Christmas dinner preparations just got a whole lot simpler, thanks to a revolutionary air fryer method that delivers the beloved festive side dish, pigs in blankets, in a mere 20 minutes.
The Ultimate Festive Shortcut
Culinary expert Clare Andrews, the author behind 'The Ultimate Air Fryer Cookbook: One Basket Meals', has shared her incredibly efficient recipe. While supermarket versions are convenient, she champions the superior taste and pride of making your own. The process requires just five minutes of hands-on preparation and 15 minutes of cooking in the air fryer, yielding enough for four people as a perfect accompaniment.
On her website, Andrews states, "Christmas dinner would not be complete without pigs in blankets. To make these air fryer pigs in blankets you need only minimal ingredients. And they are ready in just 20 minutes thanks to the speed of the air fryer."
Free Up Oven Space This Christmas
Andrews highlights a key festive kitchen benefit: using the air fryer liberates precious oven space. "They are easy enough to make in the oven but oven space can be really limited when cooking a large family roast dinner so use your air fryer," she advises. This makes the dish one of the simplest starters or sides to prepare amidst the Christmas Day chaos.
But her praise for these savoury bites isn't confined to December. Andrews insists they are "way too delicious to be made only at Christmas." She suggests serving them as a year-round party snack or to elevate a standard Sunday roast chicken or pork lunch.
How To Make Your 20-Minute Pigs In Blankets
The method is wonderfully straightforward. Each chipolata sausage is wrapped in a rasher of streaky bacon. A simple glaze of runny honey and Dijon mustard is then brushed over them before cooking.
Ingredients:
- Eight rashers of streaky bacon
- Eight chipolata sausages
- One tablespoon of runny honey
- One heaped teaspoon of Dijon mustard
- Cooking spray
Method:
- Wrap each chipolata sausage in a rasher of bacon, rolling from one end to the other until fully covered.
- Mix the honey and mustard in a bowl to create a glaze. Liberally brush this over each sausage.
- Cook in the air fryer at 180°C for 15-20 minutes, turning halfway through to ensure even crispiness. Always check sausages are cooked through before serving.
- If you have glaze leftover when turning, brush a little more over the sausages for extra flavour.
With minimal equipment needed—just an air fryer, a mixing bowl, and a brush—this recipe promises maximum festive flavour with minimal festive fuss. An earlier version of this story was published in December 2024.
