Little Smokies are a classic appetizer for good reason. Cocktail sausage simmered in a slow cooker in a sweet and tangy sauce. Super easy to make and everyone loves them – AND you can keep them warm in your slow cooker all night.
Once you start eating these little smokies, you won’t be able to stop! Easy appetizers like this one are always good to have in your back pocket for game days, parties and holidays. Be sure to check out our Everything Pigs in a Blanket and these Bacon Wrapped Scallops for more classic appetizers recipes!
Why You’ll Love Our Little Smokies Recipe
I mean, there are hundreds of recipes for these little hot dogs. Hundreds. Why we even pretend to think that you’ll pick ours is just a wish, but we really hope you do because this is really the perfect recipe.
- Easy To Make: Everyone needs and easy to make appetizer for parties or around the holidays. You can get these little smokies ready to go in about 5 minutes.
- Make Ahead Recipe: You can make this appetizer ahead of time and have them warm and ready to go when your guests arrive.
- Nostalgic Vibe: Just about everyone has tried this appetizer at some point in their life, and pretty much everyone loves them!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Our little smokies have a perfect balance of tangy and sweet combined to make the most addicting sauce you’ll ever try on a hot dog. I’m telling you, I don’t even love hot dogs and I can’t stop eating these!
- Cocktail Franks: Use beef, per our recipe, or turkey cocktail franks. In a pinch? Use regular hot dogs and cut them into quarters!
- BBQ Sauce: We prefer a sweet BBQ sauce for these cocktail franks so find one that says “honey bbq” or “brown sugar bbq”.
- Apple Juice: Apple juice or apple cider works, whatever you have on hand.
- Dry Mustard: It’s back in your spice cabinet somewhere, dig it out and get it in this sauce, it will add a very mild background heat to balance out the sweetness.
- Worcestershire Sauce: This complex sauce just seems to make everything taste better!
- Jelly: Seedless raspberry or grape jelly, grape jelly is more universally used, but we like the flavor of raspberry as well.
What To Do With Leftovers
Well, you’re just in for a treat the next day. Let these hot dogs cool down and then store them in a plastic container in the refrigerator. To heat up the hot dogs, just microwave for a couple of minutes until warmed through.
You can also freeze these if you really have a lot leftover. Add them to a resealable freezer bag and freeze flat. Defrost in your refrigerator and then add right back to a slow cooker or crock pot. Alternately, you can add them to a pot and slowly heat them on the stove top.
How To Serve This Little Smokies Recipe
There’s many, easy ways to serve these cocktail franks! Our first choice is to keep them right in your crock pot and have toothpicks on the side, ready to go. Your friends can spoon a few hot dogs onto a plate or bowl and grab a few toothpicks for grabbing.
Another way to serve these hot dogs is to keep the bulk of them warm in your crock pot and then add a portion into a skillet or bowl for setting onto a table. This way might work better if you’re gathering around a table and don’t want to deal with the hassle of a cord.
Variations
We love these little smokies just as the recipe is written, but if you need to swap something out or just want to play around with the flavors, we have some ideas for you.
- Instead of jelly: If you don’t have jelly you can sweeten the sauce with brown sugar, maple syrup or honey.
- Swap out the smokies: If you don’t like cocktail sausages, try using frozen meatballs (or try our BBQ Party Meatball recipe)
- Make them spicy: If you like a little spice, you can add hot sauce or cayenne pepper to the recipe. Or use a spicy barbecue sauce.
Looking For More Appetizer Recipes?
- Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
- Easy Homemade Guacamole
- Copycat Totino’s Pizza Rolls
- Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings
- Hot Crab & Corn Dip
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The BEST Little Smokies
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeLittle Smokies are a classic appetizer for good reason! They’re SO easy to make and everyone loves them. Keep them warm in your slow cooker all night!
Ingredients
- 3 (12 ounce packages) cocktail franks
- 2 cups honey bbq sauce or brown sugar bbq sauce
- 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jelly or grape jelly
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup apple juice (or apple cider)
Instructions
- Add the cocktail franks to a 4 quart slow cooker.
- Mix the bbq sauce, jelly, dry mustard, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce and apple juice in a bowl until combined.
- Pour the sauce over the hot dogs and stir to combine. Set on high for 2 hours or on low for 4-6 hours. These hot dogs can also be kept in your slow cooker on the “warm” setting during a party or holiday.
Recipe Notes
This recipe will serve 18 people, 5 mini hot dogs per person if you are serving these for a crowd. Of course, some might have more so I like to plan on this serving for about 10 people, but you can also easily half this recipe.
Store: Store leftovers in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freeze: You can also freeze any leftovers that you have right in the sauce. Let cool and then add to a freezer bag or air tight container and freeze for up to 6 months.
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
