When I first heard about the existence of cream cheese chicken croissants, I was actually somewhat scared about trying to make them.
Indeed, while they sound absolutely delicious, the idea of playing around with the pastry is what really scared me, as it does for an awful lot of home cooks. Sure, we can all shred some chicken and cover it with cheese (which, granted, does sound amazing) but how, pray tell, do we wrap them with a flaky croissant?
The answer, of course, is easy.
You can either make the croissants yourself and sit there beaming with pride when your guests or household are tucking in or simply turn to the ready-made kind, the glorious refrigerated option available in most good food stores.
Never feel bad about using those. We simply don’t all have the time to be making croissants at the drop of a coin, so these little pockets of joy are absolute lifesavers.
Let’s get onto the chicken, too.
Obviously, the chicken needs to be shredded in order to sit in the croissant, which is easily done in my Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. Alternatively, you can just shred up some cooked chicken with two forks (more on that late).
Before we get into the main recipe, it’s worth looking over how to make a croissant at home, if you so choose.
Table of Contents
Homemade Croissants: The Recipe
Homemade Croissants: The Ingredients
- 1.5 cups of warm milk
- ¼ cup of brown sugar
- 3 ¼ tablespoons of active dry yeast
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1.5 cups of unsalted butter
- 1 egg (used for egg wash)
Homemade Croissants: Step-By-Step Guide
- Mix together milk, sugar and yeast with a fork
- Let stand of five minutes
- Wait for the yeast to dissolve and get foamy
- Then, add flour and salt to the bowl
- Mix with a stand mixer on low for 5 minutes
- Once dough is smooth and soft, remove
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, put it in the bowl and leave in the fridge for an hour
- Arrange sticks of butter on plastic wrap horizontally
- Cover with another sheet of plastic wrap
- Place in the fridge until ready to use
- Flour your work surface then roll the dough into a big rectangle
- Place the butter in the center and fold as you would do with a letter
- Shake off excess flour
- Cut the dough in half once you’ve rolled it into shape
- Use croissant cutters to manipulate the correct shapes into the dough
- Bake in a 400F oven for 8-12 minutes
- Turn down the heat to 375 F and bake for another 8-12 minutes
- Make sure they are golden brown and serve
Secondly, we’re going to look at how you make shredded chicken in an Instant Pot Pro.
Shredded Chicken: The Recipe
Instant Pot Shredded Chicken: The Ingredients
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 4 tablespoons of salt
- 1 tablespoon of mixed Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons of black pepper
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Instant Pot Shredded Chicken: Step-By-Step Guide
- Put stock, salt, Italian seasoning and pepper into inner pot
- Stir
- Add chicken breasts
- Select ‘sealing’ mode on Instant Pot
- Cook for 10 minutes
- Turn Instant Pot off and leave for another 10 minutes
- Open lid
- Drain half of the liquid
- Shred chicken (use two forks to rip the whole pieces up)
Ok, so not we’ve got those out of the way, we can crack on and look at the perfect cream cheese chicken croissant recipe.
Cream Cheese Chicken Croissant: The Recipe
Cream Cheese Chicken Croissant : The Ingredients
- 2 cups of shredded chicken
- 2 cans of ready-made croissants (or 6 freshly made ones)
- 8oz of cream cheese
- Handful of scallions
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 egg (for egg wash)
Cream Cheese Chicken Croissant : Cooking Time
- Cooking Time: 15 minutes
- Preparation Time: 15 minutes
- Total: 30 minutes
Cream Cheese Chicken Croissant: Step-By-Step Guide
Servings: 8-10 seperate croissants
- Preheat oven to 350F = 177C
- In a bowl, mix your cream cheese and unsalted butter until they are one paste like substance
- Add milk
- Add shredded chicken, sliced scallions, diced pepper and salt and pepper
- Mix to combine so you get a sandwich filling-like texture
- Unroll croissant (do this before baking the homemade ones, when you’re cutting the dough)
- On each croissant, place a ¼ cup of the chicken mixture into the center
- Pinch the croissant dough together so it keeps the mixture in place
- Crack egg into a bowl
- Take a pastry brush and brush the egg wash onto the croissants
- Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown
- Remove from oven and serve
What extras can I add to Cream Cheese Chicken Croissants?
While the filling we described earlier is mouth-watering and substantial enough in its own right, there are some added extras you can throw in when you’re feeling a little decadent.
Indeed, most of time, we deserve it!
- Frozen Peas
Don’t ever feel embarrassed about using frozen peas, I’ve seen even Gordon Ramsay do it!
Grab a couple from out of the freezer and throw it into the fixture which it’s in the bowl. Not only do these give the fillings a nice, vibrant color but that hint of freshness is retained even while baking.
- Bacon Lardons
Chicken and bacon? With pastry? With cheese? What could go wrong?
Simply fry up some bacon in your Instant Pot Pro (sautee setting) to get them nice and crispy, rendering all of that lovely fat out (reserving for later) and add them in with the shredded chicken.
- Layer up on cheese
Can something ever really be too cheesy? I certainly don’t think so.
Before putting your croissants into bake, don’t feel afraid to throw a few different kinds of cheese on there. A nice mature cheddar will play off the chicken nicely, giving the dish a smokey tone.
Cream Cheese Chicken Croissants Pro Tips
The main thing here to recommend is having the confidence to experiment.
Seriously, don’t feel scared to throw in bacon, peas, extra cheese or even a light mayonnaise sauce. It’s all going to bake together and be held by that cream cheese, so you’ve got so many options to follow here.
Also, while the egg-wash isn’t necessary, it really does add a lovely shine and gloss to these mouth-watering little parcels, so really take the extra time to finish this dish as it deserves.
Side Dishes
Ok, so let’s get into side dishes.
Usually, I’ll serve these at a dinner party or a relaxed family evening where we can all pick at them but, sometimes, you’re going to want to freeze them and eat a couple individually alongside something else.
Considering they’re a relatively cheap dish to make, I’ll often whack some in the freezer and re-heat in the morning before lunch.
With that in mind, here’s a couple of ideas to have on the side:
- Green beans
- Italian salad
- Boiled potatoes
- Couscous
- Carrots
- Asparagus
As you can see, it’s a pretty versatile dish so there’s quite a lot you can pair them with. Some simple and relatively inexpensive vegetables will largely do the trick, but even adding some extra carbs with a side serving of potatoes isn’t exactly unhealthy.
Try adding some fresh parsley on top of the croissants too, for another hit of freshness.
All in all, the beauty of these bad boys is that you can add pretty much anything on the side.
Recommended Cookware
So, as you’ll have seen, the cookware is actually pretty easy to sort out.
All you really need is a nice and wide baking tray on which to load the croissants without them crowding too much.
Elsewhere, I really couldn’t recommend an Instant Pot enough.
While these little lifesavers are helpful for so much in the kitchen, the juicy shredded chicken you can make in them is better than any other method of cooking it. Built to lock in all that flavor, there’s simply no danger of losing the smells and tastes of chicken cooking in that tangy seasoned stock.
To be honest, I’d advise any home cook to buy one of these. They’re simply amazing and can help you conquer even the most difficult of dishes thanks to the wide array of settings.
It’s also worth noting that a pastry brush is worth getting too.
Final thoughts and conclusion
A cheap and cheerful dish that’s really quite easy to make, I’d recommend making these to pretty much anyone.
Think of that croissant as your canvas. It’s up to you to start creating the flavors. Don’t like something? Leave it out! Want to try a different kind of crunch? Go right ahead!
The beauty of this dish is that it is all at your fingertips.