Pigs in a Blanket, made with lil smokies and crescent rolls, is one of our favorite go-to appetizers. You don't want to miss these homemade delights perfect for dipping and snacking!
Dipping sauce, and tasty seasoning make our original recipe one of the best around. Plus they are super easy making this great for parties for New Years, Christmas, and the Super Bowl. You can even make them breakfast style!
How long do you cook pigs in a blanket? One of the best parts about this recipe is how quickly they assemble and then cook. It only takes 15 minutes to have golden brown, bit sized, snacks.
When it comes to parties, we are all about the food! Serve these with our other fun appetizers for the ultimate party spread. Try them with Artichoke Jalepeno Poppers, Brie and Jame Puff Pastries, and Bacon Wrapped Dates.
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What are Pigs in a Blanket made of?
We elevated basic Pigs in a Blanket with some extra seasoning and tasty butter. Make them with your favorite seasoning for the perfect taste.
- Lil Smokies- We like to use either beef or Polish Hillshire Farms Lit'l Smokies.
- Crescent Rolls- You can use either Pillsbury or store-brand canned crescent rolls.
- Butter- Salted butter is best and you don't have to worry about softening it before because you will be melting the butter.
- Seasoning- Use your favorite seasoning like crushed red pepper flakes, coarse salt, or everything but the bagel seasoning.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Pigs in a Blanket
This recipe is so easy to make but makes a big statement at any party! We've got the best tips and tricks for the perfect dipper.
- Start by unrolling the crescent rolls and cutting each in half, long ways.
- Pat dry the little smokies. Add the little smoky to the large end of the crescent roll.
- Start to roll the beef up in the dough. You want to make sure it's not too loose but you don't want to make it extra tight.
- Pinch the end of the dough so that it doesn't come unrolled as it rises while baking. Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle on your seasoning of choice.
- Cook for 15 minutes at 375° F, or until golden brown.
Hint: It's important to make a good seal with the end of the dough. The crescent rolls will try to unroll while baking.
Substitutions and Variations
Try some of our favorite substitutions and variations for different fun flavors!
- With Hot Dogs- While these make great appetizers, you can make Pigs in a Blanket with full sized hot dogs as well. Use the full crescent roll instead of cutting them into smaller pieces.
- With Cheese- Adding cheese is one of my favorite things to do, place a strip of cheddar or your favorite cheese on top before baking for crispy cheese or about 4 minutes before they're done for melted cheese.
- Puff Pastry- Crescent rolls are easy to use because of their shape and preportioned amount but you can also use puff pastry.
- Bacon- Add bacon by topping the dough with bacon bits, or adding a small, cut, piece of bacon with the lil' smoky before rolling it up.
What's the difference between kolache and pig in a blanket?
Kolaches are traditional Czech pastries made with sweet yeast dough and typically filled with fruit, cheese, or savory fillings like sausage. Pigs in a Blanket is a lil smoky or hot dog wrapped in a simpler, often store-bought pastry or crescent roll dough.
How to serve
Make this for an appetizer for New Years Eve, the Super Bowl, Christmas, or even Halloween. Serve it with beer cheese dipping sauce, or cabbage.
For Christmas, place them in a Christmas Tree or Christmas Wreath Shape. For Halloween make them a mummy theme by adding to eyes to the outside of the dough.
Storing
Store leftover Pigs in a Blanket in an air tight container, in the refrigerator, for 3-4 days. When ready to eat again warm them up in the microwave or get that just out of the oven taste by warming them up in the air fryer.
These make a great frozen appetizer so you can prep in advanced. Freeze them just before baking. Add the rolled up lil smokies to a freezer friendly container. When ready to cook, add the frozen Pigs in a blanket to a prepared sheet pan and cook for 18-25 minutes at 375° F.
Top tip
If you forgot to brush the tops with butter and season before baking, no worries. Add the butter and seasoning right when they get out of the oven and are still hot.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
Pigs in a Blanket
Ingredients
- 8 oz crescent rolls
- 12 oz mini cocktail weiners
- 1 Tablespoon butter melted
- toppings such as coarse salt, red pepper flakes, poppyseeds and everything bagel seasoning optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Open crescent rolls and cut each roll into 3 long skinny triangles.
- Place a cocktail weiner on crescent roll, at the top (the widest part). Roll up the weiner using all of the dough. See above for a process picture of how this works. Place each pig in a blanket on the baking sheet, about 1.5 inches apart. Butter the tops of each one with a pastry brush. Top with seasonings if desired. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
- Dip in whatever you want! Ketchup, mustard, cheese sauce and ranch are the most popular dips.
Notes
- When cutting the crescent rolls into the triangles, we highly recommend using a very sharp knife. They can be a little sticky and a sharp knife (serrated can help too) makes it so much more manageable.
- Some of my long skinny triangles ended up having a very narrow top. If this happens to you, gently stretch the top part to create a wider top.
- If you forget to put the butter and/or seasonings on before putting them into the oven, don't worry I've done this before too. You can add the butter and/or seasonings after they come out of the oven too.
- My favorite cocktail weiners are lil' smokies, but any brand will work!
- For a little sweetness, sprinkle some brown sugar on the weiners before rolling them up.
- While testing this recipe I found that the butter soaked into the rolls fairly quickly and the seasonings stopped sticking as well. I recommend buttering about 6 at a time to combat this.
- Our favorite seasoning to add is the red pepper flakes! We love the little kick it adds.
Andrea says
The perfect appetizer! My family loves it when I make this pigs in a blanket recipe.