Smoked Turkey Sausage Bites

One of my favorite appetizers around the holidays are mini hot dogs – a little hot dog wrapped in a warm, buttery crescent. Yes please!!

Not only are they delicious, they’re so easy to eat that you don’t even realize how many you’ve had.

The mini hot dogs we would always have around were the all-beef hot dogs with a healthy amount of crescent around them. Now, I tried something a little different this year by taking a similar concept and making them a little more figure-friendly.

These smoked turkey sausage bites have so much flavor in one little bite; they’re just like the classic mini hot dog, but with the hot dog swapped out for a smoked turkey sausage (still wrapped in that buttery crescent we love!).

I paired mine with a sweet maple dijon dipping sauce and it ended up being the perfect combination of sweet and savory.

TIP: These are a great make-ahead appetizer since you can prep them and even freeze them if you want… When you’re ready to serve them, simply preheat the oven and pop them in anytime of the year for a great snack or appetizer for guests 🙂

Smoked Turkey Sausage Bites Ingredients:

For the Smoked Turkey Sausage Bites:

1 package of reduced-fat crescent rolls
1 package of Johnsonville smoked turkey sausage (only use 4 links)

For the Maple Dijon Dipping Sauce: 

1/4 cup agave maple syrup ( I use the Madhava, found at Target)
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup plain non-fat greek yogurt

Directions:

For the Smoked Turkey Sausage Bites: 

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet (you may need 2) with parchment paper and set aside.
2. On a large cutting board open up the crescent roll package (pictures below). The crescent will come out in one large tube which you’ll be able to pull apart (in half) easily since the dough is serrated.
3. Now you have too halves, start to unroll one. You should be able to pull that in half too, leaving you with two pieces that have been serrated for two normal crescents.
4. You are going to press the dough together around the markings to get rid of the serrated edges to make one piece.
5. Take one sausage and cut into 12 equal pieces, then do the same with the crescent you have.
6. Take sausage pieces and roll them using one cut piece of crescent. Repeat and you should have 12 crescent wrapped sausage bites.
7. Place on baking sheet and repeat until you’ve used all dough making a total of 48 smoked sausage bites (if this seems confusing just follow the pictures). Place sausage bites in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes turning halfway through cooking.
8. Serve immediately with dipping sauce, if desired.

For the Maple Dijon Dipping Sauce: 

1. Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Whisk together until fully combined and smooth.
3. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nutritional Information:

Servings: 8
Serving Size: 6 smoked sausage bites

Calories: 145
Fat: 7g
Carbohydrates: 15g
Sugar: 4g
Fiber: 0g
Sodium: 575mg
Protein: 7g