Pigs In a Blanket Recipe – From Scratch in 1 Hour
A super easy pigs in a blanket recipe that’s made completely from scratch with a soft, homemade dough wrapped around savory hot dogs or sausages. Ready in just about an hour, you won’t believe how fluffy and delicate these turn out! You’ll love how simple and satisfying this is to make for everything from weeknight dinners, to lunches and fun gatherings. A kid favorite!
✩ What readers are saying…
“This is my go to recipe for Pigs in a Blanket. The grands Love them and whenever we are having families for dinner with kiddos we make these.” -JoEllyn W.
Pigs in a blanket is such an odd name, isn’t it? Yet it describes a hot dog or sausage wrapped in dough pretty accurately (as does another nostalgic name for them – wiener wraps).
A kid (and adult, a-hem) favorite, this pigs in a blanket recipe shows up on our menus often because they’re just a really fun food. Plus, no need to buy those squishy white hot dog buns!
Wait, how can a from-scratch, yeast dough make it onto the menu often? Because I developed them using my Quick and Tender Breadstick/Hamburger Bun Dough recipe and they are ready to eat in about an hour – really! Here’s the timeline:
- Mix the dough (5-10 min)
- Let it rest (10 min)
- Cut and shape around hot dogs (15 min)
- Let rest while heating the oven (10 min)
- Cook (15 min).
Honest-to-goodness incredible homemade pigs in blankets in about an hour!
What are “real” pigs in a blanket?
When I googled “pigs in a blanket” to make sure what we’ve always called these is what everyone else calls them, I did find out that, no, not everyone calls them the same thing.
The top results for pigs in a blanket were for those little smoky things wrapped in canned crescent dough or canned biscuits. For the most part it seems like they always have sausage in the centers? I guess if the hot dogs are all beef then the pig part doesn’t really work. Hmmm, “cow in a blanket?”
Then there were results for hot dogs wrapped in pancakes…huh? Um, no that is NOT what these are, for sure.
While this recipe was developed with hot dogs wrapped in a crisp and tender yeast-risen bun, you can just as easily use the dough around any type or size of sausage or hot dog you’d like.
And if you do use a humble hot dog (I typically use all beef, nitrate-free hot dogs), it raises them to a whole new level and my family thinks I’m the best whenever I make these, um…whatever they are called.
Pigs in a Blanket Recipe Video
Recipe Ingredient Notes
You’ll need the following simple ingredients to make this pigs in a blanket recipe.
- Flour: I like to use all white whole wheat or a combo of wheat and all-purpose. You can use only all-purpose, but lose out on the nutrient value, or use all regular whole wheat and sacrifice some of the fluffiness. Your call. (The 1/2 cup flour pictured above is to use when mixing the dough, if needed.)
- Yeast: I’ve used both active dry yeast and instant yeast and both work well. It is a lot of yeast, but that’s one of the reasons it rises so quickly.
- Honey: This helps feed the yeast and flavor the dough. Try an equal amount of cane sugar if you can’t do honey.
- Oil: To help make a tender dough. I use a neutral oil like avocado or sunflower.
- Water and salt round out the ingredients for the dough.
How To Make Pigs in a Blanket
Step 1: Make the dough. Mix all the ingredients together in a stand mixer or by hand. The dough should still be somewhat tacky- that is, sticking to the bowl in places, but not to your fingers when you gently touch the dough – so don’t add too much of the extra 1/2 cup flour if it’s not needed. Let rest.
Step 2: Cut the dough. Roll the dough out into a rough rectangle and then cut into a dozen pieces, just like for hamburger buns. This actually makes pretty large buns around the dogs – you could easily cut it into 16 pieces and use two packages of hot dogs. Before I had a counter to roll dough onto, I would use a floured towel – super easy and quick clean-up.
TIPS: The fully baked wiener wraps freeze wonderfully. However, I usually make the 8-10 hot dogs that come in a package, and then use the remaining 2-4 pieces of dough for hamburger buns or breadsticks which I cook along with the hot dogs. FOR LESS THICK BUN: Cut the dough into 16-18 pieces and use the extra for rolls, buns, or breadsticks.
Step 3: Start wrapping dogs. Place each hot dog onto one of the cut rectangles of dough.
Step 4: Pinch and Repeat. Bring the dough up around, pinching the edges close. Repeat with remaining hot dogs.
Step 4. Bake. Place the wrapped dogs seam-side down on a lined or greased cookie sheet. I place them pretty close, since I don’t care if they touch. Use two sheets if you’d like more room between them. Cook any extra buns on the same large cookie sheet, as well. (You can see that this package held 10 hot dogs, so I have 2 buns extra.
Variations
- Sprinkle tops of the dough with cheddar cheese before baking.
- Brush the tops with butter and garlic before baking.
- Add a piece or slice of cheese alongside the hotdog before rolling up.
- Use lil’ smokies and smaller pieces of dough to make appetizers.
- Wrap with a piece of almost fully cooked, but still pliable bacon.
- Use any type of cooked sausage links like chicken sausage, Italian sausage, etc. instead of traditional hot dogs.
