Sausage-Cheese Balls

Last summer, I attended a “Southern Living at Home” party with a couple of friends. I am sure most of you have heard of SLAH, they sell home décor, kitchen items, and my favorite, cookbooks! While we were there, the consultant would show items and give us ideas of how we could use it in our home. Several times while showing different serving platters, she mentioned they would be great for serving “Sausage Balls” at a party. After hearing this over and over, I had to lean over to my friends and quietly ask, “What the HECK are Sausage Balls???”. I was told there a snack food/appetizer sort of thing made from sausage, cheese and Bisquick. I had never heard of them! I thought it must be because I grew up in the North, but the way they were talked about down here, I thought maybe EVERYONE had heard of Sausage Balls but me. So I asked several of my friends from the North…none of them had heard of them either. So, it wasn’t just me, WHEW!

This morning, I decided I would tackle the Sausage Balls and take them to my prayer group that I attend every Friday. I found the recipe earlier this week, and made sure I had all the ingredients to make them. They were relatively easy to make and made a ton.

Sausage-Cheese Balls - adapted from Bisquick
3 cups Original Bisquick mix
1 pound bulk pork sausage
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese, or cheese of your choice (I used Mexi blend)
½ cups grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup milk
½ teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
½ teaspoon dried parsley


1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray bottom and sides of a shallow pan with non-stick spray.
2. Use your hands to mix all ingredients together. (Trust me, a spoon just won't cut it) Shape mixture into 1-inch balls. Place them in the pan so they aren't touching...they can be close, just don't have them touch!
3. Bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly brown. Immediately remove from pan.

Makes: approx 7-8 dozen

These were extremely yummy, and very easy to eat, too easy actually. They were less greasy than I thought they would be, and really delicious with the barbecue sauce I served them with for dipping.

To make sure I made them all the same size, I used my Pampered Chef small scoop (looks like a tiny ice cream scoop) and scooped them all first and place them on a pan. Then I went back and used my hands to form them into a compact ball. They were a little time consuming, but super easy.

I did read that you can make these up, and freeze them (up to 1 month) before cooking and just pull out what you need when you want to cook them. I had already thawed the sausage, so I didn’t think that would be a good idea. I only cooked up around 30 of them this morning, and refrigerated the rest to cook up this weekend. They will be good breakfast finger food or football watching food. And with the Superbowl coming up next weekend, these would be great to take to a party since it makes so many!

So I am counting on my Northern friends to spread the word about Sausage Balls! Ok, so that doesn’t sound so great when I put it like that. But seriously, the Southern cooks know a good appetizer: anything that involves a little fat, a little grease, and biscuits!

I am looking forward to trying some more Southern food this year and sharing it with you!