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These easy Gruyère Croissants are just what every dinner table needs. We’re skipping the 3-day process and making croissants start to finish in under 2 hours with zero stress. By skipping multiple folds and chill times and using plenty of butter, we’re able to create the perfect light, buttery, super soft in the middle, and extra flaky outside, croissant. These are YUMMY. Perfect for the holidays when served warm with sweet, salted cranberry honey butter.
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Every holiday table, Thanksgiving or Christmas, needs a roll. Most years, and especially for Thanksgiving, I make my honey butter parker house rolls. Everyone loves them and they’re easy.
But this year I wanted cheese croissants – but not the work of making croissants, so I cheated. And while technically these aren’t classic croissants, you can see from all the layers that they’re going to be GOOD.
So call them cheater’s croissants or whatever you like, but they’re now my favorite.
If you’ve ever ventured to make croissants, most recipes are a 3-day process. Way too much work if you as me. I just can’t do that.
Instead of multiple folds, chill times, and rise times, we’re basically skipping all that by using super thin slices of butter, layered throughout the dough.
It’s simple. But before you get confused, let’s get into the details.
The details
Start with the dough. Simply mix flour with instant yeast and a pinch of salt. I use instant yeast to keep the rolls really quick and easy so we don’t need to worry about rise times.
That said, you can easily use regular yeast too. I gave directions within the notes. But I actually think the instant yeast works wonderfully for this particular recipe.
Next, add warm milk, a touch of honey, and salted butter. Then lots of grated Gruyère cheese. Mix until smooth, and let the dough rest for 10 to 15 minutes or even a few hours. The dough will not get super puffy, but that’s OK since we’re using instant yeast. We get to skip an entire hour-long rise time, which is helpful for holiday meals and busy nights!
Shaping the croissants are fun. First, roll the dough out into a rectangle, then layer the top of the dough with thin slices of cold butter.
THIN COLD SLICES OF BUTTER.
All capitals are needed because the cold butter is how we will create layers of flaky deliciousness throughout the dough. The butter is folded, then rolled into the dough. Try to keep the butter as cold as possible. I like to freeze my sticks for 15 minutes, then slice and use.
Fold the dough once, roll it out, then roll it out once more. Rolling the dough twice helps to really distribute the butter into the dough.
Now roll the dough out once more into a super long rectangle, then cut into long, thin triangles. Top each triangle with more Gruyère cheese and roll it right on up and into a croissant shape.
This ends up actually being a pretty fun process if you enjoy baking. And if you don’t enjoy baking, at least it’s not stressful. Nothing here needs to be done perfectly!
Now that the croissants have been formed, I stash them in the freezer to chill the butter before baking. Just 15-20 minutes is all you need!
Brush the croissants with an egg just before baking, then bake away! I shot as many photos as possible to help you see the process. I created a video too.
The cranberry butter
While the croissants bake, I mix up a cranberry butter using salted butter, dried cranberries, and honey. It’s so delicious slathered over each savory, cheesy croissant.
Especially when topped with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
What I love most about these croissants is that you really can’t mess them up. The dough and process are so easy and very forgiving. They’re SO GOOD every time, because, how can anything layered with butter and Gruyère be bad? It just can’t.
Make these for Thanksgiving. They’re perfect for soaking up all that gravy and then eating for breakfast the next morning. There’s nothing not to love.
You can also make these ahead of time, then bake just before serving. Or, if you need to be conscious of oven space, pre-bake these a day ahead of time, then just warm them up before serving, no oven needed.
Again, flaky on the outside, soft, buttery, perfectly sweet, and cheesy inside with so many delicious, buttery layers.
What every dinner roll should aspire to!
Looking for other holiday bread recipes? Try these.
Salted Honey Butter Parker House Rolls
Perfect Popovers with Cranberry Butter
Pull-Apart Garlic Butter Bread Wreath
Salted Rosemary Popovers with Honey Butter
Parmesan Popovers with Crispy Sage Garlic Butter
Lastly, if you make these Easy Gruyère Croissants be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Easy Gruyère Croissants
Ingredients
- 3 1/2– 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) Rapid Rise yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups Gruyère cheese, grated
- 1 cup warm whole milk
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 sticks (3/4) cup cold salted butter, sliced into thin pieces
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, beaten together, for brushing
Cranberry Honey Butter
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Add 1 cup of cheese. Mix with a fork to combine.2. Pour in the warm milk, honey, 1 egg, and butter. Using the dough hook, mix until the flour is incorporated, 4-5 minutes. If the dough seems sticky, add the remaining 1/4 -1/2 cup of flour. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes or up to a few hours at room temperature.3. Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, creating a large rectangle that’s about 12×18 inches. Layer the thin slices of cold butter down the middle 1/3 of the dough, creating a rectangle of butter (see above photo).4. Fold 1/3 of the dough over the butter, then fold the other 1/3 over top of the first layer so you have 3 dough layers (like an envelope). Roll the dough out again into a large rectangle, fold into thirds. 5. Next, roll the dough out in a large, long 25×9 inch rectangle (it does not need to be exact/perfect). Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife cut the dough into 14-16 long triangles, about 3 inches wide. Sprinkle each triangle with the remaining cheese. Roll the croissants up. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, 2-3 inches apart. Cover and freeze 15-20 minutes. Alternatively, you can let the rolls sit in the fridge overnight. 6. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Brush with the rolls with the beaten egg. Bake the croissants for 16-20 minutes, until deeply golden. Serve the croissant warm, with cranberry butter and sea salt7. To make the cranberry butter. Combine the butter, cranberries, honey, and a pinch of salt together in a small bowl.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
These look so yummy! Any chance I could add freshly baked pieces of bacon to this before baking too?
