Homemade Crescent Rolls (No-Knead Recipe)

4.85 from 13 votes

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These Crescent Rolls are simple enough to make any weekday but fancy enough for any holiday (I’m looking at you Thanksgiving). They are the easiest recipe and require ZERO KNEADING! It’s a perfect, buttery roll that tastes simply amazing!

holding one crescent roll

Crescent Rolls Made Easy

You guys, this might be the laziest bread recipe I’ve ever made. All you need is a large bowl, a wooden spoon and a little bit of elbow grease. Aaaand lots of butter. Crescent rolls are only as good as the dough you’re using and this is a good one: it’s an enriched dough filled with milk, egg, sugar and butter. After you make your dough in your bowl (with no kneading required!) you let it rise, form it into crescents, rise and bake.  

It’s a perfect recipe for all you bread making virgins, anyone who likes carbs, or anyone who’s tired who doesn’t want to put in the effort. Not that I’m currently tired…ha!

dough cut into triangles

Basic Ingredients Needed

 Just like any bread recipe, this list of ingredients is pretty darn basic. Lots of pantry staples here! The biggest key is using fresh yeast. Double check your expiration dates before getting started.

  • water, yeast + honey– I like proofing my yeast in a little warm water and honey before I add it in with the rest of my ingredients. This allows you to give it a head start but more importantly it lets you know whether or not your yeast is still good.
  • sugar– I love a good sweet roll and these would probably qualify as that. If you just want a normal crescent that is more savory, cut the sugar in half.
  • egg– adding eggs to bread recipes makes the dough taste richer, gives color and creates a finer crumb. The more you know.
  • melted butter– I add melted butter to the dough and even more butter to the dough before I roll them up into crescents. These are very tasty.
  • all purpose flour + salt– flour is needed for the gluten and salt adds flavor. Please oh please don’t forget the salt! You won’t notice when salt is added in but you will absolutely notice when salt was forgotten.

crescent rolls rising on baking sheet

How to Make Homemade Crescent Rolls

Ok, prepare yourselves for the easiest (most buttery!) Crescent Roll recipe ever. For full recipe details and increments, scroll down to the printable recipe card below.

  1. Stir warm water, honey, and yeast together in a large bowl. Set aside to proof.
  2. Melt butter. Pour in some cold milk to make it a lukewarm mixture. Pour into the yeast mixture.
  3. Add in an egg, sugar, and salt. Stir well.
  4. Add flour in 1/2 cup increments stirring well after each. Add flour until the sides of the bowl become clean and the dough is sticky but not sticky enough to stick to your hands.
  5. Grease your bowl and dough, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise.
  6. Punch down dough and cut into two.
  7. Working with one of the halves, flour a board and the dough ball. Roll it out into a rectangle. Brush dough generously with butter. (Let’s pretend I remembered to brush these with butter before I cut them into triangles, m’kay?)
  8. Cut into even triangular pieces. If you’re using a ruler, I measured 2 1/2 inches for each base.
  9. Starting at the larger end, roll each piece into a crescent. Place onto baking sheet.
  10. Set aside for a second rise. Optional step: brush rolls with a simple egg wash to help with browning.
  11. Bake until golden brown. 
  12. Optional step: spread more butter onto the hot baked rolls. Enjoy!

rolled crescent rolls on baking sheet

Making Ahead for the Holidays

The beauty of this Crescent Roll recipe is you can make these in advance so they are ready to go for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any weeknight. Simply make the dough according to the recipe and follow the directions below.

Freezing Unbaked Crescent Rolls

Once rolls are formed and right before the second rise, stop! Place your baking sheet into the freezer for about two hours to freeze the crescent rolls. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer-safe container or ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 6 months. When ready to bake, thaw and let rise on a baking pan at room temperature. This should take about 2-3 hours in a warm kitchen. Once rolls are puffed and risen, bake as normal.

Freezing Baked Crescent Rolls

Follow the directions all the way through and let your rolls cool completely. Once cooled, transfer to a freezer-safe container or ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, simply place on baking sheet frozen and warm in a 250 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

Any leftover crescent rolls can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days OR in the fridge for up to one week. Be sure to store in an airtight container to preserve freshness.

rubbing butter on baked crescent rolls

Crescent Roll Recipes to Try!

You need these crescent rolls in your life. With the butter too. They’re lovely sweet little pillows of warm carby heaven that will make your love handles sing. Mine sure did after having 7. Yes, that figure is accurate.  SEVEN.

The printable recipe card is below! Enjoy and happy baking 🙂

holding one crescent roll
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4.85 from 13 votes

Homemade Crescent Rolls (No Knead Recipe)

These Crescent Rolls are simple enough to make any weekday but fancy enough for any holiday. They are the easiest recipe and require ZERO KNEADING! It's a perfect, buttery roll that tastes simply amazing!
servings 16 rolls
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 2 minutes

Ingredients

for the crescent rolls:

  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons quick rise yeast
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 cup cold milk
  • 1/4 cup butter melted
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour give or take 1/4 cup
  • + 3 extra tablespoons butter melted

