Italian sausage, herbs, garlic, and a 5 cheese blend. Perfect for Game Day or anytime you want a cheesy, meaty snack. Serve right out of the oven or make ahead and reheat later.
A perfect 2-bite (or 1-bite, I don’t judge) morsel to dunk in your favorite marinara sauce. This recipe makes about 6 dozen! Enough Italian-inspired appetizers for the whole gang.
These appetizers are a variation of my Cheesy Sage Sausage Balls, which would also be a great Game Day app.
Start with a good quality bulk Italian sausage. You can find it near the bulk breakfast sausage. Look for a brand that is going to be lean and flavorful.
Also, the cheese I used was an Italian 5 cheese blend by Kraft. If your grocery store doesn’t have it, just use mozzarella instead.
The easiest way I’ve found to mix these appetizers is to use the dough hook on my KitchenAid . If you don’t have one they’re easily done by hand.
Start by cutting the sausage into 8-10 chunks. This makes it easier to mix together.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix them until they’re very well incorporated. Use the dough hook on your stand mixer or really get in there and mush them together with your hands. I warn you, mixing by hand is somewhat messy. But fun.
Use a cookie scoop to drop the dough onto parchment lined baking sheets. They don’t spread so you can squeeze quite a few on at a time.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes then dive right in.
Cheesy Italian Sausage Appetizer Bites are best served with your favorite marinara sauce.
Or…you can make them ahead and reheat them later. Instructions are in the recipe below.
Cheesy Italian Sausage Appetizer Bites
Ingredients
- 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
- 2 cups baking mix (such as Bisquick )
- 4 cups 16 ounces shredded Italian cheese blend or shredded mozzarella cheese ((such as Kraft))
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut uncooked sausage into 8-10 chunks.
- Thoroughly mix together the sausage and the rest of the ingredients using your hands or the dough hook of a stand mixer.
- Using a cookie scoop, drop sausage bites onto parchment lined baking sheets.
- Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Cool 4-5 minutes before serving.
- Serve warm with marinara sauce or see make ahead tips below.
Make-ahead tips: Bake as directed; cover and freeze. When completely frozen, store in zip-top freezer bags for up to a month. To reheat, place 8-10 bites on microwave safe plate and microwave on high power for 1-1 1/2 minutes.
Bake as directed; cover and freeze. When completely frozen, store in zip-top freezer bags for up to a month. To reheat, preheat oven to 350°. Place bites on parchment lined baking sheets and bake 10-12 minutes or until heated through.
Cover and refrigerate uncooked bites for up to 24 hours. Bake as directed.
Freeze uncooked bites and store in zip-top freezer bags up to 1 month. To reheat, preheat oven to 350°. Place frozen bites on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 25–30 minutes or until heated through.
