Italian Sausage Balls | What’s Cookin’ Italian Style Cuisine

The sausage balls are served with a homemade quick pizza sauce or marinara sauce or you can buy your favorite jarred sauce to dip them in.

If you’re hosting a super bowl party, birthday party, or another event where you need to bring a large number of appetizers, these are going to be a hit.

Read through our tips first to give you the best results on making these come out perfect.

We just love appetizers, and these also reheat perfectly for snacking on any leftovers you may have.

If you can’t find a baking mix, we’ve got you covered below on how to make the homemade baking mix in your own kitchen, along with buttermilk in our instructions below.

Just scroll to the bottom for our printable recipe and try these for your next party event and get-together.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Perfectly Portioned: Mini muffin-sized servings make them easy to serve at parties and holiday dinners.
• Wonderful Flavor: Sweet Italian sausage, garlic, sage, and fresh vegetables create a delicious savory combination.
• A Little Sweetness: Granny Smith apple adds a lovely balance to the sausage and herbs.
• Golden Edges: Baking in mini muffin tins creates crispy edges and a soft, tender center.
• Great for Entertaining: They are easy to serve as appetizers or alongside your favorite holiday meal.
• Make-Ahead Friendly: Prepare the mixture ahead of time to make holiday cooking a little easier.
• Serve them with your favorite pizza or marinara sauce!

Tips and Tricks for Making Italian Sausage Balls

• Homemade Baking Mix:  if you don’t find baking mix substitute 3 cups of flour, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• keep your marinara in a small slow cooker on warm for a party
• if rolling by hand wet your hands first
• Don’t overwork the dough or these will be dry
• these can be frozen raw formed into balls then baked when needed
• if the mixture seems too dry and hard to form add a tablespoon more milk
• use a melon ball scoop if using a mini muffin pan to make this easier or a small spoon
• Homemade Buttermilk: 1 tablespoon white vinegar (or lemon juice) 1 cup milk Directions: Pour the tablespoon of vinegar into a glass quart measuring cup. Fill the rest of the 1 cup glass measuring cup with milk. Gently stir and let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes. This will allow the milk to curdle and give it the characteristics needed. Also, you can substitute, or substitute plain yogurt for buttermilk

Variations

• Cranberries: Add dried cranberries for a sweet and tart holiday flavor.
• Pecans: Chopped pecans add a little crunch.
• Different Sausage: Try mild pork sausage, hot Italian sausage, or turkey sausage.
• Fresh Herbs: Substitute fresh chopped sage or add fresh thyme and rosemary.
• Parmesan Cheese: Add a little grated Parmesan for extra savory flavor.
• Mushrooms: Finely chopped sautéed mushrooms make a wonderful addition.
• Different Apples: Honeycrisp or Fuji apples can be used instead of Granny Smith.

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Italian Sausage Ball Serving Ideas

Italian Sausage Balls

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Yield: 65

Author: Claudia Lamascolo

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min

This little appetizer is full of Italian sausage balls with several cheeses served with a warm marinara sauce

Ingredients

• 3 cups baking mix
• 1 pound of uncooked loose mild Italian sausage
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 1/2 cup finely chopped apples peeled
• 1 cup shredded provolone cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 4 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup buttermilk or whole milk
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons mixed dried oregano and dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• Optional: 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Marinara Dipping Sauce store-bought or homemade

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Use oil-sprayed mini muffin pans or line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
3. In a bowl, add the baking mix with sausage and all the cheese and stir together.
4. Stir in the milk, melted butter, seasonings, and red pepper if using.
5. Fold in the apples or another variation you may like.
6. Roll into balls (it helps if you wet your hands with water) if shaping by hand.
7. Note: a mini muffin pan works great for these instead of rolling.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for around 20 to 25 minutes.
9. Sprinkle with chopped basil and serve with heated pizza or marinara sauce.

Notes

Tips and Tricks for Making Italian Sausage Balls

• Homemade Baking Mix: if you don’t find baking mix, substitute 3 cups of flour, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• keep your marinara in a small slow cooker on warm for a party
• if rolling by hand wet your hands first
• Don’t overwork the dough or these will be dry
• these can be frozen raw formed into balls then baked when needed
• if the mixture seems too dry and hard to form add a tablespoon more milk
• use a melon ball scoop if using a mini muffin pan to make this easier or a small spoon
• Homemade Buttermilk: 1 tablespoon white vinegar (or lemon juice) 1 cup milk Directions: Pour the tablespoon of vinegar into a glass quart measuring cup. Fill the rest of the 1 cup glass measuring cup with milk. Gently stir and let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes. This will allow the milk to curdle and give it the characteristics needed. Also, you can substitute, or substitute plain yogurt for buttermilk

Nutrition Facts

Sodium (milligrams)

190.11

https://www.whatscookinitalianstylecuisine.com/2023/01/italian-sausage-balls.html

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Italian sausage balls, cheese and sausage appetizers, mini Italian sausage balls, Italian sausage cheese appetizers

appetizer recipes, game day recipes, Italian sausage recipes, sausage ball recipes

Italian, American

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