Italian Sausage Balls With Bisquick Recipe

If you've never had sausage balls with Bisquick mix, you're really missing out on an old-school classic. Savory, cheesy, and shareable, everyone will fight over these before they even hit the table! These easy-to-love meatballs come together in about ten minutes and only require a handful of ingredients. Using Bisquick is a reliable shortcut for some recipes, like classic pancakes, buttermilk biscuits, or even an easy chicken cobbler. 

These sausage balls can be prepared and baked in under an hour, making them a super easy appetizer to add to your recipe arsenal for last-minute needs. They're the perfect snack for holiday gatherings, potlucks, work events, or any other social function where food is welcome. Make a large batch and warm them up right before the event, then serve them on a platter with a homemade honey mustard sauce on the side for the perfect pairing.

To make a batch of Italian sausage balls with Bisquick, you'll need some pantry staples plus a few extra items. For the main part of the recipe, 1 pound of ground hot or mild Italian sausage is needed. Bisquick is the secret ingredient here, working as a binder and also lightening the texture of the sausage balls once they're baked. Whole milk and shredded cheddar cheese are also required. To amp up the flavor, you'll need ground paprika and garlic powder. Scallions (or chives) and parsley are chopped and added for freshness. Last but not least, to prepare the honey mustard dipping sauce you'll need some hot honey, mayonnaise, and Dijon mustard.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease it with cooking spray.

Add Bisquick, paprika, garlic powder, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Whisk together.

Add the sausage, cheese, parsley, scallions, and milk. Stir together with a wooden spoon until combined.

Divide the mixture into 24 pieces and roll into an even ball, about 2 inches each (around the size of a golf ball).

Place the sausage balls on the baking sheet, leaving an inch of space between.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, until golden brown.

Prepare the dipping sauce: add mayonnaise, mustard, and honey to a small bowl and stir together.

Serve the warm sausage balls on a platter with the honey mustard.

Whether for dietary reasons or just personal preference, you may be wondering if you can swap out the ground sausage (or other ingredients) for something else. Luckily, the answer is yes! This recipe is extremely flexible and forgiving, so almost any ground meat or meat substitute will work and produce great results. If you want something a little leaner, 1 pound of ground turkey or ground chicken will swap in perfectly with no other changes to the recipe needed. 

For a meatless or vegan option, substitute a plant-based ground meat alternative in an equal amount. Replace whole milk with non-dairy milk and cheddar cheese with dairy-free shredded cheese to make the base recipe completely vegan. For a vegan dipping sauce, try using a vegan mayonnaise and agave or maple syrup instead of honey. Regardless of what you choose to substitute the ground sausage with, the recipe will come out just as good as the original version.

Since Italian sausage balls with Bisquick are such a party-pleasing dish, it makes perfect sense to make them ahead. Simply follow the recipe steps 1 through 6, but after baking the sausage balls, allow them to fully cool to room temperature before storing. This will only take about 30 minutes. Once cooled, at to a food storage container with a lid and refrigerate for up to 2 days. The honey mustard sauce can also be mixed up and kept in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container.

When you're ready to serve the sausage balls, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and preheat the oven to 375 F. Place the sausage balls on the baking sheet and bake them for 12 to 14 minutes, until warmed through. They could also be microwaved for 2 to 3 minutes, but baking them again will produce a better texture. Stir up the honey mustard again before serving.