Vegan Pigs in a Blanket

Created On: February 10, 2023 | By Debbie | 10 Comments

Need a quick and easy vegan appetizer than everyone will love? These vegan pigs in a blanket are only 4 ingredients and ready in just about 15 minutes! Cook them up in either the oven or your air fryer and serve with mustard, BBQ sauce, or ketchup for dipping.

You may be wondering why a dietitian is posting a pigs in a blanket recipe, but I love quick and easy appetizers like this one too! Eating a healthy diet is all about balance – not every meal is going to be chock full of fiber and nutrients and that’s perfectly ok.

I’ve been vegetarian (now vegan!) for years, so it has been a very long time since I’ve had pigs in a blanket. Since I finally found a vegan hot dog that I actually like – it was time to make these. I had so much fun creating this easy vegan pigs in a blanket recipe!

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

Easy Appetizer: What’s not to love about an appetizer recipe with just 4 ingredients that can be whipped up in just about 15 minutes?
Cooking Options: Don’t want to heat up the oven for these? No worries! You can also make these in the air fryer.
This recipe is vegan, dairy free, and egg free so it can be an appetizer option that works for so many people! Kid friendly too. 🙂

Ingredients You’ll Need

Crescent Roll Dough: most refrigerated crescent roll doughs in the store are actually vegan so it isn’t too hard to find one! A lot of pastry contains dairy, but crescent dough is usually made with palm oil instead. I used the brand Immaculate for mine, but you could also use Pillsbury crescent rolls which are vegan too.
Vegan Hot Dogs: since vegan cocktail dogs don’t exist (at least I don’t think they do?!), we’re using vegan hot dogs for this recipe. Any brand of veggie hot dogs will work for the recipe, but my favorite is Upton’s hot dogs.
Vegan Butter: to help the seasoning stick to the top of the pigs in a blanket and give them a nice golden brown color, I like to brush them with a bit of melted vegan butter before baking.
Everything Bagel Seasoning: I love adding everything bagel seasoning to these for some color and extra flavor. If you don’t have everything bagel, you could sprinkle them with black poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or just a little bit of garlic powder.

Variations

Jalapeno: make a slit into the hot dog piece and add a slice of pickled jalapeño for a slightly spicy version of these pigs in a blanket.
Dill Pickle: for a fun dill pickle surprise, make a slit in the hot dog pieces and tuck a dill pickle slice inside.
Cheese: sprinkle some vegan shredded cheddar cheese on top of the crescents before you roll the hot dogs into the middle for a cheesy variation of this recipe.
Garlic Butter: Add 1 clove of minced garlic to the melted butter for this recipe and brush over the tops of the pigs in a blanket before baking.

Step by Step

crescent roll dough separated into triangle pieces on a baking sheet with a pizza cutter.

Step One: Unroll the crescent roll dough and separate it into 8 pieces along the preformed perforations. Use a pizza cutter to cut each triangle of dough into two pieces lengthwise. Add dough to a parchment lined baking sheet.

hot dog pieces rolled in crescent dough on a parchment lined baking sheet before cooking.

Step Two: Roll each piece of hot dog in the crescent dough – start at the wide end of the triangle and roll towards the tip.

pigs in a blanket on a baking sheet with melted butter, pastry brush, and bagel seasoning prior to baking.

Step Three: Brush each piece with some melted vegan butter and then sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning.

baked pigs in a blanket on a baking sheet.

Step Four: Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with various sauces for dipping like spicy mustard, ketchup, and BBQ sauce.

Air Fryer Method: Preheat air fryer at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes. Arrange assembled pigs in a blanket in a single layer in the basket of your air fryer. Work in batches if needed. Cook them for 5-10 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown. (Check at the 5 minute mark and keep cooking if needed.)

Expert Tips

Work Quickly: You want to work fairly quickly to assemble your pigs in a blanket as you don’t want the crescent roll to get too warm as it may lose some of its delicious flakiness.
Reheating: To reheat, add your pigs in a blanket to a baking sheet and put in a 350 degree oven for 5-7 minutes until warmed through. We have also reheated these in our counter top toaster oven – it usually takes just about 5 minutes.
Storage: store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Leftover pigs in a blanket can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat in the oven or air fryer when ready to serve.

close up photo of vegan pigs in a blanket sprinkled with everything bagel seasoning on a baking sheet.

Recipe FAQs

What goes with pigs in a blanket?

Serve your pigs in a blanket with various sauces for dipping! We like spicy brown mustard, ketchup, and BBQ sauce. You could also use a cheese sauce like the nacho cheese from these epic vegan nachos for dipping. If making these for the big game, we usually pair it with this vegetarian chipotle chili. It’s such a great combo and both recipes are simple to make but serve a crowd.

Are crescent rolls vegan?

Yes, most brands of crescent rolls are accidentally vegan! Pastry usually contains butter or eggs, but refrigerated crescent roll dough from the store is usually made from palm oil instead of butter so it is vegan. Pillsbury crescent rolls are a good option as well as Immaculate Baking.

How many pigs in a blanket do you make per person?

Since we are using full size hot dogs for this recipe, I would say 2 pigs in a blanket per person is the right serving size as an appetizer.

More Appetizers You’ll Love

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