This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Cream Cheese Sausage Balls are little savory bites of heaven that pack a real flavor punch. Made with pork sausage, Bisquick, cheese, and seasonings, these classic Bisquick Sausage Balls are a classic appetizer that everyone will love!
Sausage Balls with Cream Cheese are a delicious and easy appetizer to make for parties. They’re a perfect finger food for entertaining and fit in with other favorites like Greek Salad Pinwheels and Spinach Artichoke Dip!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
Trisha Yearwood calls these “sausage hors d’oeuvres,” and we have known them as Bisquick Sausage Balls or Sausage Cheese Balls. I’ve been making them for at least 10 years and these savory little bites are always a crowd pleaser.
Not only are these Cream Cheese Sausage Balls super tasty, but they are incredibly easy to make. To help keep them moist and tender, I added cream cheese and for flavor, a few extra seasonings.
Ingredients for Cream Cheese Sausage Balls
- Ground pork country sausage – this is my favorite because it’s savory and not spicy. Feel free to use other flavors of ground sausage.
- Cream cheese – Full fat, block-style cream cheese. This keeps the sausage balls from getting dry.
- Cheddar cheese – Freshly shredded off the block melts the best so I recommend it every time a recipe calls for shredded cheese. You can experiment with other types of cheese, like colby jack or mozzarella.
- Bisquick – If you don’t have any in your pantry, try this homemade bisquick mix.
- Seasonings – Garlic powder, onion powder, dried sage, dried parsley.
- Milk – Just a splash to moisten everything and help the balls stay together. Any kind of milk will do, except sweetened.
How to Make Cream Cheese Sausage Balls
- Combine the ingredients in a large bowl. I recommend using a stand mixer or a hand mixer to combine the ingredients as the mixture is quite thick and sticky.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat, non-stick foil, or parchment paper and form the sausage balls either with your hands or using a cookie scoop for uniform sized sausage balls.
- Arrange them on the baking sheet close together but not touching. Because they don’t flatten out as they bake you can fit a lot more on the baking sheet than if you were making cookies.
- They take about half an hour to bake and you can eat them pretty much right away. Be sure to have some Barbecue Sauce or Honey Mustard Sauce on hand for dipping!
FAQs
Absolutely! I highly recommend flash freezing before storing. Once they are fully cooled, arrange them on a baking sheet and pop it into the freezer. Freeze for an hour, then transfer to a freezer bag. They will keep in the freezer for about 6 months. Make sure to fully thaw before reheating.
You can prep a few hours ahead of time and then bake just before serving. Make the sausage mixture and scoop the balls out onto the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated for up to 8 hours. Let the sheet tray sit out while you preheat the oven and then bake as directed.
If you don’t have any Bisquick on hand but are really craving these delicious sausage balls, you can mix up a few dry ingredients to substitute the package mix. For a batch of homemade Bisquick, you will need 6 cups of flour, 3 tablespoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a cup of butter OR vegetable shortening. Mix the dry ingredients in a food processor until blended, then pulse in the fat (butter or shortening) until it resembles a cornmeal texture. Store mix in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
Serving Suggestions
We love to dip! I serve these Sausage Cheese Balls with barbecue sauce (Sweet Baby Ray’s Spicy BBQ Sauce is our favorite bottled). These would also be delicious with ranch dressing or a honey mustard dip. We usually serve them with fancy toothpicks, but these little bamboo picks are adorable too
Storage and Reheating
Storing leftovers: Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container or Ziploc freezer bag. They can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days
Freezing: Cool completely and stash in a freezer bag for up to 6 months. Thaw fully before reheating.
Reheating: Bake at 375°F until heated all the way through; 8-10 minutes. Or, wrap in a damp towel and microwave for 30-60 seconds. The damp towel will keep them from drying out.
Top Tips
- Spicy version – Use a hot sausage or add some red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to the mixture for a punch of heat.
- Line your pan – It’s important to remember to line your baking sheet with foil or parchment paper, or they will stick to the pan.
- Use your hands or an electric mixer – The sausage mixture is thick and can be difficult to mix with a spoon. I recommend using an electric mixer, or just dig in and use your hands.
Give Me More Appetizers!
