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Gotta love a classic Pigs in a Blanket appetizer! These are always the first to go at a party, and for good reason. Whole all-beef hot dogs are wrapped in crescent roll dough, stuffed with cheeses and baked with a garlicky butter. They’re cheesy, easy to make, and so addictive!
For more easy bite-sized apps, check out these Pizza Stuffed Crescent Rolls, our favorite Chicken Bacon Ranch Pinwheels, and these Mozzarella Sticks.
Pigs in a Blanket
There are few things in life that my family loves more than pigs in a blanket. It’s one of those nostalgic appetizers that I grew up eating and have continued to adore well into adulthood. What’s not to love? Salty all-beef hot dogs are wrapped up in soft crescent roll dough, stuffed with cheese, baked and then brushed with a totally addictive garlic butter. So good.
We love to eat these Pigs in a Blanket as appetizer, but we love them equally as much served for dinner with a big salad and some grilled veggies. Happy kiddos, happy adults. There are a million different ways you can make pigs in a blanket, but my favorite is what I grew up with, good old packaged crescent roll dough, American cheese and hot dogs. Here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredients in Pigs in a Blanket
This is one of my favorite dishes to make for my kids because the ingredients are so simple. Plus, you can add extra fillings, cheeses, and serve with your favorite dipping sauce to add more flavor! They’re so easy to customize.
- Crescent Roll Dough: I grew up using crescent dough for pigs in a blanket, so that’s still what I use today. If you want to get a little fancier, you can also make pigs in a blanket with puff pastry. You still have the same effect, but the puff pastry is a little bit more flaky and crispy, whereas the crescent roll dough is soft and sweet. It’s just a personal preference!
- Hot Dogs: I use all-beef hot dogs, but use whatever you want! This would work with turkey dogs or even chicken hot dogs.
- Cheese: I like to use American cheese here. It melts wonderfully and gives that all-American Pigs in a Blanket taste, but cheddar cheese would also work nicely.
- Dijon Mustard: This is totally optional. I usually do half with Dijon, half without since my kids don’t tend to like it. All I do is spread a little bit of mustard on each strip of dough, then roll the hot dog up as I normally would.
- Butter: You’ll need salted, melted butter. If you don’t have salted butter, that’s fine, just season the butter with salt to taste.
- Spices: You’ll need garlic powder and onion powder. This gets added to the melted butter mixture and brushed on top of each roll.
- Maldon Salt: This is also optional, but I love topping these pigs in a blanket with big flakes of salt.
How to Make Pigs in a Blanket
These pigs in a blanket are about as easy as it gets to make. Only a few simple steps and then you’ll have a delicious meaty, buttery snack that the whole family will love!
- Preheat Oven, Prepare Pan: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a medium baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Shape the Dough: Take the crescent roll dough out of the can. Keep the dough in tact. Gently pull the dough into four rectangles. (They should already be in rectangles as each rectangle has two triangles that are meant to be pulled apart if you were making classic crescent rolls.) Use your fingers to pinch the middle of the triangles together so the rectangle stays in tact when you cut it and roll the pigs in a blanket. Use a pizza cutter to cut each rectangle into three long strips. They should be about 3/4-inch by 4-inches. You should have twelve strips.
- Cut the Hot Dogs: Cut the hot dogs into thirds. You should have twelve pieces of hot dog.
- Cut Cheese Slices: Cut each slice of cheese in half and then into thirds. You should have six small pieces of cheese.
- Add Fillings: If using, brush the strips of dough with a little bit of Dijon mustard. Place a piece of cheese on the bottom of the strip of dough. Then place a mini hot dog on top. Roll up and place on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake: Bake for 12 minutes until golden brown and cheese has melted.
- Butter Mixture: While the pigs in a blanket bake, melt butter in a small saucepan. Stir in garlic powder and onion powder. When the pigs in a blanket comet of the oven, brush with the butter. Sprinkle with flaked sea salt. Serve with preferred dipping sauce.
Tips, Tricks and Variations
These pigs in a blanket are easy to make, and also easy to customize! Here are a few simple ways to switch things up:
- Use Different Dough: Swap out the crescent roll dough for puff pastry or even pizza dough if that’s what you have on hand.
- Make it Spicy: For a spicy pigs in a blanket, add in a little bit of crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to the garlic butter.
- Other Cheeses: Use cheddar, pepper jack, or even gouda in place of the American cheese.
- Use Different Hot Dogs: Feel free to swap out turkey or chicken hot dogs for the beef. You could even do cheddarwurst sausage or spicy sausage as a tasty variation.
- Dipping Sauces: Fry sauce, chipotle mayo, honey mustard, garlic aioli, BBQ sauce, sriracha mayo, the options are endless!
Can You Make These in Advance?
ABSOLUTELY! Please do. You can prep them a day in advance, cover with plastic wrap and then bake right before serving.
Storing Leftovers
If you have leftover pigs in a blanket, transfer them to an airtight container and store for up to 3 days.
Reheating
- In the Air Fryer: Preheat air fryer to 375 degrees F and air fry for 3-5 minutes, keeping an eye on your pigs in a blanket to avoid overcooking.
- In the Oven: Preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 8-10 minutes, until completely warmed through.
- In the Microwave: For a snack in a pinch, microwave your pigs in a blanket for 30-second intervals or until warm.
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Pigs in a Blanket
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 4 hot dogs
- 2 slices American cheese
- 1 package crescent roll triangles
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- ketchup, mustard, and maldon salt for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a medium baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Take the crescent roll dough out of the can. Keep the dough in tact. Gently pull the dough into four rectangles. (They should already be in rectangles as each rectangle has two triangles that are meant to be pulled apart if you were making classic crescent rolls.) Use your fingers to pinch the middle of the triangles together so the rectangle stays in tact when you cut it and roll the pigs in a blanket. Use a pizza cutter to cut each rectangle into three long strips. They should be about 3/4-inch by 4-inches. You should have twelve strips.
- Cut the hot dogs into thirds. You should have twelve pieces of hot dog.
- Cut each slice of cheese in half and then into thirds. You should have six small pieces of cheese.
- If using, brush the strips of dough with a little bit of dijon mustard. Place a piece of cheese on the bottom of the strip of dough. Place a piece of hot dog on top. Roll up and place on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 12 minutes until golden brown and cheese has melted.
- While the pigs in a blanket bake, melt butter in a small saucepan. Stir in garlic powder and onion powder. When the pigs in a blanket comet of the oven, brush with the butter. Sprinkle with flaked sea salt. Serve with preferred dipping sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Easy to make grandkids love them 😀
love this recipe. will surely try this out.
Really cool post and a delicious food. 5 stars from me