For a great appetizer or snack, these sausage pizza balls are created from ground Italian sausage, baking mix, bell pepper, and mozzarella cheese. If preferred, omit the green bell peppers and onions.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Total Time: | 40 mins |
| Servings: | 10 |
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1 (16 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups baking mix
- 1 chopped green bell pepper
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup pizza sauce, divided
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon talian seasoning or to taste
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Dotdash Meredith Video Studio
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
- Mix Italian sausage, shredded mozzarella, baking mix, green bell pepper, yellow onion, ½ cup pizza sauce, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper together in a large mixing bowl until well combined.
- Roll sausage mixture into 1-inch balls; arrange on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake pizza balls in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 23 to 25 minutes. Serve hot with remaining pizza sauce for dipping.
- This recipe was tested in our test kitchen in September 2023 and updated to exclude water. The original recipe called for 1 cup.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 419 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 25 g |
| Cholesterol | 56 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 22 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Sodium | 1043 mg |
| Sugars | 6 g |
| Fat | 25 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I made these as an appetizer for a potluck gathering and they were a very big hit! Making them was super easy. I used disposable gloves and the largest bowl I own to completely combine all ingredients and used a small cookie scoop to spoon out the mixture onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
My Family really enjoyed them. I used flour instead of baking mix and added an egg to bind them together, and added an Italian mixed cheese blend of Parmessan, Mozzerella, and Asiago. I also only used half of my green pepper because it was huge, and half of an onion. I will make them again! I did not use any water!
It was tasty my kids loved it:)
I thought these were pretty good. Good thing, since the recipe makes a lot. I didn’t add all of the water or the baking mix right away just in case I didn’t need it all, but it turned out I did. It was a bit too wet without the second cup of baking mix. Instead of adding onions as is, I cooked them in a skillet with olive oil and garlic–needed it for another recipe as well, so I just added more and it worked well. I let it cool then tossed in with the rest. These balls do stick and are a bit greasy, although not as greasy as I expected. I tried to make them a few different ways, just to see: I browned in a skillet (not a good idea; they stick like crazy because of the cheese), baked on a drying rack on a cooking sheet (also not a good idea–they stick, even if you spray the rack, and they aren’t as greasy as I thought they would be) and sprayed the heck out of foil on a cookie sheet and baked that way. The recipe submitter is right–bake them on a cookie sheet. They do flatten more like cookies, probably because of the baking mix, but are still pretty tasty. The balls are easiest to make with a cookie scoop, and I wouldn’t bother making into balls since they flatten anyway, but I’ll try with bread crumbs next time I want more meatball like meatballs. You can eat them as appetizers or as we did on spaghetti. Hubs said they were like meatball subs without the bread. We enjoyed them, and it eased my craving for spaghetti and meatballs. Thanks for the recipe!
These were great, and I don’t think I tweaked the recipe much: sage breakfast sausage, some extra Italian seasoning & garlic powder, and I left out the onion and bell pepper for my 5yo. Based on other reviews, I didn’t use 1 cup water. I used 2-3 tablespoons extra sauce and enough water (2-4 tablespoons) to moisten well. I dropped by the teaspoonful onto parchment paper: no mess, no sticking!
I used the Exquisite Pizza Sauce and Italian Sausage- Tuscan Style recipes for the sauce and Italian sausage. Used a pampered chef cookie scoop to make the balls without the mess. They ended up more cookie shaped than spherical. Very tasty.
very very good…they were a big hit. I used the whole bottle of pizza sauce which was 14 oz..everyone loved them! a little messy to make but worth it
These were very good – made them for a football party, and the kids loved them (I omitted the green pepper). They looked a little odd, but tasted great!
This app was yummy to eat, but a mess to make. Very sticky.
I made these for a church get-together and they were a hit! Very easy to make and very good. I used hot Italian sausage and omitted the onion and green bell pepper.
I just took these out of the oven and tried them…fantastic. I deviated from the recipe some. I mixed hot and sweet Italian sausage, added only 1/2 green pepper, did’t add the water, and probably only added 1 1/2 C. of baking mix. I plan to freeze them on a baking pan, throw them in a freezer ziplock, and when I serve them Christmas Eve, I will put them in a chafing dish with additional pizza sauce. Thanks for a great recipe.
A nice change of pace from plain old meatballs or cocktail meatballs. I used hot sausage, and did not even need to use the water. The never really browned, even afte leaving them in a few extra minutes
These were the first thing to go at our Super Bowl party. Making them was pretty messy but they were worth it.