Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies
Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies are the PERFECT addition to any party. A little sweet, a little smokey and served on a toothpick so they are easy to eat with just one hand.
What are Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies?
This recipe is my husbands absolute favorite party appetizer. He requests that we bring them to every get together that we attend. We even served them at our daughter’s Confirmation party!
But he’s right. They really are a simple and delicious addition to any food spread. We have served them at:
- Super Bowl parties
- Christmas parties
- game nights
- Oscar parties
- graduation parties
- Halloween (pre trick or treating apps)
- Thanksgiving appetizer
- kid sports end of season celebrations
- New Year’s Eve parties
- movie night
- Easter appetizer
- 4th of July parties
- birthday parties
They are always a crowd pleaser.
And they are easy! Simply wrap sliced bacon around lil Smokie sausages and cover in brown sugar. The sugar caramelizes as is bakes adding the perfect amount of texture and sweetness to the meat.
I assemble and bake them with a toothpick for two reasons…
- 1) they stay wrapped tightly together while they bake
- 2) they are easy to eat and not get your fingers dirty
What ingredients do you need?
- bacon (I like this brand)
- lit’l smokies sausages (like these)
- brown sugar
- toothpicks
How to make Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Open the package of little smokie sausages and see how many come in the package. This will determine how wany slices of bacon you need. I find there are typically around 33 sausages per package.
You will need one strip of bacon for every three sausages. So for 33 sausages, use 11 strips of bacon.
Using scissors or a sharp knife, cut the strips of bacon into three equal parts. You can cut multiple strips at once to save time.
Wrap one piece of the cut bacon around one little smokie sausage. Secure it by sticking a toothpick through the center of the sausage, and the wrapped bacon, so that it comes out on the other side.
Pro Tip: To make sure that the bacon stays nice and tightly wrapped on the sausages, make sure that the toothpick pokes all of the way through the other side of the sausage. Then slide sausage up to center of toothpick. You should have about equal parts of the toothpick hanging out on either side of the little smokie.
Continue until all of the sausages are wrapped in bacon and place them in an 9×13 baking dish.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup of brown sugar over the top of the bacon wrapped sausages. Use a spoon to make sure that some brown sugar is on top of each wrapped sausage. Pat it down a bit into sausages using the back of the spoon so that it stays secure.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Tip: open the oven at the 15 minute mark and rotate the baking dish so that the back of the pan doesn’t cook faster than the front of the pan.
The sugar may look a bit scorched in the bottom of pan and that’s ok. Transfer the wrapped sausages to a serving platter or bowl and serve warm.
How to reheat Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies
There typically isn’t many of these little guys left after a party. But if you have some, dont worry, you can easily reheat them and enjoy them later.
Store leftovers in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
When ready to reheat, use your air fryer. Preheat it to 375 degrees.
Pro Tip: If your air fryer doesn’t have a pre-heat function, simply turn it on and let it run empty at desired temperature for 3-4 minutes.
Once preheated, add the wrapped sausages to the basket of your air fryer. Work in small batches as to not over crowd them. Heat for 2 minutes and check them. If they are not fully warmed through and crisped back up, put them back in for one more minute.
Keep a close eye on them so that they do not scorch. Transfer to plate and enjoy.
Short on time? You can prep this dish ahead of time.
If you are hosting the party, chances are you might have a bunch of other things going on. You can easily prep these little guys the day before to save time on party day.
Cut the the bacon, wrap the sausages and secure with tooth picks. Then store in an air tight container in the fridge.
When you are ready to bake, simply transfer them in a baking dish, add the brown sugar and pop in the oven.
If you are bringing these to a party, you can can partially bake them at home (bake for 15-20 mins right before you leave the house), and then once you arrive at the party, pop them back into the oven for another 10-15 mins until heated though.
Won‘t have access to an oven where you are going? Then bake them all of the way, and transfer them in the hot pan to your destination.
Try an insulated travel bag like this one, use that to help keep them warm. You can also just cover the dish with tin foil and wrap it in a towel to help keep some of the heat in the pan.
Transfer from the warm baking pan to a serving tray once you reach you destination.
Bonus Recipes
Looking for other unique party recipes to please a crowd? Try BLT Bites or (Grown Up) Pigs in a Blanket w/ Siracha Mayo.
FAQs
If the fat is separating form the meat, simply fold the edge of it under itself. That will give you two layers of bacon, making it easier for the toothpick to secure to it.
That’s ok! The sugar will caramelize and bake into the wrapped sausages which gives them the sweet flavor, and sticky texture. Keep an eye on these little guys as they bake and rotate the pan at least once to keep the brown sugar caramelizing evenly.
They are really the best when they are fresh out of the oven. They are good served at room temperature as well. You CAN reheat them in an air fryer to enjoy as leftovers, but they aren’t quite as crisp when reheated as they are when they are fresh. So I would recommend prepping them ahead of time, and waiting to bake them until you are ready serve.
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Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies
Equipment
- 33 wooden toothpicks
- 1 9 x 13 baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 package little smokie sausages (like these) approx 33 sausages per pack
- 11 strips bacon
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Open the package of lil Smokie Sausages and see how many come in the package. This will determine how wany slices of bacon you need. I find there are typically around 33 sausages per package.
- You will need one strip of bacon for every three sausages. So for 33 sausages, use 11 strips of bacon.
- Using scissors or a sharp knife, cut the strips of bacon into three equal parts. You can cut multiple strips at once to save time.
- Wrap one piece of the cut bacon around one little smokie sausage. Secure it by sticking a toothpick through the center of the sausage and the wrapped bacon, so that it comes out on the other side. Tip: To make sure that the bacon stays nice and tightly wrapped on the sausages, make sure that the toothpick pokes all of the way through the other side of the sausage. Then slide sausage up to center of toothpick. You should have about equal parts of the toothpick hanging out on either side of the little smokie.
- Continue until all of the sausages are wrapped in bacon and place them in an 9 x 13 baking dish.
- Sprinkle 1/2 cup of brown sugar over the top of the bacon wrapped sausages. Use a spoon to make sure that some brown sugar is on top of each wrapped sausage. Pat it down a bit into sausages using the back of the spoon so that it stays secure.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Tip: Open the oven at the 15 minute mark and rotate the pan so that the back of the pan doesn't cook faster than the front of the pan.
- Transfer the wrapped sausages to a serving platter or bowl and serve warm.
