Air Fryer Pigs in a Blanket

If you ask my girls these air fryer pigs in a blanket are true perfection! Now that they’re older they can make this easy air fryer recipe themselves, a great way to start cooking I say.

Who doesn’t remember these as a child. I mean you can use small smokies to make them or regular sizes like we did. Either way everyone loves every bite when I bring these out for lunch time.

We are using refrigerated crescent dough which makes things so easy. You could use a tube of rolls too but those are more dense so this is what we prefer. Make whole or slice in half to make mini pigs in a blanket for kids too.

If you were making these for little hands you will be the hero of the day, seriously. You can slice your wieners in half or even thirds. Cut your dough into strips so it just wraps around them enough to cover them and air fry! You won’t need quite as long as the cook time listed below and can make more at a time.

Even my teens have made them all by themselves which I love. It gives them an opportunity to “cook” when they want a snack. As for the best weiners I love Hebrew National personally. They have a great snap on the outside and are made from quality meats. I mean go for what type you like but we have done alot of testing and there is a difference.

Ingredient Notes

We used a can of refrigerated crescent rolls or crescent sheet you can occasionally you can find what says sheet on the outside, this is better because there are no perforations. You could make your own homemade crescent dough if you wanted to.

What can you use instead of crescent rolls?

I like to use slices of refrigerated pizza dough or rolls that have been flattened a bit. If I don’t have those on hand I will defrost Rhodes frozen rolls for about 45 minutes and press those flat too. The biggest difference is the texture, those aren’t as flaky.

Can you use pretzel dough?

Of course you can if you have the time. If you want to make homemade pretzel dough and wrap that around instead you can try that. Pizza dough would work too but won’t be as fluffy as crescents.

I used whole Hot dogs, my favorite is Hebrew National or any brand that offers uncured meat. Having some non stick cooking spray, olive oil spray is my jam, handy is great so they don’t stick.

Of course you probably want to serve these with ketchup and regular yellow mustard BUT our 4 ingredient mustard pretzel dip is our favorite dipping sauce!

Can you add cheese?

You could add cheese too but just know that it will be messier in the basket. If you don’t care then go for it. Use kraft slices cut into strips and wrap on before your dough. It will melt in between the two and add another layer of yum.

If you want to use your Ninja Foodi to make these the directions are just the same. Only thing you need to remember is to use the lid that is attached and the air crisp button on the front of the machine to make these.

Step by Step Instructions

Making these is simple with this refrigerated dough. You just pull out your dogs, it is best if you set on paper towels to remove outer moisture. Wrap in the dough to coat and seal the edges. Then bake or air fry as you wish until golden brown

Then I made it easier on myself by using a pizza cutter to create strips width wise to wrap around my hot dogs. This worked pretty well and start to finish they were done in less than 10 minutes!

I suppose you might be able to use puff pastry too but I haven’t tried that. You just don’t want a dough that is really thick or else the inside will remain doughy while the meat is overcooked.

How Long to Cook Pigs in a Blanket in Air Fryer

You will need about 3 minutes to air fry the dough to puff up and get to a nice golden brown. That is accurate for the lighter crescent roll dough. With defrosted dough it may take upwards of 5 minutes. Either way though you want to leave them in the hot closed basket for an additional 3 minutes to warm the meat all the way thru to the center. We use the same technique when making air fryer frozen corn dogs

Without your air fryer cook pull apart pigs in a blanket in the oven is here now too! I like a bit of a higher temperature to get a nice crisp on the outside and the insides don’t take long.