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At the time of writing this December has just come around. We all know what that means… Christmas time!
As the song goes, “it’s the most wonderful time of the year,” and I truly believe it! I love the holiday season so much! I love the festivities and the food! The holidays give me such a good fuzzy feeling!
Now let’s get onto the main topic of discussion. Holiday meals and appetizers. I know for many people appetizers can be the part of the meal that stresses them out. Trust me, these Pigs in a Blanket are the go-to appetizer you gotta try! Only two main ingredients and a five minute prep time! These will be perfect for you to deliver something absolutely delicious that will have your guests wanting more while you can focus on the other parts of your meal! Additionally, making these in an air fryer speeds up the process so much since they bake significantly faster!
For more tips on how to spark your creativity in the kitchen and how to host the best stress-free dinner parties, be sure to check out my free guide Making Cooking Fun!, my 5 top tips to explore your potential and make cooking an enjoyable experience for any occasion! Put your heart on a plate by making these wonderful Pigs in a Blanket as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! To get these free guides to motivate you in the kitchen, sign up for my email newsletter!
Don’t forget to watch the video to follow along as we make our Pigs in a Blanket for all the tips and the comparison of air frying them and baking them in the oven! If you’re not already, I’d appreciate it if you subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit the bell button so you receive all of the notifications when a new video recipe premieres! I love to share the video recipes to give you all the tools you need for success! Let’s get cooking!
What’s an air fryer?▼
An air fryer is a medium countertop kitchen appliance that acts in a similar manner as a convection oven. The hot air circulates in a small space, which helps to get the food crispy, with a comparable texture of deep frying but without the oil. Because the air is at such a high speed, it assists in cooking the food much faster than a traditional oven. More details on that to come!
What air fryer are you using?▼
I am using the Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 2-Basket Air Fryer for this recipe. It’s got the following six settings:
- Air Fry
- Air Broil
- Reheat
- Dehydrate
- Bake
- Roast
While I mostly use the “air fry” setting for obvious reasons, the others do come in handy from time to time. I’ve still never actually tried “dehydrate” though, but I need to at some point!
I also really like the two basket feature so you can cook two different apps at the same time. It can also get them hot at the same time, so you don’t have to wait on anything!
For a detailed review of my first impressions of this air fryer, check out this video.
Why are they called pigs in a blanket?▼
Pigs in a Blanket refers to hot dogs that are wrapped in dough. They are very similar to Sausage Rolls, but sausage rolls consists of sausage, as the name suggests, wrapped in puff pastry. You can cook sausage rolls in the air fryer and oven, and I do a comparison of the two methods in this recipe! Sausage rolls is an appetizer or snack from England and Australia, whereas Pigs in a Blanket is American. There actually is a British pigs in a blanket, where the sausage is wrapped in bacon!
What is a crescent roll?▼
A crescent roll is puff pastry that’s rolled up in a can. You can use it as directed and bake it in the oven or air fryer to get a crescent pastry, or you can cut, mold and shape it for other baking treats, sweet or savory! This is actually my first ever recipe using these, as I was recommended to do so by my sister’s boyfriend!
Why Make Pigs in a Blanket in the Air Fryer?
- Easy: These Pigs in a Blanket are extremely easy to make, making them a perfect option for a holiday appetizer and they’re the perfect recipe for a beginner who’s hosting his or her first dinner party! If you’ve got a very involved main dish that you want to concentrate on, this is the perfect solution. Your dough is already prepared, and all you need to do is cut it out and roll up your piggies in their blanket! Cooks of all levels can achieve some tasty Pigs in a Blanket with the help of crescent rolls and an air fryer!
- Fast: Not only is the process of cutting dough and rolling up the pigs in the dough quick, but the cook time in the air fryer is significantly faster than baking in the oven.
- Budget-friendly: We only have two main ingredients, and you can make a big batch of these Pigs in a Blanket! They’re perfect for newbies who are hosting for the first time!
- Minimalistic: Only TWO ingredients as mentioned earlier is what you’ll need! Plus, minimal equipment is needed too, so you won’t have to clean up much!
- Make-ahead friendly: You can wrap the hot dogs in the dough and freeze them so that you have them ready on hand for whenever you’ve got a dinner party to cook them up!
- Amazing for a crowd: Who can say no to these adorable appetizers? Trust me, they’re as tasty as they look! Meat and golden brown puff pastry, what’s not to love?
- Plenty of variations: Scroll to the bottom of this post for some ideas on how to enhance this simple recipe and customize it to make it your own!
What temperature do you air fryer crescent roll pigs in a blanket?▼
I recommend you cook your Pigs in a Blanket at 360 Fahrenheit using the “Air Fry” mode on your air fryer. This helps you get a nice golden brown color on the pastry and the sausage is fully cooked and warm inside, without taking too long!
Time to Air Fry Pigs in a Blanket
Cooking the Pigs in a Blanket at 360 F will only take about 5 minutes to cook! I didn’t have to flip them at all, they just got ready on both sides and the sausage was a nice red color and super juicy!
Can I cook frozen pigs in a blanket in the air fryer?▼
Yes, you can certainly air fry the Pigs in a Blanket from frozen if you’ve prepped them in advance. No need to defrost the raw apps overnight, you can cook them immediately. The cook time may increase by 5-10 minutes, so keep checking to ensure it is fully cooked.
Equipment for Air Fryer Crescent Rolls Pigs in a Blanket
- Cutting board
- Paring knife or pizza cutter
- Air fryer
- Baking tray
- Pastry brush
- Parchment paper
- Ramekin (to dip sauce!)
