Who doesn’t love those classic, kid-friendly pigs in a blanket? These keto pigs in a blanket offer all the same delicious flavor with just a fraction of the carbs, thanks to the incredible and versatile fathead dough! This recipe is a low-carb spin on a classic favorite that's just as tasty as the traditional recipe!
Ingredients for Keto Pigs in a Blanket
Instead of crescent or biscuit dough, this recipe uses the classic fathead dough. You’ll need:
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Cream Cheese
- Almond Flour
- Baking Soda
- Egg Yolk
- Hot Dogs
- Optional: Sesame Seeds or Everything Bagel Seasoning for the top.
When you’re making fathead dough, it's believed the cheese melts easier and the overall texture comes out better when you grate the cheese off the block instead of using pre-shredded cheese. If you have the time, it’s always recommended to shred it yourself. Philadelphia is a favorite cream cheese brand. It’s not a huge deal, but it's preferable to go with brands that have super simple ingredients. It’ll still come out delicious whichever brand you use though! Use a blanched, fine almond flour. Remember to check the dates of your leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda. Beef hot dogs are a good option for this recipe. Nathan's is a personal favorite because of the flavor and lack of casing, which makes them a bit easier for the kids to eat. They also don't have any nitrates or nitrites. Remember to read labels and choose a brand that's best for your family and budget.
How to Make Low Carb Pigs In a Blanket
These are super easy to make, and your little ones can even help! Here's what you need to do:
- Microwave together the mozzarella, almond flour and cream cheese for 30 to 45 seconds or until the cheese is melted. Stir the mixture with a fork until a soft ball of dough forms, and add the baking soda and egg yolk. Continue stirring until a smooth ball forms.
- Place the dough on parchment paper on a flat work surface. Wet your hands with water and flatten out the dough, then use a knife to cut the dough into four even pieces, big enough to wrap around the hot dogs.
- Pat the hot dogs dry with a paper towel and gently wrap a piece of dough around each hot dog, leaving the ends exposed, pinching at the seam to close.
- Sprinkle the wrapped hot dogs with sesame seeds or everything bagel seasoning, and bake them for 18-20 minutes, or until dough is golden brown, at 400°F. Let cool for at least 10 minutes, otherwise the dough may fall apart.
The great thing about hot dogs is they’re already cooked when you buy them. I’ve even heard of some people eating them cold, straight out of the package! While that’s not for me, I do appreciate that I don’t have to check the internal temperature when cooking them because they’re already fully cooked.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Recipe Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 F and line a medium-sized baking sheet with parchment.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, add the mozzarella and almond flour. Break the cream cheese into small pieces and add to the bowl. Microwave for 30 to 45 seconds, or until the cheese is melted.
Stir the mixture with a fork until a soft ball of dough forms. Sprinkle the dough with baking soda and add the egg yolk. Break the yolk with a fork and stir it into the dough until a smooth ball forms.
Lay a piece of parchment paper on a flat work surface. Wet your hands with a bit of water and flatten out the dough to about 3 x 4 inches and about ½ inch thick.
Use a knife to cut the dough into four even pieces. Pat the hot dogs with a paper towel to remove surface moisture and gently wrap a piece of dough around each, leaving the ends exposed, pinching at the seam to close. The dough will expand a bit during baking, so try to wrap each as closely as possible without breaking the dough.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
Place all the wrapped hot dogs on the baking sheet and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 18-20 minutes. The dough will turn golden and firmer when cooked.
Serving and Dipping Suggestions
Dip them into your favorite mustard or no-sugar added ketchup!
- Keto Ketchup - Sugar free ketchup is a must whenever you have any kind of hotdog.
- Noble Made BBQ Sauces - Noble Made makes high quality products with quality ingredients that prioritize health and taste.
- Spicy Mayo- This is super easy to whip up from home.
Variations and Adaptations
Pigs in a blanket are often made with hot dogs, but any kind of sausage that has been wrapped in dough and baked qualifies.
- Cheese: Use your favorite cheese in the pizza dough. Any semi soft cheese will work.
