Pimento Cheese Sausage Balls

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The ultimate Pimento Cheese Sausage Balls recipe made completely from scratch. No Bisquick allowed - just pure, cheesy, savory, slightly spicy comfort food magic.

Prep Time12

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: made from scratch, make ahead, southern

Servings: sausage balls

Calories: 86kcal

Author: Chuckie Hessong

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons butter cubed and chilled
1 pound pork sausage
1 ½ cups pimento cheese spread
2 Tablespoons green onion sliced
1 Tablespoon jalapeno seeded and minced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350℉. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in cubed butter until pea sized.
2 cups flour, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 2 Tablespoons butter
Add sausage, pimento cheese spread, green onion, and jalapeno. Mix with your hands until evenly combined. Do not overmix.
1 pound pork sausage, 1 ½ cups pimento cheese spread, 2 Tablespoons green onion, 1 Tablespoon jalapeno
Roll into 1 inch balls. Bake on parchment paper lined baking sheets for 22 to 24 minutes or until light golden brown and firm. Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Sausage Temperature is Non-Negotiable: Do not try to mix fridge-cold pork sausage into your dry ingredients. Let it sit out for 20 to 30 minutes to reach room temperature first. Stiff, cold meat forces you to overhandle the mixture, which overworks the flour's gluten and makes your sausage balls tough instead of tender.
For Uniform Baking Use a Scoop: To ensure every single sausage ball cooks evenly at the exact same rate, use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out the dough. Consistent sizing means you won't have small ones drying out while larger ones stay undercooked in the center.
3. Pimento Cheese Thickness: Use a thick, premium pimento cheese spread (ideally a homemade batch). If your pimento cheese has too much loose, watery mayonnaise, it will throw off the flour ratio and cause the balls to spread out flat and greasy on the baking sheet.
How to Freeze Unbaked (The Party Hack): Scoop and roll the dough into balls, arrange them on a baking sheet, and freeze them solid for 1 hour. Transfer the frozen balls to a zip-top freezer bag for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, bake them straight from frozen at 350°F - just add an extra 3 to 5 minutes to the total baking time!
Freezing Baked Leftovers: Let cooked sausage balls cool completely on a wire rack. Freeze them in a single layer on a sheet pan, then transfer to a freezer bag. Reheat them from frozen on a baking sheet at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes until sizzling.

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