Sausage Balls have always been a favorite at my house. Not just at holidays or get-togethers, but often by special request from the kids just for movie night even.
I decided to take my original Sausage Balls Recipe and make a low carb version last night. They turned out surprisingly well! ๐
My original Sausage Balls Recipe is:
3 cups Bisquick, 1 pound sausage, 8oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Mix it all together, roll into balls & place on baking sheet, bake at 375 until brown.
It occurred to me that I could make Low Carb Sausage Balls very easily, by replacing the Bisquick in the original recipe with Almond Meal. I decided to make half a batch since I was only making them for myself this time. I also decided to add an egg, just to make sure they held together as well as Sausage Balls made with Bisquick.
Low Carb Sausage Balls Recipe
(Half Batch)
1 1/2 cups Almond Meal
1/2 pound Jimmy Dean Sausage
4oz shredded cheese
1 egg
You could double this recipe of course, but I think one large egg would still suffice. The original recipe calls for sharp cheddar cheese, but I used Colby Jack Cheese instead as thatโs what I had on hand. If you wanted sausage balls with a kick you could use Hot Jimmy Dean Sausage and Pepperjack Cheese.
Preheat the oven to 375. Put all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, and mix thoroughly. This is best done by digging in and getting your hands dirty. ๐
I use a large baking sheet, and cover it with foil. This is more to make for easier clean-up than anything. Roll out small Sausage Balls between your hands, and place them on the baking sheet.
The Low Carb Sausage Balls wonโt rise quite as much as the original Sausage Balls Recipe, so you donโt have to worry about keeping them *too* far apart.
This Half-Batch Low Carb Sausage Balls Recipe made approximately 32 Sausage balls:
Bake them until they are golden brown. When you take them out of the oven, put them on a plate covered with a paper towel (to soak up any grease).
Beautiful, right? ๐ I think the Low Carb Sausage Balls Recipe is actually *better* than the original recipe!
The Almond Meal I use is 3 net carbs per 1/4 cup serving. So for 1 1/2 cups (half batch recipe) itโs 18 net carbs total for the batch. I got 32 Sausage Balls out of this batch, making them less than 2 net carbs each.
You could use a lower carb Almond Meal (look at the NOW brand below mine on that page), and you could even use less Almond Meal in the recipe โ perhaps one cup instead of 1 1/2 cups โ and I think they would still come out fabulous.
I dipped them in a low carb creamy spinach dip. Delicious! Great snack for movie night ๐
This is an excellent idea. This recipes works in so many different ways. For those who are watching their carb intake as you are(I really know I should but having a hard enough time just trying to drop the calorie count right now), as well as it is a really simple recipe for those just learning how to cook. If you donโt mind, I might add your link to a post on my site http://mycutlittlechef.com so that I can offer another easy recipe for my young aspiring chefs and their helpful parents.
Now, I am off to the store to go find some of that Almond meal up here in Canada(fingers crossed that they have it somewhere) and then going to try my hand at this recipe myself because I am a BIG sausage lover!
I love your website! The correct link is: http://mycutelittlechef.com (for anyone else reading along). You are more than welcome to share the link there. ๐
Iโm very sentimental about sausage balls. It reminds me of holidays when the kids were all so little. They loved to help in the kitchen, and as I was making these the other day I was thinking back to my oldest stepdaughter sitting up on the kitchen counter rolling out sausage balls in her little hands and placing them on the panโฆ
I was actually sharing that story with my daughter (now 15) as I was making them. What a fun memory. I used to spend a lot of time in my grandmotherโs kitchen as a child myself, and relish those memories tooโฆ
Lynn, I was wondering if you have ever tried the sausage balls using flax meal? I think Iโm going to try that. I donโt have almond meal but I have flax meal. If you have used the flax, how did it compare to the almond meal and is it anything to compare to flour or baking mix. I mean, is it kinda like flour or more like meal? Thanks!
If you go low carb, you can forget about counting calories!! Iโve lost 61 in a year and have been doing this for 28 months now. I never count calories!! I eat LOTS of saturated and other GOOD fats. I read WHEAT BELLY by Dr. William Davis, (cardiologist), and totally changed my life from unhealthy (counting calories, eat low and fat free, etc.) to healthy! Give it a try!! There is a facebook page โ Wheat Belly โ with over 104,000 likes. Go there and join in with the rest of us for the most amazing way to eat!!
Hi Lynn, A friend showed me a new app last night. Itโs called โFooducateโ. It reads the barcode off your product in the market, give ingredients, and suggests better alternatives. Been playing with it and it is helpful. Keep up the great eating!
Very cool. Iโll have to check that out! Does it have suggestions specifically for low carb diets??
I have not had these sausage balls in years, but am looking forward to trying them the low carb way.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I did ๐ Let me know what you think!
Dear Lynn,
hi and thank you so much for this simple recipe, like keep it simple ( stupid) as they say, I loved these sausage balls, and the low/carbs,
Thank you Garry.
It really is a very simple recipe ๐ Enjoy!
Hi Lynn,
Thanks for this great recipe, I havenโt eaten sausage balls in a long time, and didnโt see them in my future food choices. Great idea to make them with almond meal. I use a lot of almond meal/flour and I get it in 5 pounds bags for under $30.00 from Honeyville Grains, online.
Iโm putting this blog as a reference on my blog Diabetes Weight Loss Success. A low carb diet is perfect for diabetics as it allows them to lose weight and keep their blood sugar in the normal range.
