If you’ve never heard of sausage balls before, let us introduce you to your new favorite
holiday appetizer. Golden bites of cooked pork sausage, cheddar, and Bisquick combine in this recipe for a last-minute appetizer ready in a little more than 30 minutes. Savory and cheesy, it’s easy to see why these bite-sized apps are a classic in many households. Whether you’re serving them at your holiday dinner or as a game day app, these bites are a guaranteed hit. Keep reading on for all of our top tips on how to make them:
The best sausage for sausage balls:
Our favorite sausage for sausage balls is ground Italian pork sausage (you can use sweet or spicy!), but you can also use chicken or turkey sausage. Whatever you choose, just make sure it’s the kind you buy raw, and if it comes in links remove them from the casings. Pre-cooked sausage links will not work for this recipe. Want to spice things up? You could use Mexican (not Spanish cured) chorizo! For a breakfast version, try using maple-y breakfast sausage.
The Bisquick:
The key to these sausage balls? Bisquick. While it may seem odd, trust us—they make this appetizer as easy as possible, and turn these bites into a cheesy, biscuit-type of texture.
If you don’t want to use Bisquick or another boxed biscuit mix, no problem. Simply swap in 2 cups all-purpose flour, 3 tsp. baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt for this recipe.
How to make sausage balls:
It’s as simple as mixing your ingredients together, shaping them into balls, brushing with olive oil and baking. Because there are no wet ingredients, these may seem crumbly when forming into balls—don’t fear! Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature (and you may need to work at the mixture a bit), and they will form.
There are plenty of ways to shake these sausage balls up. We love cheddar since it’s always a crowd-pleaser, but stirring in some Parmesan would totally give these even more dimension. But honestly, most of your favorite cheeses will likely work in these bites: Gruyère, pepper jack, mozzarella…the options are endless!
Make them ahead:
You can make the sausage mixture up to 24 hours in advance. Shape the mixture into balls and refrigerate them on a parchment-lined baking sheet until ready to bake.
Made this version of the classic? Let us know how they came out in the comments below!
If you’ve never heard of sausage balls before, let us introduce you to your new favorite
holiday appetizer. Golden bites of cooked pork sausage, cheddar, and Bisquick combine in this recipe for a last-minute appetizer ready in a little more than 30 minutes. Savory and cheesy, it’s easy to see why these bite-sized apps are a classic in many households. Whether you’re serving them at your holiday dinner or as a game day app, these bites are a guaranteed hit. Keep reading on for all of our top tips on how to make them:
The best sausage for sausage balls:
Our favorite sausage for sausage balls is ground Italian pork sausage (you can use sweet or spicy!), but you can also use chicken or turkey sausage. Whatever you choose, just make sure it’s the kind you buy raw, and if it comes in links remove them from the casings. Pre-cooked sausage links will not work for this recipe. Want to spice things up? You could use Mexican (not Spanish cured) chorizo! For a breakfast version, try using maple-y breakfast sausage.
The Bisquick:
The key to these sausage balls? Bisquick. While it may seem odd, trust us—they make this appetizer as easy as possible, and turn these bites into a cheesy, biscuit-type of texture.
If you don’t want to use Bisquick or another boxed biscuit mix, no problem. Simply swap in 2 cups all-purpose flour, 3 tsp. baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt for this recipe.
How to make sausage balls:
It’s as simple as mixing your ingredients together, shaping them into balls, brushing with olive oil and baking. Because there are no wet ingredients, these may seem crumbly when forming into balls—don’t fear! Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature (and you may need to work at the mixture a bit), and they will form.
There are plenty of ways to shake these sausage balls up. We love cheddar since it’s always a crowd-pleaser, but stirring in some Parmesan would totally give these even more dimension. But honestly, most of your favorite cheeses will likely work in these bites: Gruyère, pepper jack, mozzarella…the options are endless!
Make them ahead:
You can make the sausage mixture up to 24 hours in advance. Shape the mixture into balls and refrigerate them on a parchment-lined baking sheet until ready to bake.
Made this version of the classic? Let us know how they came out in the comments below!
- Yields:
-
20
serving(s)
- Prep Time:
- 10 mins
- Total Time:
- 35 mins
- Cal/Serv:
- 214
Directions
-
- Step 1
Preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment. In a large bowl, mix together pork sausage, Bisquick, cheddar, parsley, and paprika until combined and season with salt and pepper.
- Step 2Using a small cookie scoop, place tablespoon-size balls of mixture onto prepared baking sheet.
- Step 3Brush tops of balls with olive oil and bake until deeply golden and no longer pink, 25 minutes.
- Step 4Garnish with parsley before serving.
- Step 1
