I like to make hearty appetizers to feed a crowd such as pigs in a blanket, bacon wrapped smokies and these sausage balls.
Sausage Cheese Ball Ingredients
To make sausage cheese balls you will need pork sausage, Bisquick baking mix, cheddar cheese, onion, garlic powder, milk, black pepper and parsley. These meatballs are perfect for holiday appetizers or for game day. For more ideas, check out my favorite game day recipes and Christmas appetizer recipes like homemade Chex mix, jalapeno popper dip, bacon ranch dip or bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers.
How Do You Make Sausage Cheese Balls?
To make this sausage cheese balls recipe first place pork sausage, biscuit mix, shredded cheddar cheese, diced onion, garlic powder, milk and black pepper in a large bowl. Next, stir everything together. Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls. Then place the uncooked sausage balls on a sheet pan or baking sheet and bake them until browned. Remove them from the oven and sprinkle them with parsley. Serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Sausage Balls
You can stir the ingredients together by hand or use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. I like to use a tablespoon measuring spoon or a cookie scoop to get the same amount of mixture for every ball. You want all your sausage balls to be about the same size so they cook through at the same time. Make sure to use a rimmed baking sheet or sheet pan so that any dripping grease doesn’t go into your oven. You can place a wire rack on your sheet pan to help the bottom of the sausage cheese balls to get crispier. I recommend shredding your own cheese. The pre-shredded cheeses often have anti-caking agents and the cheeses don’t melt well. Feel free to place aluminum foil on your sheet pan for easier clean up. You can double this recipe and make more batches of the sausage balls.
Flavor Variations
These sausage balls are fantastic as-is; however, you can modify them to suit your own taste.
Sauce: Sausage balls go great with dipping sauces like honey mustard sauce, homemade BBQ sauce, bacon ranch dip and my fry sauce. Turkey: You could use a turkey breakfast sausage for this dish for a lighter appetizer. Cheese: You could substitute all or half of the cheddar cheese with other cheeses. Try mozzarella, Monterey Jack cheese or similar mild cheeses that melt well. You could also add in some parmesan cheese shreds. Spicy: If you like a spicy meatball, feel free to use hot pork sausage or add a little cayenne pepper. You could also make the regular recipe with pepper jack cheese. You can add a little minced jalapeno into the mixture as another source of heat. Sweet: For a sweeter cheesy meatball, add 1/4 cup maple syrup to the mixture and omit the onion and garlic powder.
You can enjoy these meatballs as snacks, appetizers or even a main course. These sausage cheese balls are definitely going on my holiday appetizer menu, you can’t stop at just one!
