This Sausage Balls Recipe is one of our favorite easy appetizers for parties, holidays, and busy weekends. Made with simple pantry ingredients like sausage, cheese, and flour, these homemade sausage balls bake up golden, cheesy, and full of flavor.
Whenever we have a get-together, the first food item that is on the list are these Easy Sausage Balls. My family and friends just expect them to be served along with my Little Smokies.
Sausage Balls are good anytime of the day You can serve them for breakfast, lunch, or a quick bite. You may also like to serve these Slow Cooker Grape Jelly Meatballs, Beanie Weenies and Armadillo Eggs for another easy appetizer. We love to make them as a Easy 4th of July Appetizers.
Why This Sausage Balls Recipe Works
- Family tested – This recipe has been made for countless family get-togethers
- Simple ingredients – Made with pantry staples you likely already have
- Budget friendly – Sausage and cheese stretch into a crowd-feeding appetizer
- Make ahead friendly – Prepare the mixture or bake in advance
- Perfect for gatherings – Great for parties, holidays, and game day
Ingredients
- Flour – All purpose flour works great, but whole wheat flour can also be used.
- Italian Sausage Roll – Regular pork sausage or breakfast sausage works too.
- Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese – Freshly shredded melts best and gives the best flavor.
How Do You Make Sausage Balls from Scratch
Step 1 – Preheat oven to 375. Line large Baking Sheets with Foil.
Step 2 – In a small bowl, add flour, baking powder and salt and mix well.
Step 3 – Add flour mix, sausage, shredded cheese, onion and garlic powder to a large bowl. Start combining with a spoon and then finish with your hands.
Step 4 – Form sausage mix into 1-inch balls and place onto a baking sheet.
Step 5 – Bake, uncovered, for 15- 20 minutes or until golden brown in the preheated oven.
Recipe Tips
- Cookie Scoop – For best results we recommend using a use baking scoops to make the uncooked sausage balls. This helps to make the sausage balls evenly sized.
- Baking Sheets – For easy cleanup, I like to place parchment paper down. Line Baking sheets with parchment paper makes it so easy to get the dishes done.
- Combining Ingredients – Make sure that you mix all your ingredients together thoroughly. I use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer and it mixes everything nicely therefore it prevents them from getting dried out.
- Shredded Cheese – For the best flavor, we recommend shredded cheese from hunk cheese. Pre-shredded cheese has added ingredients and may not melt as well.
Variations Ideas
Here are a few ways that you can change up this recipe to make it work for your family!
- Spicy – If you like spicy, make these sausage balls with hot sausage and shredded pepper jack cheese. Using these ingredients add a delicious kick to this recipe.
- Gluten Free – This recipe can easily be made with 1:1 gluten free flour to make these sausage balls gluten free.
- Turkey Sausage – You can also make these with turkey sausage for a healthier option as it lowers the fat and calories in these sausage balls.
- Bisquick Baking Mix – Feel free to make Homemade Bisquick Biscuit Mix to make Bisquick Sausage Balls Recipe instead of using flour.
- Cream Cheese Sausage Balls – For a delicious variation mix in one 8 ounce cream cheese with the other ingredients for a creamy texture.
- Favorite Dipping Sauce – Serve with maple syrup, BBQ Sauce, Ranch Dressing, Easy Marinara Sauce or Honey Mustard for more flavors.
How to Store and Freeze Sausage Balls
Sausage balls store and freeze really well, which makes them great for meal prep or make-ahead appetizers.
- Refrigerator: Store leftover sausage balls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. Reheat in the microwave or warm them in the oven at 350°F until heated through.
- Freezing Uncooked Sausage Balls: Roll the sausage mixture into balls and place them on a baking sheet. Freeze until solid, then transfer them to a freezer bag or airtight container. When ready to cook, thaw in the refrigerator and bake as directed.
- Freezing Cooked Sausage Balls: Allow the sausage balls to cool completely, then place them in a freezer-safe bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave or oven for a quick snack or appetizer.
These leftovers are perfect for busy days and my kids love grabbing a few as a quick snack before heading out to practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
We like to combine the ingredients with a stand mixer with a paddle attachment but you can also combine with a hand mixer or by hand.
Yes, to save time prepare the sausage balls ahead of time and store in the fridge in an airtight container. We recommend baking them within about 2 days.
Sausage Balls will dry out quickly if there is a lot of flour and baking soda compare to the sausage. Make sure to follow the recipe so that your ratio’s are correct.
You can add a little less flour if they seem to be crumble. I have also tried adding a little cream cheese to the mix as well to help the mixture stay together.
Easy Sausage Balls Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 pound Italian Sausage
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup Onion (Diced into small pieces)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, stir together 1 cup of flour, 1 ½ teaspoon of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Set aside.
- Add flour mix, 1 pound of sausage, 8 ounces of cheese, ¼ cup onion and ½ teaspoon of garlic powder to a bowl. Mix well. I like to start with a spoon and then finish with my hands. Continue to mix with your hands until the ingredients are well combined.
- Form sausage mix into 1" balls and place onto a baking sheet.
- Bake, uncovered, for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts
More Easy Appetizer Recipes
We love hearing from you. If you make this easy recipe for sausage balls, make sure to leave us a comment.
Finally a recipe without Bisquik! Theses a so good!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
To enter contest: What appetizer do you serve at Thanksgiving? We always have sausage balls.
I made these and the family loved them – loved how they could double duty as a breakfast board food item and then later we finished them off as an appetizer.
I’ve never made them with Italian sausage! So clever I love it! Thanks for the recipe! ??
I have made the biscuit mix version of these. I also have put Sweet Chili Sauce or Orange Marmalade over cream cheese.
Sausage balls are the best appetizer anytime
I use crushed pork rinds in place of flour. Keto friendly. The hot pork rinds are good but I think it is to hot if you use spicy sausage and hot rinds together. Just one or the other is really good for more spicy sausage balls.
These are so yummy!
Yummy, flavorful and easy – thanks!
I really liked this article you shared. Thanks for taking the time to write it
Thank you!
My family is used to the bisquick recipe. I will give it a try to see if they can tell a difference. We like mustards as a dip vs pizza sauce
I hope they enjoy it! We love this recipe!
The family reviews were mixed. Good appetizer to serve with dipping sauces!
Thanks for the recipe.