Italian Sausage Balls

Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Italian Sausage Balls are pretty much a knockoff of the breakfast sausage style sausage balls except using lots of  Italian seasoning, and Italian loose sausage plus are loaded with more than one cheese and served with warm marinara.

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

If you're hosting a super bowl party, birthday party, or another event 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 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.


We made italian sausage balls in a muffin tin





Step by Step:

  1. either oil spray mini muffin tins or line a baking sheet if rolling by hand
  2. preheat the oven to 350 degrees
  3. mix the sausage cheese and dry ingredients together
  4. stir in the seasonings with milk and butter ( do not overwork this dough)
  5. shape or add to the muffin tins
  6.  bake for 25 minutes. 
  7. serve with warm sauce to dip them in and chopped basil

Then just serve this with your favorite pizza or marinara sauce!


this is freshly made pizza 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


this is a mixture of baking mix and Italian sausage with cheeses


Ingredients You Will Need(exact measurements in the recipe card below with instructions


  • baking mix
  • Parmesan cheese
  • granulated garlic powder
  • butter
  • oregano
  • mozzarella or provolone, cheddar
  • loose sausage Italian style mild or hot if preferred
  • milk
  • black pepper
  • optional red pepper flakes
  • freshly chopped basil
  • marinara sauce


Italian sausage balls


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this is a pin for later on how to make sausage balls


Italian Sausage Ball Ideas



These can be rolled in balls and added to min muffin tins.

You can add around 1/2 cup of mix-ins like diced peppers, onions, olives, or chopped fresh garlic for more flavor or even use another kind of raw meat like breakfast sausage or hamburger you can change them up however add more cheddar and omit mozzarella.

These will freeze up to 3 months raw in the freezer, I recommend rolling them into balls freezing flat on a cookie sheet, after they are frozen toss them in a freezer bag.


Italian Sausage Balls

Italian Sausage Balls
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 cup shredded provolone cheese
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 4 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese grated
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk or whole milk
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons mixed dried oregano, 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. Roll into balls (it helps if you wet your hands with water) if shaping by hand.
  6. Note: a mini muffin pan works great for these instead of rolling.
  7. Bake at 350 degrees for around 20 to 25 minutes.
  8. 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

Calories

82.03

Fat (grams)

5.79

Sat. Fat (grams)

2.66

Carbs (grams)

4.07

Fiber (grams)

0.2

Net carbs

3.86

Sugar (grams)

0.87

Protein (grams)

3.35

Sodium (milligrams)

190.11

Cholesterol (grams)

13.56
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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