Cheddar Bay Sausage Balls

These Cheddar Bay Sausage Balls combine the savory flavors of sausage with the cheesy Cheddar goodness and Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay Biscuit Mix. Perfect for any occasion, they are easy to make and sure to be a hit.

This 4-ingredient 30-minute recipe makes easy sausage balls that are notoriously one of the best party appetizer ideas for gameday and are just the perfect comfort food for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning.

It is a culinary combination of two things you may love: meaty sausage balls and garlic butter Cheddar Bay Biscuits, which make this appetizer filling, savory, and finger-licking good.

Why You’ll Love It

• Easy and quick to make, and has a long freezer life which makes it a good make-ahead dish.
• Versatile – works as a finger food for any party or a savory breakfast on Thanksgiving morning.
• I have to warn you, that these cheesy sausage balls are addictive! You may need to double the recipe to make a big batch for a party (my recipe makes 24 balls).

Ingredients Notes

• Ground breakfast sausage. You can use regular breakfast sausage or spicy sausage – it is a personal preference! In this recipe we use uncooked sausage, so you don’t have to pre-cook it or buy cooked sausages.
• Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit Mix – 1 package of dry, uncooked biscuit mix will serve as a binder for the sausage mix. The biscuit baking mix includes the garlic herb blend packet, set it aside, we will use it for topping.
• Sharp cheddar cheese – You can use pre-shredded cheese or buy a block and grate it at home.
• Unsalted butter, melted (for topping). I use warm melted garlic butter to top the sausage balls right out of the oven – this step makes the best sausage balls ever. You can use cream cheese instead of butter too.

You’ll Also Need

• Cookie scoop or a tablespoon to shape sausage cheese balls.
• Large bowl – to mix the sausage mixture.
• Baking sheet – to cook the sausage balls. Either lined with parchment paper or greased with non-stick cooking spray.

How To Make Cheddar Bay Sausage Balls

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it.
2. Combine the raw ground sausage, Red lobster biscuit mix (do not prepare the biscuit mix as directed on the package; use it dry), and shredded cheddar cheese in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add 1/2 cup of water to the mixture and mix until it is well combined but still sticky.
4. Form the sausage ball mixture into 1-inch balls using a tablespoon or small cookie scoop, and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the sausage balls are golden brown and cooked through. Check after 15-18 minutes to see how done the balls are. Sometimes they take less baking time. The bigger the sausage balls are, the longer they will take to cook thoroughly and brown.
6. Alternatively, you can bake the Cheddar Bay sausage balls in the air fryer at 350° degrees F for 10-15 minutes, turning the balls every 5 minutes.
7. While the sausage balls are baking, melt the butter and stir in the garlic herb blend from the biscuit mix.
8. Once baked, remove them from the oven to paper towels to remove extra grease, and immediately brush with the melted butter and garlic mixture.
9. Serve immediately or allow the sausage balls to cool slightly before serving them as a party appetizer.

What To Eat With Cheddar Bay Sausage Balls?

These sausage balls are amazing finger food and normally call for just some dips. However, leftovers will make a great meal if paired with simple comforting garnish.

Here are some ideas I love to serve Cheddar bay sausage balls with:

• Dipping sauce: honey mustard, spicy mayo, ranch dressing, BBQ sauce, or cheese sauce (or Queso).
• Garnish: scrambled eggs for breakfast, potatoes or mac n cheese for lunch or dinner.

Storage

You can store leftover sausage balls in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-4 days.

Reheat in the oven or air fryer shortly to not let them dry out, but don’t use the microwave, as the balls will turn rubbery.

Sausage balls freeze well. Place them in a freezer bag and store them in the freezer for 2-3 months.

Make Ahead

This recipe is amazing for making ahead during the holiday season.

You can shape the sausage balls and freeze them for 2 months until you want to cook them. Pop the uncooked sausage balls on the baking sheet into the freezer to flash freeze them first, then transfer them into a freezer bag and store them.

When ready to bake, just put them back on baking sheets and follow the baking time in the recipe.

Substitutions

• Meat substitutions. The original recipe calls for a ground pork sausage kinda like Italian sausage. It is rich, fatty, and delicious. Maple sausage is also made of pork but contains more sugar. But you can use any type of sausage! Turkey sausage will make a leaner, healthier option. For more flavors, you can get cheese sausage or jalapeno cheese sausage (one of my favorites). Ground beef sausage balls are also absolutely delicious.
• Cheese options. I use sharp cheddar cheese for bold pronounced flavors complementing the pork. A close substitute is Pepper Jack cheese. Parmesan and Monterey Jack work great too. If you love cheesy balls, add more cheese than I do.
• Spice it up. To make some spicy sausage balls, either use hot sausage or add red pepper flakes and/or cayenne pepper to the mix.
• To jazz up the sausage balls mix in some chopped chives or regular onion, bacon bits,
• To make it creamy, add buttermilk or cream cheese to the sausage and dry cheddar bay mix. Cream Cheese Sausage Balls are just as delicious and very moist.

Tips To Make The Best Sausage Balls

• Making sausage balls you can do everything by hand or use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. It will help you mix the sausage balls mixture.
• The sausage balls are done when the internal temperature is 160-170° F.
• Sausage balls can turn out dry if you add too much biscuit mix and bake them longer than needed.
• I would not skip the butter wash at the end, but if you’re in a rush, you can mix in the garlic herb blend directly into the sausage balls.
• If the first time you made this recipe, the cheese sausage balls turn out too dry for you, add some milk to the mix next time.

Popular Questions

What If I Don’t Have Red Lobster Mix?

You can easily replace the Red lobster biscuits mix with regular Biscuit mix (like Bisquick).

The Red lobster biscuit mix comes with a garlic herb seasoning packet, to substitute this, use garlic powder and dried herbs (parsley is best).

What Is In Cheddar Bay Biscuit Mix?

Store-bought Cheddar Bay Biscuit mix comes with a biscuit mix and garlic herb seasoning packet.

The biscuit mix contains enriched bleached flour and palm and soybean oil. Less than 2% of the ingredients are salt, baking soda, buttermilk, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, dextrose, ascorbic acid, and enzymes.

Garlic Herb Blend contains garlic and onion Powder, Salt, Onion Powder, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Torula Yeast, Dehydrated Parsley, Sugar, Butter Oil, Corn Oil, and some additives and artificial flavors (maltodextrin, Silicon Dioxide, Malic Acid).

Regular biscuit package mix is not safe for celiac people and those with food allergies as it can have eggs, nuts, wheat, milk, and soy.

However, gluten-free Red Lobster biscuit mix is available at the grocery stores, so you can use it to make this recipe gluten-free.

If you love this easy appetizer recipe, you’re going to love these other great snacks too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Great Sausage Recipes

Sausage Cheese Dip

Slow Cooker Sweet & Spicy Sausage

Boudin King Cake

Smoked Queso Dip

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