When it comes to appetizers, these bacon-wrapped cocktail sausages are about as easy and crowd-pleasing (and completely addictive) as they come. I also love them because you can pop them in a slow cooker set to low and keep them warm all evening.
Ingredient and Recipe Notes
- Lit’l Smokies – AKA cocktail sausages. You will find these in a couple of varieties. All beef will taste like tiny hot dogs. Traditional will be a mix of pork and chicken. Either variety works well. Just like Hot dogs, quality and flavor can vary depending on brand. I prefer name brands that I’m familiar with (like Hillshire Farms) or ones I’ve at least tried before.
- Bacon – Use whatever your favorite regular bacon is, as long as it’s not turkey bacon. Use the real stuff here, original thickness, not thick cut, or it won’t get crispy in the oven. With good old standard bacon, you can wrap 3 little smokies per piece. Center cut will probably only wrap 2 per piece.
- Brown sugar – Light or dark, doesn’t matter, either one will work!
How to Make Bacon Wrapped Cocktail Sausages
- Preheat your oven to 325 and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut the slab of bacon into thirds.
3. Sprinkle brown sugar over sausages
4. Bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes or until bacon has cooked and is starting to brown.
If you’re serving these at a party, they taste even better after a little time in the slow cooker on low heat. And that bacon grease that has co-mingled with the brown sugar? That salty-sweetness is a perfect glaze for these little suckers.
FAQs
- Can I make these ahead of time? These are actually at their very best when they’ve had a chance to hang out in a slow cooker for a bit. Feel free to make them a few hours ahead and transfer to a slow cooker set to low to hang out before serving. I would still make them the day of serving, though.
Related Recipes
Looking for some other appetizer recommendations? Check out these Our Best Bites favorites:
- Sweet and Sour Meatballs {Easy!}
- Cranberry Orange Goat Cheese Bites
- Honey Cranberry Orange Baked Brie
- Mini Pastry Wrapped Brie Bites
- Pastry Wrapped Asparagus With Prosciutto
- Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles
Did You Make This?
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Bacon-Wrapped Cocktail Sausages
- Total Time: 1 hour
Description
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 325 and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut the slab of bacon into thirds.
Wrap 1/3 of each slice of bacon around each sausage, secure with a toothpick and place on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining sausages and bacon.
Sprinkle brown sugar over sausages and bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes or until bacon has cooked and is starting to brown.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
Questions & Reviews
We LOVE these and call them Bacon Crack!!! Try them with cheese smokies too!
I make these every year for Christmas but use way more brown sugar. Absolutely delicious! I prepare them the night before our party and bake them an hour before people come and throw them in a warm crock pot to have throughout the night—if they last!
I love these. When invited to a get together I have been told that I will not be let in if I don’t bring these.
I made these for Christmas but used Nathans Beef mini hot dogs. They were soooo good, they disappeared very quickly. I am making a batch just for my hubby and me for New Years Eve.
This is my favorite! I will cook these for bowl games and other big football games. They are super tasty!
i doubt that the bacon that you are using is really lean. i had the same “hormet original black label”. pan fried it, a lot of oil came out. very oily.
sprinkle with maple syrup when done, Delicious!
I just made these for my hubby’s birthday party and they were a huge hit. One guest called them epic.
i serve them with a tasty dip, 1/4 C mayo 1/4 C mild or hot chili sauce 1/2 C brown sugar…make the night before & chill…delish!!
These are wonderful. We call them Pig Candy!!
I had these at a Thanksgiving dinner. No brown sugar. No crock pot. Just baked in the oven with no toothpick. Toothpicks were separate. They were brought from a home an hour away. Probably room temperature in a nice bowl. They were gone in record time. Delicious!
I make these up the night ahead and let the brown sugar really marinate with the bacon and smokies…super yummy!
Thanks Kate!
Ok…so are you supposed to cook them in the oven and then put them in the crockpot? Or do you just put them in the crockpot on low to cook – and if so, how long do you cook them for?
Thanks so much!!!
Cook ’em first and then pop them into the crockpot! 🙂
I have made these for years. The gal that I got the recipe from was named Arleen so we nicknamed these Arleenie’s Weinies! They are the best!
If you need to make these in a large quantity you can layer them in a crockpot (one layer of smokies, cover with brown sugar, smokies, sugar, and so on) We LOVE this recipe and use it often!
these were as easy as 1-2-3! and got gobbled up very fast!! i used the oven method and the slow cooker, the verdict?: slow cooker. thank you once again ladies!
These were FANTASTIC. I made a batch for our Super Bowl party, and of all the appetizers I made (a lot of them from this site!) these were the favorite and went first.
PERFECT for our Super Bowl Party Thank so much
http://www.momsofalltrades.blogspot.com
Just wanted to mention – I made them using regular cocktail franks for New Year's (due to the celiac/gluten issue) and they were fantastic!! Thanks so much!
I make this quite frequently. I wrap a quarter of a piece of bacon around each link then place seam side down in a 9×13 dish, line them up right next to each other (no spacing necessary) and bake. The bacon adheres to the little smokie during the cooking process thus no need for toothpicks. I also sometimes add a little mustard to the brown sugar and make a glaze and then bake. It adds a nice little zing to it. I also love them with just the brown sugar sans mustard. They are delicious either way!!
I had these for the first time this Christmas at my DIL's. You could have just set the plate in front of me and I would have been a happy camper. They are good!
Made these before but used maple bacon.
Sorry, I meant Jessica not Julie.. 🙁 Name Fail!