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These cheesy sausage squares are warm, buttery, and packed with savory Breakfast sausage and sharp cheddar. With just three ingredients and a baking dish, they’re an easy appetizer or dinner starter you’re going to love. The edges get crisp and bronzed, the center stays soft and cheesy, and the whole kitchen smells amazing.
Why You’ll Love It
- Just 3 ingredients — breakfast sausage, sharp cheddar, and refrigerated crescent dough.
- Easy to make — simple layers come together in one baking dish.
- Crisp and cheesy — golden crescent dough surrounds a warm, gooey sausage filling.
- Great for serving — cut into 16 squares for an easy appetizer, snack, or dinner starter.
- Holds up well — the filling settles after resting, so the squares cut cleanly.
Ingredient Notes
Use bulk pork breakfast sausage—the loose kind in the tube or package, not links. Mild is what I usually buy because heat preferences vary. If you like spice, hot breakfast sausage is wonderful here.
Sharp cheddar gives these their good, old-fashioned bite. I prefer shredding a block myself when I have the patience, because it melts a little smoother, but bagged shredded cheddar is completely fine. We are making three-ingredient sausage squares, not auditioning for a cooking show on television.
For the dough, you need one 8-ounce can of refrigerated crescent roll dough or a crescent dough sheet. The sheet is less fussy because there are no perforations to pinch closed. Still, regular crescent rolls work perfectly well. Just press those seams together firmly. If you don’t, the filling may find its way through a crack like it’s escaping Alcatraz.
Ingredients
- 1 pound bulk pork breakfast sausage, mild or hot—mild is my usual, though hot has its fans around here
- 2 cups packed shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 ounces), freshly shredded if you feel like it, bagged if you do not
- 1 can (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent roll dough or crescent sheet
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375°F and lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or give it a good spray with nonstick cooking spray. Don’t skip the corners—I always think I got them, then one little piece welds itself to the pan out of spite.
Put the breakfast sausage in a large skillet over medium heat and cook it for 7 to 10 minutes, breaking it up with a spatula as it browns. Keep going until there is no pink left at all; the sausage should be fully cooked and reach 160°F if you’re checking it with a thermometer.
Drain off the excess grease from the sausage. This is worth doing, even if you’re tempted to rush ahead, because too much grease makes the bottom crust soggy. I once ignored that little voice in my head and wound up with something that tasted good but had the structural integrity of a wet paper towel.
Take the skillet off the heat and stir in the shredded sharp cheddar until it is evenly mixed through the warm sausage and beginning to melt. It will look a little messy and gooey—that is exactly what you want, so resist the urge to fuss with it.
Open the crescent dough and, if you are using regular crescent rolls rather than a sheet, pinch all the perforated seams closed so you have one solid piece of dough. Divide the dough into two roughly equal portions. It does not have to be mathematically perfect; this is dinner, not geometry class.
Press one half of the crescent dough into the bottom of the prepared 9-by-13-inch dish, gently stretching it out so it reaches the corners. This is your bottom crust, and it may look thin in places. That’s fine—it puffs up some while baking.
Spoon the sausage and cheddar mixture over the dough, spreading it into an even layer all the way to the edges. Try not to leave a giant sausage mountain in the middle.
Lay the remaining crescent dough over the filling and gently stretch it to cover the top from edge to edge. Pinch together any seams or little gaps. It does not need to look smooth or fancy; the uneven ridges get especially golden and are usually the first pieces people pick at.
Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the top is a deep golden brown and the edges are puffed and crisp. A little cheese bubbling around the sides is not a problem—it’s basically the cook’s snack.
Remove the dish from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting. I know, waiting is irritating, especially when it smells this good, but the filling needs a few minutes to settle or the squares will slide around when you cut them.
Cut into 16 squares, four rows by four rows, using a sharp knife. Serve them warm, preferably before everyone has wandered into the kitchen and “sampled” half the pan.
Variations
Hot breakfast sausage and pepper jack cheese make a spicier version. It’s very good, though I still prefer sharp cheddar because it has that familiar, salty tang.
You can also use Colby Jack instead of cheddar if you want a softer, creamier melt. Keep the amount the same—2 cups packed—and you’ll still have the same easy three-ingredient situation.
A version with a fancy smoked cheese was not terrible exactly, but it tasted like somebody had put a campfire inside a biscuit. It did not become a favorite.
If you only have a smaller baking dish, you can use it, though the squares will be thicker and may need an extra minute or two. Watch the top rather than relying blindly on the clock. Ovens have moods. Mine certainly does.
Storage & Reheating
If you have leftovers—and that is a big if—get them into the refrigerator within 2 hours. I store the squares in a covered container, usually with a little piece of parchment between layers if I’m stacking them. They’ll keep well for a few days.
For reheating, use a 325°F oven until they’re warmed through. That brings back the crispness in the crescent dough and keeps the cheese nice and melty. The microwave will heat them, sure, but the crust gets soft and a little rubbery. Sometimes life is busy and you microwave one anyway while standing at the counter in your socks. No judgment. But the oven is better.
You can brown the sausage and mix in the cheese earlier in the day, then cover and refrigerate it until you’re ready to assemble. That can save time when you need to get dinner started quickly.
Final Notes
These are the kind of little squares that disappear before you quite realize what happened. One minute there’s a full golden pan on the counter, and the next there are three lonely pieces in the corner.
I love recipes like that—not because they’re impressive, exactly, though they look impressive. Mostly because they make the kitchen feel busy in a good way. There’s a little grease splatter on the stove, a stack of plates waiting in the sink, and the smell of sausage and butter hanging around long after dinner.
And yes, they can ruin your appetite for the meal that comes after. I still make them anyway. Some things are worth a slightly neglected salad.
Southern 3-Ingredient Cheesy Sausage Squares
Ingredients
- 1 pound bulk pork breakfast sausage Mild or hot
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese Packed; 8 ounces
- 1 can refrigerated crescent roll dough or crescent sheet 8 ounces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or spray it with nonstick cooking spray.
- Cook the breakfast sausage in a large skillet over medium heat for 7 to 10 minutes, breaking it up with a spatula, until no pink remains and it reaches 160°F if checked with a thermometer.
- Drain the excess grease from the cooked sausage to help prevent a soggy bottom crust.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the shredded sharp cheddar until it is evenly mixed through the warm sausage and beginning to melt.
- Open the crescent dough, pinch any perforated seams closed if using regular crescent rolls, and divide the dough into two roughly equal portions.
- Press one portion of the crescent dough into the bottom of the prepared 9-by-13-inch dish, gently stretching it to reach the corners.
- Spoon the sausage and cheddar mixture over the dough and spread it into an even layer all the way to the edges.
- Lay the remaining crescent dough over the filling and gently stretch it to cover the top from edge to edge, pinching together any seams or gaps.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown, the edges are puffed and crisp, and some cheese is bubbling around the sides.
- Remove the dish from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes so the filling can settle before cutting.
- Cut the bake into 16 squares using a sharp knife and serve warm.