Sausage balls with Bisquick and cream cheese
Tender, cheesy sausage balls made with Bisquick, sharp cheddar and a little cream cheese so they stay moist, not dry. Make ahead or freeze.
43% of it needs you at the counter
- Hands-on
- 15 min
- Cooking
- 20 min
- Serves
- 10
- Calories
- 365
- Protein
- 13 g
- Per serving
- $1.00
Why this recipe works
Sausage balls are a Southern holiday staple: bite-size, cheesy and made from three or four pantry ingredients. They're just as good at a game-day spread as on a Christmas morning brunch table, and they freeze well unbaked, so you can roll a batch weeks ahead.
- A few ounces of cream cheese add moisture and fat, which fixes the dry, crumbly texture that plain three-ingredient sausage balls often have.
- Grating your own cheddar matters: bagged cheese is coated in starch, so it soaks up less fat and the dough won't hold together as well.
- Letting the sausage and cream cheese soften at room temperature makes the dough mix by hand in a couple of minutes instead of fighting cold, stiff meat.
Ingredients
To serve
You will need
- Large mixing bowl
- 2 rimmed baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Instant-read thermometer
Method
Tap a step number to mark it done.
Heat the oven
Heat the oven to 375°F and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix the dough
Put the sausage, baking mix, cheddar, cream cheese and cayenne in a large bowl and mix with your hands until no dry streaks of baking mix remain, about 2 minutes. If it crumbles when squeezed, work in the milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
Roll
Roll the mixture into 1¼-inch balls (about 1 heaping tablespoon each) and set them 1 inch apart on the baking sheets. You should get about 40.
Bake
Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, switching the pans halfway, until deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer in the center of a ball reads 160°F. They brown before they're cooked through, so check the middle.
Cool briefly and serve
Let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes so they firm up, then serve warm with honey mustard or ranch.
Techniques in this recipe
- Ground meat and fresh sausage160°F / 71°C
Source: USDA safe minimum internal temperatures. Measure the thickest part, away from bone. Is it done? Safe temperatures
The internal temperatures that tell you chicken, pork, beef, fish and ground meat are cooked safely, and when to pull them early for juicier results.
Read the full guide
Cook's notes
- Use full-fat sausage, not turkey or lean: its fat is what keeps the inside moist, and lean sausage gives you dry, hard balls.
- To freeze, set unbaked balls on a tray until solid, then bag them. Bake from frozen at 375°F for 25 to 28 minutes.
- Wet your hands with cold water while rolling so the dough doesn't stick and the balls stay round.
Nutrition per serving
365 calories
$1.00 estimated cost per serving
Where the calories come from
| Protein | 14% of calories | 13 g |
|---|---|---|
| Carbs | 19% of calories | 17 g |
| Fat | 67% of calories | 27 g |
| Fiber | 1 g | |
| Sodium | 780 mg |
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients and amounts; not lab-tested. Cost estimated from average US retail prices.
Questions people ask
How do you keep sausage balls from being dry?
Use full-fat pork sausage, add a little cream cheese, and don't overbake. Pull them as soon as the center reaches 160°F.
Can I make sausage balls without Bisquick?
Yes. Rub 4 tablespoons of cold butter into 2 cups of flour with 1 tablespoon baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt, then use it in place of the baking mix.
Can you make sausage balls ahead of time?
Roll them up to 2 days ahead and keep them covered in the fridge, or freeze them unbaked for up to 3 months. Baked balls keep 4 days in the fridge and reheat in a 350°F oven in about 10 minutes.
