Chicken and Broccoli Ring

My Chicken and Broccoli Ring is an appetizer that I have been making for quite awhile now. It’s a recipe my mom shared with me and one that I go back to over and over again. I vaguely remember her telling me she got the recipe from a Pampered Chef party she attended a long time ago. It’s a good thing I remembered this because I never got a picture of the final product of my Chicken and Broccoli Ring and had to go searching on Google for a photo. Sure enough, I found the Chicken and Broccoli Ring on Pampered Chef’s website. There are a few differences between mine and theirs, but the end result looks the same. 

My mom did hers as a “braid” instead of a “ring” which just means the shape was different.

I served this appetizer last week at my husband Patrick’s birthday party. You can read, How To Throw A Party For Someone Special Stress-Free for all the details and other delicious recipes from this evening like my Cranberry Orange Pinwheel Sandwiches. In that post I mentioned how I like to have a variety of food at all my gatherings. Since I was only going to be serving appetizers at Patrick’s birthday, I knew I wanted something with a protein( chicken in this case) and with some substance. Plus, I wanted a mixture of hot and cold appetizers to serve.

This appetizer was one of the hardest ones on my list for the party. It’s not that it was necessarily hard to make but there were multiple steps to making the Chicken and Broccoli Ring that are time consuming. I had to take this into account when making my menu for the evening. I knew I would not only need time to put the ring together but I would also need room in my oven for this appetizer. I don’t recommend having too many items like this on your menu that have multiple steps and need heating right before your party. You only have so much room in your oven anyway, right? I do recommend having a few “wow” items on your menu though because it makes you look like a cooking Rock Star and who doesn’t want that kind of image!

I’m a firm believer in planning ahead and making a timeline for any event that you are organizing. If you are planning on making this Chicken and Broccoli Ring for a gathering, you can make the filling a day or two ahead of time. That’s exactly what I did so I only had to worry about assembling the ring and throwing it in the oven right before the party. Of course it’s perfectly fine if you would prefer to make the whole recipe from start to finish in one shot. This Chicken and Broccoli Ring is filling enough to be a dinner for your family. Just add a salad on the side and you’re good to go!

So what will you need to make the Chicken and Broccoli Ring?

2 cups cooked chicken, 1 cup chopped broccoli, ½ cup chopped red pepper, 2 garlic cloves (minced), 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, ½ – ¾ cup mayonnaise, 2 tbsp slivered almonds, ¼ tsp. Salt, 2 (8 count) packages Crescent Rolls, 1 egg white

*I did not add the dill mix to my recipe that you see on the recipe card.*

If you are going to be making this recipe from start to finish you’ll want to begin by preheating your oven to 375 degrees.

Start with the chopping. You’ll need to chop your chicken, broccoli and red pepper and add it to a mixing bowl. Mince your two garlic cloves and add to the other ingredients in the bowl. To save time you can buy a rotisserie chicken at your local grocery store for this recipe. I just put a couple of chicken breasts in a 9 x 13 baking dish and cooked them prior to making this recipe. Either way works!

Next you’ll want to add your shredded cheddar cheese, salt and mayo to your other ingredients and begin mixing thoroughly. Start with a ½ cup of mayonnaise and if you feel it’s too dry add a little more. Don’t exceed the ¾ cup of mayonnaise because you don’t want the taste of it to overpower the dish. *At this point I covered my bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. You can stop here and pick up with the recipe the next day before your party.

Now we get to make the ring. I took these directions from Pillsbury’s website. The recipe from their website is actually for a Pesto Chicken Crescent Ring, but the way to make the ring is the same. Again, my apologies on not getting a picture of the final product. It was super busy the night of the party! If anything, these pictures are an example of how versatile the “Crescent Ring” concept can be. You can make the ring with multiple fillings like buffalo chicken, taco filling, or even breakfast foods like eggs, bacon and cheese! The ideas are endless. 

Unroll both cans of dough and separate into 16 triangles. On a circular stoneware or ungreased large cookie sheet, arrange triangles in ring so short sides of triangles form a 5-inch circle in center. The dough will overlap. The dough ring should look like the sun.

Then, spoon the chicken mixture on the half of each triangle closest to center of ring.

Bring each dough triangle up over filling, tucking dough under bottom layer of dough to secure it. Repeat around the ring until entire filling is enclosed (some filling might show a little).

Brush top of ring with the egg white and sprinkle with 2 tbsp. of slivered almond.

Bake at 375 for 25 – 28 minutes or until golden brown.

Wait 5 minutes before cutting into smaller pieces to serve.

I left this right on my circular stoneware on the top of my stove. The stoneware holds heat and keeps the Chicken and Broccoli Ring warm for quite awhile!