Pigs in blankets are one of those dishes that never disappoint. A piece of sausage, a tight wrap of bacon, and then that crunching sound when the wrap gives way between your teeth. In the air fryer they turn out better than in the pan, because the fat from the bacon drips away instead of simmering around the sausage. The result is crispy all the way round, without the sausage drying out inside.
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The whole process takes 22 minutes from fridge to plate: 10 minutes to cut and wrap, 12 minutes in the basket at 190 °C. It’s quick lunch in its purest form, and with ketchup and mustard on the side, you really don’t need anything else. The kids eat them with their fingers, and honestly, the adults do the same.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents:
Why I Love Pigs in Blankets in the Air Fryer
Pigs in blankets belong to that category of food that’s almost too easy to be this good. Three ingredients and a few minutes of work, but the result hits exactly the spot where salt, fat and crispiness meet. I make them when lunch needs to be ready in a hurry, and when there’s a pack of bacon and a few good sausages sitting in the fridge anyway.
The air fryer does two things better than both the pan and the oven. The circulating heat hits the wrap from all sides at once, so you don’t have to stand there turning them to catch that last soft strip. And because the basket is raised above the bottom, the melted bacon fat runs away instead of pooling around the food. That’s the whole difference between crispy and greasy.
Choose the Right Sausages and the Right Bacon
Use sausages with a bit of bite. Good hot dog sausages or grilling sausages hold their shape, while the softest budget sausages shrink and slip out of the wrap along the way. The bacon, on the other hand, should be thinly sliced. Thick slices need longer to turn crispy than is good for the sausage, and you end up with a soft wrap around a sausage that’s long since heated through. Thin bacon and 12 minutes at 190 °C go together.
My Kitchen Test of Pigs in Blankets
I tested the process in my Cosori Dual Blaze at 190 °C, and 12 minutes is the sweet spot for sausages cut into bite-sized pieces. Halfway through cooking, I turned them once so the underside got the same colour as the top. By the time the 12 minutes were up, the wrap was dark and crunchy, and the core temperature of the sausage sat at 70 °C — hot all the way through without drying out.
With the prep — cutting the sausages, splitting the bacon slices, rolling them tightly — the whole task lands at 22 minutes. I’ve tried turning up the heat to shave off a couple of minutes, but then the bacon edges burn before the middle catches up. The 190 °C is worth the patience.
Roll the wrap tightly and place the seam facing down in the basket. The bacon sticks to itself in the first few minutes of heat and stays put for the rest of the time — no skewers or picks needed.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
The Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
The first mistake is wrapping the sausage in too much bacon. One layer is enough. When the wrap overlaps itself several times, the heat never reaches the innermost layers, and you end up with something soft and greasy instead of crispy. Cut the slices lengthwise or crosswise, so one piece just barely reaches around the sausage piece.
The second mistake is an overcrowded basket. If the pieces lie against each other, they steam instead of frying, and the surfaces that touch never turn crispy. Give them space all the way round, and rather run two batches than one crammed one. The air fryer works with air, and the air needs to be able to get through.
The third mistake is letting the wrap unroll. Always place the sausages with the bacon seam facing down, so the weight holds it in place while the fat starts to melt. If you really need to secure them, use small metal skewers — never wood, which doesn’t belong in an air fryer.
How to Serve Pigs in Blankets
Pigs in blankets are salty, rich food, so the sides can afford to be fresh and sharp to cut through it:
- Ketchup and mustard — the classic duo, ideally a coarse mustard with some bite
- Coarse remoulade or a quick curry dressing stirred together with sour cream
- Crispy vegetable sticks of cucumber, carrot and bell pepper
- A piece of coarse rye bread or a warm baguette, if lunch needs to be more filling
- A simple cabbage salad with lemon that lightens up the whole dish
Storage and Reheating
Leftovers keep for a couple of days in the fridge in an airtight container. Reheat them in the air fryer at 190 °C until the wrap crunches again — it only takes a few minutes, and the crispiness comes back in a way the microwave can never deliver. You can also wrap the sausages the day before and leave them ready on a plate covered with cling film. Then there’s only the 12 minutes of cooking left when it’s time to get lunch on the table.
Pigs in blankets are everyday food that feels like a little celebration, and the air fryer makes them both crispier and faster than the pan most of us grew up with. Set it to 190 °C, give them 12 minutes, and get the ketchup out.
FAQ
12 minutes at 190 °C, turning them once along the way. The whole dish takes 22 minutes including the 10 minutes of prep, and the sausages are done when the core temperature reaches 70 °C.
Yes, give it a couple of minutes at 190 °C first. A hot chamber makes the bacon fat start melting right away, so the wrap starts turning crispy from the first minute instead of slowly heating up along with the basket.
Roll the wrap tightly and place the pieces in the basket with the bacon seam facing down. The heat makes the bacon stick to itself within the first few minutes, and then it stays put. If you need to secure them, use small metal skewers.
Recipe
Pigs in Blankets in the Air Fryer
Cooking Guide
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Ingredients
Pigs in Blankets
- 8 pcs hot dog sausages (Good quality, if possible)
- 12 slice bacon (Thin slices)
- 1 tsp paprika (Sweet, for sprinkling)
- 0.5 tsp black pepper (Freshly ground)
To serve
- 4 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp mustard (Classic Danish or Dijon)
How to make it
Preparation
- Cut 8 pcs hot dog sausages into three equal pieces each, so you have 24 pieces.
- Halve 12 slice bacon crosswise, so you get 24 short strips.
- Wrap a bacon strip tightly around each sausage piece, and let the end sit face down so the wrap stays in place while cooking.
- Sprinkle the wrapped pieces with 1 tsp paprika and 0.5 tsp black pepper. The bacon already seasons the dish plenty with salt, so don’t add any extra.
Cooking in the air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 190 °C fan.
- Place the sausage pieces in the basket with the bacon seam facing down, in a single layer with a little space between them. If your air fryer is smaller, cook in two batches.
- Cook the pieces for 12 minutes at 190 °C. Turn them after 6 minutes, so the bacon turns crispy all the way around.
- Check that the bacon is golden and crispy, and that the sausages are heated through (about 70 °C in the middle). Give them 2-3 more minutes at 190 °C if the bacon is still soft.
Serving
- Serve the pigs in blankets hot with 4 tbsp ketchup and 2 tbsp mustard on the side.
Our notes for the recipe
Use thin bacon slices — they turn crispy in the time it takes the sausages to heat through. Thick slices need 3-4 extra minutes and make the sausages dry. Let the end of the bacon sit face down against the basket, so the wrap doesn’t come undone during cooking. Extra crispy bacon:
Turn the heat up to 200 °C for the last 2 minutes, and pour off any rendered fat from the basket along the way — steam from the fat is the usual cause of soft bacon. Variation:
Roll a thin piece of cheddar or a slice of pickled cucumber into the wrap before cooking, or brush the pieces with a little honey for the last 2 minutes for a sweet glaze. Serving:
Serve as a quick lunch with ketchup, mustard, coarse bread and a simple salad — or as a snack on a platter with a dip on the side. Portion size:
If your air fryer is smaller, you can make the dish in two batches. Keep the first batch warm at 80 °C while the second one cooks.
Your notes for the recipe
Nutrition per serving (Guideline)
Important about shelf life and nutrition
Nutrition per serving (guideline): Calculations are based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Shelf life (guideline): Shelf life data is provided, as far as possible, by public institutions, including national food authorities. Our information is therefore only indicative, and it is your responsibility to obtain and calculate accurate information about shelf life and nutrition for all recipes on airfryerkogebogen.dk
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