Need a quick and easy bite-sized party appetizer to keep the guests satisfied over the holidays? These moist and cheesy Appetizer Sausage Balls are packed with flavor and only require 30 minutes to make from scratch!
Serve them as part of breakfast or brunch, or add them to a snacks platter for your next party.
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❤️ Why I love this recipe
- These Bisquick sausage balls are easy to assemble and quick to bake - great when I need to feed my guests in a hurry!
- Appetizer sausage balls are bite-sized snacks that I can serve with various dipping sauces.
- The family loves how juicy and incredibly flavorful the appetizers are with their crispy outer golden baked edge.
Look no further if you’re in need of the perfect bite-sized party appetizer for breakfast, brunch, game-day, or holiday celebrations!
🛒 Ingredients
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Note: The full list of this recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are listed in the recipe card below.
- sausage
- Bisquick -- you may also use a similar mix but we like using this product.
- whole milk
- sharp cheddar cheese
- Italian seasoning
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Add the ground sausage to a mixing bowl.
- Add the shredded cheddar, Bisquick Mix, milk, and Italian seasoning.
- Mix the ingredients well and line a rimmed baking dish with parchment paper.
- Create uniform-sized sausage balls with a cookie scoop.
- Place the sausage balls on the baking sheet with even spacing between them.
- Bake the sausage balls for 20 minutes at 350F.
🔪 Equipment
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You’ll need the following items to make this Bisquick sausage meatball appetizer recipe successfully.
- Mixing bowl
- liquid measuring cup
- cookie scoop - large size
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- measuring spoons
🤔 FAQs
These are the questions we are most frequently asked about making this easy Bisquick Meatball Appetizer Recipe.
Keep sausage balls warm in a Crockpot on the “warm” setting. You can add the sausage balls to the slow cooker immediately after removing them from the oven.
You can add eggs into these sausage balls as a binding agent and add moisture to the appetizers, but I haven’t, and they didn’t fall apart. The fatty ground sausage, milk, and cheddar cheese do a great job of helping the balls keep their shape.
Dry sausage balls are either from too much Bisquick mix or the ingredients not being combined well, leaving dry pockets of Bisquick mix that will make the sausage balls taste dry and fall apart.
These sausage balls only need 20 minutes to bake and will turn a golden brown with a crisp outer edge. You can also check for doneness by inserting a food thermometer into a sausage ball which should register at 160F.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- A cookie scoop will create uniform-sized sausage balls that cook evenly in the oven. You could also use a regular spoon.
- I squeeze my rolled sausage balls before baking them to help them keep their shape.
- Don’t buy grated cheese as it contains other ingredients that prevent it from melting well and sticking.
- You can assemble these sausage balls ahead of time (unbaked) and freeze them for later use. Thaw them to bake or bake from frozen, adding on extra baking time.
- Allowing the ground sausage to reach room temperature for 30 minutes before adding to the other ingredients will make it easier to knead and absorb the dry Bisquick mix better.
📚 Variations
- Use hot ground sausage for a spicy kick to these sausage balls.
- I’ve used store-bought Bisquick mix but you could make your own mix from scratch with pantry-staple ingredients.
- For leaner sausage balls, use ground turkey sausage or chicken sausage. These contain less fat which means that it will be less moist but still delicious!
- Some recipes use the combination of cream cheese with the sausage and Bisquick mix but I prefer the sharp cheddar flavor.
- Use maple-flavored ground sausage if you intend to serve these sausage balls for breakfast.
🥫 Storage
Store sausage meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days. You can also freeze leftover sausage balls for up to three months in an airtight container or Ziploc bag.
Thaw and reheat in the microwave or oven.
📗 Related Recipes
Need a whole platter of appetizers? Add these recipes to your party preparations:
- Fried Ravioli - These are guaranteed to be a hit at your next party! They’re crispy with warm filling!
- Italian Pinwheels - Enjoy these pinwheels as a party appetizer or light lunch. They’re easy to assemble and are loaded with Italian flavor.
- Easy Cheesy Turkey Sliders - Everyone loves a slider and these make use of holiday leftovers served on soft rolls brushed with melted butter and parmesan cheese and garnished with fresh parsley!
🍽 Serve with
Serve these juicy meat appetizers with your favorite dipping sauce. Ranch dressing, marinara sauce, or even beer cheese dip would make delicious dipping options.
I like to stick a toothpick into each plated sausage ball or leave toothpicks beside these appetizers for an easy hand-held snack.
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
If you’ve never tried the combination of ground sausage and Bisquick mix then you’re in for a real treat. It’s an irresistible mix between juicy meatballs and fluffy muffin!
The sharp cheddar cheese gives these appetizer meatballs an extra bite while the milk provides added moisture. Of course, it’s only natural that I added Italian seasoning in these sausage balls!
We love our finger foods and whenever we're having a party another appetizer everyone requests is our Baked Potato Skins recipe. Everyone has their favorite dipper and filler and we always make sure to have plenty on hand.
And if you have family and friends who love spicy finger food, serve them our Spicy Teriyaki Chicken Wings and watch that chicken disappear!
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📝 Recipe Card
These bite size appetizers are flavorful and moist party snacks made with ground sausage, Bisquick mix, milk, sharp cheddar cheese, and Italian seasoning. Whip them up in just 30 minutes and enjoy them for breakfast, brunch, or as a bite-sized party snack.
If your gang loves their finger foods AND potatoes, you've got to try our Spicy Cheesy Loaded Fries. Your friends and family will applaud you!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Bisquick Cheesy Appetizer Sausage Balls
Ingredients
- 3 cups Bisquick Baking Mix
- 1 Pound Pork Sausage
- 16 ounces sharp cheddar cheese grated (don’t buy already grated - it has other ingredients added to keep it from sticking together)
- ½ cup milk
- 1 ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 ℉. Line a rimmed baking dish with parchment paper or nonstick cooking spray.
- In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Using a cookie scoop, shape into 1-inch balls, (about 2 Tablespoons) squeezing sausage balls so they hold their forms.
- Place on a baking sheet.
- Bake until brown, about 20 minutes.
- Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce like ranch dressing or marinara sauce.
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