Description
These easy sausage balls are a quick and easy appetizer loved by young and old. You only need five ingredients, and they’re ready in under 30 minutes. They’ll be a smash hit wherever you serve them!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups baking mix or pancake mix (or 1 box of Red Lobster Cheddar Bay biscuit mix)
- 1 lb. ground breakfast sausage (like Jimmy Dean)
- 1 (8 oz.) block cream cheese
- 1 1/2 cups Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, freshly grated
- 1 teaspoon All Purpose Seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Much like making meatloaf, I find the easiest method is to use my hands. Mix until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Form the mixture into one-inch balls. I use my cookie scoop to get them all to be a fairly uniform size.
- Place the rolled sausage puffs onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, arranging them so that they are not touching and the heat can circulate around them. I can always get the whole batch on one baking sheet [affiliate link].
- Bake at 400° for 18 to 25 minutes. Timing depends so much on your personal oven. The internal temperature of the finished sausage balls will be 165°F. Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauces, like my homemade Honey Mustard Sauce.
Notes
Making them ahead and/or freezing them.
Make the recipe and roll the sausage balls without baking them. Cover the baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate up to 24 hours.
If you want to make them further ahead, place the tray of unbaked sausage puffs into the freezer and flash freeze them for about an hour or until they are frozen solid. Transfer to a zip-top freezer bag or air-tight freezer container until the night before you want to bake them. They should keep frozen for up to three months.
When ready to bake, arrange the frozen sausage balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Reduce the usual temperature for baking to 375°F and allow extra time for the sausage puffs to reach the safe internal temperature of 165°F. Reducing the temperature helps the frozen appetizers to cook all the way through without getting too brown on the outside.
How to Make Sausage Balls WITHOUT Bisquick
No Bisquick or baking mix in the pantry? No worries. You can still whip up these cheesy sausage puff appetizers by making your own quick and easy baking mix. In a small mixing bowl, mix up:
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine everything with a fork or a pastry blender until it forms small crumbles and all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Instead of the baking mix in the sausage balls recipe below, use this mixture. It is the perfect amount to make one batch of this yummy appetizer recipe.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Appetizer, Pork
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American