Love this blog and your recipes. Thanks a lot.
Vicki Kron
the Diabetic Diva
Hi Vicki! Nice to meet you ๐ Iโve added your blog to my Google Reader. I have friends who are diabetics, and we often compare notes and eat a lot of the same things.
I hope you enjoy the sausage balls! Also see the low carb bread recipe with almond meal. I often add things to it (chopped spinach, for example) โ you can make a lot of variations with that recipe!
Thanks for the tip about Honeyville Grains! Excellent price and flat fee shipping. Very cool.
I loved this idea, but changed it up a bit. One because I am a vegetarian and two because I have learned when baking with almond flour, baking powder is a must. I added some vegetarian sausage instead of the real stuff and I did not make them into balls but more like muffins. I also thought, maybe these would be a good pancake substitute, so I tried with some sugar free syrup and yum! I would have never thought of these on my own so thanks, they are great!
What a great variation! I havenโt tried the baking powder โ is this to get it to rise? I like my sausage balls less โbreadyโ but I can see using that in other recipesโฆ
Glad you enjoyed them!!
Yes, it is used to get a rise. Especially useful in cakes, muffins and cookies.
Thanks!
Hi โ Iโd to try these sausage balls and add the baking powder so theyโre a little less denseโฆ
How much baking powder is used??
Thanks!
Nicole, how much baking powder did you use with the almond meal in making sausage balls from Lynn Terryโs recipe?
Thanks,
Brenda
I already love the sausage balls before even trying them. They look like a great snake that can be made in bulk and frozen for later. The Almond Meal sounds like a great tip as well.
Theyโre fabulous!! Did you get a chance to try them yet? Great for dipping in cheese sauces and cheese dips too. ๐
I want to give this a try with Carbquick instead of the Almond Mealโฆ going to add sausage to my shopping list ๐
Let me know how they turn out! ๐
I made them ๐ I used a cup of Carbquick instead of the almond meal โ and they were delicious!
I overcooked mine just a bit โ but still enjoyed them a bunch.
Excellent! Is the carb count lower with CarbQuick than it is with Almond Meal? Iโve never used itโฆ
Looking forward to trying your recipe with the almond meal tomorrow. The carb count might be slightly lower with CarbQuick but almond meal is made from blanched almonds & CarbQuick is made from wheat, so if you are gluten sensitive, stick with the almond flour : )
I loved your sausage balls but I went ahead and made a variation to lower carbs. 1 cup Carbquick, 8oz. cream cheese, 16oz. sausage and 4oz. cheddar cheese. I eliminated the egg. They turned out great! Very moist and not bready. Made 33 balls at .8 carbs each!
Deanna,
We made these last week using your additions/substitutions and I find myself making them again today. They were so moist and delicious!! This is going in my recipe box for sure!!
They look great, actually, if my math is correct, they are only .56 carbs per sausage ball, even better!
I would like to get private emails of your recipes at [email protected]. Iโm not ready to share personally just yet. I have a lot of medical issues to deal with also. A private one on one for this month would be great for me. I canโt exercise due to needing knee surgery. Iโm bone on bone In my right knee. I try to do strength training for my muscles at least 2x a week. thank you!!
I just sent you a request to confirm your email Stacey โ so you can start receiving the updates by email. ๐
I must have missed this part, but about how long did it take your half batch to cook?
Hi Christen,
It depends on the size you make them and how brown you want them. Some ovens are different too. I just eyeball it (keep an eye on them). Also see: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/5068/low-carb-sausage-biscuit-recipe/ A fun variation. ๐
18 carbs / 32 sausage balls = .5 carb each not 2.
My momโs recipe is 2 cups flour, 1 lb sausage & 8 oz cheese. Would this be about the same? Herโs are a little dry, light old fashioned roll out biscuits & I would like something like that. Thanks SO much for this recipe!
Itโs very similar I imagine. The recipe is very forgiving and versatile, so you can test half a batch and adjust to suit. ๐
I add baking powder and it solves the problem of being too dense. I do not use the egg. I use a food processor band put the almond flour and baking powder in first then grind the cheese. Lastly I add the Jimmy Dean hot sausage and mix well. Gently pinch off in walnut sized balls. Do not roll tightly. t use Parchment paper to liine a large baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
I made these today to take to our Thanksgiving dinner. They came out with good color; however, every other recipe I researched before making this one called for 1 cup of almond flour to the whole tube of Jimmy Dean sausage. I am wondering if the almond meal proportion could be cut back as it seemed to have too much โbreadyโ feeling and kind of lost the sausage flavor with using just the half batch recipe (1 1/2 cups almond meal). If doubling the recipe that is a huge amount of almond flour (3 cups) compared to other recipes that are very similar to yours. I think they might have more flavor once they totally cool down. I like that yours is an easy to make recipe.
I have been looking for a portable breakfast (other than eggs). This might work. Do you eat them cold? hot?
I have been looking for a portable breakfast (other than eggs). This might work. Do you eat them cold? hot?
Hot or cold , they are great either way. ๐ My simple version is: one tube of sausage, 2 cups of shredded cheddar and one egg. I use a 1/8 cup scoop and roll them into balls, place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and bake for 30-35 minutes on 350 degrees โ or until nicely browned. You can transfer them to a paper towel lined plate to soak up any grease once they cool a little. Enjoy!