Pigs in a Blanket with Crescent Rolls
Pigs in a blanket made with crescent roll dough and little smokies, brushed with butter and baked at 375°F until puffed and golden. Ready in 30 minutes.
This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy.
Pigs in a blanket are the fastest crowd food there is, and this pigs in a blanket recipe is the version everyone already pictures: little smokies rolled up in crescent dough, brushed with butter, and baked at 375°F until the pastry puffs and browns. Twenty-four of them come off one sheet pan in about 15 minutes.
The one step worth slowing down for is drying the sausages. They come packed in liquid, and a wet sausage makes the dough slip instead of grip, which is how you end up with blankets that unroll in the oven. Thirty seconds with a paper towel takes care of it.
Little smokies are sold fully cooked, so nothing here is about cooking raw meat. You’re baking dough. Pull the pan when the crescents are puffed and deep golden all over, around 13 to 15 minutes, and the sausages inside will be steaming hot.
Why You’ll Love This Pigs in a Blanket Recipe
- Four ingredients. Crescent dough, little smokies, butter, and a pinch of flaky salt. That’s the entire list.
- Kids eat them without a conversation. It’s a hot dog in a soft roll, shrunk down to a size they can hold in one hand, and it clears more plates than most dinners do.
- Fifteen minutes of assembly. Cut, wrap, brush, bake. There’s no dough to make and nothing to cook ahead.
- They go anywhere. Bake them, pile them on a platter with mustard, and they’re still good an hour later at room temperature.
Pigs in a Blanket Ingredients
One 8 ounce can of crescent dough gives you 8 triangles, and each triangle cuts into 3 strips, so you get exactly 24 wrappers for 24 smokies. A 14 ounce package holds around 40 sausages, so you’ll have some left. Use two cans of dough if you want to wrap the whole package.
- 1 (8 oz) can refrigerated crescent roll dough
- 24 little smokies cocktail sausages (from a 14 oz package, which holds around 40)
- 2 tbsp salted butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt
Recipe Variations
- Use 4 hot dogs cut into 6 pieces each in place of the little smokies. Hot dogs are also sold fully cooked, so the bake time stays the same at 13-15 minutes.
- Lay a thin strip of sharp cheddar against each sausage before you roll it up. Some cheese leaks out and crisps on the pan, which is the best part of the batch.
- Brush the tops with a beaten egg instead of butter and sprinkle on everything bagel seasoning. The egg wash gives you a shinier, deeper brown crust.
How to Make Pigs in a Blanket
- Heat the oven: Heat the oven to 375°F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Dry the sausages: Drain the little smokies and lay them out on a paper towel. Blot them dry on all sides so the dough grips instead of sliding around.
- Cut the dough: Unroll the crescent dough and separate it into 8 triangles. Cut each triangle lengthwise into 3 thin strips with a pizza cutter, which gives you 24 pieces.
- Roll them up: Set a sausage on the wide end of each strip and roll it toward the point. Place them seam side down on the sheet pan, about an inch apart so they have room to puff.
- Brush and season: Brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle the flaky sea salt over them.
- Bake: Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the dough is puffed and deep golden brown all over, not just on the very top. The sausages come fully cooked, so the color of the pastry is your cue; by the time the dough is that color the sausages are heated through past 165°F, the USDA’s reheat temperature for precooked meat. Let them cool 2 minutes before serving, since the sausages hold their heat longer than the dough does.
Recipe FAQs
Can I Make Pigs in a Blanket Ahead of Time?
Yes. Wrap them, arrange them on the pan, cover with plastic, and refrigerate up to 8 hours. Bake straight from the fridge and add 2-3 minutes.
Can I Use Puff Pastry Instead of Crescent Dough?
You can. Cut thawed puff pastry into strips about 2 by 3 inches and bake at 400°F for 18-20 minutes, until the pastry is fully puffed and browned through. It comes out flakier and less bready than crescent dough.
How Many Does One Can of Crescent Dough Make?
Twenty-four, if you cut each of the 8 triangles into 3 strips. Cut them into 5 strips instead and you’ll get 40, which wraps a full 14 ounce package of smokies with thinner blankets.
Why Did My Crescent Dough Unroll in the Oven?
The sausages were wet, or the seam was facing up. Blot the smokies dry and always set them seam side down so the weight of the sausage holds the dough closed.
Can I Bake Pigs in a Blanket from Frozen?
Yes. Freeze them unbaked on a sheet pan, transfer to a bag, and bake straight from frozen at 375°F for 18-22 minutes, until the dough is deep golden and the sausages are steaming hot at 165°F. Don’t thaw them first or the dough turns soggy.
Cooking Tips
- Use a pizza cutter instead of a knife. It slices crescent dough in one clean pass without dragging and stretching the strips out of shape.
- Keep the dough cold until the second you use it. Warm crescent dough goes sticky and tears, so leave the can in the fridge while the oven heats.
- Give them an inch of space on the pan. Crowded rolls trap steam between them, and the sides stay pale and soft while the tops brown.
Storage and Freezing
To store: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The pastry softens overnight, which there’s no getting around.
To freeze: Freeze them unbaked for the best result: arrange the wrapped rolls on a sheet pan, freeze solid, then move them to a bag for up to 2 months. Already-baked ones keep 1 month but come out noticeably softer.
To reheat: Reheat at 350°F for 8-10 minutes, or in an air fryer at 350°F for 4-5 minutes, until they reach 165°F. Skip the microwave, it turns the dough chewy.
How to Serve Pigs in a Blanket
Pigs in a blanket want something to dip in, so set out yellow mustard, honey mustard, ketchup, and barbecue sauce and let everyone pick. As a kid dinner they go well with tomato soup, or with apple slices and carrot sticks on the side. On a party table, put them next to a cheese board or a bowl of chips and they’ll be gone before anything else is touched.
Loved This Recipe?
Pigs in a Blanket take 30 minutes start to finish and vanish faster than that, every single time.
Leave a star rating in the comments below, it helps other people find this recipe. Made it? Tag @allwellfed on Instagram, I love seeing this one in other people’s kitchens.
Pigs in a Blanket with Crescent Rolls
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 (8 oz) can refrigerated crescent roll dough
- 24 little smokies cocktail sausages from a 14 oz package (it holds around 40)
- 2 tbsp salted butter melted
- 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Heat the oven: Heat the oven to 375°F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Dry the sausages: Drain the little smokies and lay them out on a paper towel. Blot them dry on all sides so the dough grips instead of sliding around.
- Cut the dough: Unroll the crescent dough and separate it into 8 triangles. Cut each triangle lengthwise into 3 thin strips with a pizza cutter, which gives you 24 pieces.
- Roll them up: Set a sausage on the wide end of each strip and roll it toward the point. Place them seam side down on the sheet pan, about an inch apart so they have room to puff.
- Brush and season: Brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle the flaky sea salt over them.
- Bake: Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the dough is puffed and deep golden brown all over, not just on the very top. The sausages come fully cooked, so the color of the pastry is your cue; by the time the dough is that color the sausages are heated through past 165°F, the USDA’s reheat temperature for precooked meat. Let them cool 2 minutes before serving, since the sausages hold their heat longer than the dough does.
Notes
If you made this, leave a star rating down in the comments. It takes about ten seconds, and it’s how other cooks decide whether a recipe is worth trying.
