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Everybody loves sausage balls! And with thoughtfully chosen ingredients, they can be a healthy breakfast or snack! So let’s look at an easy sausage ball recipe that is low carb, gluten-free, kid-friendly and delicious!
Choose Your Ingredients Carefully
Let’s start with the star ingredient in sausage balls…the sausage! It is really important to get nitrate/nitrite free ground sausage, but it can be hard to find. The local grocery store likely doesn’t even carry a healthy kind of sausage. I’ve had success buying nitrate/nitrite free sausage from Whole Foods. Sausage freezes well, so if you find some, stock up! You could also make homemade sausage. Just use plain ground pork from a farm-raised pig and season it yourself to avoid the additives. You could use a recipe like this one from Bake it With Love to mix your own sausage seasoning. And if you are making your own sausage, you could easily use ground turkey in place of the pork, if you’d prefer.
Why all the trouble to avoid nitrates/nitrites in regular sausage? Research is showing possible connections to many types of cancer, including brain tumors in children (source). And this study from the International Journal of Cancer calls nitrites “probable carcinogens [cancer-causing agents]” and shows an association with pancreatic cancer. Furthermore, this study from the International Journal of Epidemiology found an association between nitrate/nitrite consumption and both breast cancer risks and prostate cancer risks. They’re not necessary, so I say just avoid them.
Almond flour is also a great choice for your sausage balls. It adds a bit more protein, and it results in gluten-free sausage balls that are also keto-friendly/low carb. Plus, I find that recipes involving almond flour tend to stay very moist, and traditional sausage balls sometimes end up a bit dry.
When selecting the dairy products for your sausage balls, remember to look for grass-fed butter and organic cheeses. This article from the Weston Price Foundation does a great job explaining what’s wrong with the conventional dairy system and the regular milk, butter, and cheese it produces. In a nutshell, traditional cow feed is horrendous. The article explains how antibiotics are regularly mixed with cow feed to help them survive the horrible living conditions in which they must remain for their entire lives. And just about anything you can imagine gets tossed into their feed, including several types of waste products. If you are ready to really think about your beef and dairy, this podcast from Wise Traditions is packed full of info.
When You Might Want to Make These Healthy Sausage Balls
It’s college football season right now, and I have to point out that sausage balls make a great recipe for game day. They travel well in an airtight container and are delicious served at room temperature. They make a great appetizer for any party, and you’ll probably leave with an empty container! These are also great for Christmas morning because you can make them ahead of time. And these sausage balls could also make a quick breakfast for busy school mornings. It’s hard to find breakfast options that your kids will love as much as the sugar-packed, common breakfast foods, but I think these sausage balls have so much flavor that you’ll win them over easily!
Supplies You’ll Need to Make Healthy Sausage Balls
Cookie Sheet- A rimmed baking sheet is a must. It will help contain any grease from the sausage. And a parchment-lined baking sheet is very helpful for easy clean up. I love this parchment paper from If You Care because it is unbleached and chlorine-free.
Large Mixing Bowl or Stand Mixer- I’ll say it over and over again, if you don’t have a Kitchen Aid Mixer, put it on your wishlist! Check out my Master List of Product Recommendations to see what kind I have. Seriously, a good mixer makes this job (and so many other kitchen tasks) easy. Just attach your dough hook and walk away while it does all of the mixing for you!
Cheese Grater– Using block cheese rather than pre-shredded cheese is the secret ingredient to this and many other recipes. It just tastes better! Plus, shredding your own cheese helps you avoid a few additives that they put in the store-bought kind (even the organic!). Not to harp on my Kitchen Aid mixer (okay, I’m harping, but I REALLY love it!), but there is a grating attachment that makes quick work of the job. Just be sure to get the stainless steel grater, not the plastic one!
Tips for Making Healthy Sausage Balls
Confession…I’m not a careful baker. I understand that professional bakers everywhere would rise up in fury against my carelessness and lack of precision when it comes to following recipes. I’m sorry! I’m a busy mom, and I’m often multi-tasking in the kitchen. If a recipe requires me to put ingredients in the bowl in a certain order or measure precisely with a kitchen scale, I’m probably out. I’m just happy to get everything in the bowl, okay?? And that’s one of the reasons why this recipe makes the cut for me. You just throw it in the bowl and mix it up. I can do that.
Also, for this recipe and any others you can think of, just put the processed biscuit mix down and walk away! Before I became a label reader, I always had a box of Bisquick handy. I just didn’t know any better! But it’s really not hard to do it yourself, as you just need a few simple ingredients. There’s absolutely no need for enriched bleached flour, soybean oil, and dextrose, so let’s just skip them!
Recipe for Healthy, Easy Sausage Balls- No Bisquick!
Without further ado, here’s my Healthy, Easy Sausage Balls recipe! Remember, you can print out any of my full-color recipes in your choice of binder size or recipe card size for FREE! They’re waiting for you in my Freebies Library!
Ingredients
- 1 lb breakfast sausage (nitrite/nitrate free)
- 1 large egg (farm fresh is best)
- 1 cup almond flour
- 8 oz cheddar (organic)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (organic)
- 1 tbsp butter (grass-fed)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt (pink Himalayan
Directions
- Mix all ingredients well.
- Shape into 1-inch balls with your hands.
- Place about 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet.
- Place in preheated oven.
- Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. (You’ll know they’re ready when the bottoms are nicely browned.)
Looking for more healthy, easy recipes that your family will love? Be sure to check out my Nourish with Diligence page!
