Chicken Pillows – soft and tender roll dough stuffed with a creamy chicken filling, then baked to perfection. Sure to be a hit with everyone who tries them!

It has been a ca-razy week at our house. Between track meets, piano lessons, basketball practice, scouts, and baseball games, we have been running around like crazy. Dinner was sandwiches not once, but twice this week. And they were eaten on the run. Yikes! As I was driving to and fro doing the mom thing, I was thinking that I really need to make up some freezer meals for days that are over the top crazy. If you’ve got any favorites that freeze well, feel free to leave a comment!
I’ve had this recipe for these  on my computer for ages, and thought it was about time I shared it. If you live in Utah, you are probably familiar with Chicken Pillows. If not, you may have no idea what the heck they are. But you should, because they are super yummy! Traditionally they are made with Crescent Roll dough and topped with sauce made from canned cream of chicken soup. That’s how I grew up on them, and it is delicious. I just wanted to come up with a homemade version. But if you are having a week like mine, you can sub two cans of crescent rolls for the homemade dough, and use the canned soup. I won’t judge.
The traditional recipe just calls for chicken, cream cheese, and seasonings for the filling. But we like them with the celery and cashews. They add good flavor and a nice crunch! I actually forgot to add the cashews when I made them one time, and my boys totally noticed. Which surprised me because usually they inhale things so quickly I’m not even sure their taste buds even register what they’re eating. 😉

Yield: 10-12 bundles

Chicken Pillows

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Creamy chicken mixture with celery and cashews baked inside yeast buns.

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 batch of Soft Garlic Knots
• Filling:
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened (I use light)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• 1 tsp dry minced onion
• 1/2 cup salted roasted cashews, coarsely chopped
• [br]
• Optional Sauce:
• 4 tsp butter
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp chicken bouillon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream (light or fat free works fine)

Instructions

Prepare dough, cover, and set aside.

For filling: Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir till thoroughly combined. Break off a piece of your bread dough and roll it out into a circle (mine were about 5" across). Place a large scoop of filling in the center and wrap the dough up around it. Pinch the edges together to seal and place seam side down on a silpat lined or greased cookie sheet. Repeat for remaining dough and filling.

Bake at 375° for about 20 minutes.

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan and whisk in the flour. Whisk in the milk, bouillon, salt, and Worcestershire. Cook and stir over medium heat till thick and bubbly. Boil for at least 1 minute to remove flour taste. Add cheese and sour cream and stir till melted. Serve with the chicken bundles.

Notes

My boys prefer to eat these without the sauce, so I usually don't make it. They make great leftovers and can be eaten like a sandwich if you like.

If you want to be fancy, you can brush the rolls with melted butter and dip them in bread crumbs before baking.