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.
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.)
Want more heat? These would also be awesome if you made them with spicy sausage and dipped them into homemade BBQ sauce.
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.)
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.
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
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- 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.
- Shape the mixture into 1-inch balls using an ice cream scoop, spoon, or your hands, and place them on your lined baking sheets.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until they’re browned and cooked through.
- 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.
- 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.
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
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder.
- 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.)
- Store homemade baking mix in an airtight container (in the refrigerator if using butter).
Looking for more party appetizers? We’ve got tons of recipes, but some of our faves are: