These five-ingredient cream cheese sausage balls are quick and easy to make with a total time of under 30 minutes. Pair them with your favorite dipping sauce for the perfect snack or appetizer on holidays and game days!
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Pin RecipeA cross between sausage pinwheels and meatballs, these cream cheese sausage balls are a total game-changer when it comes to crowd-pleasing snacks and appetizers! Tangy and savory, they’re perfectly poppable and unbelievably tasty. One bite and your friends and family will be begging you for the recipe!
Cream Cheese Sausage Ball Recipe
As you probably already know, I’m a big fan of hosting get-togethers, and they almost always involve food. However, while I love cooking, I don’t exactly have time to spend hours in the kitchen when guests are coming over to spend an afternoon.
That’s when this easy cream cheese sausage ball recipe comes in to save the day! Made with simple ingredients and a quick cook time, they’re exactly the kind of appetizer I want on a busy day. In fact, they’re so popular that I prepare them for pretty much every single party I host. They settle in perfectly on your serving table with classics like Spinach Artichoke Dip and Baked Buffalo Wings!
All you need to do is mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl, scoop and roll the balls, and bake them in the oven. Easy enough! Once they are baked, the bite-sized snacks ooze with gooey cheddar cheese, and the sweet cream cheese and spicy pork sausage go together so beautifully that you will want to grab a toothpick and pop one into your mouth immediately! These really are the best sausage balls ever.
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Ingredients for Cream Cheese Sausage Balls
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Ground spicy pork sausage – I like using spicy sausage which tastes delicious with the sweet Bisquick mix and cream cheese. The hot sausage is already so flavorful enough that you don’t need to add many spices and herbs to the recipe! If preferred, you can substitute mild sausage, too.
- Cream cheese – Make sure your cream cheese is room temperature so it blends into the sausage mix evenly.
- Bisquick baking mix – Grab a yellow box of Bisquick at the store, or try making your own Bisquick Mix at home. It’s actually pretty simple to do!
- Shredded cheddar cheese – I like to use sharp cheddar cheese to prevent the sausage balls from drying out and to help make them even more flavorful.
- Chopped chives
Variations
Here are a few ingredient substitutions and recipe tweaks you may want to try.
- Use Italian sausage, mild sausage, or even a sweet ground sausage to make these sausage balls. Any type of ground sausage will work in this recipe!
- Swap the cheddar cheese for shredded parmesan, Monterey Jack cheese, or even Asiago cheese.
- Serve the Bisquick sausage balls with a dipping sauce for even more flavor. I like to serve them with a herby dill dip, honey mustard sauce, a spicy mayo dip, or even just a homemade ranch dressing.
How to Make Cream Cheese Sausage Balls
- Prepare: Line two baking trays with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Mix: Blend the cream cheese and ground sausage together in a large mixing bowl, mixing until there are no lumps of cream cheese. Add the Bisquick, cheddar cheese, and chives to the bowl and mix again.
- Scoop and roll: Use a small cookie scoop or tablespoon to scoop two tablespoon-sized portions of the sausage ball mixture into your hands. Roll the sausage mixture into 1-inch balls. Then, place the sausage balls on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Leave about 1 ½ inches of space between each sausage ball!
- Chill: Place the cookie sheet of sausage balls in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat: Preheat your oven to 350ºF.
- Bake: Bake the meatballs for 25 minutes in the preheated oven or until they are light golden brown. Serve while warm with your choice of dipping sauce or dressing!
How to Store Cream Cheese Sausage Balls
If you have leftover cream cheese sausage balls, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat the leftover sausage balls in the microwave until warm. They will taste as good as the day they were baked!
You can also freeze cream cheese sausage balls either cooked or uncooked for up to three months. Transfer the sausage balls cooked and cooled or raw to an airtight container or freezer-safe bag. When you’re ready to eat, allow them to thaw in the fridge overnight, and warm them in the oven or microwave. Or, follow the instructions below to make them as normal, adding a few minutes as needed until they’re cooked through.
Quick Tip
Flash-freeze your sausage balls to prevent them from clumping together! To do so, arrange them cooked or raw) on a baking sheet, and place them in the freezer until solid. Then, transfer them to a sealable bag, and store them in the freezer.
FAQs
Regular sausage balls tend to get dry from over-baking. If left in the oven too long, they will dry out quickly since they are so small. Be sure to start checking the sausage balls after about 20 minutes to prevent them from overcooking.
I like to serve sausage balls alongside other easy appetizers. An appetizer spread with cream cheese sausage balls, Philly Cheesesteak Egg Rolls, Buffalo Chicken Dip, and Taco Pinwheels is the ultimate group of party foods! However, feel free to pair them with any side dishes or appetizers you like best. You really can’t go wrong!
Yes, I definitely recommend refrigerating these sausage balls as directed in the recipe. This helps them hold their shape in the oven, preventing them from spreading too much when they bake.
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Cream Cheese Sausage Balls
Equipment
- 2 rimmed baking trays
- Parchment paper
- Rubber spatula
- Large mixing bowl
- Cookie scoop
- Measuring cup
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground spicy sausage
- 1/2 pound cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups Bisquick baking mix
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Line two rimmed baking sheet trays with parchment paper. Set the trays aside.
- Add the ground sausage and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl. Use your hands or a rubber spatula to mix the two ingredients together. Work the cream cheese into the meat so you see no chunks of cream cheese. The smoother, the better!1 pound ground spicy sausage, 1/2 pound cream cheese, softened
- Add the Bisquick, cheese, and chives to the bowl and blend the ingredients together well.2 cups Bisquick baking mix, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
- Use your hands to scoop the mix into two tablespoon-sized balls (about 1 inch). Roll the meatballs with your hands then place them on the lined baking sheet tray.
- Place the baking sheet trays in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill the meatballs. This helps prevent them from spreading as they bake.
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF.
- Bake the meatballs for 25 minutes. They will be browned around the edges and on the bottoms and feel firm when you squeeze them.
- Enjoy the meatballs right away!
Can you mix up the day before and cook the next day?
We wouldn’t recommend it
Can’t wait to try this!
We hope you enjoy it! 😊