Name: Italian Sausage Balls
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Italian, American
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

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:

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

Then just serve this with your favorite pizza or marinara 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

Pin This Recipe for Italian Sausage Balls for Later

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.