Sausage Stuffing Balls
Sausage Stuffing Balls are an easy appetizer with all of the flavors of the season. Cheese, sausage, bacon, and stuffing are rolled together for one perfect bite!
This stuffing ball recipe is a delectable holiday spin on a traditional sausage balls recipe and you only need 4 simple ingredients!
This version takes your favorite Thanksgiving stuffing and combines it with sausage, bacon. and cheese and bakes them into little balls of deliciousness.
The great thing about this sausage stuffing ball recipe is that you can use any stuffing you like. I love it with my apple pecan stuffing or southern cornbread dressing but you can also use a box of stuffing.
Serve them as an appetizer at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner along with some air fryer pigs in a blanket, cranberry goat cheese log, and fresh cranberry salsa and let the festivities begin!
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Ingredients You’ll Need
- Breakfast Sausage – You’ll use ground breakfast sausage for this recipe. We use pork sausage but you could substitute with turkey or chicken sausage as well. Any breakfast sausage will do as long as it is uncooked and ground.
- Bacon – Everything is better with bacon, right?
- Stuffing– No breadcrumbs needed for these sausage balls. Instead we use stuffing. To keep it simple this recipe uses Stove Top Stuffing but you can also use your homemade stuffing if you wish. The stuffing will need to be fully cooked prior to use in the sausage balls.
- Cheddar Cheese– Everything is better with cheese and these sausage balls are no different. It also helps to bind the sausage balls together.
Some people like to add extra onion, celery, garlic, or herbs and spices like fresh sage or parsley. We don’t add them in our recipe because we feel you get enough of those flavors from the Stove Top or homemade dressing.
How to Make Stuffing Balls with Stove Top Stuffing
Step 1 – Prep – Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Step 2 – Cook the bacon – You’ll be adding cooked bacon to your uncooked sausage. Our pro tip is to cook all of your bacon at the same time by cooking it in the oven! Place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and bake in your preheated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes. When you’re done, remove your bacon and let the grease cool on the aluminum foil. Once it solidifies, roll up the foil and throw it away. Easy!
Step 3 – Prepare the stuffing. Make the stuffing according to the package instructions. If you are using homemade stuffing you can skip to the next step.
Step 4 – Make the sausage balls – Combine the sausage, fully cooked bacon, fully cooked stuffing, and cheese in a large bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined. Roll into balls; approximately 1 heaping tablespoon each. Place sausage balls on prepared baking sheet.
Step 5 – Bake. Bake for 25 minutes, or until cooked through. If you use your own homemade stuffing it may have slightly more or less moisture than the store-bought stuffing, so they may need a slightly longer cook time. You know a sausage ball is fully cooked when the internal temp is 165 degrees F.
Serve with toothpicks and a side of cranberry sauce for dipping and watch them disappear. These little bites of holiday goodness the perfect appetizer for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve!
Can I Use Homemade Stuffing?
Yes! You’ll use approximately 3 cups of homemade stuffing.
If you use your own homemade stuffing recipe it may have slightly more or less moisture than the Stove Top so they may need a slightly longer cook time. Your sausage balls will be fully cooked when the internal temperature is 165 degrees F.
How Do I Keep My Stuffing Balls From Falling Apart?
Sausage balls will fall apart if they are too dry. Make sure to get your ingredient portions accurate to help prevent having too much breading in your mix.
Also make sure you are kneading your ingredients until they are an even consistency. If you notice your stuffing balls are falling apart as you are shaping them, you can add a little bit of water to your mix.
Can You Prepare Stuffing Balls in Advance?
Yes! These stuffing balls are so amazing because they not only taste great, but they can also be made ahead of time and frozen.
How to Freeze – Following the recipe instructions combine all your ingredients in a bowl and roll the mixture into balls and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Then, instead of putting the baking sheet in the oven, place it in the freezer. Let the sausage balls partially freeze (about 30 minutes) and then remove them from the baking sheet and place them in an airtight container. Leave them in the freezer until you are ready to bake them.
When you’re ready to bake them, place them on a lined baking sheet and then bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
How Long Do Stuffing Balls Last in the Fridge?
You can store your stuffing balls in an airtight container for 3 – 5 days.
Can Stuffing Balls be Frozen?
You can store your stuffing balls in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
How to Store and Reheat
Store your stuffing balls in an airtight container.
You can keep them in the fridge for 3-5 days. To reheat, preheat oven to 350 degrees F, place balls on baking sheet. Heat for 15-20 minutes or until warmed through.
You can keep them in the freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat, place on baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until warmed through.
Looking for More Easy Appetizers?
- Quick and Easy Crab Balls
- Classic Cheese Ball Recipe
- Southern Deviled Eggs
- Pesto Cream Cheese Spread
- Stuffed Mushrooms with Sausage
- Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
- More Appetizer Recipes…
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Stuffing Balls with Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground breakfast sausage
- 8 slices Bacon, cooked and diced
- 6 ounces Boxed stuffing mix , this equals approximately 3 cups of homemade stuffing
- 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Prepare boxed stuffing according to package instructions. If using homemade stuffing you can skip to the next step.
- Combine sausage, cooked bacon, cooked stuffing, and cheese in a large bowl. Mixing until thoroughly combined.
- Roll into balls, approximately 1 heaping tablespoon each. Make sure to pack the balls tightly so they hold together as they bake.
- Place sausage balls on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until cooked through.
Can you use stove top stuffing?
