don’t use butter)? I am thinking of this for a big crowd, and would rather do it with a recipe I have done lots before. Thanks!
I’ve never heard of Chicken Pillows, but when I saw the recipe I was reminded of a recipe our family love 20+ years ago. I’d completely forgotten about it. And . . . since I never buy refrigerator rolls, I was thrilled to see that you make your own.
This will definitely be tried out this week.
Thanks for keeping my family HAPPY with new recipes nearly every day.
Laurel
mama of 12
I make Chicken Yummies- similar but not the same. I use the pillsbury cresnt rolls, shredded chicken, cream cheese, canned mushrooms (for this recipe, they really are better than fresh, trust me) and lemon pepper. Mix all together changing amounts to taste. Roll a glob in a cresent roll, roll cresent roll in butter and breadcrumbs and bake. I sometimes make a bunch a head of time, roll ’em up but don’t bake, put them on a tray in the freezer and then once frozen, transfer to plastic freezer bags. Let them thaw a little before baking. So good-great for potlucks and every guy I’ve ever known that has had the pleasure of Chicken Yummies love them!
I’d only had these with canned chicken, tube rolls, and cream of chicken made by a roommate in college, and I was not a fan. I must admit I used tube rolls (prego w/ #4 and frankly impressed I’m even cooking again after a summer of “morning” sickness and lots of eating out). They were delicious and I can only imagine how good they’d be if I ever got up the courage to make the dough.
For anyone feeling overwhelmed by an already somewhat labor intensive process even without making the dough, I used one tube of the “bigger” crescent rolls. Then I made those into 8 rectanlges and halved the rest of your recipe. It was the perfect amount of filling and sauce. They were big enough for one to be a serving and there are leftovers (can’t wait till lunch tomorrow!).
Mel, I’m in a recipe group with a monthly theme and I’ll have you know that “Mel’s Kitchen Cafe” is one of our themes for next year! I’ve already taken several of your recipes for other themes (and won with Chicken Tikka Masala for Foreign Night and Asian Lettuce Wraps for Summer Favorites). With that upcoming theme I’m going to be trying more of your recipes, searching for another winner. The problem is they will all be your recipes that night, so it will be stiff competition!! I’ll keep you posted!
This recipe has been sitting on my “recipes to try” list since you posted it a year ago. Having never had a chicken pillow before, I had no idea what I was missing out on! These were phenomenal. I mean, by far one of the best meals we’ve had in a while (and I cook A LOT, so that’s really saying something)! And to top it off, when my husband got home from work he asked what was for dinner, and I explained them to him, he said that his mom used to make something similar to these but with crescent rolls and cream of mushroom soup when he was growing up. She called them chicken squares. So for him it was a childhood flashback, if his mom was a gourmet cook! His words, not mine. Needless to say, these went straight to my “go-to recipes” list. Thanks for another great one, and also for your from-scratch mentality!
For some reason, your writing makes me cackle with childlike glee. And these look delicious.
I made these for a dinner party over the weekend, and they were a bit hit! The leftovers are great too.
Made these this weekend and I almost chickens out and had my husband bring home a couple cans of crescent rolls. I am so glad I didn’t! These were so delicious. I no longer fear yeast like I used to.
I just found your site, and am so happy that I did! I can make these gluten free, Wahoo! I hope to try these soon.
Ok….I have got to say…. THESE WERE DELICIOUS!! We made these with turkey and store bought crescent rolls, but they were incredible.
I love your website! I come here everyday for ideas!! Thank you so much!!
Hillary – I’m not sure how the sauce would fare on pasta. It’s worth a try. I think it would also be delicious for chicken enchiladas or something like that.
Hi Mel! I made these last night and they were a big hit. I froze about half of them since there are only 3 of us, so I have a lot of leftover sauce. Any ideas about using that up in a different dish? Maybe just on pasta?
These were delicious and the whole family liked them, but I made them on a weeknight and I think they were a bit too time consuming for weeknight fare. These are definitely worth the effort, just do them on a day you have some time. Oh and making your own crescent dough – YUM!
AMAZING!!! I actually halved the recipe because I am only cooking for two but was impressed at how tasty they were. I even made the cresent rolls and it was a very simple meal to make. I’m glad to know that they will freeze and I can make them ahead. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers. Thanks so much for a great meal!!!
I’ve been wanting to make these for a long time but I’ve always decided it’s a lot of work at the last minute. Being pregnant (with my fourth) I have my eyes set on these chicken pillows and I’m determined to make these asap along with the double chocolate muffins!!
I need you in my life. If I supply you with all the ingredients your heart desires (or all the money you need to buy them if you enjoy shopping for ingredients) will you come and be my cook? Your family can eat every meal you make for us so you wouldn’t even have any extra work to do besides feeding more mouths at one sitting… It would be a win win situation.
Thanks Mel!! We actually had some of the frozen leftovers for lunch today! After I read your comment, I doubled the baking time since they were frozen (my oven’s temp runs a little low), and they turned out perfect!! Thanks so much!
My husband picks 3 recipes from your site for me to make every week, this is one of the ones he chose this week and they turned out AMAZING!! It made a lot, so I froze some of them after coating them in butter and rolling in the panko/Parmesan mixture. My question is, has anyone frozen these at this step? And, if so, about how much thawing time is needed (if any) and how much baking time/what temp? Thanks so much for another awesome recipe Mel!!!
Hi Kris – I’ve frozen these a time or two and I bake them from frozen (because usually I’m not on top of things to remember to thaw them first). I bake them at the same temperature but add on an additional 15-20 minutes for baking. You’ll want to check them often and potentially decrease or increase that time based on your oven since all ovens vary a bit. Good luck!
Made this for yesterday’s lunch. LOVE IT!!!
I’ve made these a few times and am impressed every time at how such a simple list of ingredients produces such a lovely flavor. I also love that this makes enough for a small army. Knowing I had these on my menu (for my family of 7), I signed up to bring dinner to a family of 3 from church, and ended up offering to bring dinner to yet another family of 4. And I still had leftovers! They all raved about it and everyone wants the recipe. Thanks for another hit!
Angela – I’ve made these the morning of, covered them and refrigerated them until about 20 minutes before I want to bake them. Then I pull them out while the oven is preheating and they bake up beautifully.
I’m having out-of-towners this week that this will be perfect for! I am ALL ABOUT buying rotisserie chickens when a recipe calls for pre-cooked chicken–I think this will work great with rotisserie!
Have you ever made them ahead of time (say, in the morning), refrigerated them, and popped them in the oven at dinner time? Wondering if they would hold up….