Ingredients for Air Fryer Crescent Roll Pigs in a Blanket
Be sure to scroll FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD to save the recipe instructions and for all ingredients and their quantities. You can also click the “Jump to Recipe” button to go directly to the recipe card. The card will also allow you to scale the recipe based on how many pigs in a blanket so you know how many packages of Crescent rolls you’ll need to get for your crowd!
- Grands! crescent rolls: You’ve got the original ones and the larger ones. I’m using the large ones here because they’ll get nice and fluffy.
- Lil smokies: You could use regular-sized hot dogs if you can’t find lil’ smokies and cut them in half. I was lucky enough to find the lil’ smokies, which are cocktail sausages. No cutting required and they just look cuter! If you’re using hot dogs, however, you won’t have to cut the crescent roll dough because it’ll fit the size of the hot dogs.
- All purpose flour: Helps create a base for the cutting the crescent roll dough on your cutting board.
- Eggs: I always love to put an egg wash whenever working with pastry to get a glorious golden brown color!
- Dipping sauces: There are plenty of great sauces that will be fantastic with these pigs in a blanket! Scroll down below to see my recommendations!
How to Make Mini Pigs in a Blanket in the Air Fryer
Dust your work surface with flour and then open and unroll your crescent roll.
Usually, 1 roll should be a large rectangular shape, with 4 large triangles already cut out.
Run a knife or pizza wheel through each of those pre-cuts.
Then cut each of those triangles in half, and then each of those halves into thirds to get a long triangular shape. This should result in 24 portions.
Add a cocktail sausage to the thick end of the crescent roll portion and roll tightly. Repeat the same for the remaining dough portions.
Whisk an egg and using a brush the tops of the pastry with the egg wash.
Preheat the air fryer at 360 F for 5 minutes.
Add the pigs in a blanket portions to the air fryer basket and air fry for 5-7 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
Let the portions cooldown for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
I Don’t Have An Air Fryer! How do I make pigs in a blanket in the oven?▼
Preheat oven to 375 F. Place the sausage roll to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 15-18 minutes on the middle rack until the pastry is golden brown.
Let the portions cooldown for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Tips & Tricks for Fluffy and Tasty Pigs in a Blanket?
- Use the tip of a sharp knife to cut the pastry efficiently.
- Make sure to roll the pastry tightly around the sausage to ensure it doesn’t come undone while baking.
- The egg wash helps give color to the final pastry. For a darker color, you can use just egg yolk with a tsp of water to top the pastry.
- If baking in the oven, be sure to turn the baking sheet 180 degrees once while baking to ensure even color on each side.
- You can make larger portion sizes by experimenting different sausage sizes and matching the size of the pastry relative to the sausage.
Variations for Air Fryer Pigs in a Blanket
- Dough: If you don’t want to use the canned crescent roll dough, you could also use puff pastry, either frozen or from scratch if you’re really ambitious! Other options include pizza dough, biscuit dough, or pretzel dough.
- Spicy: You can throw in some jalapeños with the hot dogs for some heat!
- Cheesy: Add in a small square of mozzarella cheese or string cheese with your hot dog!
Dipping Sauces for Pigs in a Blanket Made in the Air Fryer
I’ve got three options going on with serving my air fried pigs in a blanket here: Classic Marinara Sauce, Jalapeño Dijon Mustard, and BBQ sauce. My favorite choice here was the Dijon mustard! You can mix and match these ideas as I did, or try out even more! Here are some other recommendations that would pair perfectly:
- Ketchup
- Regular Dijon mustard (or any flavored one!)
- Spicy Mayo
- Garlic truffle aioli
- Chili garlic sauce
- Sriracha
Serving Suggestions for Air Fryer Pigs in a Blanket
Pigs in a Blanket are typically served as an appetizer. They’re pretty versatile for any main dish, to be honest, or you can serve them alone with sauce as a snack. To help compile a holiday meal, here are some ideas to pair with your Pigs in a Blanket:
- Air Fryer Roasted Potatoes
- Sautéed Broccoli
- Air Fryer Cajun Potato Wedges
- Ultimate Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Healthy Creamy Coleslaw
- Super Easy Potato Salad
- No-Fail Roast Chicken
Can you make Air Fryer Pigs in a blanket in advance?▼
Of course you can, and that’s another bonus of choosing this recipe for your holiday appetizer! While the Air Fried Pigs in a Blanket will be best served fresh, they can be prepped for later. Roll up the hot dogs in the dough and place in the freezer in a plastic bag. Additionally, you can keep any leftover cooked pigs in a blanket in the fridge or refrigerator.
How to Store Air Fryer Mini Pigs in a blanket▼
Store any leftover Mini Pigs in a Blanket in an airtight container. To reheat the pigs in a blanket, place them in the air fryer at 350 for two to three minutes, or until warmed through. You can also reheat pigs in a blanket in the oven at 350 F, although this will take 5 to 10 minutes.
How to reheat pigs in a blanket▼
To reheat Pigs in a Blanket that were stored in the fridge, simply place them in the air fryer basket. Reheat at 350 F for about 3-4 minutes.
If reheating raw pigs in a blanket from frozen, there is no need to defrost the pigs in a blanket overnight! Simply take the desired amount out of your freezer bag and cook them in the air fryer as described earlier in the air frying process. You will probably only need a few more minutes to get the pigs in a blanket cooked.
3 comments
Pigs in blankets are small sausages wrapped bacon. No pastry is involved in making them.
You are correct you are referring to the British version. This is the American kind.
Pigs in a blanket is a small hot dog or other sausage wrapped in pastry commonly served as an appetizer in the United States. The similarity in name with that of the UK dish pigs in blankets, which is a sausage wrapped in bacon, sometimes causes confusion.
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