These Little Pigs in a Blanket are classic and simple. You don’t need all of the extra ingredients you’ll find in other recipes. I’ll show you how to make delicious pigs in a blanket without any of the extras and only two ingredients!
I’ve been making these since I was 7 years old. It was one of those easy, simple things my grandma would trust me to make completely on my own.
Needless to say, I’ve made and eaten a lot of these since then. I’ve tried variations, but the classic just can’t be beat.
This classic and simple version doesn’t need butter, salt, flour, cheese, or an egg wash that you’ll find in others. It stands great all on it’s own with just two ingredients!
Meat wrapped in bread is a pretty big staple down here in Texas. Whether you’re eating a brat in a tortilla or a kolache, it’s a mainstay in this area. We eat them for breakfast, as a snack, or even as a main meal.
Why You’ll Love Lil Smokies in a Blanket
The best thing about these is how quick and easy they are to make. You’ll have them ready from start to finish in about 20 minutes.
They work great as an appetizer, snack, or a side. We often eat them for breakfast around here when we’re not eating kolaches. Everyone loves these mini pigs in a blanket.
A bonus for these is that even though they’re super quick to make, they also freeze really well both cooked and uncooked so its easy to have these bite size snacks on hand!
Ingredients using little smokies and crescent rolls
You only need 2 ingredients to make this amazing appetizer!
- Canned Refrigerated Crescent Rolls – I’ve made these using original, reduced fat, butter flake, and the honey butter varieties and they’ve all worked out really well. I tend to primarily use Pillsbury brand for consistent results. Sometimes other brands don’t yield the same texture and flavor.
- Lit’l Smokies Smoked Sausage – These are cocktail sausages (or mini hot dogs) that you can typically find near the standard size hot dog franks and smoked sausage in the grocery store. Traditionally, pork is used (hence the whole pigs part of pigs in a blanket), but more often than not, I use the beef lil’ smokies. We tend to like the flavor better in them, but use whichever one you like! They have them in a variety of flavors if you want to change it up like turkey, cheddar, and jalapeno.
Substitutions & Alterations
There’s a few ways you can alter or substitute the only two ingredients in this recipe.
- You can replace the lil smokies with any sort of small smoked sausage or miniature frankfurter
- The crescent roll dough can be replaced with unbaked dinner roll dough or even canned biscuits.
- Some stores sell full sheets of crescent dough. These work great for this as well rather than the perforated triangle kind.
- While this recipe will give you the simple and classic version, you can also sprinkle them with salt, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or even bagel seasoning to change it up.
How to Make Lil Smokies in a Blanket
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- Unroll the crescent roll dough and cut each triangle into 4 evenly sized strips.
- Take one strip and wrap it around a smoked sausage and place it seam side down on a parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet.
- Continue wrapping each smoked sausage until they’ve all been wrapped.
- Bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes. Just until they are cooked through and beginning to turn golden brown.
- Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly before serving.
Tips & Tricks
When you’re wrapping the pastry dough around the smoked sausage, be sure to overlap the crescent roll dough slightly. This will help it stick to itself and sty on the sauce while cooking.
If the sausages seem really wet or are degrading the dough when you’re wrapping them, lay them out on a couple of paper towels and blot them dry before wrapping.
Keep in mind that these will take slightly longer than baking the crescent rolls on their own.
kitchen tools to make pigs in a blanket
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Buy Now → Pigs in a Blanket vs. Kolache
In Texas, there’s pigs in a blanket and there’s kolache. Well, there’s 2 types of kolache, and one is a delicious breakfast or dessert pastry.
Both the pastry kolache and the sausage roll kolache are said to have been brought with the early Czech settlers of 1800s Texas. But that’s a post for another time.
Texas sausage kolache is closer to a hot dog or sausage encased in a fluffy kolache dough instead of biscuit or crescent dough and baked to absolute perfection. Sausage kolache is also called a klobasnek in Texas after the Czech word for sausage: “klobasa”.