- Sausage: The sausage should be easily picked up in your local grocer. They have cocktail sausages, vienna sausages, or hotdogs you can cut up in place of regular Lit’l Smokies. Pick your favorite and use that.
Why This Recipe Works
Your childhood favorite recipe finally got a keto makeover thanks to low carb fathead dough. Hot dogs were a huge part of childhood. While hot dogs are meat, their blanket certainly isn’t! It resembles a fat head dough, but without the cream cheese which means less calories per pig. They only take 30 minutes total to make which means you’ll always have a go to, sorta classy, super delicious appetizer! It’s low carb keto friendly and super low in net carbs.
Fathead Dough Tips
Sadly fathead dough is 90% cheese and cream cheese so there really isn’t any good substitutions for it. Never made a pig in a blanket? Then you will need shredded mozzarella cheese, almond flour, an egg, baking powder, garlic powder, salt, and sesame seeds. To make this low carb recipe start by melting the mozzarella cheese in a microwave safe bowl and add the almond flour and egg. Now add the baking powder, garlic, and salt. If the mixture starts to harden again you can pop it into the microwave for 10-15 seconds to loosen the cheese. Form the dough into 12 equal sized pieces and roll them out. Place a “pig” (a hot dog cut into thirds) onto the dough and wrap the hot dog piece up like a blanket. Sprinkle the dough with sesame seeds and press them in.
Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto
Fathead Dough Alternatives
There are recipes for fathead dough using coconut flour, but this dough made with almond flour is preferable. If you want to experiment, I’d start with reducing the flour down to 1/4 cup and going from there.
What is fathead dough?
Fathead dough is a mixture of mozzarella cheese, eggs, cream cheese, and either coconut or almond flour. It’s a simple dough that’s easy to work with and very versatile.
Serving Suggestions
Parties and snack time no longer have to be coupled with unhealthy snacks! Put this recipe to the test and make these Easy Pigs In A Blanket next time your family wants a snack. Want to make more tasty keto appetizers to satisfy your hunger?
Additional Keto Appetizer Recipes
- Keto Chicken Tenders - One of the most popular recipes on our site are these keto chicken tenders.
How to Make Keto Pigs in a Blanket (Step-by-Step)
- Cut each hot dog into 3 equal sized pieces and set aside.
- Melt mozzarella in microwave and add almond flour and egg. Combine well.
- Add baking powder, garlic and salt. Combine well.
- Form dough in hands and split into 12 equal sized pieces and roll into dough.
- Place dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
A Timeless Treat
A timeless treat with a low-carb/keto twist, these pigs in a blanket are perfect for parties, brunch, movie night - you name it.
Quick and Easy Instructions
- Preheat over to 350°.
- In a glass bowl, add the mozzarella and microwave for two minutes, or until creamy and smooth. Allow to cook for about one minute.
- To the cheese, add the almond flour, egg, butter, garlic, herbs, and any other desired seasonings.
Why We Love This Recipe:
- Versatile: You can feed a whole lot of hungry people with these keto pigs in a blanket - just double or triple the recipe to suit your needs.
- Dipping: Don’t forget the dipping sauce!
- Family-Friendly: It’s a universal fact that kids love hot dogs and these are totally kid-friendly!
Ingredients Needed:
- Hot Dogs - Use your favorite brand of hot dogs here.
- Almond Flour - The low carb flour of choice for making fathead dough.
- Baking Powder - This is the leavening agent that will help the dough to rise and become light and fluffy.
Making the Dough:
We’re using a simple fathead dough for this recipe. You’ll just melt together mozzarella and cream cheese, and then stir in an egg, almond flour, and baking powder. This dough is fairly thick and easy to work with.
Shaping the Dough:
Parchment paper is the key when working with fathead dough. The parchment keeps the dough from sticking quite so much. We just break the dough into four portions and smoosh it out between pieces of parchment paper, until it’s about as long as your hot dogs and about 3-4 inches wide.
Baking Instructions:
Line your baking sheet with more parchment paper (this is a must or the dough will stick!) and bake your pigs in a blanket.
