Crescent Roll Pigs in a Blanket

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 02/15/23
Tested by
Noah Velush-Rogers
Noah Velush-Rogers
Tested by Noah Velush-Rogers
Noah Velush-Rogers works on food prep for several area caterers. He has worked with a team of prep chefs for a private school group. He was an assistant cooking teacher for children and teen group cooking classes. Noah was hired as an intern and was then trained as a recipe tester for Fine Cooking Magazine. 
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 12 mins
Total: 27 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Yield: 8 hot dogs

Little hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls make a delicious lunch or snack. Affectionately named "pigs in a blanket," they're also the perfect hors d'oeuvres for a party or casual gathering, and kids can't get enough of them. Bake them for a party or as a television snack and watch them quickly disappear.

Pigs in a blanket is a common term for hot dogs or Vienna sausages baked in a crescent roll (the name also refers to pancake-wrapped breakfast sausages). They are quick to make using canned refrigerated crescent rolls. While you could make the dough from scratch, the canned variety comes in the perfect shape needed to wrap the hot dogs and makes the recipe a breeze.

Use a type of cheese that will melt well when baked: Cheddar and American are classic choices. Garnishing the rolls with sesame or poppy seeds adds a little nutty flavor and dresses them up when serving to adults.

Serve your pigs in a blanket with your favorite mustard. Kids are bound to like plain yellow mustard, and some will even prefer ketchup. Other ideas include a Creole mayonnaise sauce, a combination of mustard and mayonnaise, or your favorite specialty mustard.

Golden brown crescent roll pigs in a blanket topped with sesame seeds

The Spruce Eats / Eric Kleinberg

 “I can’t be the first one who just wanted full sized pigs in a blanket like this. My biggest problem is always feeling like a slob for eating so many small ones as a meal, so this solves all the problems of that. I recommend getting all your favorite mustards to dip these in.” —Noah Velush-Rogers

Crescent Roll Pigs in a Blanket/Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 8 hot dogs

  • 4 slices cheddar cheese, or American cheese

  • 1 (8-ounce) tube refrigerated crescent rolls

  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon of water, optional

  • Sesame seeds or poppy seeds, for garnish, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for crescent roll pigs in a blanket recipe gathered

    The Spruce Eats / Eric Kleinberg

  2. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 400 F. With a sharp knife, cut each hot dog down the middle lengthwise, almost all the way through.

    Hot dogs cut down the middle lengthwise on a cutting board

    The Spruce Eats / Eric Kleinberg

  3. Cut each slice of cheese into 6 narrow strips to produce 24 strips total.

    Cheese slices cut into narrow strips

    The Spruce Eats / Eric Kleinberg

  4. Fit 3 strips of cheese into each hot dog.

    Cheese strips inserted into hot dogs on a cutting board

    The Spruce Eats / Eric Kleinberg

  5. Separate the crescent dough into triangles and wrap each hot dog: Start with the long end of the triangle, stretching the dough a little to completely cover hot dog.

    Crescent dough separated into triangles, hot dogs completely wrapped in dough

    The Spruce Eats / Eric Kleinberg

  6. If desired, brush tops of each crescent wrapped hot dog with the optional egg and water mixture. Sprinkle lightly with sesame or poppy seeds, if using.

    Dough-wrapped hot dogs sprinkled with sesame seeds

    The Spruce Eats / Eric Kleinberg

  7. Place wrapped hot dogs on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. Bake until golden brown, 9 to 12 minutes.

    Golden brown crescent roll pigs in a blanket on a baking pan lined with parchment paper

    The Spruce Eats / Eric Kleinberg

  8. Remove pigs in a blanket to a serving plate and serve warm with preferred mustard or dipping sauce.

    Crescent roll pigs stacked on a plate, small bowls with mustard and ketchup to the side

    The Spruce Eats / Eric Kleinberg

Variations

  • To make smaller, bite-sized portions, fill the hot dogs with the cheese and then cut them in half crosswise. Cut a crescent roll triangle in half to wrap the hot dog halves.
  • Use Vienna sausages or small precooked breakfast sausages, cutting the crescent roll in half to fit the smaller size.
  • If you substitute sausages, you must first cook any that aren't precooked as the baking time will not be sufficient.
  • You can omit the cheese for plain crescent roll hot dogs.
  • Use veggie dogs for a vegetarian option. The Pillsbury brand crescent rolls are vegan.

How to Store

  • Store any leftover pigs in a blanket covered in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave for breakfast, lunch, or a snack.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
331 Calories
26g Fat
13g Carbs
12g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 331
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 26g 33%
Saturated Fat 12g 59%
Cholesterol 62mg 21%
Sodium 667mg 29%
Total Carbohydrate 13g 5%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 12g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 115mg 9%
Iron 1mg 7%
Potassium 176mg 4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)