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Savory, cheesy, and incredibly easy to make, everyone loves these Homemade Sausage Balls. They come together fast with simple pantry ingredients and freeze beautifully. Perfect for last-minute entertaining or a holiday brunch.
Kristen's Keys for Homemade Sausage Balls
Before we dive into how to make homemade sausage balls, pay attention to the following tips. A few small details make all the difference!
- Bulk ground sausage is best. Avoid flavored sausage, like Italian sausage or breakfast sausage, to let the cheesy savory goodness shine through. Think Jimmy Dean regular pork sausage.
- Let the sausage come to room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Cold sausage is harder to work into the batter and increases the chance of overworking the meat, which makes the final bites dense.
- Freshly grate the cheddar. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in anti-caking agents that can make the mixture dry.
- Use a medium cookie scoop. The scoop keeps the sausage balls uniform in size to ensure they cook at the same rat.
- Bake the sausage balls on a wire rack over a rimmed sheet. The rack lets fat render away and keeps the bottoms from getting overly greasy or soggy.
5-Star Reader Review
The sausage balls are such an easy recipe. We had all of the ingredients here at home to make them for our Super Bowl Party. We had some spicy sausage, so the maple syrup was great to drizzle over them. They were definitely a hit! -Julie ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
How to Make Sausage Balls without Bisquick
Even when leaving the boxed biscuit mix on the shelf, this recipe comes together easily and this step-by-step section will help you achiever perfect results.
Step One: Prepare Homemade Biscuit Mix
To replicate Bisquick, simply whisk together flour, baking powder, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and seasoned salt in a large mixing bowl. Yes, it really is THAT easy!
Step Two: Add Sausage and Cheese
Crumble in room-temperature sausage, add the freshly grated sharp cheddar and milk. Use your hands to gently combine until everything just comes together.
????????Your hands are really the best tool here. They let you feel when the mixture is uniform without overworking the meat.
Step Three: Portion and Shape
Use a medium cookie scoop to portion the mixture and then gently roll each portion into a smooth ball. Place the prepared sausage balls on a wire rack fitted over a rimmed baking sheet.
????????Use damp hands. Slightly damp hands will help the mixture not stick to you hands when rolling into balls.
Step Four: Bake
Bake the sausage balls until golden and an internal temperature reaches 165°F and let cool slightly before serving.
????????Don't forget the dipping sauce! Serve with maple syrup, mustard, queso, sweet chili sauce, BBQ sauce, ranch dressing, or hot honey--whatever you would like.
Recipe Modifications
- Gluten-Free: Ensure your sausage is gluten-free and replace the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free flour flour.
- Use Biscuit Mix: Use 2 cups of boxed mix in place of the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and seasoned salt.
- Lower-Fat: Use skim milk and your favorite bulk chicken or turkey sausage. Keep in mind the sausage ball may be a bit drier, but still delicious!
- Spice It Up: Add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the flour mixture and/or replace 1 cup of the cheddar cheese with pepper jack.
Make-Ahead Instructions
Stash a batch (or two) of these sausage balls in your freezer and be ready for last-minute parties or overnight guests. They are a make-ahead recipe perfect for holiday mornings or entertaining.
- Up to 24 hours in Advance: Assemble the sausage balls up to baking, transfer to an airtight container, separated by sheets of parchment paper, then bake as directed.
- Freeze: Prepare as directed up to baking. Place the sausage balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the tray in the freezer for 1-2 hours, or until the sausage balls are flash frozen. Then transfer to a freezer-safe bag and store in freezer for up to 3 months.
- Bake from Frozen: To bake sausage balls from frozen, bake at 350℉ (175℃) for 28-32 minutes.
More Party-Perfect Recipes
- Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
- Baked Brie
- Perfect Deviled Eggs
- Bacon Wrapped Dates
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Tortellini Skewers
Homemade Sausage Balls Without Bisquick
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork sausage, uncooked
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup milk, + more if needed
- maple syrup for serving
Instructions
- Allow the sausage to sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. This will allow the sausage to easily mix into the other ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175℃). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place a wire baking rack onto the lined pan. Spray the rack with nonstick cooking spray. This step will allow the grease to drip off onto the pan below.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon seasoned salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and ¼ teaspoon garlic powder until well combined.
- Crumble the room temperature sausage into the flour mixture along with 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, and ¼ cup milk. Use your hands to gently combine until everything just comes together. If needed, add additional milk, ½ tablespoon at a time, to help the mixture come together.
- Portion out 1½ tablespoons of the mixture and gently roll into a ball with dampened hands. Place the shaped sausage ball onto the prepared baking rack.
- Bake the sausage balls for 18-22 minutes, or until golden and the internal temperature registers at least 165℉ (74℃).
- Serve warm with maple syrup or your favorite dipping sauce (BBQ sauce, mustard, ranch, etc)
Equipment
- medium cookie scoop (love the handle on this one)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally posted in 2023 and updated in 2025.
My son in law and I made these over Thanksgiving and he always used Bisquick but we love this recipe so much more!! We made two batches. One just as the recipe is written for the kiddos and the other one we added chopped serranos and some taco seasoning and WOW! They were so delicious. I’m actually making a batch right now to freeze for Christmas Eve. Thanks so much,
Love this so much! The addition of pepper and taco seasoning is genius! Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
These sausage balls are so much tastier than the old recipes with Bisquick! I've made and shared these three times; always with plenty of compliments.
Thank you!
I love hearing this Cindy! Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks again Kristen for not using packaged crap in your recipes that’s why I always look to your recipes first. These are amazing.
Hi Sami! Thrilled to hear you enjoyed these sausage balls and trust me to provide recipes you know you will enjoy! That means so much for me.
Not breakfast sausage but Jimmy Deans?! What do you think Jimmy deans is? ????
Hi Derik. Jimmy Dean's normal sausage is actually bulk sausage. Breakfast varieties often are maple flavored.
These were great! Trying to avoid mixes like bisquick and this was a perfect swap.
So happy to hear you enjoyed Haley! Thanks for sharing.
The sausage balls are such an easy recipe. We had all of the ingredients here at home to make them for our Super Bowl Party. We had some spicy sausage, so the maple syrup was great to drizzle over them. They were definitely a hit!
Glad you all enjoyed, Julie and thank you for taking the time to leave a review! I appreciate it.
These are so easy and delicious! Making again for Super Bowl.
What a great idea to enjoy them for the big game! Thanks for sharing your review as well!