This Cheese Danish Recipe will blow your socks off! It’s not only so easy but also so SO delicious and drizzled with icing on top!
Today’s post is a result of finding crescent rolls and a miscellaneous package of cream cheese in my fridge. A Cheese Danish Recipe that takes 10 minutes or less to make. With only 5 ingredients! My kind of treat.
Cheese Danish Recipe
This is truly the easiest and simplest Cheese Danish Recipe. 10 minutes, 5 ingredients, here’s what you’ll need:
- Crescent Rolls – this is what I used and it worked so well! If you want to use puff pastry, feel free to!
- Cream Cheese – tangy, creamy goodness.
- Granulated Sugar – to sweeten, of course.
- Vanilla Extract – for flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour – this helps stabilize the filling.
- Powdered Sugar, Heavy Cream, and Vanilla Extract – the icing is optional but heavily recommended!
How to Make Cheese Danish
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, and vanilla. Set aside.
- Pop open crescent roll dough and unroll, leaving crescents in rectangles. On an ungreased baking sheet, lay the crescent roll rectangles together, lining them up width wise. The dough should be almost the entire length of a half sheet pan.
- Press edges together to even out edges and seal any holes. Carefully spread cream cheese filling down the center of the dough to be about 2-3 inches wide. Cut 1/2 inch diagonal strips up each side of the dough. Fold 1/2 inch dough pieces up over filling alternating sides to get a braided pattern. You may have excess dough once you reach the end of the danish, so fold them in as best as you can.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until filling is set and the crescent dough is golden in color. Cool before removing from the baking sheet.
Icing
- Once danish has cooled, remove to a serving platter. In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar, vanilla, and cream to create icing. You may need to add more cream to get the desired consistency. Drizzle icing over danish.
- Cut into pieces and serve.
Leftover Cheese Danish
Any leftover Cheese Danish should be refrigerated, covered, for up to a week! This is no store-bought danish where it can sit out. No crazy preservatives here, so be sure to refrigerate.
Freezing
Unfortunately, this cheese danish does not freeze well. This is because the cream cheese filling will change textures when frozen then thawed again. It becomes less of a creamy filling and more of a crumbly texture. Ew.
But if you want to make this danish recipe without the cream cheese filling you can freeze it (baked or unbaked).
Unbaked. Prepare recipe completely up to the point of baking. Place the unbaked danish on the parchment-lined baking sheet in the freezer for a few hours until frozen. Once frozen, remove from the baking sheet and place it into an air-tight container. Return to the freezer for up to two months!
You can bake the danish straight from the freezer. Give it an extra 15-20 minutes to bake and watch closely!
Baked. Cool the danish completely then place in an air-tight container. It can last for up to two weeks in the freezer. When ready to serve, remove from the freezer and let thaw in the fridge overnight. To heat the danish up place in the oven until heated through. Store any leftovers in the fridge.
Make-Ahead
Thankfully this cheese danish recipe is super easy to make ahead. This is great to save you even more time! Whether you are making this the night ahead for breakfast in the morning or for dessert the next day you can follow these easy steps.
- First, follow the directions as normal and stop before baking!
- Make some room in your fridge because now you can take your whole baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.
- Keep in your refrigerator for up to two days.
- When ready to bake, pull it out of your fridge and let the danish get to room temperature. Then bake as you normally would! Enjoy!
Variations
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Danish
- Apple Cinnamon Cream Cheese Danish
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Danish
- Easy Blackberry Cheese Danish
Check out my other versions of this recipe, they are SO good!
The printable recipe card is below, enjoy!
Easy Cheese Danish Recipe
This Cheese Danish Recipe will blow your socks off! It's not only so easy but also so SO delicious and drizzled with icing on top!Ingredients
- 1 tube crescent rolls
- 1 8 oz. package cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 + tablespoons heavy cream
- splash vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla. Set aside.
- Pop open crescent roll dough and unroll, leaving crescents in rectangles. On an ungreased baking sheet, lay the crescent roll rectangles together, lining them up width wise. Dough should be almost the entire length of a half sheet pan.
- Press edges together to even out edges and seal any holes. Carefully spread cream cheese filling down the center of the dough to be about 2-3 inches wide. Cut 1/2 inch diagonal strips up each side of the dough. Fold 1/2 inch dough pieces up over filling alternating sides to get a braided pattern. You may have excess dough once you reach the end of the danish, so fold them in as best as you can. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until filling is set and crescent dough is golden in color. Cool before removing from baking sheet.
- Once danish has cooled, remove to serving platter. In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar, vanilla and cream to create icing. You may need to add more cream to get the desired consistency. Drizzle icing over danish.
- Cut into pieces and serve.
Nutrition
Julie says
So easy and comes out great just as written!
The filling sets nicely.
I used this recipe as a base for filled croissants and they were so delicious! Make the filling without vanilla and half the sugar and add two tablespoons of strawberry jam and 1/2 of an egg yolk. Spoon onto the crossant dough triangle 1/2 inch from the wide edge and roll like you would a regular croissant. Pinch it closed if you have to. Paint with an egg wash and sprinkle some sugar and bake. ZOMG! Crazy good.
Amy Leaver says
This is a delicious and easy danish recipe! My 9 year old daughter loves to make it with me.
Christen says
Love making this super easy recipe! It is the ONLY breakfast dish that my mother-in-law requests that I make for family get togethers!
Sarah says
I’ve made this recipe THREE TIMES in the last month. Everyone thinks I am so clever…no need to tell them how incredibly easy it is. Thank you, Lauren, from one supermom to another.
Andrea says
Do left overs need to be refrigerated? I know they aren’t in the store but maybe this is fresher? Lol
Scott Lewin says
This was so easy and tastes better than anything from the grocery store. I recommend a splash of lemon in the cream cheese mix.
Beth says
I would die for it! Love it! Tate’s as good as it looks. Well at least in your picture. I’m not the best presenter
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