Sriracha Cheddar Sausage Balls

If you make one new recipe for this year’s Big Game, make it these Sriracha Sausage Cheddar Balls! A from scratch kicked up take on the Southern classic cheddar sausage balls recipe that’s totally kid approved.

This is a sponsored conversation on behalf of Johnsonville Sausage; all opinions and text are my own. Thanks for supporting me and the brands I love!

No, I’m not from the South — I’m born and raised in the heart of Ohio. But these Sriracha Cheddar Sausage Balls are totally one of my favorite small bites for game day!

Honestly, I didn’t even realize sausage balls were a Southern thing until recently, but it all seems to make sense now. I first had them many years ago at a tailgate party hosted by a friend who was fresh out of the Navy. I assume that he picked up the recipe while he was stationed down South, but regardless of how he came by it, I’m just SO glad that he introduced me to it.

How To Make Sausage Balls

If you’re not familiar with sausage balls, they’re typically a mixture of ground sausage, store-bought baking mix and shredded cheddar cheese, which is a totally valid way to make them. But I prefer to make my sausage cheese balls from scratch:

Sausage

Okay, so I don’t make the sausage from scratch… I buy Johnsonville Ground Italian Sausage. It comes in both mild and hot varieties, and both would be equally delicious in this recipe. I picked up the mild ground sausage because it’s all my store had in stock, but I would have absolutely gone for the hot variety if they’d had it. It all depends on your tolerance for spicy foods.

Baking Mix From Scratch

For this recipe, there really is no significant time savings in using a store-bought baking mix versus just adding the individual ingredients. If you really want to, you can use 1 1/2 cups of your favorite baking mix in lieu of the flour, salt, baking powder, and butter, but I like having complete control over the ingredients I use. Either way, don’t forget the pepper!

PRO TIP: Another option is to keep a batch of this homemade Bisquick on hand! It substitutes 1:1 for any store-bought baking mix.

Shredded Cheese

I like a good sharp cheddar cheese in my sausage cheese balls, so I buy a block and grate it myself. One of these days I’ll invest in a food processor (recommendations are welcome!), but for now I’m fine with grating it by hand. I don’t recommend using packaged shredded cheese for this recipe because the cellulose (what they coat the cheese with to keep it from sticking together) doesn’t play nicely with the other ingredients and can cause an odd texture.

Tips For Making The Best Sausage Cheddar Balls

• Shred your own cheese. As I mentioned, packaged shredded cheese produces an odd texture, so spend a few minutes grating a block of sharp cheddar.
• Use your stand mixer. Using a stand mixer on the lowest stage will incorporate all of the ingredients much more quickly and thoroughly, without getting your hands dirty.
• Portion the sausage balls with a small cookie scoop. My cookie scoop is one of the most-used gadgets in my kitchen! Everything turns out nicely uniform in size.
• Line your pan with parchment paper. This is less about easy cleanup and more about preventing the bottoms from burning before the top is completely cooked through.
• Drain on paper towels. Transfer the cooked sausage cheddar balls to a plate lined with paper towels before arranging them for serving to soak up the excess grease from the sausage.
• Make ahead and freeze. Make a batch of these Sriracha sausage cheddar balls ahead of time and freeze them raw. You can then bake them as needed from their frozen state! Just add a few extra minutes to the cooking time.

I’ve always eaten my sausage cheddar balls with a squirt of Sriracha sauce on top. I just love the pop of heat and flavor! So recently I decided to try incorporating the Sriracha into my regular recipe for sausage balls, and it turned out to be AMAZING.

I still like to add even more on top, but even my kids agreed that adding it before cooking made these sausage balls extra flavorful (and not TOO hot for their more sensitive taste buds).

Judging by how quickly they disappeared, I’ll be getting requests to make them again for the Big Game on Sunday!

If you’re cooking for a game day crowd, I highly recommend doubling or even tripling this recipe. These babies will FLY off the plate!