The Best Sausage Balls

What Makes These The Best Sausage Balls?

When I finally decided it was necessary to have sausage balls on the site, I wanted to make sure they were The Best.

So I read a ton of recipes and read a lot of comments on recipes.

The number one complaint about many recipes was that once they cooled down, they got as hard as rocks.

Well, not these, my friends. I made it a point to test these at room temperature, even after sitting out for hours, and they are moist and tender.

They also have a lot of really deep flavor courtesy of Worcestershire sauce.

One of my dearest friends, Lizzie, makes fabulous sausage balls, and she told me she uses Worcestershire, so now I do too. And so will you. And you’ll be so happy!

This recipe is easy to scale up or down, and you can make it with flour, baking powder, and butter, or you can substitute Bisquick if you prefer.

As written, the recipe makes 24-26 larger sausage balls or 48-52 smaller poppable sausage cheese balls.

They also freeze really well, either before or after baking, so you can make a ton, freeze them, and bake them from frozen whenever you need them.

How to Make Them

There are three main components in sausage balls: the “baking mix” or flour/leavening/butter, the cheese, and the sausage.

It is easy to vary the flavor of these guys based on your taste, and depending on if you want more cheese, more sausage, or equal amounts of both.

Whatever you decide, the amount of baking mix is enough to hold them together and help them keep their shape without making them overly bready. When you break one open, it’ll look like unrelieved sausage-y goodness, and then when you take a bite, you’ll get a bit of a biscuit vibe.

But mainly, you’ll get rich bites of cheddar and sausage in every single bite. Even in a tiny bite.

They are very easy to make.

If you’ve made sausage cheddar balls before, you can skip down to the recipe.

If they’re a new treat for you, you may benefit from reading the how-tos, variations, etc.

Here’s what you’ll need.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• flour: plain all-purpose flour is a great choice here. Bread flour will make your sausage balls a little too chewy, and cake flour won’t provide enough structure so they will be more likely to fall apart when you try to eat them. I use King Arthur all-purpose flour
• baking powder: Just to give them a little lift and to keep them from being heavy
• poultry seasoning: Since I used country sausage which has a lot of sage in it, I call for poultry seasoning. If your preference is for a sweet or hot Italian sausage, use a mixture of dried thyme and oregano, or go with Italian seasoning
• cayenne pepper: If using hot sausage, you can leave the cayenne out. It is up to your personal taste and how much spice you like. I used a mild sausage and went with 3/8 teaspoon of cayenne. They have a nice bite, but are not super spicy.
• black pepper: I honestly don’t really measure–I just grind some into the mix. If you don’t like pepper, feel free to leave it out
• butter: Provides the fat that is missing since this recipe isn’t based on Bisquick.
• Worcestershire sauce: This is the flavor magic right here, friends. I call for a LOT of Worcestershire, but it adds a ton of rich flavor. The math comes out to less than 1 teaspoon Worcestershire per 1 oz sausage ball and less that that if you make them smaller
• cheese: I like a good sharp cheddar, but you are welcome to use your favorite, from mild on up to extra sharp
• uncooked sausage: Any bulk (no-casings) sausage will do here as long as it’s uncooked. If you have uncooked sausage in casings, just slit the casings with a sharp knife and peel them off. My preference is for an extra sage-y country sausage

Why There is No Salt in This Recipe

This might be the only recipe on my site where I don’t call for any salt.

That’s because there is a lot of salt in the cheese, the sausage, and the Worcestershire sauce.

I tested the recipe with and without salt, and it doesn’t need anymore than what it already present in the “salty ingredients.”

Procedure

Here’s how you’ll bring the dough together:

1. Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Whisk them well and scatter in bits of cold butter.
3. Rub the butter in with your fingertips. It’s the same motion you’d make if you were snapping your fingers.
4. Continue mixing in the butter until there are no visible bits of butter in the mixture.

If using Bisquick in place of flour/baking powder/butter, just whisk the spices into the Bisquick and then proceed:

1. Add the grated cheese right on top of the flour.
2. Break the sausage into small pieces and scatter them in with the cheese.
3. Pour the Worcestershire sauce evenly over the sausage and cheese.
4. Use clean hands, a stand mixer, or a hand mixer to thoroughly mix the dough together so it holds together in a ball.

Once you have your dough, divide (scale) it into 24-26 1 oz pieces or into 48-52 1/2 oz pieces.

Roll them into smooth balls, and place on a parchment-lined baking pan. They can be fairly close together, so 26 will fit on one tray just fine. You’ll need 2 trays if making smaller balls.

OPTIONAL: Freeze for 30-45 minutes and then bake at 350F (convection or conventional) for about 25 minutes.

Serve hot. Or warm. Or at room temperature.

Variations

There are three main ways to vary the flavor of your sausage balls:

1. Change the spicing (poultry seasoning and cayenne)
2. Change the sausage
3. Change the cheese

Keeping that in mind, here are a couple of variation ideas:

• Mexican flavors: use cumin and Mexican oregano for the spices, try fresh chorizo as the sausage and pepper jack as the cheese
• Italian flavors: use Italian seasoning and smoked paprika, sweet or hot Italian sausage, and a mixture of cheddar, mozzarella, and Parmesan (to equal 8 oz)

Equipment You May Need

This is a pretty straightforward recipe. No fancy equipment needed.

If you don’t have a large glass bowl, that’s a great, multi-use item that’s nice to have. Same with half-sheet pans.

And you know I want you to use a kitchen scale.

You may want to check my list of must-have tools for serious bakers, as well.

Tips and Tricks for Success

Vary the flavor by swapping out seasonings, cheese, and sausage. This is a very customizable recipe.

To help your sausage balls hold their shape, put trays of unbaked balls in the freezer for 30-45 minutes before baking.

Sausage Ball Q & A

Serving Suggestions

I have seen other recipes that call for serving sausage cheese balls with dips, but honestly, I don’t think these need any dip.

I have been enjoying them “straight up,” both at room temperature and heated up, and they are really good.

If you are a Fan of Dips, consider dipping them in honey mustard, spicy ketchup or even cranberry ketchup, which would be super good, especially if you make these with chicken sausage.

Pepper jelly or this peach pepper jelly would also be an excellent dip for sausage balls, just like it is for pimento cheese spread.

Serve these as part of a holiday spread that could include cream cheese and red sauce (ie: the best sauce to pour over cream cheese), pepperoni bread, and maybe some broiled goat cheese.

Questions?

If you have questions about this post or recipe, don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can leave a comment on the post and I will get back to you within about 24 hours.

If your question is more urgent, please shoot me an email, and I will respond within 4 hours, unless I’m asleep.

A Note About Measurements

NOTE: Most of my recipes are written by weight and not volume, even the liquids.

Even though I try to provide you with volume measurements as well, I encourage you to buy a kitchen scale for ease of measuring, accuracy, and consistency.

This is the scale I use, love, and recommend. If you’re unsure, please read my post about how to use a food scale.

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