Hot dogs are one of the earliest childhood dinners in my memory banks. As an adult, I completely understand that they do not in any way, shape, or form qualify as “healthy”. However, there are some days when I’m really okay with that and other days when my justification is that since these are a party snack / appetizer, everything is fair game.
Now, my 6 year old self would never have eaten this version of hot dogs. They have jalapenos. They are not covered in ketchup. Worst of all, they are sliced down the middle. (Ruining the “form” of the hot dog would have been enough to send my childhood self into tilt. **shrugs** ) My adult self, however, thinks that these are extreme and delicious. They can be a party food, an appetizer, or (as has happened in our house) dinner.
What You Need to Make Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Hot Dogs
Ingredients
- Hot Dogs – You can really use any kind of hot dog you’d like–regular, all beef, chicken, etc. The only real requirement here is that it is thick enough for you to be able to carve out a little well for the filling. That’s why I suggest regular size and not bun size.
- Thin Cut Bacon – For most of my bacon eating pleasure, I’m all about thick cut bacon. The one exception to that rule is when I’m wrapping something in bacon. The thicker bacon takes way too long to cook compared to whatever is wrapped inside of it. Trust me on this. Don’t try to be fancy here. Use the thin cut bacon. If you want to sub turkey bacon, that’s fine too. Only the thin cut part matters.
- Cream Cheese
- Jalapeños (finely diced) – You want these to add flavor but not be hard to pipe into the filling area of the hot dog, hence the fine dice.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese – I always use sharp cheddar, because I think it stands out better from the cream cheese and jalapeno, but feel free to change it up.
Equipment
- Cutting Board
- Chef’s Knife
- 2 Rimmed Baking Sheets
- 2 Wire Rack Inserts – If you don’t have one of these, you can just set them on the lined baking sheet. However, since this means they will be sitting in the bacon grease while they cook, the bacon will not get as crispy on the bottom and you’ll want to set them briefly on a paper towel lined plate to soak up the extra grease before serving.
- Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil
- Paring Knife – You’re going to want a small enough knife that you can dig little wells out of your hot dogs without stabbing yourself. I may have a history of issues with accidentally slicing myself despite having taken a knife skills class like 5 times.
- Medium Mixing Bowl – Make sure it’s large enough for you to adequately mix your filling ingredients
Getting Started with Making Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Hot Dogs
This one is simple but requires some time for scooping out the filling area of the hot dogs; so I do suggest doing your prep work in advance of your dinner party, other party, or whenever you’re serving them.
Making the Jalapeño Cream Cheese Filling
First we’ll get started by dicing the Jalapeños and placing them in a microwave safe bowl. To that same bowl, you will add 8 ounces of Cream Cheese and 1 cup of Shredded Cheddar Cheese.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget to wear gloves when you do this and at any point in this process that you are touching the jalapenos or surfaces and utensils that have touched the jalapenos. Then throw them away when you’re done. It really sucks to accidentally touch your eyes or face after handling peppers.
Then we’ll place the bowl in the microwave and microwave it on the Defrost setting for 45 seconds. You will remove, stir, and then continue microwaving it in 10 second increments until it is soft and can be thoroughly combined and is easily spreadable.
Now we’ll spoon this mixture into a gallon-sized freezer bag and set it aside.
Lori Note: You could spoon the mixture into the hot dogs, but the zip top bag squeeze method is way faster, easier, and less messy.
Preparing the Hot Dogs
I would suggest thinking of each hot dog like a little canoe. You need to dig out the center so that it looks like a canoe. To do so, I make two parallel slices longways on each hot dog, leaving about a quarter inch unsliced at each end to help keep the filling from spilling out. I cut the parallel lines about ¾-inch apart. Then you’ll make a small perpendicular slice connecting the two lines at each end. (See illustration below.) Then I use something like a grapefruit spoon or the handle end of a teaspoon to dig out the center. You need to be careful not to cut all the way through the hot dog.
Now we’ll just repeat this procedure until all of the hot dogs are done. Save the parts of the hot dogs that you carve out and set aside for a future use.
Lori Note: I like to use the hot dog scraps to make the inverse of this recipe, which is Jalapeños Stuffed with Hot Dogs, Cheddar, and Cream Cheese (Bacon-Wrapped or Not). (See Recipe Notes.)
Assembling the Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Hot Dogs
Now to put them all together. If I’m baking these right away, I’ll do my assembly on the wire rack in the rimmed baking sheet. If not, I’ll still like a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up and use that as my work surface.
I start assembly by laying out all of my hot dogs and separating my bacon slices for easier grabbing. Then I cut the corner tip off of my zip top bag filled with the cream cheese mixture. The hole needs to be big enough that you can squeeze out the filling.
