Italian Crescent Casserole
Italian Crescent Casserole is an easy delicious one pan meal. Made with ground beef, lots of cheese and oh my crescent rolls! It will become a favorite for kids any age!
Casserole Cooking
If you have followed me here for very long, you will know that I love cooking casseroles. It may be a genetic thing from my Momma or it could be as a result of being a true Southerner. Who knows?? Either way, it is the perfect way to cook. Casseroles are generally one pan meals that fit any occasion and are relatively easy to put together.
When thinking about my girls and when they were little, some of the ways I got them interested in cooking was to do messy recipes. That is alway fun! Another was to do easy recipes like casseroles that was very little work but showed great rewards. One of the their favorites has always been my Easy Breakfast Casserole. Be sure to click on the link to check it out too!
We also talk a lot about food gifting and casseroles like this Italian Crescent Casserole is a good one to make and take to people. Gifting food during milestones during peoples time of need is possibly one of the greatest blessings you can be a part of. The blessing is not just in the food you give, you also receive a blessing by giving.
How to make Italian Crescent Casserole
I love home made cooking. I also love a good shortcut. LOL, I know, it seems contradictory, but nevertheless it is true. I work full time so sometimes shortcuts are better than anything I could do scratch made. Crescent rolls, for example, are better bought in the can. For me anyway. LOL I do not posses the skill or time needed to make pastry as complicated as the crescent roll. So, there is no shame in getting a couple of cans in the refrigerated section to make this recipe!! Let me show you how its done!
~Ingredients~
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2, 8oz packages prepared Crescent roll dough
- 1 cup pasta sauce, your choice
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon pepper
~Method~
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Brown ground beef with salt, pepper and basil. Drain.
- Return beef to pan and mix in pasta sauce and heat through.
- Remove crescent dough from both packages. Unroll on a lightly floured surface and press seams together to form a solid sheet. Then, press both sheets together to form one large sheet.
- Gently place in a pie dish and allow edges to fall over pie plate. Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella on top of crust. Spoon in meat mixture and spread into an even layer.
- Fold edges over top of pie leaving center exposed. Sprinkle remaining one cup of cheese on top. Bake 30-45 minutes until brown and bubbly.
- Allow to cool 10 minutes, cut, serve and Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks for Italian Crescent Cassrole
How to Make handling crescent rolls easier.
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Crescent rolls can be kind of hairy to deal with. I like to dust my counter with a little flour and unroll them into a single sheet. From there, I press the seams together to form one rectangle. With this recipe, I do that for each tube of rolls then press the two rectangles together. I have found this is more efficient.
Save time with prepping ahead.
A handy tip for this and any other need you have for browned ground beef. Buy your ground beef in bulk, weigh out 1 pound portions pre cooked. Brown each portion, drain and cool and then place in freezer bags. Date and label them and freeze them cooked. This is a great idea to expedite supper! Take out what you need for tacos, spaghetti or this great casserole. The thaw time is minimal and saves you a lot of cooking time too!
Italian Crescent Casserole: Easy and Delicious
I love to surprise people with how easy recipes can also taste like you have cooked all day. My husband for one, is always skeptical when it comes to recipes like this one. He is a little old fashioned, like me, in the sense that the old way of cooking is the best way. And I do agree on that note as well.
It is important though that we embrace that in our fast paced world, many do not have time to cook like that. In order to conserve precious time, we use recipes like these to keep us eating at home which always proves to be a healthier choice. Using these shortcut methods to cook also provides us to have more quality time with our family. That after all, is the reason for everything we do. To forge those bonds with the ones we love over Food. I can think of nothing better!
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And as always, we would love it if you shared this recipe with your family and friends. Over to the side on this post and all of the others are handy dandy share buttons. We would sure be grateful if you shared the love!
Stuff We Used!
Italian Crescent Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Beef
- 1 cup Pasta Sauce your choice
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 2 packages Crescent Roll Dough
- 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese shredded
- 1/4 tsp Dried Basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Brown ground beef with salt, pepper and basil. Drain.
- Return beef to pan and mix in pasta sauce and heat through.
- Remove crescent dough from both packages. Unroll on a lightly floured surface and press seams together to form a solid sheet. Then, press both sheets together to form one large sheet.
- Gently place in a pie dish and allow edges to fall over pie plate. Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella on top of crust. Spoon in meat mixture and spread into an even layer.
- Fold edges over top of pie leaving center exposed. Sprinkle remaining one cup of cheese on top. Bake 30-45 minutes until brown and bubbly.
- Allow to cool 10 minutes, cut, serve and Enjoy!
I am with you Brooke, I love home made, but I also LOVE a good shortcut. This sounds great!
Thanks Amy!!!
This sounds yummy! I can’t wait to fix this.
Thank you!!!
I have never been more disappointed in my life. This wasn’t good At all. Pweh!
Very sorry you didn’t like it!
I decided to give this recipe a try and it definitely didn’t disappoint! So easy and tastes amazing! If you’re hesitating on trying this, DON’T!!! It’s one of my favorites now. My family loved it and I’ll adding this recipe to my arsenal!
Thanks so very much, this means a great deal to me!