Thanks so much Kate! Sure, I don’t see why that wouldn’t work for you! I hope you love this recipe! xx
Wanting to try these, do you happen to have the measurements in grams? I find it’s much harder to mess up baking projects when I measure by weight 🙂
Hi Tara,
You bet, just click “metric” at the bottom of the ingredient list:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Super fun to make and so, SO good! I took the cold/almost frozen butter, and grated it. I forgot to do the egg at the end, and it was still excellent, just a little less pretty than your pictures. My dough was lumpy because the gruyere I used was a thicker grate/grade. Some of my butter leaked out, which meant aluminum foil would have made for an easier clean up, but it was still super easy and good. Used the leftovers to make yummy Thanksgiving Leftovers Croque Madame from this site.
Hey Amy,
Happy Wednesday!!🎇 I am delighted to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you making it! xx
Hey Tieghan! I just made these and they look good but while baking all the butter leaked out of the croissants and just pooled at the bottom of the pan. I don’t really know what I did wrong.
Hi Alex,
So sorry to hear this! Was your butter super cold? That’s key! Let me know how I can help! xT
Is regular salted butter good or do you recommend cultured butter?
Hey Jean,
Regular salted butter is just fine! I hope this recipe turns out well for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Great recipe!! I made them for Thanksgiving and now I’m making them again for Christmas Eve. Just a heads up though, when you convert the measurements to metric, the flour measurement is NOT correct. It’s actually almost double what you need. It was a pretty big headache the first time around. Sooo much easier this time!! 😂
Hey Megan,
I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Merry Christmas! 🎁🎄
hi, so I am in the process of making these and my dough is resting. however I am concerned as my dough is not as smooth as in your instagram video. should I be concerned? should I do anything else? ty
Hi Ali,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try! What does it look like? Was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? Let me know how it turns out! xx
hi, well I emailed you two pictures (a couple of days ago) if you could check them out it would help. the dough was not smooth, more cracked and the butter never became incorporated. the taste was just ok but probably would have been much better if things came together better. I’d really love your feedback. ty
Hi Ali,
Thanks for your comment, I did reply via email but will reply here as well to help others! What kind of yeast did you use? From the photos, it seems as though your dough was too warm. If you watch my video, you are just giving it a quick roll out with the butter and that’s it. Let me know if this helps! xx
Hi Tieghan, do you think I can make these without cheese? Mainly because I forgot the cheese at the store ugh.
Hi Kimm,
Yes, that will be just fine for you to do! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
If you’re not a fan of cranberries, is there another fruit that would be good to try? Blackberries?
Hi Gaury,
Sure, whatever you like:) Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Delicious!!!
Mine are more a Biscuit texture. Followed directions to the letter. I am not a great dough maker…ever!!!
Hey there,
Happy Monday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it turned out well for you! Thanks for your comment! xT
Hello Tieghan. In step 5, the instructions say to “cover and freeze the rolled croissants for 15-20 minutes.” I wonder if this shouldn’t say, “cover and let rise for 15 – 20 minutes,” and then bake. Thank you for your help with this.
Hi Jan,
Nope, the instructions are correct, you will want to cover and freeze for 15-20 minutes or pop in the fridge overnight. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
I made these and they were delicious but I don’t think I rolled the dough out thin enough. Do you have any tips or tricks??
Hey Maeve,
Wonderful!!🎄 I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review! Hmm, the dough really shouldn’t be all that thin, was it comparable to the photos above? xx
We do not typically keep milk in the house. Can I substitute oat milk or almond milk? Or greek yogurt?
Hey Wendy,
Sure, you can use another other milk of your choosing. Please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Friday! xx
These were an absolute hit for Thanksgiving! I didn’t add the Gruyère to half of the batch (my daughter hates cheese – I don’t know where she came from but she looks just her parents). The cook time in a convection oven was 17 mins. Super flaky and chewy in the best way with a soft center. I used active fry yeast and let it rise for a little over an hour in a warm kitchen. After I sliced the butter I popped it in the freezer for a few minutes to make sure it didn’t melt while rolling and folding the dough. I’ll be making these again! Now I am not intimidated by making croissants now!!! Thanks!
Hey Jess,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for giving it a try! Have a great weekend:)
These were so easy and fun to make! I’ve had a lifelong goal of making croissants from scratch and I’ve been too intimidated/bad at planning to do the 2-3 day ones so this was a great starter recipe. We had to add more flour to the dough when folding/rolling which was a mistake – but they still tasted great (just a little flour-y). AND I didn’t use enough egg wash, so lesson learned. They were browning more quickly than the inside was cooking, so we took out of the oven when brown and lightly wrapped in cloth to keep them hot and hoping they’d cook through a bit more and that worked well. Would definitely make these again, the thanksgiving guests were impressed!
Hey Jessa,
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and giving these croissants a try! I love to hear that they were enjoyed and appreciate you making them! xx
Thank you! This was a great recipe for someone that doesn’t consider themselves a baker. They were awesome and poof they were gone!
Hey Melanie,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for giving it a try! Have a great weekend:)
These were a big hit around the Thanksgiving table last night! Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Pam,
Thank you so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a winner! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx