Everything Bagel Pigs in a Blanket

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Easy is the way to win the big game tailgate with this everything bagel pigs in a blanket recipe! This simple appetizer recipe takes just a few minutes to prepare and is always a huge hit at parties.

My favorite parties are those with a fabulous spread of finger food! I’m not one to turn down a good dinner party, but trays of bite-sized nibbles will always catch my eye. Know why? Maximum variety of food with minimum commitment. After you try a bit of everything, you can go back for more of your favorites. These everything bagel pigs in a blanket will be on that “favorites” list.

What are everything bagel pigs in a blanket?

Pigs in a blanket are a really popular appetizer here in the United States. Sometimes, they’re even a main meal depending on the preparation.

The name is funny, but the recipe is basically a hot dog wrapped in pastry and baked. I’m assuming the nickname came because many brands of hot dogs include pork? Use what you’d like though. My pigs in a blanket are almost always pork-free because we prefer turkey or beef hot dogs.

The pastry wrapping also varies. When I first learned about them as a kid in Girl Scouts, we used store-bought crescent roll dough to wrap whole hot dogs we would then try to evenly cook over a fire. It didn’t always work out, but it was fun. Baking results in more even cooking, hands down.

Now that we’re all grown up and doing the fancy things, I like to use puff pastry. In life before small children, I may have even suggested making it! Ha. This recipe calls for frozen puff pastry. Keeping life simple is always a good plan.

What makes this recipe a little extra is the addition of everything bagel seasoning!

Everything bagel seasoning is a mixture of all the dry seasonings one would find atop an everything bagel. The mix includes garlic, salt, poppy seeds, sesame, and onion, and it’s so good! If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s worth picking up a bottle.

You can, of course, always make your own everything bagel seasoning (here’s a recipe by The Recipe Critic) if you find you’ll use lots of it or already have ingredients on hand.

A few recipe notes…

This recipe uses all store-bought ingredients and has minimal preparation time. The only thing you really have to plan for is thawing the puff pastry.

You can thaw puff pastry in the refrigerator overnight, or let it sit at room temperature for about 40 minutes until you can unfold a sheet. The sheet should be warm enough not to crack, but still cold. That way you’ll get some puff as the pastry bakes.

The easiest way to assemble your pigs in a blanket is to roll out your puff pastry, cut it into rectangles, roll the whole hot dog, then slice. You’ll be assembling forever if you try to wrap each slice of hot dog individually. Trust me. This is also why I don’t use the little smokies for this dish.

Depending on the time of year I’m making these, my kitchen can get a little warm. After I’m done rolling and slicing my pigs in a blanket, I arrange them on the baking sheet and place the sheet in the refrigerator while I preheat my oven. This is my way of keeping the pastry at the right temperature so it puffs a bit during baking.

Will you get the same puff as if baking the sheets alone? No. First of all, we roll out the sheets, smashing layers together a bit. Second, we don’t want a ton of puffing so that our little rounds stay together. See the total lack of toothpicks in baking? You don’t need them.

Random side note, if you want to use toothpicks and make another super-amazing party appetizer finger food, make the bacon-wrapped goat cheese dates. Bring that and those to the party and you’re the real MVP.

While the everything bagel pigs in a blanket are fabulous on their own, we can also appreciate a good dip. Keep it simple and serve ketchup or a nice stone-ground mustard on the side.

I hope you love this recipe, darlings! Happy hosting!