Sausage balls are an easy-to-make, poppable, snackable, loveable recipe. Just mix, roll, and bake these easy sausage balls for the best savory bite.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Sharp cheddar melts right into the sausage, creating rich, savory bites that stay soft and satisfying.
- Swaps: Works with mild, spicy, breakfast sausage, or even Italian sausage.
- Time Saving Tip: No pre-cooking needed here. Just mix, roll, and chill until you are ready to pop them in the oven.
- Serving: These are perfect for parties, potlucks, game days, and brunch boards.
- Freezing: These can be frozen either before or after baking and reheat perfectly without drying out. I like keeping a batch in the freezer, so I always have an easy appetizer ready when company pops by.
Ingredient Notes
- Biscuit Mix: If you don’t have boxed Bisquick, a homemade biscuit mix works just as well.
- Sharp Cheddar: Shred it yourself so it melts smoothly. Swap the cheddar for Monterey Jack, pepper jack, or a Mexican blend.
- Ground Pork Sausage: To keep the mixture moist, use regular-fat sausage and avoid lean blends.
- Milk: Add just a little milk if the mixture seems dry, it helps everything come together. A small splash is plenty, don’t use too much!
How to Make Sausage Balls
- Mix biscuit mix, cheese, and sausage until combined.
- Add a splash of milk if needed.
- Roll into balls and bake until golden (full recipe below).
Prep Ahead & Storage
- Place uncooked sausage balls on a baking tray and cover with plastic wrap for up to 2 days or store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- If baking from frozen, add an additional 8 minutes to the cooking time.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container lined with a paper towel for up to 4 days.
Holly’s Best Tips
- Shred the cheese fresh so the mixture binds easier.
- If the mixture is dry and crumbly, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Use parchment paper for easier cleanup.
- To prep ahead, just mix and roll for up to 24 hours before baking.
Perfect Party Bites
Did you make these sausage balls? Leave a rating and comment below.
Ingredients
- 2 cups biscuit mix such as Bisquick
- 1 pound shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 pound ground pork sausage or Italian sausage
- up to ¼ cup milk as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine biscuit mix, cheese, and ground sausage. Mix thoroughly until the mixture holds together, adding up to ¼ cup of milk as needed.
- Using a small cookie scoop or spoon, scoop 1 tablespoon of sausage and roll it into a ball. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining sausage mixture.
- Bake the sausage balls for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Video
Notes
- If you don’t have biscuit mix, combine 2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and ⅓ cup shortening. Pulse the mixture in a food processor until shortening is incorporated.
- Do not use lean sausage for this recipe.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 89 | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 186mg | Potassium: 41mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 104IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 0.3mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Party Food, Pork, Snack
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I use cheese whiz in my sausage balls.
Under biscuit mix, there seems to be some content missing.
Sorry about that, I’ve updated it.
Everyone seems to rave about them. I found them to be gross. They are way to dry for us. Even with the dipping sauce it was dry. I can see this due to the bisquick. Oh well
Sorry to hear that Mm. We find these to be so yummy!
What is biscuit mix. Never herd of it in Australia. Is there an alternative?
Julie, biscuit mix, such as Bisquick, is a flour based mixutre that can be used to make various baked goods, including biscuits, pancakes and even crust for chicken pot pie. You can find a homemade bicuit mix here, and you can see biscuit mix by checking out these options on Amazon. Hope that helps!
I only had plain ground pork on hand so I added powdered garlic and onion, parsley and black pepper. I used my Kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook, like another poster suggested. The first cookie sheet batch seemed a tad dry while I was scooping them, so I added a couple tbps of milk and remixed the second batch. 30 minutes at 375 and they were perfect. We ate almost all of the first batch while the second batch was in the oven. Thanks for this keeper!
Man, these are GOOD! I don’t know if I used too much Bisquick, but I had trouble mixing everything together. A couple of tablespoons of water solved that problem. The taste almost reminds me of biscuits and gravy.
Mmmm, biscuits and gravy! That sounds yummy Dyan! So happy you enjoyed them.
Do you serve them warm, or cold, or does it not matter?
I serve them warm, but I bet they would taste amazing room temperature!