Think of the kolache as the pig in a blankets much larger sibling.
How to Serve Little Smokies in a Blanket
Serve the little puffed pigs warm from the oven or at room temperature.
Now if you’re looking for what to serve with pigs in a blanket, the options are endless.
They’re great as a side with eggs for breakfast. I like to serve them with these cute little hash brown egg cups.
They also make an amazing movie night snack. And of course, no appetizer table or tailgate seems complete without them.
Dips for Pigs in a Blanket
Mustard and ketcheup are the standard go-tos. But you have just got to try some of these other great options for dipping your little piggies.
- Yellow or Spicy Mustard
- Honey Mustard or Honey Mustard Dressing
- Beer Cheese Dip
- French Fry Dipping Sauce
- Velveeta Rotel Cheese Dip
- Best Homemade Burger Sauce
- Hawaiian Style BBQ Sauce
- Orange Cranberry Sauce – yes, trust me. The tanginess of the cranberry and orange go so well with the smoky sausages.
How to Store Leftover Pigs in a Blanket
To refrigerate leftover pigs in a blanket, allow them to cool completely first. Store in a well sealed, airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I like to put a paper towel on the bottom and on top to catch any extra condensation.
Can You Freeze Pigs In A Blanket?
Both precooked and cooked mini pigs in a blanket freeze really well!
To freeze precooked piggies, just wrap the sausages as you would if you were going to bake them. Lay them on a parchment lined baking sheet and place them in the freezer. When they are frozen solid, you can transfer them to a freezer safe bag for up to 3 months.
If you opt to bake them first before freezing, allow them to cool completely after baking. Condensation will ruin the cooked pastry dough. Once completely cooled, transfer to a freezer safe bag or container and freeze for up to 2 months.
How to Reheat Mini Pigs in Blankets
You can reheat refrigerated leftovers in the oven, air fryer, or microwave. My preferred methods in that order are:
In the Oven – preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the leftovers on a baking sheet and heat for 5-7 minutes or until warmed through.
In the Air Fryer – place the pigs in a blanket in a single layer and heat on 350° for about 5 minutes until they are hot.
In the Microwave – Place a paper towel on a microwave safe plate and put your piggies on the plate. Heat on high in 30 second blasts until hot.
FAQs
The original UK pigs in a blanket are a seasonal, holiday delicacy of sausages wrapped in bacon. Also known as “kilted sausages”, they’re usually served on Christmas and Boxing Day.
The American version of hot dogs wrapped in puff pastry is said to be based on the much earlier Czech klobasnek but is credited to a 1950s children’s cookbook published by Betty Crocker. Though there are similar dough wrapped sausage variations known to have been cooked over a fire and eaten by English farmhands since the 1600s
Cook pigs in a blanket at 375°F for about 12-14 minutes until the dough is a deep golden brown and cooked through.
More Appetizer Recipes You Might Like
- Air Fried Jalapeno Poppers
- Frank’s Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Southern Deviled Eggs
- Easy Air Fryer Loaded Potato Skins
- Wings, wings, and more wings
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Mini Pigs in a Blanket
Ingredients
- 1 package crescent rolls canned
- 32 lil smokies smoked sausage
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- Unroll the crescent roll dough and cut each triangle into 4 evenly sized strips.
- Take one strip and wrap it around a smoked sausage and place it seam side down on a parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet.
- Continue wrapping each smoked sausage until they’ve all been wrapped.
- Bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes. Just until they are cooked through and beginning to turn golden brown.
- Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly before serving.
Video
Notes
- When wrapping the smoked sausage, be sure to overlap the crescent roll dough slightly so that it will stick to itself and stay on the sausage.
- Baking these will take slightly longer than baking the crescent rolls on their own. Keep that in mind when baking.
- These are great sprinkled with a bit of coarse sea or kosher salt before baking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