Then you can grab a hot dog and squeeze the filling into the cavity. I like to do this for all of the hot dogs before moving onto the bacon-wrapping. I would suggest not going light on the stuffing. You should have plenty.
Once you have the hot dogs all filled, wrap each one in a single slice of thin or medium-cut bacon. I recommend wrapping the bacon so that the ends are on the bottom. This will help them stay wrapped while baking.
Baking the Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Hot Dogs
You will be baking these on a rimmed baking sheet lined with heavy duty aluminum foil and (ideally) with a wire rack insert inside of it. If you are going to be assembling these and then baking them right away, you can go ahead and do this now and then just set your wrapped hot dogs on the wire rack. OR . . . If you have a lid for the rimmed baking sheet, you can still put them on the wire rack, cover them with the lid, and store them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake them.
You will also need to preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. However, if you’re just doing your prep work in advance, you can save that task for before you bake them. If you have a Convection Roast setting on your oven, go ahead and use that setting but drop your temperature by 25 degrees. Using the convection roast setting will provide better heat distribution around your wrapped hot dogs.
Now you can just place the wrapped hot dogs on the wire rack, at least 1 inch apart.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes or until the bacon is crispy. (If you are using Convection Roast, bake them at 375°F for 25 minutes instead.)
Serve warm either on a platter with tongs to either be eaten with a fork and knife or in a keto hot dog bun or keto taco-size tortilla wrap.
Related Recipes
Looking for some more easy hot dog appetizers? You might like one of these:
- Hot Dog Low Carb Pull-Apart Rolls
- Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dogs
Just looking for some easy appetizers? Check out my Last Minute Appetizers and Snacks or my Game Day Spread menu suggestions.
Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Hot Dogs
Ingredients
- 3 Jalapeños Stems, membranes, and seeds removed. Finely diced.
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese Shredded. I use sharp cheddar.
- 16 Hot Dogs Regular size.
- 16 slices Thin Cut Bacon
- 16 Keto Hot Dog Buns or Taco-size Keto Tortilla Wraps optional
Instructions
- Line your rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil and set the wire rack inside. Preheat your oven to 400° F (375°F on the Convection Roast setting, if you have one).
- Finely dice 3 Jalapeños, removing all seeds and membranes first.3 Jalapeños
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine 8 ounces Cream Cheese, 1 cup Cheddar Cheese (shredded), and diced Jalapeños. Microwave this mixture on the defrost setting for 45 seconds. Stir. Continue microwaving in 10 second increments and then stirring until the mixture is completely combined and easily spreadable. Transfer the cream cheese mixture to a disposable zip top bag and set it aside.8 ounces Cream Cheese, 1 cup Cheddar Cheese, 3 Jalapeños
- Lay out 16 Hot Dogs on a cutting board. Make two long, parallel slices in each hot dog from one end to the other about ¾ of an inch apart, leaving about a quarter inch unsliced at each end to help keep the filling from spilling out. (You are making a little well for the cream cheese filling.) Save the parts of the hot dogs that you carve out and set aside for a bonus recipe. (See Recipe Notes.)16 Hot Dogs
- Cut the tip off of one corner of the zip top bag, making sure the hole is big enough for the jalapeño pieces to come through. Pipe the filling into the wells you made in the hot dogs.
- Wrap each hot dog with one of the 16 slices Thin Cut Bacon. Secure with toothpicks if necessary. Set the wrapped hot dogs on the wire rack, at least 1 inch apart.16 slices Thin Cut Bacon
- Bake at 400° F for 25 minutes or until bacon is crispy. (Or use the Convection Roast setting at 375°F for 25 minutes.)
- Serve warm either on a platter with tongs to either be eaten with a fork and knife or in a keto hot dog bun or keto taco-size tortilla wrap.16 Keto Hot Dog Buns or Taco-size Keto Tortilla Wraps
Equipment
- Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil
Notes
- Jalapeño Hot Dog Poppers
- You will have some leftover filling and the pieces of hot dog that you carved out. You will likely also have some leftover jalapeños if your grocery store is like mine and they come in a bag instead of individually. Use these and any leftover filling for a bonus set of Jalapeno Hot Dog Poppers.
- Instructions:
- Chop up the hot dog pieces and add it to the leftover Jalapeño Cheddar Cream Cheese filling.
- Slice your jalapeños in half. Remove the seeds and membranes.
- Pipe the leftover filling into the jalapeño halves.
- Wrap in thin cut bacon slices.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until bacon is crispy and you have a bonus set of Jalapeno Hot Dog Poppers. (Or use the Convection Roast setting on your oven and set it to 375°F instead.)
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