Bisquick sausage balls are raw pork sausage, grated sharp cheddar and Bisquick mix rolled into balls and baked. They need twenty to twenty-five minutes at 350F. The batch makes twenty-six, which is enough for a party plate.
The sausage goes in raw, and the recipe card never says so. Cook it first and the fat renders in the pan rather than inside the ball, so they spread flat into cookies. Raw sausage is what holds the shape.
Grate the cheddar from a block rather than buying it shredded, because the anti-caking starch on bagged cheese pulls moisture out of the dough. That is the single biggest cause of dry, crumbly sausage balls. Add milk a tablespoon at a time only if it still will not hold.
Bisquick Sausage Balls
Course: AppetizerCuisine: American, SouthernDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalRaw balls freeze well on a tray and then bake straight from frozen at 350F for twenty-five to thirty minutes. Check one reaches 160F in the middle, since the sausage inside is cooking from raw.
Ingredients
1 lb bulk pork sausage, raw and at room temperature
16 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated from a block, at room temperature
2 cups Bisquick baking mix
Up to ¼ cup milk, as needed
Directions
- Heat: Preheat the oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix: Combine the raw sausage, grated cheddar and Bisquick with your hands until it comes together.
- Loosen: Add milk a tablespoon at a time, only until the dough holds its shape when pressed.
- Roll: Scoop into golf ball sized rounds and space them about an inch apart on the sheets.
- Bake: Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden and firm, and 160F in the middle.
Most sausage ball failures come down to one thing the recipe card forgets to mention.
FAQs
Why do mine spread flat instead of staying round?
Almost always because the sausage was cooked before mixing. Pre-cooked sausage has already lost its fat, so the dough slumps and bakes into a cookie shape. Readers worked this out in the comments before the author did, and raw sausage fixes it.
How long does this actually take?
Forty minutes, not the fifteen or thirty the page also claims. Fifteen minutes covers the mixing and rolling, and the bake adds twenty-five on top of that. Allow a full hour if you are grating the cheese yourself.
Is it really three ingredients?
Four, once you count the milk, and you will almost certainly need it. The dough looks dry on first mixing and that is normal, but if it will not hold a shape it needs liquid. Keep the milk nearby rather than treating it as optional.
Can I use less Bisquick?
Some people do, and one reader cut it to a single cup to taste more sausage and cheese. Two cups gives the softer, more biscuit-like ball, which is the traditional version. Less mix means a denser, meatier result that browns faster.
What do people dip them in?
Honey mustard and ranch are the standard answers, though warm maple syrup has a following in the comments. Sweet against salty works surprisingly well, so a spoon of sparkling holiday jam does the same job as the syrup. Plain sharp mustard is underrated here.
Can I serve these at breakfast?
They were built for Christmas morning as much as for parties, and they hold at room temperature. Set them out with homemade candied pecans and fruit so there is something sweet alongside. Reheat in an air fryer at 350F for five minutes to crisp the outside.
The source page gives three different total times: 15 minutes in its opening paragraph, 30 minutes in its title, and 40 minutes on its recipe card. It is also titled as a 3-ingredient recipe while listing four, with milk needed in most batches. Nutrition is as published by the source, is automatically calculated, and should be treated as an approximation.
