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This easy crescent roll apple dumplings recipe uses refrigerated crescent roll dough in place of traditional dumpling dough. You’ll love the apple cider syrup that they bake in.

Our homemade apple dumplings recipe is one of our most popular apple recipes. We’ve been making them for almost 25 years and they are 100% worth the effort.

If you’re craving apple dumplings but need them done in about 30 minutes, then this is the easy dessert recipe for you. Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings. Many other easy apple dumpling recipes call for sodas such as Mountain Dew being poured over the top, but in ours, the homemade apple cider syrup makes them taste extra special.

a spoonful of apple dumplings with caramel and ice cream

About this Crescent Roll Apple Dumpling Recipe:

Flavor: You’ll get double the apple flavor in this dessert thanks to the fresh apples and the apple cider. The sweet apples and sauce pair well with the buttery crescent rolls.
Texture: The apples will be softened, but not too soft depending on the type of apple you use and how big the apple slices are. The crescents are soft and flaky and the sweet apple cider syrup will bake onto the top of the crescents leaving a very lightly crisp top.

Ingredients Needed

Crescent rolls. Buy an 8 ounce tube of crescent rolls, any brand. It should come with 8 crescent roll triangles.
Apples. What are the best apples to use? Granny Smith apples, Pink Lady or Gala apples work well. We prefer peeling the apples, but you can leave the peel on if you’d like.
Butter.
Brown sugar.
Cinnamon & Nutmeg.
Vanilla.
Apple cider. Do NOT use apple cider vinegar. This is apple cider, the sweet drink. Or you can use apple juice as well. (If you’d like the traditional recipe, use Mountain Dew, Ginger Ale or Sprite instead of apple cider.)

How to Make Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a pie plate (cast iron) or 8×8” baking dish with cooking spray.
Open the can of crescent rolls and roll the dough out flat. Roll each wedge of apple in 1 triangle of dough.

rolling apple slices in a crescent roll on a wooden board

Place the rolled crescents in the greased pan.

unbaked crescent roll apple dumplings in a pan

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and apple cider. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then remove the sauce pan from the heat.
Add the vanilla extract and stir.
Pour the brown sugar syrup over the crescents.

unbaked crescent roll apple dumplings in sauce in a pan

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the crescents are golden brown.
Serve the crescent roll dumplings warm with caramel sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

crescent roll apple dumplings baked in a cast iron skillet

Double the recipe.

If you need more, double the recipe and bake in a 9×13″ baking pan. You may need to add up to 10 more minutes of baking time.

Instant Pot Instructions

If you love to use your Instant Pot, click here for our Instant Pot Apple Dumpling Recipe. They turn out delicious, with the only difference being they won’t have the light crisp on the outside of the crescent rolls.

Storage Instructions

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To serve, warm in the microwave.

Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings

4.92 from 12 votes

This easy crescent roll apple dumplings recipe uses refrigerated crescent roll dough in place of traditional dumpling dough. You'll love the apple cider syrup that they bake in.

Servings 8

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

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Ingredients

8 ounces crescent rolls 1 tube
1-2 Granny Smith apples* peeled and cored, then cut into wedges (you’ll need 8 sections to roll up in the rolls)
4 tablespoons salted butter 2 ounces
1/2 cup brown sugar 100 grams
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3 grams
dash of ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup apple cider juice (not vinegar!) 6 ounces

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a pie plate (cast iron) or 8×8” baking pan with cooking spray.
Open the can of crescent rolls and roll the dough out flat. Roll each wedge of apple in 1 crescent roll.
Place the rolled crescents in the greased pan.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and apple cider. Bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat.
Add the vanilla extract and stir.
Pour the brown sugar mixture over the crescents.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crescents are golden brown.
Serve warm with caramel syrup and vanilla ice cream.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Notes

*I use an apple peeler / corer / slicer to prepare my apples, which means they end up in thin slices rather than wedges. It’s ok…just take the same amount that would equal an apple wedge and roll them in the crescent rolls.

*If I have coarse sugar on hand, I sprinkle the sugar over the dumplings right before baking. It gives them a little sparkle.

Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.

The calories shown are based on the recipe making 8 servings, with 1 serving being 1 dumpling. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**