Crockpot Little Smokies

Ok so it’s the holidays and you need a killer, cheap appetizer to serve your guests. This Crockpot little smokies recipe is it! You can throw it together in 5 minutes and it’s warmed in a few hours. NO work for you in between which means it’s a fave on our list of easy Crockpot recipes.

You can buy these babies packaged in the store. There are usually a few choices. There are darker versions that have more of a smoky flavor to them similar to a kielbasa. Others are just smaller hot dogs labeled little weiners that are a bit more “plain” by themselves.

Now there are several different sauces you can use with this. If you want the easiest version, just pour 1-2 bottles of your favorite barbecue sauce and stir together. Done. Want to add some heat, do 1 bottle of bbq and 1 bottle of chili sauce. That will add a bit of heat but not overboard.

Ingredient Notes

For the measurements below I used two packages of smokies. These are different than little weiners in that they are smoked and already have a bunch of flavor but you could use either.

For the sauce you are going to need; Dijon mustard, Catalina salad dressing or you can use bbq sauce instead, some Brown sugar to make it sweet, a can of jellied Cranberry sauce and I will typically add a can of Pineapple chunks or tidbits, drained.

This sauce these weiners to a whole new level. You could alternatively make the same sauce as in our grape jelly and chili sauce meatballs and use that!

How Long to Cook Little Smokies in Crockpot

You are going to want about 4 hours to warm these and poof them up a bit. You know what I mean by this, like they kinda’ swell up as they cook just like their larger counterparts. From there you can leave in for several more hours on low or ideally switch to keep warm from there.

How Long to Cook Frozen Little Smokies in Crockpot

If you forgot to defrost your package(s) it is okay. All you need to do, similar to our frozen meatballs in crockpot, is just break them apart from one another and throw them into the same sauce. It literally will take the same amount of time (4 hours) whether they started out fresh, defrosted or frozen.

How to save leftovers

If you do have left they save well. Just allow them to cool to room temperature and then transfer to an airtight container. Spoon in as much liquid as possible to keep them moist. Refrigerate for up to a few days and rewarm them in the microwave as a snack the next day.

More Easy Appetizer Recipes You’ll Love

If you want to make this easy recipe even faster, you can follow our Instant Pot smokies recipe here or toss sauce on your Instant Pot hot dogs when done. Or make it as a Traeger appetizer.

Beyond these you should make air fryer bacon wrapped smokies wrapped in bacon and those were the most amazing finger foods we had ever tasted. You can only make a few at a time with that method though so if you are cooking for a large crowd for the Super Bowl or a party this is the way to go.

Hillshire Farm is my favorite brand to use for this and our brown sugar bacon smokies. You’ll want two packages of them to make this. It could be easily doubled too if you had a large group coming over. The beauty of this is you can cook, and then set to warm for another few hours of snacking.

You can dice fresh parsley and even add whole cranberries at the end for “prettiness”. Keep them in the Crock for serving or add to a cheap charcuterie board with other fun finger foods. You can use this same sauce to make our air fryer whole chicken wings too. Both are great served together as snacks when company comes over.

FAQ

You can in fact eat smokies out of the package because as their name suggests, they have already been smoked. It will state on the outside that the meat is pre-cooked making them okay to eat without cooking beforehand (similar to hot dogs), but typically are preferred hot.