Sweet and Spicy Pigs in a Blanket - Kick up your regular Pigs in a Blanket with this sweet and spicy version served with a creamy spicy cheese sauce, spiced with Habanero and Mustard. Perfect for Holiday Parties, Game day snacks, March Madness or any party! Party food | Appetizers | Pigs in a Blanket | Crescent dough | Nacho Sauce | Cheese Sauce | Game Day | March Madness | Holiday Appetizers - 1

Pigs in a blanket are usually very bland and boring for me. But not this recipe! These flavor-packed, Sweet and Spicy Pigs in a Blanket paired with a Habanero Spicy Cheese Dip are the first thing on our game night snacks menu and any occasion that calls for starter recipes with tons of flavor!

Wooden platter with a stack of pigs in a blanket, showing the flaky pastry and cocktail sausages. - 2

Pigs in a blanket

Pigs in a blanket seem like a long-standing tradition for us for game day. Along with stuffed chicken wings , easy sausage rolls , fried cheese balls etc., these are the perfect starter recipes for parties or any kind of gathering.

While my husband has always been a big fan of sports, I’m usually there not for the game, but mostly for the snack and drinks. Now that’s my sport, the one where I excel at!

Cutting 1 inch wide strips of the crescent roll dough sheet. - 3

I love any kind of snack where the meat is wrapped with some kind of dough, but I usually prefer sausage rolls (like these apple and fennel pork sausage rolls , or these easy sausage rolls with just 3 ingredients!) over pigs in a blanket because they typically have a lot more flavor. And I LOVE puff pastry.

Those little piggies are always so bland and the blanket is there to merely cover their shame.

Big bowl of mini sausages covered in a thick tomato ketchup, cayenne pepper and Worcestershire sauce mix. - 4

Why you’ll love this pigs in a blanket recipe

But not with this pigs in a blanket recipe that I’m sharing here! I made these Sweet and Spicy Pigs in a Blanket with a Cheese Dip , just so I can pack them with a ton of flavor!

These sausages are fried in a sweet and spicy sauce, and then wrapped in crescent roll dough (you could even use puff pastry). The sausages are so flavorful, you’ll probably end up eating a lot of them just like that. 🙂

Overhead image of a big platter of baked pigs in a blanket. - 5

BUT WAIT! There’s more!

Gif of a woman holding up her hands and words saying but wait. - 6

Cheese dip

I paired these sweet and spicy pigs in a blanket with a delicious Habanero Spicy Cheese Dip ! It’s a creamy, spicy, tangy nacho cheese sauce spiced with mustard and cayenne pepper for an extra kick.

A bowl of habanero cheese dip with some herbs on top as a garnish. - 7

I made the habanero cheese sauce with habanero cheddar cheese, but you can make it with regular cheddar cheese/monterey jack and add some chopped habanero to it instead. Sometimes I add roasted hatch chile , especially in late summer when they are season.

And feel free to leave out the cayenne pepper if you’d like to keep it less spicy.

My husband and I have a very high threshold for hot and spicy so we always dial it down when we suggest recipes for others. 🙂 The spicy brown mustard is great though because it gives the cheese dip a lovely spicy tang.

You can also use Dijon mustard or yellow mustard instead if you prefer.

A hand dipping a pig in a blanket in the cheese dip and scooping up some dip. - 8

I also made these mini/bite-sized, so they are perfect for snacking (and no double-dipping in the spicy cheese dip required either). You can use puff pastry instead (store-bought or using my easy rough puff pastry recipe ), if you like a more soft, buttery, flaky pastry for the blanket.

A hand holding a pig in a blanket with some habanero cheese dip. - 9

More flavor-packed game day recipes

  • Crispy cheese jalapeno bacon bites (fried cheese balls)
  • Cocktail meatballs
  • Easy sausage rolls
  • Pork sausage rolls
  • Mini French onion pies
  • Curried beef roti
  • Cheesy Mexican meatball skillet
  • Nashville hot chicken sandwich (spicy chicken sandwich)
  • Classic fried chicken sandwiches
  • Mini cheesy chicken pies
  • Sri Lankan fish empanadas
  • Stuffed chicken wings

Recipe

Big platter of pigs in a blanket showing the flaky pastry and saucy cocktail sausages. - 10

Sweet and Spicy Pigs in a Blanket with Cheese Dip

Ingredients

Spicy and Sweet Pigs in a Blanket

  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1.5 lbs small cocktail sausages I use Smokies
  • 3 tbsp packed brown sugar
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper I use a heaped tsp because we love it spicy!
  • ¼ cup tomato ketchup
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 lb crescent roll sheet 2 sheets
  • 1 egg lightly beaten (for the egg wash)

Habanero Cheese Dip (slightly adapted from Serious Eats)

  • 8 oz shredded monterrey jack or pepper jack cheese
  • ½ habanero de-seeded and chopped finely. Use less if you’re using pepper jack cheese
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 can evaporated milk
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 2 tbsp spicy mustard
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

Spicy and Sweet Pigs in a Blanket

  • Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet, over medium-high heat. 1 tbsp oil
  • When the oil is hot, fry the sausages in the pan until they are heated through, and some caramelization starts to occur. 1.5 lbs small cocktail sausages
  • Add the sugar, tomato ketchup, cayenne pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Mix with the sausages until they are coated with the mix and fry them for a few more minutes until the sauce thickens and coats the sausages completely (as seen in the pictures in the post). 3 tbsp packed brown sugar, ½ tsp cayenne pepper, ¼ cup tomato ketchup, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • Remove from the heat and let them cool down to room temperature.
  • Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C.
  • Place one crescent dough sheet on a lightly floured surface. 1 lb crescent roll sheet
  • Cut 1 inch-wide strips using a pizza cutter or knife. Cut each strip into 3 - 4 pieces (depending on how thick your cocktail sausages are).
  • Wrap each mini sausage with a strip of the crescent dough, and pinch the edges to seal.
  • Place the wrapped sausages on a parchment paper-lined baking tray.
  • Brush each of them with an egg wash, and bake in preheated oven for 10 - 12 minutes, until the crescent dough is golden brown (please see recipe note about using puff pastry in place of crescent dough). 1 egg
  • Remove from the oven once baked, and let them cool down for a few minutes. Serve warm, or at room temperature, with dipping sauces.

Habanero Cheese Dip

  • Grate the cheese using the large holes of a box grater (or equivalent). Toss the cheese with the cornstarch, until well-mixed. 8 oz shredded monterrey jack, 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • In a saucepan, combine the cornstarch coated cheese, evaporated milk, cayenne pepper, habanero and mustard. Heat over medium-low heat to gently heat the milk-cheese mix. Mix gently and frequently until the cheese has completely melted and you have a smooth, thick cheese sauce. You can add more evaporated milk (or cream) to thin out the sauce if you like (I add a few tbsp of cream to the cheese sauce every time I want to heat it up again). 8 oz shredded monterrey jack, 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 can evaporated milk, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, 2 tbsp spicy mustard, ½ habanero
  • Season with salt and pepper if needed. Salt and pepper
  • Serve warm with the spicy and sweet pigs in a blanket.

Notes

Nutrition

Recipe from The Flavor Bender by Dini Kodippili

Sweet and Spicy Pigs in a Blanket with Cheese Dip https://www.theflavorbender.com/sweet-and-spicy-pigs-in-a-blanket/