Crescent roll cheesecake is one of the easiest types of cheesecake to make! The sweet cream cheese filling is delicious with flaky, buttery crescent rolls.
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Pin RecipeI love cheesecakes. I don’t think I have ever met a cheesecake that I didn’t like, whether it’s Banana Pudding Cheesecake, 3-Ingredient No-Bake Cheesecake, or even Cheesecake Dip. That’s why I wanted to try crescent roll cheesecake bars!
I heard they were pretty good and I just needed to see for myself. You may have already guessed that I absolutely loved them and decided to create my own recipe for cheesecake with crescent rolls.
Crescent Roll Cheesecake Recipe
Classic cheesecake is made with a graham cracker crust. This recipe replaces the graham cracker crust with buttery crescent rolls. Not only is there one layer of crescent rolls as the base of this cheesecake, but there is a second layer of flakey dough on top of the cheesecake. The cheesecake filling is completely enclosed in a delicious, tender pastry. It is SO good!
I also love these cheesecake bars because they are super easy to eat. You can cut up the whole tray of cheesecake into perfect squares and then serve the bars on a dessert buffet or as a quick dessert-to-go. I love desserts that are easy, tasty, and a little bit unique. These crescent roll cheesecake bars check all the boxes!
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Ingredients for Crescent Roll Cheesecake
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Cream cheese – Be sure to use regular cream cheese, not low-fat. You want all the rich flavor you can get. Remember, this is a dessert!
- Sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Refrigerated crescent rolls – Pillsbury crescent rolls are my favorite but any brand will work.
- Butter – I always use unsalted butter for this recipe.
- Cinnamon
Variations
- Use 1 ½ cups of brown sugar in place of the regular sugar for a rich, molasses taste.
- Replace the vanilla extract with almond extract to give the cheesecake a nutty taste.
- Stir ½ cup chocolate chips into the cheesecake batter to make chocolate crescent roll cheesecake.
How to Make Crescent Roll Cheesecake
- Prepare: Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease a 9×13 baking dish with baking spray or butter. Set the pan aside.
- Make the filling: Beat the cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and mix until smooth.
- Roll the dough: Open the cans of crescent roll dough and roll the dough from each can into a 9×13 sheet. You shouldn’t have to roll them out too much as the dough is about this size right from the can.
- Assemble: Lay one sheet of dough in the bottom of the greased pan. Top the dough in the pan with the cheesecake filling and spread it evenly across the whole pan. Top the cheesecake with the second sheet of crescent roll dough.
- Add the topping: Combine the remaining sugar, butter, and cinnamon in a small bowl then sprinkle the mixture over the top of the cheesecake.
- Bake: Bake the crescent roll cheesecake for about 30 minutes. The top crescent roll dough will be golden brown. Let cool completely before slicing. You may want to pop it in the fridge to cool faster!
Quick Tip
Spread 1/2 cup of raspberry jam across the cheesecake filling before topping with the second layer of crescent roll dough. This is an easy way to make delicious raspberry cheesecake bars.
How to Store Crescent Roll Cheesecake
After the cheesecake has baked and cooled completely, it should be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the fridge. The cheesecake will stay fresh for 4-5 days when refrigerated. You can pop a slice in the toaster oven to make the crescent roll dough crispy again or enjoy the bars cold (I like them cold!).
FAQs
Try using flour tortillas in place of crescent rolls. Layer tortillas in the bottom of the pan and then again on top of the cheesecake filling. Tortillas aren’t quite as buttery as crescent rolls but they work well in a pinch.
Crescent rolls and croissants may look the same but they are quite different. Croissants are made by layering dough and butter which makes them very flaky and crisp. Crescent rolls are more bread-like and dense. Both are buttery and delicious, but one is more flaky and light while the other is rich and heavy.
Since the cheesecake filling in this recipe is rather small, it doesn’t need eggs to help it set. Eggs are typically used to bind the cheesecake together, making it sliceable and helping it hold its shape. However, these bars have a crescent roll top and bottom that helps hold it all together and the thinner layer of cheesecake filling will slice easily!
More Tasty Cake Recipes
Crescent Roll Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1 pound cream cheese, softened
- 1 ¾ cup sugar, divided
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 8 ounce cans refrigerated crescent rolls
- ½ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- Add the cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you mix to ensure all the cream cheese is well blended and there are no large pieces.
- Add the vanilla to the cream cheese and mix.
- Dust a flat work surface with a little flour then open one can of crescent roll dough and lay it flat. Use a rolling pin to make the dough into a 9×13” rectangle. Press the crescent roll dough sheet into the bottom of the greased baking dish.
- Spread the cream cheese mix on top of the crescent roll dough in the pan using a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon, making it an even layer.
- Open the second can of crescent roll dough and roll it flat into a 9×13 rectangle just like you did for the first container. Place this layer on top of the cream cheese mix, covering it completely.
- In a small bowl, mix the butter, remaining ¾ cup of sugar and cinnamon together. Dot the butter mix on top of the crescent roll dough in the pan, spacing it across the whole pan.
- Bake the crescent roll cheesecake for about 30 minutes. The top will be golden brown.
- Let the cheesecake cool before slicing and serving.
I have made it. Taking it to Bible study. I am a bit worried that there is no egg in it ?
The crescent rolls hold everything together! We hope you enjoyed it, Susan!
My ladies small group were saying how good these were. I made them ( added chopped pecans) it was delicious and didn’t last long. Do you think adding a fruit marmelade or jam layer on top of cream cheese work? Thanks 😊
We’re so glad they were a hit! We think a topping would taste amazing. 😊
Not only is this one of my favorite recipes, my hubby is constantly begging me to make it for him. And he now has friends from work wanting to pay me to make each of them one.
With most things I make, I usually tweak each recipe in my own way.
We’re so glad this recipe is such a hit for you!
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Hi Michael, You can sign up here!
Can I use canned pie crust in place of the crescent rolls?
We haven’t tested it, but it should work! You’ll likely need to adjust the baking time. We do have lots of other cheesecake recipes you might enjoy instead!
Yes i made it and it’s delicious. I had to make myself stop eating it. I ate 3 squares. Oh my goodness it’s really really good.
Thank you
Fantastic!!! I made one for a Memorial Day cookout and my husband and I ate the entire thing, I would like to make again to freeze.
Can I freeze the cheesecake?