Instructions

  • In a liquid measuring cup, stir warm water, yeast, and honey together. Set aside to proof.
    proofing yeast in a measuring cup
  • Melt butter in a small bowl and stir in cold milk to make the mixture lukewarm. Pour foamy yeast and water mixture into a large bowl with milk, butter, egg sugar, and salt.
    wet ingredients in a bowl
  • Stir together to break apart the egg. Using a wooden spoon, stir flour into mixture in 1/2 cup increments.
    adding flour to dough mixture in a bowl
  • After it is incorporated, the bottom of the bowl should be pretty clean, and the mixture should be pretty sticky but be able to hold a loose ball shape.
    crescent roll dough in a bowl
  • Grease bowl and dough, cover with plastic wrap and dish towel. Set aside to rise 1-2 hours.
    dough rising in a bowl covered
  • Punch down dough and divide into two equal pieces. Flour a clean work surface and one of the halves. Roll out to be a 12'' x 8'' rectangle. Brush with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.
    dough cut into triangles
  • Cut into 6-8 triangles, depending how large you'd like your rolls. (Mine had 2-2 1/2 inch bases.) Roll into crescents. Place onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
    rolling dough into crescent shape
  • Repeat with the other half of dough. Brush tops of rolls with remaining tablespoon of melted butter. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and rise 30 minutes or until almost double in size. Optional step: brush with egg wash to brown tops.
    risen crescent rolls on a baking sheet
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until tops have browned. Remove from oven to cool and immediately brush with more butter {if desired}. Serve warm.
    buttering baked crescent rolls

Nutrition

Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 199mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 181IU | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Breads
Cuisine: American
Keyword: crescent roll recipe, crescent rolls

 

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Recipe Rating




56 Responses
    1. Lauren

      Its just 1/4 cup softened salted butter, zest of 1 orange, 1/4 cup honey and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Stir together until smooth!

  1. Donna

    These look Delish!! Was wondering if the dough freezes well? It’s only me and my husband and I’m sure we coukd eat 6 of them but not 12!

  2. Chicken Meatball & Barley Soup - Lauren's Latest

    […] weather begs me to make soup, so this is a frequent occurrence ’round these parts. Make some No-Knead Crescent Rolls and this becomes a mighty tasty dinner. Give it a whirl and […]

  3. Lim Mei Lee

    Dear Lauren,

    I am from Singapore and will be trying out this bread soon. Will this bread turn hard (or chewy) next day?

    Thanks,
    Mei Lee

  4. Liz Anderson

    5 stars
    These rolls are dee-vine! They are my go-to for basically everything! They turn out every time and I always get rave reviews (and asked for the recipe) when I make them for others.

  5. Olen

    Hi! Can I use instant dry yeast, in our country fresh yeast is not common. If so what would be the procedure and amount? Thanks so much. 🙂

  6. Lauren's Latest » Chicken Meatball & Barley Soup

    […] weather begs me to make soup, so this is a frequent occurrence ’round these parts. Make some No-Knead Crescent Rolls and this becomes a mighty tasty dinner. Give it a whirl and […]

  7. Gisela

    5 stars
    These are my go to rolls! I’ve made this recipe a million times and they always turn out delicious!! I’m sharing this recipe with my girls at church tonight for our Thanksgiving activity.

  8. Amanda

    Could these be used for the cheesed stuff crescent rolls you posted? Asking because you used store bought ones for that recipe but I’d much rather do a from scratch version!

  9. Bake On, Honey Bread | Jen Darling

    […] stumbled upon this super lazy and delicious recipe for crescent rolls from Lauren’s Latest. I followed the recipe exactly, except I used regular yeast because I didn’t have any […]

  10. Dani

    5 stars
    These are awesome and they work perfect!
    You explained so well, I had no problems whatsoever
    I can smell them right now! 🙂

  11. Lori Pike

    5 stars
    I made these over the weekend and they were so easy and fantastic! They got rave reviews! Thanks so much for posting this recipe.

  12. Weekend Things - Recipe: Crescent Rolls | Cooking for My Kids

    […] I made these delicious No-Knead Crescent Rolls last week, and I loved them so much that I made them again on Sunday.  The boys love for me to […]

  13. k

    5 stars
    i made these last week and they turned out great! super easy and they were perfect with the stew i made. the orange butter wasn’t so great with the stew, ha ha, but i’ll be making these again…soon! and you know, without the stew so i can love on that orange butter. 🙂

  14. Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts

    I love crescent rolls, these look soft and delicious. Love the butter with it too. Great flavors.

  15. Baking Serendipity

    Carbs are a total rough day fixer. These look fantastic! And I could get behind cinnamon orange butter majorly. So creative!

  16. Anna

    Carbs, HOORAY! These look amazingly perfect, like they belong to someone who should hire someone else to do her laundry. Laundry IS the worst.

  17. TRACY

    I had so much laundry this weekend…I did it ALL weekend in between everything else I had to do. It’s a never ending battle.

  18. Renee @ Tortillas and Honey

    I can’t tell you how excited I am to see this post! I’m all about the no knead because I’m a big baby, so I can’t wait to try these out! Yum.

  19. Jessica

    I can literally taste these already! I am so in love with the Cinnamon Orange butter idea…you should really bring some to BHF and we can spread it on everything!!

  20. Mary @ Bake Break

    I’m all about giving into carbs! Orange butter was one of my favorite things as a kid, my mom would only make it around Christmas, and to this day it makes my mouth water just to think about it!

    Thanks for the reminder – I’ll have to make some soon!

  21. Kathryn

    I am so with you on the subject of laundry. There’s only two people in my house – how can we produce such an endless stream of dirty clothes? You definitely need lots of carbs after doing laundry. Especially carbs slathered with some orange cinnamon honey butter.

  22. Jess Wakasugi {Life's Simple Measures}

    These are gorgeous and I love how simple you’ve made them sound! I’ve been nervous to try croissants because I know how involved they can be, but this is inspiring. The butter also sounds ah-mazing! I pinned this recipe 🙂

  23. Julie @ Table for Two

    yours looks so perfect — even better than the canned ones! orange butter sounds soo good paired with these rolls!!

  24. Ellen @ The Baking Bluenoser

    I LOVE crescents! These look so easy to make, and the cinnamon-orange butter is a great idea. Thanks for sharing this recipe Lauren!

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