Italian Chicken Pastry Bites

Five ingredients and 40 minutes. Cooked chicken gets warmed with spaghetti sauce and garlic, then spooned into crescent roll triangles with a bit of mozzarella, wrapped up, and baked until golden and flaky.

These are the kind of recipe that looks like you put in effort but barely requires any. The crescent roll dough puffs up around the filling, creating a buttery, flaky pastry shell with a saucy, savory pocket of Italian-seasoned chicken inside. The mozzarella melts into the filling and stretches with every bite.

Use leftover rotisserie chicken or any cooked chicken you have on hand. The spaghetti sauce and garlic do all the seasoning, so even bland chicken gets a flavor boost. Pinch the dough closed tightly around the filling so it doesn’t leak out during baking.

Chef Tips

• Don’t overfill the crescent triangles. Too much filling prevents the dough from sealing and the chicken leaks out.
• Pinch the seams firmly closed. The dough puffs as it bakes and can pop open at weak spots.
• A baking stone gives the bottoms extra crispness, but a regular baking sheet works fine too.
• Serve warm with extra spaghetti sauce on the side for dipping.

Variations

• Add a sprinkle of Italian seasoning or red pepper flakes to the chicken filling for more punch.
• Use pesto instead of spaghetti sauce for a basil-garlic twist.
• Swap chicken for cooked Italian sausage for a heartier, spicier filling.