Sausage balls are a super easy appetizer that everyone loves…especially my husband! They’re a Christmas tradition in his family, and I must admit they are really tasty! What’s not to love: sausage + cheese is a tasty combination. Not healthy, but tasty. : ) They really are usually a Christmas-only indulgence, but I wanted to make some for a party a few weeks ago. I found the traditional recipe but did not want to go buy Bisquick, so I went on a hunt for a completely made from scratch recipe. As it turns out, it is SUPER easy to substitute Bisquick! This made me very happy because I now did not have to purchase another ingredient, and we could eliminate another processed food from our kitchen. Win-win!
To substitute bisquick, all you need is flour, baking powder, and salt. Do you have those 3 ingredients in your kitchen? I bet you do! It’s actually more cost-effective to mix them up yourself than to buy them already combined, plus there’s no added MSG or hydrogenated oil. Once you have that mixed up, you add the cheese, sausage, onion, and butter until really well combined. Form the mixture into little balls, bake them, and enjoy! These will definitely be a crowd pleaser!
Homemade Sausage Balls (No Bisquick!)
Ingredients:
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 16 ounces bulk breakfast sausage
- ½ large yellow onion, grated
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1). Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
2). In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper. Add the cheese and toss to make sure it is evenly coated in flour. Add sausage, onion, and melted butter. Use your hands to mix until thoroughly combined.
3). Roll mixture into 1 inch balls and place them on the parchment paper, about 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 25 minutes at 400F. Enjoy!
Servings: 45 balls. Nutritional Information per Serving: Calories: 63 Carbs: 3g Fat: 4g Protein: 3g Points+:2
Recipe adapted from: http://www.marthastewart.com/326848/sausage-cheddar-balls
Audrey's Apron 
The sausage cheese balls turned out almost perfect. The only complaint that I have is that a lower temperature setting should be required, say 375 degrees F., the bottom of the cheese balls were burnt. The Parchment paper caught fire in my oven, luckily I was in the kitchen watching the cheese balls cook or there would have been a disaster waiting for me. It could have been the fact that my oven is an older model, needed to be placed on a lower setting. Anyhow perfect flavor, giving it 5 stars on that!!! ☆☆☆☆☆
I saute the finely chopped onion with a couple of cloves of garlic to make these even more savory.
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I am so happy to see this recipe and am about to mix up a batch! We started the process of giving up highly processed foods two years ago and this was one of the things that went – because of the Bisquick! But, I love to make sausage balls and freeze them. That way, I can pull out however many I want once a week or so and cook them for breakfast (or part of breakfast). It’s an easy addition to the rotation and a crowd pleaser. My little boys will be thrilled to see them again. Thank you!
I made these today with homemade breakfast sausage and subbed out the cheddar for colby (since it’s all I had) – they turned out absolutely AMAZING! I placed mine on Silpat and they cooked perfectly all around (at 400°F). I served them with Hickory Farms Pineapple Mustard and I seriously can’t wait to make them again!
Side note: I can see where parchment might not be enough insulation so 375°F might be a better option if you’re going that route.
The reason I say this is because Silpat always makes things lighter on the bottom. For example, when I make my hamburger buns using Silpat, they don’t get brown enough but if I cook them directly on the sheet pan, they get nice and brown on bottom.
why not use all purpose flour it already had the baking powder in it .
one more question for anyone I wanna add cream cheese so do I need to add more flour?
Great recipe . Now i don’t have to buy a box of Bisquick and have the remainder waiting on my self till next Christmas.
Makes a great appetizer, thanks for the recipe.
I made these on new year’s eve for my roommate’s party. We live in the south so it makes sense to stay true to our roots. Anyways before I could plate them he ate half a dozen and gave two thumbs up. Thanks for the great recipe! Have a happy healthy safe new year!!!
Awesome! I’m so glad they were a hit. Happy new year!!
They are yummy! Tested one for supper tonight . Happy New Year.