3 Ingredient Sausage Balls are so simple to make with Bisquick, sausage and cheese. These are the best party appetizer: perfect for game day! Goes great with a side of 3 Ingredient BBQ Sauce or 3 Ingredient Honey Mustard for dipping.

 

Snacks and appetizers are some of the biggest highlights of any good party or get-together. When it comes to game days or watch parties, we’re always eager to reach for our best appetizer recipes to make sure everyone’s got something to snack on while they’re enjoying the show!

We’ve got a few favorites we usually fall on: Slow Cooker Party Meatballs are so sweet and spicy, Bacon Wrapped Smokies are always a hit, and we can’t forget those rich and creamy Mini Cheeseballs! Another big one we’ve heard about that we wanted to try were Bisquick Sausage Balls. So, to keep things easy, we made up these 3 Ingredient Sausage Balls.

These turned out amazing- even with just 3 ingredients! Mixing some tasty breakfast sausage and sharp cheddar with a bit of Bisquick yields some wonderfully crisp sausage balls. We served them up with a bit of barbecue sauce but you could serve them up with all sorts of different sauce recipes. We don’t think the sauce choice matters too much- these things are going to get eaten up fast whenever you serve them!

These Sausage Cheese Balls came out so great. With these being so easy to make, they’re definitely an appetizer recipe you have to try.

Why you’ll love this 3 Ingredient Recipe for Sausage Balls

• Not only is this a 3 Ingredient Recipe, but it’s such an easy recipe to make too! You’ll whip up your sausage ball mix, shape it, and then let it bake. For something so tasty, it’s almost way too simple to make!
• Even though they only have 3 ingredients, our Sausage Balls pack plenty of flavor in just those 3. Spicy breakfast sausage and sharp cheddar are tasty enough on their own but mixing them into these Bisquick Sausage Balls gives them this crisp, crumbly texture. Serve up with any easy sauce recipe and you’ve got the perfect party appetizer!
• Best of all, since this is such a simple recipe, there’s plenty of room for you to customize these sausage balls to your liking. Add some extra spices or more mix-ins to get the taste you’re really wanting from these tasty appetizers.

Sausage Ball Ingredients

You really don’t need much for this recipe- these are 3 simple Ingredients Sausage Balls, after all. Anyways, here’s what you’ll need:

• Sharp Cheddar Cheese – We think some sharp cheddar hits that perfect balance between sharp and mild, especially when it’s mixed with other ingredients. We suggest shredding the cheddar by hand for this recipe -skip the pre-shredded bagged shredded cheese.
• Breakfast Sausage – You can opt for a normal breakfast sausage or a spicy breakfast sausage like we did. Your choice between the different breakfast sausage brands might also be important here too. We made Bob Evans Sausage Balls but some folks swear by Jimmy Dean Sausage Balls- something about it being a little fattier.
• Bisquick Baking Mix – The Bisquick is definitely a big part of this recipe- they’re Bisquick Sausage Balls, after all! This stuff helps give us that crumbly and crispy texture that we’re going for.

That’s all you really need for your Ground Pork Sausage Balls recipe. You can optionally reach into your spice cabinet or drawer and some herbs or seasonings like parsley like we did. We’ll outline a few other spices you can try later on the post.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make Sausage Balls with 3 Ingredients

You’re going to love how simple these Easy Sausage Balls are to make. Even if you don’t have a stand mixer, you could probably get away with just mixing with your hands (but, your arm will get a work out)! Here’s how you’ll make them:

1. Shred cheddar cheese and add half to the bowl of a stand mixer. Crumble sausage and add to stand mixer bowl. Measure out 1-1/2 cups of Bisquick and add to the stand mixer bowl as well.
2. Attach paddle blade to stand mixer and let mix on low until well blended. Add in remainder of cheese and Bisquick mix and mix on low again until fully blended.
3. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls and evenly space on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-24 minutes or until the bottom of the balls are golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel lined tray to drain excess grease before serving.

Substitutions

Even though this is a 3 Ingredient Recipe for Sausage Balls, there’s plenty of room for substitutions! Here’s some substitutions you can try:

• Pork Sausage – If you don’t have any pork sausage on hand and can’t find any at the store, you could just make some yourself! Check out our Breakfast Sausage Patties for a simple recipe for homemade sausage. You could easily make these into Beef Sausage Balls or Chicken Sausage Balls too if you prefer.
• Bisquick – For off-the-shelf Bisquick substitutes, try using pancake mix or any other baking mix products like Jiffy Baking Mix. Pancake mix will end up a little sweeter so keep that in mind. If you can’t find any baking mixes, you can make a quick Bisquick substitute for this recipe. Mix 2 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, 4 tablespoons of cold butter or shortening.
• Cheddar Cheese – This is a place where we really recommended experimenting and trying out all sorts of different cheeses! Plenty of folks have gotten great results from using pepperjack cheese or even habanero jack cheese if you want to get really spicy. Of course, you could also use something like parmesan cheese, mild cheddar, or even some cream cheese if you really want.

Variations

There’s plenty of room to toy around with our Sausage balls with 3 Ingredients Recipe! Here’s a few ideas you can give a shot:

• Spicy Sausage Balls – There’s plenty of ways to add some heat and spice to your next batch of Sausage Balls. For starters, use spicy breakfast sausage and a hotter cheese like pepper jack like we previously outlined. Outside of that, a couple dashes of hot sauce or a good shake of some cayenne pepper are a couple of other solid options. You might even add some diced jalapenos and make some Jalapeno Sausage Balls to really kick up the heat!
• Sausage Pancake Bites – Sub your Bisquick out for your favorite pancake mix instead. Use a mild breakfast sausage as well as some mild cheddar cheese and add a good glug of maple syrup to your sausage ball mix. Serve up with some extra maple syrup or any of your favorite sweet breakfast syrups.
• Cheddar Bay Sausage Balls – If you’re a big fan of Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits or our Homemade Cheddar Biscuits, give these a try. Sub in Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit Mix for the Bisquick- or add in plenty of garlic powder, some parsley, and a touch of cayenne to Bisquick.

Storage / Freezing

Storage: If you’re wondering “can you make sausage balls ahead of time,” then you’re in luck- it’s actually pretty easy! You can store either cooked or uncooked sausage balls in the fridge. Cooked sausage balls will last 3-4 days if stored in an airtight container and uncooked sausage balls will last 1-2 days if covered well.

Freezing: The freezer also works- whether your sausage balls are cooked or uncooked. Let uncooked balls “flash freeze” separately on a baking sheet before transfering to a freezer bag. You can store cooked balls too: keep in a freezer bag for 3-4 months. Reheated Sausage Balls might not have the best texture compared to freshly made, so heavily consider storing/freezing uncooked.

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