If you’ve been around here a bit, you probably saw my viral carrot hot dogs that Good Morning America shared across the internet. The video brought lots of love and lots of questions…which I understand, but one bite and readers were smitten by the taste! Little did I know, my parents had taken that recipe and used it to make vegan pigs in a blanket for a party. And low and behold, guests didn’t even realize they were carrots! I’ll let you be the judge of that though – be sure to let me know in the comments if they taste more like carrots or more like hot dogs!
Why you’ll love it
They honestly taste SO good and I’m not saying that because I’m a vegetarian. I’m saying it because a party of unknowing guests said so. This childhood staple is an easy recipe to throw together and everyone loves it! These can be air-fried if you don’t want to heat up the oven – which is ideal for those warm summer months!
Ingredients for Vegan Pigs in a Blanket
Making carrots taste like hot dogs requires a little smoke and mirrors. Ok, it’s actually just a little food science. Here’s what you need for the magic!
The Poaching Liquid: To generate smokiness in the carrots, they are poached in a liquid of vegetable broth, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, mustard, smoked paprika, and liquid smoke. Carrots: Baby carrots are the perfect size to mimic mini sausages in these little vegan pigs in blankets. You could cut big carrots to be smaller. Crescent Rolls: To keep it classic, these are wrapped in a blanket of Pillsbury crescent rolls and then brushed with butter and flaky sea salt. Standard biscuit dough that’s been rolled flat and cut to size will work too.
How to make Pigs in a Blanket
Storage
Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. To reheat them, pop them in the oven or air fryer so they get crispy again.
Why this Recipe Works
If you’re wondering, “ok how can someone not know these are carrots and not hot dogs?”…well, here’s how:
Smoke, smoke, and more smoke gives the carrots the same depth of flavor as a hot dog! Cooking the carrots in a flavorful broth first softens them to help with the texture. This ensures the vegan pigs in a blanket eat like the meat version. Crescent rolls act as the mirror to the smoke and mirrors of this recipe. Classic pigs in a blanket use them, so in order to keep up the illusion, these needed the same staple ingredient.
More Recipes to trick your meat-eating friends
We love replicating meat-lover classics around here. These are a few of our favorites!
Baked Tofu Nuggets Vegetarian Chicken Salad Grillable Tofu Burgers