- Roll the dough out on grated Parmesan instead of extra flour.
- Need vegetarian? Make some into pockets with cooked broccoli and cheese!
Serving Suggestions
We like to dip the dogs in mustard and this super easy homemade ketchup or Addictive Tomato Chutney (which I think is best!).
We most often serve them with other easy finger foods like baby carrots and cut veggies with ranch dip, feta dip, or hummus. French fries or potato planks make a great side, too, as well as simple chips.
Storage & Freezing
- Store: Fully baked, the pigs in a blanket can be stored in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- Heat: Reheat them in a 350 degree oven, toaster oven, or air fryer for 8-10 minutes or until heated all the way through.
- Freeze Baked: These freeze wonderfully, but baking them first is the best way I think. Place the fully cooked dogs in a freezer-safe airtight container for 2-3 months. Thaw and heat again for 8-10 minutes in a toaster oven or oven.
- Freeze Unbaked: While I haven’t done this, I know it will work, especially with smaller appetizer-sized pigs in a blanket: Assemble as directed, place on a lined baking sheet and freeze for 2 hours. Once the rolls are frozen, transfer them to a container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw and bake as directed in recipe OR try baking from frozen (I think this would only work with smaller sized pigs in a blanket, though): Heat the oven to 400ºF, place frozen pigs in a blanket on a lined cookie sheet and cook for about 25 minutes or until golden-brown.
- For Kid’s Lunches: You can add these to a lunch sack frozen and they will be defrosted by lunch. My kids were okay eating them cold, but if you have access to a toaster oven, that’s better I think.
Reader Raves
“I used your recipe and Lit’l Smokies to make appetizers. They were a big hit with my guests.” -Linda
“These were so yummy. The dough is great on it’s own with a crispy crust and a soft chewy texture.” – Arlene M.
“My 5 and 2 year old boys both agreed it was their favorite food they had ever tried. These boys are spoiled foodies, so that meant a lot to me…It was soo fluffy and delicate; I will never buy buns again. I especially like that theres no baking powder/baking soda.” -Mary Jane
“I have made this recipe and shared it many times. Last night we made it with the mini wienies and it was great!” -DJ W.
I hope you love this pigs in a blanket recipe as much as we do – be sure to leave a rating and review so I can know!
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Pigs In a Blanket Recipe
Equipment
- stand mixer or large bowl and wooden spoon
- large baking sheet
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast both instant and active dry work
- 2 tablespoons honey or cane sugar
- 1 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons oil (neutral oil like avocado or sunflower)
- 4 1/2 to 5 cup whole wheat white flour or half all purpose/half whole wheat OR fully all purpose*
- 8 hot dogs (or one package)**
Instructions
- Mix water, yeast, and honey until yeast and honey are dissolved. Add the salt, oil, and 4 1/2 cups of flour to make a soft dough.
- Beat with a stand mixer for a minute or two (or knead a minute), adding the other 1/2 cup flour as needed to help dough be less sticky (to make by hand, mix well with a wooden spoon until you see gluten strands starting to form). TIP: Be careful with the extra flour – you may not need all of it, the dough should still be somewhat tacky, that is, sticking to the bowl in places, but not to your fingers when you gently touch the dough.
- Let the dough rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Remove the dough to a floured surface and knead by hand a few times. Press flat on floured surface (about 1/3 to 1/2-inch thick) and cut into 12 to 16 roughly even pieces, depending on how much bun you want around each hot dog (for even less bun, cut into 18 pieces).
- Press each piece into a rectangular shape just short of the length of your hot dog, lay a hot dog on a rectangle, and wrap the dough around the dog, pinching the ends to seal. Repeat for all the hot dogs. Shape the remaining dough into buns, rolls, or breadsticks.***
- Place seam side down on a large lined or greased baking sheet and let rest for 10 minutes while you heat an oven to 400 degrees. They’ll get a little more puffy, but won’t double.
- Once your oven is preheated, bake for 15 to 20 minutes, rotating if needed for even cooking, until golden on top and browned on the bottoms. Cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Pigs in a Blanket FAQs
Yes! Simply cut a slice of cheese the length of the hot dog, set it next to the meat and then wrap the dough around both the bun and the cheese.
Cook the bacon until almost crisp, though still pliable (because the dough will keep it from cooking more), and wrap with the hot dog as directed.
I’ve used both instant and active dry yeast in this recipe and both work well.
They freeze wonderfully, but baking them first is the best way I think. Bake as normal, let cool and add to a freezer safe container. Thaw and heat again for 5-8 minutes in a toaster oven or oven. You can add these to a lunch sack frozen and they will be defrosted by lunch. My kids were okay eating them cold, but if you have access to a toaster oven, that’s better I think.
Yes, you can use frozen bread dough, following their instructions before shaping around the hot dogs.
Yes, any combo of flour will work.
Between 1/3 and 1/2-inch thick. They do puff up quite a bit.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
- Roasted Sausages with Peppers and Onions Sheet Pan Dinner
- Individual Homemade Pizza & Pizza Bar Idea
- Family Favorite Maple Mustard Baked Chicken with Pouring Sauce
This recipe has been updated – it was originally published January 2012, updated in 2019 and again in 2025.
