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Easy Make Ahead Sausage Balls

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Easy Make Ahead Sausage Balls whip up quickly, freeze easily, and cook from frozen just as easily!  They’re your new favorite appetizer recipe.

Easy Make Ahead Sausage Balls whip up quickly, freeze easily, and cook from frozen just as easily!  They're your new favorite appetizer recipe. #OurFamilyTable

 

I don’t remember eating sausage balls. Ever. I’ve had Australian sausage rolls and I’ve had bacon wrapped sausages, but never sausage balls like these. But I had this roll of sausage in the freezer and needed make a make ahead recipe. So, I made sausage balls.  I also had some herb cheese in the fridge to make some fall appetizers with.

 

What are sausage balls?

 

Sausage balls are a simple yet delicious recipe. They include some kind of sausage. For the most part that is breakfast sausage, but some use chorizo or other fresh sausage. Then there’s a binder in the form of flour, baking soda, and some butter. This is where Bisquick comes in very handy because it has the flour and leavening in there already.

 

Easy Make Ahead Sausage Balls whip up quickly, freeze easily, and cook from frozen just as easily!  They're your new favorite appetizer recipe. #OurFamilyTable

 

Next, some sort of cheese is added. For the most part this is cheddar. However, depending on the type of sausage used and personal tastes it could be any hard cheese from Parmesan to Swiss. Yes. Swiss. Think about it. If you use some fresh bratwurst then Swiss would be a perfect combination of flavors.

 

Where did sausage balls come from?

 

Of course, I had to try to find the history of this recipe. Which has not really been easy to be honest. I thought for sure Betty Crocker would make the claim to fame on these. It makes the most sense because their Bisquick mix is synonymous with these little sausage gems. But I can’t find anything on their site about where the recipe came from. Which leads me to believe they did not create it as a ploy to sell their product.

 

Easy Make Ahead Sausage Balls whip up quickly, freeze easily, and cook from frozen just as easily!  They're your new favorite appetizer recipe. #OurFamilyTable

 

Part of me feels like it’s the frugal version of puff pastry sausage rolls.  But I didn’t find any mention of this when I search Google.  However, I found one site mentions a recipe from a Maine publication from the 1830s. An anonymous cook, annoyed with the time it takes to stuff the sausage in casing, suggested rolling it in flour and cooking it up. The heading was “sausage balls” so maybe it was the first inclination of this recipe?

 

Another site claims that the makers of Bisquick did create the recipe in the 30’s when they created their famous biscuit mix. However, this claim cannot be proven. Even by those in the archives of Better Crocker. So, I highly doubt that they created the recipes entirely. I’m sure they adapted the suggested older version to include their product. And to demonstrate how their product makes more than just biscuits and pancakes or waffles.

 

Easy Make Ahead Sausage Balls whip up quickly, freeze easily, and cook from frozen just as easily!  They're your new favorite appetizer recipe. #OurFamilyTable

 

How do you make sausage balls?

 

I combined the dry ingredients with the cheese in a mixing bowl. Then I added the sausage and kneaded it all together by hand. Finally, I poured the melted butter over the mixture and kneaded it all again.  Now, you could add a little milk to make the mixture more moist and thus, making your sausage balls more moist. Mine weren’t dry, but Better Crocker suggests adding a little milk to the recipe. I might try that next time I make these. 

 

Once the dough comes together, you form the dough into balls. Hence the title Sausage Balls. I used a meatball scoop to make sure they were all roughly the same size. If the dough is too wet try wetting your hands a little to make it easier to roll them. I didn’t have this problem with my recipe.

 

Easy Make Ahead Sausage Balls whip up quickly, freeze easily, and cook from frozen just as easily!  They're your new favorite appetizer recipe. #OurFamilyTable

  

Can you freeze sausage balls before cooking them?

 

At this point, you can bake them or you can freeze them. I rolled the balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment because I wanted to freeze them. Which I did. They went into the freezer on the pan to keep them separated for about 2 hours. At that point, I put them into a freezer zip top bag and saved them until ready to bake.

 

I did not thaw them out before baking them. They went straight from the freezer, to the pan, then to the oven. No need to thaw them. It might take a few minutes longer to cook because they’re frozen.  However, it’s definitely worth it to save the 30 or so minutes it might take to thaw them.  And this means you can keep them in the freezer to make whenever you want.  Plus, you can bake up as many as you want!

 

Easy Make Ahead Sausage Balls whip up quickly, freeze easily, and cook from frozen just as easily!  They're your new favorite appetizer recipe. #OurFamilyTable

 

What kinds of dip to serve with sausage balls?

 

I served mine with our family beer cheese recipe. It makes a delicious dip for these make ahead sausage balls. Many serve them with honey mustard or a spicy ketchup dipping sauce. You could make a fruit based sauce like apricots or peaches. If you made your sausage balls with chorizo or andouille then a remoulade would be in order.

 

For me, since it’s like biscuits and gravy, I’m thinking sausage gravy would be perfect. Especially if you’re serving these for a breakfast or brunch. And, on that note, I’m thinking these would make a fun breakfast meatball style hoagie sandwich with sausage gravy and more cheese on top. In fact, I might have to try that and see what it tastes like. Or, at the very least, make a sausage and gravy hoagie. Who knows?

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Easy Make Ahead Sausage Balls whip up quickly, freeze easily, and cook from frozen just as easily!  They're your new favorite appetizer recipe. #OurFamilyTable
Yield: 30-35

Easy Make Ahead Sausage Balls

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Easy Make Ahead Sausage Balls whip up quickly, freeze easily, and cook from frozen just as easily!  They're your new favorite appetizer recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 pound sausage
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/8 cup onion
  • 1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese
  • 6 ounces shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
  • 4 tablespoons beer

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. Combine the flour with the baking powder, and salt.
  3. Stir in the shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
  4. Add the sausage and mix well until combined.
  5. Stir in the butter.
  6. Form into 1" balls and place on a baking sheet.
  7. Bake at 400 for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
  8. Place garlic and onion in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
  9. Add cheese and process until smooth.
  10. Slowly add beer and continue processing until the mixture is nice and smooth.
  11. Chill before serving.

Notes

These can be frozen for up to one month when stored in a zip top freezer bag. There is no need to thaw them before baking. Cook them 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

Nutrition Information

Yield

10

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 427Total Fat 31gSaturated Fat 15gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 81mgSodium 830mgCarbohydrates 17gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 18g

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