Dipping Sauce Ideas:
I’m a sucker for ketchup and mustard on my hot dogs, so that’s what I usually do. You could also whip up a batch of this hot dog chili (use sugar free ketchup, of course), and top your pigs in a blanket with that. Or, make our keto chili and serve these on the side.
How to store leftovers?
These keto pigs in a blanket are best enjoyed fresh but they can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days! Reheat in the microwave.
Keto Pigs in a Blanket Recipe (Using Pizza Dough)
These Keto Pigs in a Blanket are tiny cocktail franks wrapped in a fat head dough made with almond flour, mozzarella cheese, and cream cheese. They are then sprinkled with everything bagel seasoning, and baked until golden brown perfection! I love to make these Keto Pigs in a Blanket to enjoy as an appetizer for any type of gathering. Grumpy loves the regular recipe for pigs in a blanket made with the crescent roll dough. Because of this, I wanted to make something similar that would work for the keto diet. I used a low carb pizza crust recipe and cut it in strips to wrap around the cocktail franks.
Ingredients:
- Cocktail Franks: I like to buy the beef cocktail franks.
- Use your favorite cheese in the pizza dough. Any semi soft cheese will work.
- Roasted Strawberry Chipotle Sauce is a sugar free recipe.
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Make and roll out keto pizza dough as directed.
- Using a pizza cutter, cut the pizza dough into strips.
- Wrap a strip of keto pizza dough around the cocktail frank.
- Place on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet.
- Whisk egg white until foamy.
- Brush the top of each pig in a blanket with egg white.
- Sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve with your favorite keto friendly dipping sauce.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Measure out the wet and dry ingredients.
- Melt the cheddar cheese in the microwave in 20 second intervals until bubbling, then mix together all of the ingredients to make the dough.
- Spread the dough out on a silpat until it fills the entire sheet, then put fridge to harden up for 15-20 minutes.
- Pre-heat oven to 400F.
- Once the dough is cold, transfer to foil to cut.
- Slice the dough into strips and wrap around the Lit’l Smokies.
- Then bake for 13-15 minutes.
- Serve while warm.
This makes 37 total Keto Pigs in a Blanket.
Keto Pigs in a Blanket (Using Modified Fat Head Dough)
These Keto Pigs in a Blanket are the perfect low-carb, kid-friendly dinner! While Air Fryer Corn Dogs might technically be easier, these low-carb pigs in a blanket aren’t too difficult AND you stay gluten free + keto! I modified my favorite keto fat head dough to create a dough that is awfully similar to crescent roll dough. It is light, fluffy and pairs perfect with your favorite hot dog or smoked sausage links! This is a 100% homemade pigs in a blanket recipe that uses my go-to keto dough to wrap the hot dogs. It’s so easy to make these naturally gluten-free pigs in a blanket!
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the mozzarella cheese and cream cheese.
- Heat in 30-second increments until cheese is completely melted.
- Stir the cheeses so they are combined.
- In a second smaller bowl, combine the almond flour and baking powder.
- Mix the almond flour with the the melted cheeses.
- When the almond flour and cheese are nearly combined, add in a beaten egg white and stir well
- Using your hands work the dough to make sure the egg white is completely worked into the dough (no streaks of egg whites visible).
- If the dough seems too wet, just add 1 tablespoon of almond flour at a time until it feels right.
- Lay the dough on a silicone baking sheet.
Nutritional Information
This can vary depending on the variety of meat that you use. For this recipe, I used Johnsonville Smoked Sausage links, which has 2 net carbs per link. That is on the higher end of most of the brands I checked. The low-carb dough in this recipe has 2.1 net carbs if you divide it into 6 sections to make 6 pigs in a blanket. So my version using Johnsonville Smoked Sausage were about 4 net carbs each.
Tips and Tricks
- I love that this is a 30-minute meal that even picky eaters will love!
- I highly suggest investing in a set of silicone baking mats.
- If you don’t have a silicone baking mat, use parchment paper or foil to line your baking tray.