For as long as I can remember the one thing that I looked forward to on Christmas Eve was visiting family at my Uncle Steve’s house. The moment we walked in, the aroma of the amazing food would hit you. On top of the stove there was always several pans of warm, cheesy sausage balls. Of which, I would eat way too many. I’d also get to see and play with my cousins and open gifts and laugh with family. But the sausage balls are something I will never forget and I’m reminded of this memory every time I smell them cooking.
Food doesn’t have to be a center piece for parties or memorable moments but down here in the south, it always is. Is this a thing in other areas of the world? Food being the center piece for the laughter, joy and memories made during holidays?
My Uncle has since passed away but the memory of those sausage balls and wonderful moments will always remain. So each Christmas I make them for my kids. A few years ago, I got emotional making them because the smell of them was amazing but I knew I couldn’t ingest them. And it wasn’t until talking to a friend that I realized I could make my own gluten free baking mix but Bisquick was now making a gluten free mix as well!
Planning Stage
I knew I could find chicken or turkey sausage and I had recently discovered Daiya Dairy Free cheese shreds. I went out and bought all the ingredients and couldn’t wait to get home and try making them. The results were different – drier – but the nostalgia and flavor were still there. They were delicious.
I’ve spent some time tweaking the recipe over the years and as some people have found even with the original recipe, cream cheese is the answer. I added a bit of dairy free cream cheese to the recipe to help with the dryness. It worked like a charm. Poultry meat is just very lean and doesn’t add the same greasy texture as pork sausage, but the cream cheese helps.
The Recipe
The ingredients are simple, it’s more the amount of each that is the tricky part. Four ingredients total and you’ve got an amazing breakfast option.
In a small mixing bowl, you add all of the ingredients (see recipe below) and mix until all the cheese and dry ingredients are incorporated with the sausage.
Make sure your cream cheese is either room temperature or softened in the microwave. It will be hard to incorporate if it is still cold from the fridge.
When I first started making these years ago there was a local market that sold chicken sausage and it actually had a fairly good amount of fat in it which made these more moist. However, I haven’t been able to find the chicken sausage recently so I’ve started using Jennie-O turkey sausage.
This sausage does require the cream cheese because it contains less fat and comes out pretty dry if you don’t add the cream cheese.
Once all of the ingredients are incorporated well you can roll out your sausage balls and add them to your prepared sheet pan. Place them far enough apart so they won’t stick together as they cook but they won’t expand a whole lot so you can put them fairly close, maybe half to 1 inch apart at least.
Place in the preheated 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until cooked through. Serve warm!
Sausage Balls
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a sheet pan with a cooking mat or non-stick spray.
- Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl, use a spoon or your hand.
- Roll 1” balls and place on your sheet pan. These will expand a little but not too much so they can be placed pretty close together but not right next to one another.
- Once the oven is preheated, place your sausage balls in the oven and cook for 20 – 25 minutes or until done. These do not brown as easily as the regular ones do. Check for doneness in the center of one before removing from the oven.
- Serve warm or save for later. They are good warmed over as well!
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