- Grape Jelly Meatballs
- Crab Dip
- Fried Pickles
- Jalapeno Popper Dip
- Cheddar Bacon Ranch Bean Dip
- Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
Cream Cheese Sausage Balls
Ingredients
- 16 ounce package ground pork country sausage
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 1/4 cups Bisquick
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 3 tablespoons milk
- Fresh chopped parsley for garnish if desired
- Optional: Barbecue sauce, Ranch or Honey Mustard sauce for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick foil, silicone mat or parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine ingredients in a large mixing bowl. If you have a stand mixer, use it, or use your hands for mixing.
- Shape pork mixture into one-inch balls and place onto the foil lined baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated 375 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve warm, garnished with fresh minced parsley if desired and your favorite dipping sauce, like BBQ sauce, ranch or honey mustard.
Served as an appetizer on Christmas day and my family RAVED about them. “Don’t lose that recipe”, “You make the best appetizers”. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I froze ahead and reheated. Delicious!! Served with ranch, BBQ and blue cheese dips.
You are so welcome MNGail! Awesome feedback, thanks for stopping by.
These were delicious! Made them for an appetizer fir Christmas. Thank you for sharing.
You are so welcome gailani! Thanks for stopping by.
What is Bisquick?
Bisquick is prepackaged mix made up of a combination of flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening or butter. It’s found in most American grocery stores but can be homemade using a recipe that are readily available online.
Can I use ground pork instead of country pork?
I’m so sorry I missed your comment – I’m sure you’ve already made it, but I wouldn’t substitute with regular ground pork. The breakfast style country pork has a higher fat ratio and may not work as well.
can u freeze the sausage balls raw?
You can, but I wouldn’t do so for longer than a month, and make sure to fully thaw in the fridge and bake fully. Pork can be tricky.
Can you use gluten free bisquick mix? Thank you.
I have not worked with gluten free but I’m sure it will work fine.
This is a wonderful recipe! I add Parmesan cheese, a little onion/garlic salt, and MORE cheese! You can never have enough cheese! Hah! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
You are so welcome Lori! Thanks for stopping by.
The cream cheese makes all the difference! I used sharp cheddar cheese & one hot & one mild sausage. Only had 1 1/2 cream cheese so I added an extra TBL spoon of milk. Perfect!
Awesome feedback Mary! Thanks for stopping by.
Much better than my old recipe. The cream cheese is a wonderful addition! Thanks!
You are so welcome wendy! Thanks for stopping by.
Made these today. I was craving sausage cheddar ball but hubby doesn’t like them usually because he thinks they are too dry. This recipe was not and he enjoyed them & said he would definitely eat them if I made them again. I made them according to recipe and used medium cheddar, mild breakfast sausage, and whole milk. Next time I think I will use sharp cheddar and hot sausage to make the flavor “pop” more – we usually don’t have these with any dipping sauce. Oh, I also used parchment paper to line the cookie sheet instead of foil – worked well and the bottoms of the sausage balls didn’t get too dark. Recipe is definitely a keeper & very versatile. 🙂
Hi Neko, thank you so much for sharing your feedback. Thanks for stopping by.
I’m thinking of making these for a Sunday morning breakfast for my family but they are asking for a good sausage gravy for dipping
Any idea or thought on that
Try our sausage gravy recipe: https://www.yellowblissroad.com/sausage-gravy/
I baked the sausage balls as directed but the bottoms were burnt. Corrected second batch by lowering the temperature and minutes. Same result. Burnt bottoms. Help.
Hi Grace, unfortunately without being in the kitchen with you, it’s hard to discern what went wrong. It’s possible that the oven temperature is off a bit (ovens can vary in temperature by up to 20 degrees or more) or that the size of the sausage balls differed from the recipe.
If they are burning.. you may be using a DARK metal pan which the recipes should always be lowered 25 Degrees F. Glass and light metal stay at normal temp *(Retired Foods and Nutrition teacher here)
This is different from standard cheese balls, but I going to try them for bridge. Sounds good. Hope so!
They are a little different and so much tastier!
Do need to in refrigerator after baked.
Yes, store any leftovers in the fridge.
Is the sausage precooked or raw when it’s mixed in?
It is raw, straight out of the package.
I just made these sausage balls using this recipe, the BEST ever! The milk (which I have never used) really helped them to be so easy to work with and yummy, if you have a stand mixer as mentioned in instructions use it! can not be overstated, makes it so easy and mixed thoroughly.
Thank you Jo Ann!