Not what I was looking for, my mother made Dutch pigs in a blanket with ground fresh sausage,eggs,fine ground craker crumbs, and milk and salt you formed them into roastie size then made a dough of flour bkg powder,and shortening plus a little milk then rolled out like pie dough and wrapped around the sausage,a lot of work but sooo good my husband helps me so I will do it more often the short cut kind are ok but these are the real thing!
Wow, I’ve never heard of that – I’ve seen sausage-wrapped eggs, but never with a dough around them! It does sound amazing – and yes a bit more work. 😉
How thick do you do you roll the dough? Was looking for something like this. Had them years ago in school.
Um, I don’t think I’ve ever measured, Andrea. 🙂 It’s probably about 1/2-inch – they puff up, so you don’t need it thick.
I have made this recipe and shared it many times. Last night we made it with the mini wienies and it was great! The only thing is there were three of us and we made a double batch of wienies (one batch of dough was plenty). Towards the end the dough was hard to work with because it was rising. Next time we do mini’s we will not let the dough rest and work quicker. But they were great, as before. People are impressed when I show them how easy home made dough is!
I made these for the first time the other night with hotdogs and just one filled up my husband and teenager!! Tonight we stuffed them with Mozza cheese and add some Parm. and garlic salt for cheese sticks. a Hit!!!
Yeah! I love that cheese idea, too, Andrea – yum. 🙂
I have used this recipe a few times now in my bread machine and it is great. I have used it just to bake bread, to make bread bowls, and for the hot dog recipe. I used about 5 cups of the flour. It is so soft and silky. I also added 2 tablespoons of powdered milk, just because I misread the recipe. I brushed it with butter to make the bread crunchy in the oven. THANK YOU!
Thank you so much for restoring a treasured memory of pigs in the blanket at Lanikai Elementary in Oahu, Hawaii. I think I am going to brush tops with garlic butter before baking, because theirs had a little garlic bite, and in Hawaii they call them pigs in the blanket .
I made sticks with the leftover dough and brushed with butter and rolled in cinnamon and sugar. It was delicious!!!
Made these for dinner tonight – they were DELICIOUS! Thanks for sharing!
I just made these tonight and they were AWESOME!!!!! Thank you.
As a native Oregonian I am somewhat surprised to see you calling these “Pigs in a Blanket”. Every Native Northwesterner I know calls ’em “Wiener Wraps”. I have heard these called “Pigs in a Blanket” in other parts of the country and in Texas they are called “Kolaches”. I grew up in the sixties and seventies here in Oregon eating “Pigs in a Blanket” which are pork link sausages wrapped in a flapjack smothered in maple syrup and eaten for breakfast. That being said, it really doesn’t matter what you call ’em ’cause if they’re made correctly they are incredibly tasty! I can’t wait to try your recipe! Thank you for posting this!
Ha! I just don’t like using the word ‘wiener’ so I wasn’t going to write it. 😉 I think they’re probably more accurately called ‘hot dogs in a blanket’ but whatever…
I googled pigs in a blanket and this was exactly what I was looking for! It was yummy, I only wish I had omitted the wheat flour because I was missing the nostalgic feel of white dough. That being said my kids love it (one said I just love the dough mom and preceded to rip the dough off the hot dog and eat just that) I am thinking of all the other yummy things I can bake inside of the dough, like ham and cheese…or chicken brocolli and cheese….Thank you for the recipe!
So glad you liked it, Cherise! And I do use the dough for hamburger buns, breadsticks and such – thinking about baking other things in the dough, though – that’s a great idea. 🙂
Yummy! I sprinkled some shredded cheddar cheese on the tops of mine. Thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
Oooh, I gotta try that next time!
Thanks for posting this! I can’t believe how hard it was to find a recipe for this style of pigs-in-a-blanket. This was just what I was looking for 🙂 Pinned on my Pinterest for safekeeping.
Kudos!
You’re welcome, Sarah!
This is the first time I made these and they were delicious, my teenagers loved them and so did my husband. Thank you so much for the recipe.
I think I’ve finally found the recipe I’ve been looking for! Thank you.
I too make these. We call them Dickey Dogs at our house. I actually blogged about them recently!
This looks like a great dinner for me to try out on a lazy night 🙂 Thanks!
Looks fantastic. I have made these before using wieners and my bisquit dough. I have to try your recipe soon. Kids love these.
This looks really hearty and tasty 🙂 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe 🙂 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
I always thought pigs in a blanket was a sausage link wrapped in a pancake or crepe-y type thing. These look amazing though- totally going to make some this weekend! They look like they’d be good for lunches to freeze and heat up later!
Thanks for the recipe.
It’s funny that you mention this for lunches….when in grade school this was one of my favorites. Our cafeteria ladies called them weiner wraps.
I went to Fairview Elementary and our lunch ladies called them weiner wraps as well:) They were sooooo good! I can still smell the fresh baked bread traveling the halls! YUM!