What is biscuit mix, we don’t have this type of thing in the UK. Our biscuits are sweet not savoury
Biscuit mix, such as Bisquick, is a flour based mixutre that can be used to make various baked goods, including biscuits, pancakes and even crust for chicken pot pie. You can find a homemade bicuit mix here, and you can see biscuit mix by checking out these options on Amazon. Hope that helps Cheryl!
Hi Holly, I’m from Australia. What is this ‘biscuit mix’ please?
Sarah
Biscuit mix, such as Bisquick, is a flour based mixutre that can be used to make various baked goods, including biscuits, pancakes and even crust for chicken pot pie. You can find a homemade bicuit mix here, and you can see biscuit mix by checking out these options on Amazon. Hope that helps Sarah!
Hi Holly can I make these a day ahead and store them before cooking or do I need to freeze them? Thank you I enjoy your website and wonderful recipes! Happy holidays!
One day in the fridge should be okay, any longer and I would freeze them. Enjoy!
Mine went flat like cookies. Thoughts on what I did wrong? I followed the recipe.. I think. Lol
Did you use biscuit mix such as Bisquick and real cheddar cheese? Was your sausage raw?
I’m checking to see if there’s an error in amount of bisquick and cheese. I have made these since the 70’s and use 2 cup bisquick and 12oz cheese to one pound sausage.
The ratios in the recipe are the ratios I use. There are many variations of this recipe and it can certainly work well with different amounts.
Hi! Do you serve these warm in a crock pot?
I haven’t but it would work to keep them warm (if they were baked first).
I just made these sausage balls and they are indeed very tasty and look exactly like the photos. The only thing I have to say is that there was nothing to bind the three ingredients together! There was no way I could have formed balls out of just the cheese, bisquick and sausage, so I added about 2/3 cup of milk. Was the sausage supposed to be cooked before it was mixed with the other two ingredients?
The sausage should be raw. When you first start mixing the ingredients it’ll be a bit crumbly but once you work it a bit, it all comes together. I’ve added a video for your reference.
Best trick I’ve ever found for these is to use the dough hook on my mixer. Gets them right past the crumbly stage
Great tip Lynette!
Yup – just keep on mixing. I mix it with my hands…soon you can easily roll balls about the size of a large marble.
Sounds amazing, but as someone that has to watch sodium, how many balls are a serving?
The nutritional information is per sausage ball.
Are you using a breakfast sausage like Bob Evans or Jimmy Dean, or Italian sausage? Just wondering because of the type of cheese you’re using. Cheddar/breakfast sausage or you could possibly do mozzarella/Italian sausage. Maybe a marinara sauce with the Italian version. Either way, I think it would be fantastic. Versatile for a brunch or a cocktail party. I’m always looking for new recipes like this one. Thank you!
You could mix and match any type of sausage/cheese with this recipe!
Sounds like a marinara sauce would also be tasty!
I agree Stacy! Yum!
Il sorry i do not kno what biscuit mix is.woukd toi post à posture please
Claire, this link will show you some biscuit mix. Hope that helps!
It is usually called bisquick, or other brands, in box where flour is, these are delicious.
I use Jimmy Dean Sausage, Country mild or hot, 1lb. , 1 lb. or 8 cups Colby/jack cheese, and 3 cup’s bisque looks, we love them, turns out perfect every time
Can these be frozen ahead of time? If so, do you freeze them before or after baking them?
You can freeze them before baking. Enjoy!
I first had these about 40 years ago. They were delicious then and delicious now. As an alternative to the ranch dip, try with a sweet chili sauce.
Yum! I’ll have to try the sweet chili sauce for sure!
These look AMAZING, and I’ve brought a pound of sausage out of the freezer to try them.
Have you tried browning them after baking either in a skillet or deep frying, for extra crispy goodness?
The texture is more biscuit-like inside as the biscuit mix absorbs the juices from the sausage. I haven’t tried browning them, but do find the come out pretty crispy. Let us know how it goes if you try it!!
They are great! Second time to serve them today. They seem to be crunchy to me.
They came out a little “squishy” when I made them; hard to pick up with the fingers…even after an extra 10 minutes in the oven. So I did deep fry them. Which made them extra crisp and certainly solved the problem of them being too soft to handle.
And they are super-tasty!
Glad you enjoyed them Erik!