These Cheesy Southern Sausage Balls Are the Perfect Easy Party Appetizer

It’s not a true Southern holiday party until someone steps out of the kitchen with a plate of piping hot sausage balls. Cheesy, meaty, and tender, these poppable bites of biscuit, ground pork sausage, and sharp cheddar cheese are always a hit, especially if you serve them with a Dijonnaise sauce sweetened with honey. 

I was introduced to sausage balls by my Appalachia born and bred mother-in-law, who believes the holidays don’t officially begin until the sausage balls hit the dining room table. And while I didn’t grow up eating them, my husband did, and since we moved to North Carolina, it’s become a family tradition to make them every year for the holidays.

I consider sausage balls to be in a league of their own–nothing really compares to the texture and flavor of one. Rather than being meat forward like a meatball, a sausage ball has the texture of a biscuit with the addition of fatty pork sausage and pockets of melted sharp cheddar cheese. A good sausage ball should leave your hands slightly greasy—and your stomach hungry for more.

A Brief History of Sausage Balls

Traditionally, sausage balls are comprised of three ingredients: store-bought bisquit mix (typically Bisquick), ground sausage, and shredded cheese. Like many Southern recipes that have been passed down generation to generation through community and church cookbooks, the origins of sausage balls are unclear. 

Some of the first recorded recipes for sausage balls from the 1920s only include ground sausage and flour. It wasn’t until the 1960s and 1970s that recipes for sausage balls made with Bisquick began to surface, typically pegged as a creative and delicious way to use the mix beyond biscuits and pancakes. 

One example can be found in the 1978 cookbook, Miss Daisy’s Tea House Cookbook, which has sold over one million copies. The recipe is simple—calling for only sausage, biscuit mix, and cheese with the directions stating: “In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients well. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.”

Crafting My Own Biscuit Mix for Sausage Balls

While using a premade dry biscuit mix such as Bisquick is common for sausage balls, and does work well (I won’t disagree with previous generations of Southern cooks), for my recipe I wanted to skip the store-bought mix and instead craft my own dry biscuit mix to add the ground sausage to. Why mess with tradition? Starting with my own biscuit mix allowed me to fine tune the seasonings in the sausage balls, and also to skip some ingredients like palm oil that I personally prefer to avoid. 

To create my own biscuit blend, naturally the first place I looked in my research was the back of the Bisquick box. I also looked at other boxed mixes and consulted various homemade biscuit recipes. The common ingredients found in biscuit recipes and boxed mixes alike include: all-purpose flour, baking powder, dairy (often buttermilk), fat (often shortening), and salt. I knew that adding liquid buttermilk was not an option for this recipe, as the added liquid would make the sausage mixture too loose, but I still wanted the signature tang that buttermilk gives to baked goods. So I opted to use dehydrated buttermilk powder. It has all the flavor of buttermilk but in a dry, concentrated powder that is easy to whisk into the flour mixture. For added richness (remember, we want our fingers slick with a bit of fat), I also add a bit of melted butter to my biscuit mixture. 

But, if you want to keep it traditional and use up that Bisquick mix you might already have in your cupboard, this recipe can also be prepared by substituting all the dry ingredients with two cups of Bisquick mix. Just note the final balls will be slightly less seasoned and tangy than when prepared according to my recipe.

Tips for the Best Sausage Balls

Grate your own cheese. Beyond boosting the flavor with additions to the dry ingredients, there are a few key points to keep in mind for the best possible version of these meaty bite-size treats. First, while reaching for a bag of pre-shredded cheese may seem convenient, I don't recommend it for this recipe. Pre-shredded cheese is usually coated in anti-caking agents and mold inhibitors, which in turn can prevent the cheese from melting fully, causing dryer, less cohesive sausage balls. Starting with a block of good quality cheddar and grating it yourself ensures the cheese melts properly and binds the meat mixture together. I recommend using a food processor with a grating attachment to shred the cheese effortlessly.

Get your hands in there! Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty making these Southern appetizers–the best tool for mixing are your hands. For easier mixing, I also recommend taking the ground sausage out of the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to let it come to room temperature before shaping. The meat will be more pliable, which will in turn make it easier to incorporate the dry ingredients into the ground sausage. If it seems like the dry ingredients aren’t mixing in at first be patient and just keep working it until it becomes a harmonious mixture. 

Customize them if you'd like. Traditionally this recipe is made with breakfast sausage and that's what I call for here, but you could swap in your preferred bulk sweet or hot Italian sausage if you’d prefer. Just be sure the sausage you use has a good amount of fat, as leaner sausage will make for overly dense and crumbly sausage balls. 

Sauce them! Don’t forget to serve this crowd-pleaser with a traditional tangy mustard sauce. This recipe includes a simple honey Dijoinase that has just the right fiery kick from the mustard to cut through the richness of the sausage balls. These balls go fast at any party, so you might want to make a double batch!

For the Sausage Balls: Remove ground sausage from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before preparing. 

Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and buttermilk powder until combined. Add the shredded cheese and toss until cheese is coated with flour mixture. 

Add sausage and melted butter to the cheese and flour mixture and, using your hands, knead until the mixture comes together evenly and there are no pockets of flour remaining, about 5 minutes. 

Working with one ball at a time, pinch off heaping 1 tablespoon size portion and roll into walnut-size ball. Place shaped sausage balls on prepared baking sheets, divided evenly and spaced evenly apart. You should have about 30 prepared sausage balls total. Bake both sheet pans at the same time, rotating trays halfway through baking, until sausage balls are browned on the bottom and starting to turn golden on the top, and cooked through about 20 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and transfer sausage balls to a paper towel-lined plate.

For the Dijonaise Sauce: Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk to combine Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, and honey. 

Transfer sausage balls to a serving platter and serve with prepared Dijonaise sauce.

Notes

Bulk Italian sweet or hot sausage can be substituted for the breakfast sausage in this recipe. 

This recipe can be easily doubled.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.