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These vegan pigs in a blanket can be made with baby carrots (yes, for real) OR vegan hot dogs! Enjoy with a creamy maple mustard dressing.
I make these mini vegan pigs in a blanket for holiday appetizers, Super Bowl snacks, potlucks, or just because I CRAVE them. When I made them on Thanksgiving, even my meat-eating sister enjoyed them and said they were better than traditional pigs in a blanket! I totally knew that, but it was awesome to hear that validation.
If you're not a big fan of vegan hot dogs or faux meat, baby carrots are the way to go. The marinade infuses them with a delicious smoky, meat-like flavor. The recipe is similar to these carrot dogs...just wrapped in carbs, of course!
How-To Video
Ingredients
- Baby carrots: We'll be marinating these so they tasty meaty and smoky. Alternatively, you can pick up a package of vegan hot dogs and cut them into smaller pieces.
- Homemade marinade: paprika, black pepper, vegan Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, vegetable stock, and liquid smoke.
- Crescent rolls: Perhaps surprisingly, Pillsbury crescent rolls are vegan. The Annie's brand is also vegan.
- Dipping sauce: I like to make my own by mixing mustard, maple syrup, and a little vegan mayo.
Trying to go vegan? Sign up for our (FREE) Vegan Beginner's Guide!
Substitutions
- Breading: Instead of crescent rolls, you could also use pretzel dough or pizza dough.
- Vegan Worcestershire sauce/liquid smoke: Both of these ingredients can be omitted.
- Vegan hot dogs: Not feeling the carrots? Vegan hot dogs are a quick and easy substitution. You can opt to still marinate them for extra flavor, but it's not totally necessary. Bake as directed.
- Dipping: Another delicious sauce to dip mini pigs in a blanket in is BBQ sauce.
Tips and FAQs
- Keep the crescent rolls in the fridge until you're ready to roll up the carrot dogs. Cold dough is much easier to work with.
- Make ahead: Yes, you can make this recipe ahead of time. Reheat in the microwave or the oven.
One concern I typically get when sharing this recipe on social media is that baby carrots are "unhealthy" or "bad" for you. Good news: that's a total myth. You can read all about the history of baby carrots and how they are processed here.
Looking for more delicious appetizers? Go here!
Recipe
Mini Vegan Pigs in a Blanket
Ingredients
Carrot Dogs in a Blanket
- 2 cans crescent rolls
- 1 (16-ounce) bag baby carrots
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce optional
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ⅓ cup vegetable stock
- dash of liquid smoke optional
Maple Mustard Dipping Sauce
- ⅓ cup dijon mustard or your favorite mustard
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons vegan mayo optional, for a creamy dip
Instructions
Carrot Dogs in a Blanket
- First, pick through the baby carrots and sort out the weirdly-shaped or super skinny ones. If you want to use all of the crescent roll dough, choose 32 carrots to use.
- Boil the baby carrots you're going to use until they are just barely tender. You don't want them so soft that they're going to fall apart but you won't want them to be super crunchy either. Check them frequently. They usually get to the perfect texture between 10-12 minutes of boiling.
- Drain.
- Add the boiled carrots to a shallow dish or a quart-sized, sealable bag.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the container with the carrots. Cover the dish or seal the bag and give them a good shake.
- Marinate for at least 4 hours in the fridge. Overnight is ideal. Give them a shake every hour or so when you think about it.
- Cut the crescent roll triangles into halves.
- Drain and rinse the marinated carrots off.
- Roll the carrots up into the dough and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. (You'll probably need two baking sheets to fit them all.)
- Bake at 375°Fahrenheit for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.
Maple Mustard Dipping Sauce
- Whisk together all ingredients. Thin out with a little water if you prefer.
