A party appetizer favorite, this Sausage Balls recipe is made with ground sausage, cheddar cheese, and Cheddar Bay biscuit mix for a soft, cheesy, and flavorful bite. Serve with homemade remoulade sauce at your next tailgating or holiday get together and watch them disappear!
These are also delicious served with some scrambled eggs for breakfast!
Easy Sausage Balls Recipe
The first time I ever had a sausage ball, I fell in love. Sausage cheddar balls are the perfect cross between a meatball and a biscuit – it’s like biting into the best sausage and cheese biscuit sandwich.
This recipe actually originated many years ago from Bisquick and the original recipe is made with their baking mix, sausage, and cheddar cheese. You may also see cream cheese sausage balls, where cream cheese is added into that mixture. I decided to switch things up a bit and swap the Bisquick for something a little more exciting – Red Lobster Cheddar Bay biscuit mix to mimic the flavor of our favorite Cheddar Bay Biscuits.
These sausage balls are perfect for parties, from tailgating to the holidays, and they also make a great addition to a breakfast or brunch buffet. As a bonus, they’re simple to make and can easily be prepared in advance.
Ingredients Needed
These easy sausage balls are made with just 5 ingredients.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Pork sausage – You can use Jimmy Dean or any other brand. Choose mild, medium, or hot depending on your taste preference.
- Sharp cheddar cheese – For optimal flavor, shred your own cheese from a block, instead of using pre-packaged shredded cheese.
- Red Lobster cheddar bay biscuit mix – This is what I use instead of Bisquick. It achieves the same purpose but adds so much more flavor.
- Buttermilk – This helps keep the dough extra tender and moist.
- Scallions – For a subtle peppery onion flavor.
- Remoulade sauce – For dipping, we serve these with our homemade remoulade sauce, which is the perfect pairing.
What’s the best sausage to use?
You can use whatever sausage you want to make these sausage cheese balls, as long as it’s ground pork sausage. Simply ground pork doesn’t have any seasonings and cooked or smoked sausage rings will not work – it has to be some variety of pork sausage. My personal preference is the Jimmy Dean brand.
Mild Italian sausage is a good choice when serving these up for a crowd or you can spice things up by choosing a hot sausage. If you’ll be serving these for breakfast, a maple breakfast sausage is a nice twist.
How to Make Sausage Balls
These sausage balls are very easy to make. Even the sausage ball dip comes together in just minutes. Here’s a summary:
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for complete details and don’t miss the video below.)
- Make the remoulade sauce. We make up a batch of our homemade remoulade sauce. Cover and chill while you prepare the sausage balls.
- Make the sausage ball mixture. Blend all ingredients until evenly combined.
- Chill. Use a cookie scoop to scoop the mixture on to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Bake. Bake for 22-25 minutes, until lightly browned and fully cooked.
- Serve. Serve immediately with the remoulade sauce.
Tips for Success
While super easy to make, there are a few key things to keep in mind when making this party appetizer.
- Use a wooden spoon if you don’t have a stand mixer. The uncooked dough is stiff and crumbly, and very hard to stir, so a stand mixer will really be your friend here. If you don’t have a stand mixer, use a wooden spoon and then your hands to work the ingredients into a dough.
- Shred your own cheese fresh off the block. Pre-shredded cheese is coated with cellulose, which is a moisture-blocking agent and doesn’t lend moisture to the sausage balls, which they need.
- Spoon and level the biscuit mix, don’t scoop. Too much of the mix will result in dry sausage balls.
- Serve warm. These sausage cheese balls are best enjoyed warm. If you’re serving them for a buffet or potluck, you can keep them warm by using the “warm” function on your crockpot.
Recipe Variations
- Add in other flavors. Because the Cheddar Bay biscuit mix already has seasonings in it, I didn’t find the need to add in any extra spices or seasonings but you certainly can if you want to. Garlic is a great addition and you can always add some cayenne pepper to spice things up.
- Use Bisquick. No Cheddar Bay mix on hand? No worries – you can stick to the original Bisquick sausage balls recipe by simply swapping the cheddar biscuit mix for an equal amount of Bisquick.
- Add cream cheese. You may have seen recipes for cream cheese sausage balls before. These are very similar except I used buttermilk and two cups of cheddar cheese. Sausage balls with cream cheese are made without buttermilk and use one package of cream cheese and only one cup of cheddar cheese. I like the bite of flavor from the cheddar cheese but the cream cheese does add a nice, creamy touch.
What to Serve with Sausage Balls
My go-to sausage ball dip for this recipe is my homemade remoulade sauce recipe. It’s quick and easy to make and the flavors work so well with the Cheddar Bay mix.
That said, you can serve these Jimmy Dean sausage balls warm with nearly any dipping sauce you can think of. The best option for you will depend on what sausage you use. A few possibilities:
- Marinara sauce
- Queso
- Honey mustard
- Ranch dip
- Maple syrup (if you’re doing a breakfast or brunch theme)
Make Ahead and How to Store
- Make ahead. If you’re trying to reduce the day-of party prep as much as possible, you can easily make these sausage balls in advance. Prepare as usual but once the balls are on the baking sheet, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. You can do this up to 1 day in advance.
- Store leftovers in the fridge. While these are best enjoyed fresh, you can store leftover sausage balls in the fridge for a few days. Reheat in the microwave or oven.
- Can I freeze sausage balls? Yes, you can freeze Bisquick sausage balls. You can freeze them before or after baking. I find that freezing the formed uncooked balls and baking after they thaw produces the best result. However, baked sausage cheddar balls can also be frozen. Flash freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to an airtight container for up to 3 months.
More Party Appetizers:
- Mini Cheese Balls
- Grape Jelly Meatballs
- Little Smokies Recipe
- Crab Rangoon
- Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
- Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Sausage Balls
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork sausage (such as Jimmy Dean – mild, medium or hot depending on taste)
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (fresh off the block for optimal moisture and flavor)
- 2 cups Red Lobster cheddar bay biscuit mix (mixed with seasoning packet, spooned and leveled)
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 scallion (finely diced)
- Remoulade Sauce (for serving)
Instructions
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, mix together all of the ingredients on low speed until evenly combined (alternatively, mix by hand.)
- Using a cookie scoop, form 1 1/2-inch balls (about the size of a golf ball) and place on the baking sheet 1-inch apart.
- Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes (this will help them hold their shape.)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom and sausage is cooked through.
- Serve hot with the remoulade sauce and enjoy!
Yummy yummy yummy! Add some chopped jalapeño for an extra kick!