These crowd-pleasing sausage balls get the party started. Bring them out for game day or the holidays — and everyone who requests the recipe will be shocked when they hear how incredibly easy it is.

There are only four ingredients in these addictive little bites — shredded cheese, sausage, baking mix, and chives — and they’ll be ready to pop into your mouth in just 30 minutes.

Our crowd-pleasing sausage balls recipe makes the easiest, tastiest, most addictive little party bites.TipHero

You don’t have to worry about this recipe coming out dry or crumbly — but even so these sausage balls just beg to be dunked into our creamy honey mustard dipping sauce. It’s sweet and tangy with a little kick. (And four must be the magic number here, because you can also whip up this sauce with just four pantry ingredients.)

Our crowd-pleasing sausage balls recipe makes the easiest, tastiest, most addictive little party bites.TipHero

Want more heat? These would also be awesome if you made them with spicy sausage and dipped them into homemade BBQ sauce.

Our crowd-pleasing sausage balls recipe makes the easiest, tastiest, most addictive little party bites.TipHero

Recipes often call for “baking mix”. You can use a store-bought mix (like Bisquick®) to save time, or mix up a big batch from scratch to keep on hand for moments like these. The ingredients are simple: just flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and some kind of fat. (See our homemade baking mix recipe below.)

Our crowd-pleasing sausage balls recipe makes the easiest, tastiest, most addictive little party bites.TipHero

It’s not a bad idea to double the recipe and keep some in the freezer for unexpected company, although you might find that they disappear before then — they’re that good.

Our crowd-pleasing sausage balls recipe makes the easiest, tastiest, most addictive little party bites -- with just four ingredients.TipHero

Sausage Balls

Makes 30 to 36 (1-inch) sausage balls
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound uncooked bulk pork sausage
  • 2 cups (8.5 ounces) baking mix, store-bought (such as Bisquick or other all-purpose baking mix) or homemade (see recipe below)
  • 1½ cups (6 ounces) sharp cheddar cheese
  • ¼ cup sliced chives or green onions

Creamy Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • 3 Tablespoons whole grain or Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tablespoons honey

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the sausage, baking mix, shredded cheese, and chives/green onions. Mix by hand or with a stand mixer until the ingredients are well combined.
  3. Shape the mixture into 1-inch balls using an ice cream scoop, spoon, or your hands, and place them on your lined baking sheets.
  4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until they’re browned and cooked through.
  5. While the sausage balls are baking, prepare the honey mustard dipping sauce: combine all of the dipping sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well to incorporate.
  6. You can make this recipe ahead of time and freeze them. To reheat pre-cooked, frozen sausage balls, bake them at 350°F/175°C for 10 minutes.
Our crowd-pleasing sausage balls recipe makes the easiest, tastiest, most addictive little party bites.TipHero

Homemade Baking Mix

Makes about 3½ cups
Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1½ Tablespoons baking powder
  • 6 Tablespoons cold butter, shortening, coconut or other oil

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder.
  2. Cut in the cold butter or other fat with a pastry cutter, fork, or your hands, until evenly incorporated. (You can also place the mixture in a food processor and pulse it just until it resembles cornmeal or breadcrumbs.)
  3. Store homemade baking mix in an airtight container (in the refrigerator if using butter).
Our crowd-pleasing sausage balls recipe makes the easiest, tastiest, most addictive little party bites.TipHero

Looking for more party appetizers? We’ve got tons of recipes, but some of our faves are: