Cream Cheese Sausage Balls

Cream Cheese Sausage Balls are savory, bite-sized Southern favorites made with sausage and creamy cheese. Perfect for holiday appetizers, brunch, and game-day snacking!

Course Appetizer, Breakfast

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword cream-cheese-sausage-balls-recipe, sausage-balls-recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings servings

Calories 77kcal

Ingredients

1 lb spicy or mild pork breakfast sausage i.e. Jimmy Dean
2 1/4 cups Bisquick or similar
2 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 8 oz chive and onion cream cheese softened but still cold
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard or spicy brown mustard
1/2 tsp granulated garlic or garlic powder
sweet hot mustard, maple syrup, honey mustard, chipotle barbecue sauce for dipping (optional)

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl use an electric mixer on low speed to mix together sausage, biscuit mix, shredded cheese, cream cheese, mustard and granulated garlic until fully combined. (A dough hook works best.) Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Use a meatball scoop to divide the meat mixture and roll into 1-inch balls and place side by side on the baking sheet 1-2 inches apart.
Bake for 22-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown and cooked through.
Serve immediately with honey mustard, sweet hot mustard, bbq sauce, ranch dressing, maple syrup or your favorite dipping sauce.

Notes

Use Biscuit Mix - Biscuit mix and self-rising flour aren't the same thing. This recipe uses a biscuit mix i.e. Bisquick.
Protein - You can use use mild sausage, sage seasoned sausage or spicy pork sausage for these sausage balls. You could also adapt using turkey sausage.
Cream Cheese - You could substitute one 8 ounce block of plain cream cheese and one teaspoon of onion powder in place of chive and onion cream cheese. The chive and onion flavored cream cheese expands the flavor profile overall.
Cheese - Sharp cheddar cheese will give the best flavor. If you prefer, you can use the same amount of mild cheddar cheese or medium cheddar cheese, colby jack cheese or pepper jack cheese for spice.
Chill the Sausage Mixture to Firm - After making the sausage ball mixture, it's important to chill it in the fridge so the cream cheese will firm. This prevents them from spreading too much while baking. The flavor would be the same, but the shape would be flatter and similar to a cookie, if the mixture isn't firm.
Use a Quality Sausage - Since sausage is the star of these sausage balls I highly recommend using one that's not terribly greasy. I use Jimmy Dean with consistently good results.

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