Yes! I did this recently and they were delicious!
Has anybody made these and reheated them? I want to bring them for a potluck at work but we don’t have an oven. Thinking about making the night before and reheating in a crockpot? Just worried about them drying out or burning in crockpot.
Thank you for your response.
I was wondering the same. I’m making today, cooking tomorrow & taking in crockpot for pot luck tomorrow evening
What a great way to use up the left-over stuffing from Thanksgiving. I’m going to make these and then have them for Christmas holidays.
Sausage is left raw prior to going in the oven correct?
That is correct!
Can you cook sausage first?
I would not recommend that. The sausage helps bind all the ingredients together.
Can i use mild Italian sausage ?
Yes!
Can you make these without the bacon?
Yes! It may reduce the number of balls you end up with but not by many.
My dad doesn’t eat cheese, I’m wondering what simple ingredient I can substitute to achieve the same outcome for binding?
Thank you
Try adding an egg. That will help bind it together.
You can substitute vegan cheese for the cheese. Works great!
Are these served hot from the oven or can they be served at room temperature on an appetizer table?
They can be served room temperature!
I’m not sure what I did differently… Mine were VERY greasy and flattened in the oven while baking. They taste yummy, but nowhere being a ball shape.
I brushed with olive oil and the oil pooled at the bottom of the meatball causing them to spread and thin out. I plan to make another batch tomorrow without the olive oil and hopefully they stand up better! They are very good, though!!
Mine went completely flat 🤦🏼♀️ Why?
Mine flattened out a bit- thoughts?
We followed this recipe EXACTLY as it says and it was a disaster! The parchment paper was pooled with grease and the balls were gooey and flat. We switched the oven to broil to try to crisp them up a bit and to drive up some grease. That didn’t work well so we took the pan out of the oven and took the balls off of the parchment paper turned them over and put them back in the oven on broil to do the bottom side. That still didn’t work too we that still didn’t work because grease was still pouring out of them even on broil. We took them off of the baking sheet and had to soak all of the grease up with napkins off of each ball. We are going to let them air dry for a couple of hours before our party and see if that helps.
Try staying them with Pam Olive oil instead, maybe less greasy.
I put mine on a rack in the air fryer & they turned out perfect, maybe give that cooking method a try…just place a baking sheet under the rack to catch the grease & it should work perfectly!
What a great idea! I love my air fryer I’m going to have to give this a try.
How long did you put them in the air fryer for?
These were a huge hit at my party! I used an extra old cheddar, for a sharper flavour and used turkey stove top stuffing. Will be making these again and again!
Do you think I could leave out the bacon without compromising the taste too much? We are vegetarians and will use soysage. ???
Yes you can leave it out. It will still be flavorful 🙂
I made these today and they’re amazing! We’re going to try maybe some spicy sausage and maple bacon the next time but they’re perfect as is. I did not brush with oil (not intentionally lol) and they were perfectly browned.
I made these tonight for our Friendsgiving dinner on Sunday. They turned out perfectly BUT I did add about half a cup of bisquick because I was afraid they would end up flat like the other reviewers. I’m partial to making the normal sausage balls which calls for bisquick, cheese, & sausage, so I figured it was worth a shot. I’m glad I did! & I didn’t change a thing about the recipe, just added in the bisquick.
Thanks for the recipe ladies!
Thanks for the tip I’m going to give this a try. So glad you enjoyed them!
If you’re using leftover stuffing instead, how much would you use (how many cups or whatever)? I thought this would be a great way to use our leftover stuffing….I love my stuffing recipe but it’s not really my favorite reheated. Thanks!
Hi Tara, it’s about 3 cups of prepared stuffing.
I love these sausage balls! I make them all the time.
I made these tonight using stove top and they were delicious!
So glad you liked them!
Must you use the cheese?
I do think the cheese helps bind it to some extent but you could probably skip it. I might add just a bit more stuffing (maybe do 8 ounces instead of 6). I think it will work 🙂
I wasn’t paying attention and cooked the sausage first. So I threw in an egg and skipped the bacon. Turned out great!
I read through the reviews and copied the recipe exactly but added a half cup of bisquick and sprayed PAM on top of the balls. Turned out AMAZING! Not greasy and balls kept their form! Was a HUGE hit!
I have leftover sausage stuffing, can I skip the additional sausage and still have them turnout?
I’m sure what the ratio of sausage to stuffing you have. If it seems like our recipe it may work.
⁹can these be made the night before and baked in the am!?
How could this recipe be made keto friendly?
You can make stuffing using keto bread or you can try subbing out the stuffing with crushed pork rinds.
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How far ahead can you make the mix until ready to cook?
You could make these 1-2 days ahead of time and store mixture in fridge.
This is good to know…then when ready to bake, form balls and put in oven?
Great recipe,,thank you for sharing! I’ve made several batches now. I’ve used both homemade stuffing and the boxed mix,,all has turned out perfect. Whatever I have leftover that I dont make I just freeze and cook on a later date,,,thumbs up,,7 yr old loves them !
You can also make these using the stuffing right out of the box (uncooked). I’m going to try your recipe next time though (and cook the stuffing). I’m not worried about “too greasy” ’cause I love greasy. Also, these are good made with half dry stuffing and half Bisquick.
Do you think dried cranberries would be good in these?
I think so.
Do I bake the stuffing?
We used stovetop stuffing and made it according to the instructions on the package before adding it to the sausage