Sausage balls might be technically breakfast food, but I think they are all-day any-day appropriate! I love serving these at parties with heavy appetizers or when I want to cook a good Saturday breakfast for a crowd! They aren’t gorgeous to look at, but they’re always one of the quickest things to get eaten because people know they’re good! I’ve taken the traditional formula for sausage balls and elevated it with a couple substitutions:
If you don’t like Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay biscuits, you’re a monster. I hardly ever recommend using a box mix for anything but sausage balls are a side item and ain’t nobody got time to make the biscuit part from scratch. Cue the Red Lobster biscuit mix. Next up is Neese’s Hot Country Sausage. Neese’s is the OG North Carolina Sausage and you know I like it spicy. Once it’s mixed in with the other ingredients it’s not actually very spicy, just mild spice – so don’t worry! But they offer non-spicy versions too if you want to be like that…
I also used cream cheese and Ashe County cheddar cheese which is another North Carolina product. Quality cheese is worth paying a little bit more for. And cream cheese makes everything better, right?!
The prep for these sausage balls is stupid easy. Put all the ingredients into your stand mixer with a paddle attachment. This will save you so much heartache. But if you don’t have one of these mixers (which I highly recommend that you buy…) you can mix it by hand. I would actually recommend using your hands and getting messy if you aren’t using a mixer. Don’t try this with a hand mixer or any kind of whisk attachment. That won’t work!
Then just roll them into golf sized balls, place them on parchment, and bake.
The last step of this is just trying not to eat them all as you transfer them onto a serving dish….
My super cute niece helped me take these photos by holding the dish for me. She loves sausage and really liked these sausage balls, so they are officially kid approved!
Cheddar Bay Sausage Balls
Ingredients
- 1 lb sausage (spicy or mild)
- 8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 11 oz Box Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit mix and seasoning packet
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all ingredients (including the seasoning packet from the biscuit mix) and mix on medium speed until combined and homogeneous.
- Roll the mixture into golf ball sizes and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until browned and cooked through but not burnt.
- Remove from pan and place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Serve hot or room temp.
