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This easy crescent roll stromboli stars all of the Italian meats and cheeses that you love in a classic stromboli recipe, but they’re baked inside a puffy, flaky, golden brown crust!
Looking for even more crescent roll recipes? Try these chicken crescent rolls, a batch of crescent roll pizza pockets, and this crescent roll taco bake, too!
This was great, my family loved it!!
– Karen
Crescent Roll Stromboli is an Easy and Tasty Shortcut
This easy stromboli recipe is a delicious twist on the authentic Italian-American version. Rather than rolling pizza dough in a spiral around the meats and cheeses, this recipe calls for a simple shortcut: refrigerated crescent dough sheets that you simply wrap around the flavorful filling. Slice the golden, flaky stuffed pastry and serve it with a side of marinara for dipping. You’ll enjoy all of the classic flavors of a homemade stromboli with minimal effort!
While it’s obviously a perfect weeknight dinner, this dish is also a popular party snack or appetizer when hosting holiday gatherings, Super Bowl parties, or movie nights with friends. You can eat it with your hands! Between the buttery, flaky crust, the garlic butter spread, and the variety of meats and cheeses, every bite of this stromboli is packed with flavor. It’s also versatile, since you can take this crescent braid idea and adapt it to suit your family’s preferences. Use just about any meats and cheeses that you like — from turkey, ham, and roast beef to cheddar, Swiss, and Monterey Jack!
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- While a calzone traditionally includes ricotta cheese, stromboli does not. Stromboli is stuffed with mozzarella cheese, as well as cured Italian meats (such as ham, pepperoni, sausage, or salami). Both calzones and Stromboli are perfect alongside some warm marinara sauce for dipping!
- I recommend using Pillsbury brand crescent roll dough for this crescent braid. I’ve tried store brands in the past, but I find that those other varieties just aren’t as good. The dough rips or gets sticky and is difficult to work with. In this case, it’s worth spending a little bit more to buy the name brand.
- If you can find them, crescent dough sheets are best for this recipe. The sheets do not have perforations to tear the dough into individual rolls, so they’re ideal for stuffed crescent braid recipes that call for the dough to stay intact. In a pinch, you can substitute with regular crescent roll dough, but you’ll need to pinch together the perforations to seal the triangles so that the dough doesn’t tear.
- Choose a combination of your favorite thinly-sliced Italian cured meats, such as ham, pepperoni, capicola and salami. You’ll need a total of about ½ lb. of meat for this recipe.
How to Make Stromboli with Crescent Rolls
Don’t be intimidated by the fancy appearance of this dish! It comes together quickly and easily with just a handful of simple ingredients. You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick version:
- Unroll the crescent dough sheets, place them with the long sides together on a large parchment-lined baking sheet, and press the edges together.
- Brush the middle of the dough with the melted garlic butter.
- Layer the meats and cheeses down the center of the dough.
- Make cuts 1 ½-inches apart on the long sides of the dough to within ½-inch of the filling. I like to use kitchen shears for this step.
- Braid the crescent dough over the filling.
- Brush the dough with the egg wash. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the stromboli. The egg wash gives the dough a nice shiny, golden brown finish, so don’t skip that step. You can omit the sesame seeds if you like.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, until the crust is a deep golden brown.
- Cut crosswise into slices and serve!
Serving Suggestions
Stromboli is best served warm with a side of pizza sauce or marinara sauce for dipping. It works well as a dinner entrée, but it’s equally great for a party appetizer or a Game Day snack because you can set it out on the counter and let folks enjoy it even at room temperature.
If you’re serving the stromboli as a dinner entrée, pair it with a simple side salad dressed in balsamic vinaigrette, Caesar salad, fennel salad, a marinated vegetable salad, or a veggie tray with this easy 4 ingredient spinach dip. It would also be delicious with sauteed asparagus, roasted broccoli, Arkansas green beans, or roasted yellow squash.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: To prep ahead, assemble the stromboli as instructed. Cover loosely and place in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours before baking.
- How to Store: Store the leftover cooked stromboli in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Like pizza, stromboli is still pretty darn tasty at room temperature, and leftovers can even be served cold — straight from the fridge!
- How to Reheat: If frozen, thaw the stromboli crescent braid in the refrigerator overnight. Place the crescent braid on a baking sheet and warm in a 350°F oven just until heated through, about 15-20 minutes. You can also microwave individual slices until warm.
Simple, quick, and so good!
– Jill
- 1 ½ tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1 clove garlic, minced (or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley (or ½ teaspoon dried parsley flakes)
- 2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated Crescent Dough Sheets
- ½ lb. thinly-sliced deli meats (such as capicola, deli ham, salami, and/or large pepperoni slices)
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 6-7 slices (about ¼– ⅓ lb.) provolone cheese
- Egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water)
- 1 ½ teaspoons sesame seeds
- Optional, for serving: warm marinara or pizza sauce
If you like a thicker crescent braid with more filling, you can increase the meats and cheeses and stack them a bit higher.
Serving: 1/6 of the recipeCalories: 430kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 14gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 1164mgPotassium: 123mgFiber: 1gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 191IUCalcium: 87mgIron: 1mg
Recipe Variations
- Any thinly-sliced deli meats will work in this recipe. We love the classic flavor of Italian cured meats like slices of pepperoni, salami, soppressata, prosciutto and capicola; however, ham, turkey, and roast beef are also great options!
- Different cheeses will also work. I’ve used a traditional combination of mozzarella and Provolone, but ricotta, cheddar, Gruyere, Swiss, Colby, Parmesan cheese, or Monterey Jack will also be delicious. Try a combination of your favorites!
- Add veggies and herbs. To bulk up the stromboli and add more flavor and texture variety, try layering sautéed mushrooms, bell peppers, or onions. Spinach would also be great. Just make sure that you blot the excess moisture from the cooked veggies before adding them to the stromboli. Additional herbs like basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and more parsley are also nice.
- Include sliced banana peppers in the filling for a tangy, acidic bite.
More Crescent Roll Recipes to Try
This recipe was originally published in April, 2021. It was updated in February, 2025.
