These Keto Sausage Balls are just like grandma used to make. A great appetizer, breakfast, or snack this is Southern finger food at its finest.
Sausage and Cheese…Yes Please! These Keto Sausage Balls are one of our all-time favorites. They remind us of childhood as they were present at any cookout, holiday, or church potluck.
Sausage balls, in our opinion, are the perfect finger food. What could be better than a mashup of meat and cheese that tastes a bit like bread?
This recipe is as simple as the classic Bisquick sausage balls, just with less sketchy ingredients and a lot fewer carbs. In addition to being keto-friendly, these are gluten-free as well. Baking them in our trusted cast-iron skillet for an ultimate crunchy exterior is the icing on the cake.
We think we just need to start making a batch of these on the weekend to have on hand all week. They’d make an easy grab and go breakfast, what do you think? Love a good meal prep for keto recipes, it makes staying on track that much simpler.
Do you have about 25 minutes to spare and these ingredients? Read on to learn how to make a batch of your own today!
Are All Sausage Balls Keto?
Unfortunately no, Bisquick or other similar biscuit mixes are a common ingredient in most sausage ball recipes you’ll find online. And those mixes often contain some sketchy ingredients, such as Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oil. And according to the Environmental Working Group:
Partially hydrogenated oils are made from refined oils, like soybean and cottonseed oils, by subjecting them to a hydrogenation process. Depending on the extent of hydrogenation, the resulting oils can contain up to 60 percent trans fat (Tarrago-Trani 2006).
That’s one good reason to avoid the pre-packaged mixes, another reason could be the carb count. 2 cups of Bisquick (which is what most recipes call for) has more carbs than 18 Oreo’s. Wowzers.
Can You Freeze these low-carb Sausage Balls for later?
Yes, these keto sausage balls can be frozen. And you’ve got two options to do so:
- Option 1: Make a batch and freeze any leftovers. Thaw them out and warm them as needed. They’ll stay good in the freezer for at least 2 months.
- Option 2: Make a batch but freeze the uncooked sausage balls. Pro-tip: freeze the keto sausage balls on a covered baking sheet. That way each sausage ball freezes individually, instead of being frozen together in a clump. Store them in a freezer-safe container for up to 4 months.
What’s in a Keto Sausage Ball?
These sausage balls have just 4 ingredients:
- hot breakfast sausage – any breakfast sausage that has red pepper flakes and sage will be perfect. See our notes below if you need to make your own.
- almond flour – some recipes use coconut flour but we find that coconut flour makes these sausage balls way too dry.
- baking powder
- cheddar cheese – extra sharp and freshly grated is our go-to.
How awesome is that?
Pro Tip: using a cookie scoop to make the balls makes much less mess than using your hands!
How to make keto breakfast sausage from scratch
You’ll need:
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1.5 teaspoons crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground poultry seasoning (sage, marjoram, thyme)
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Simply mix all of the ingredients together.
Making your own sausage is also a great way to control the heat. Especially if you have kiddos at home who don’t tolerate spicy foods.
How to make Keto Sausage Balls
- First, you’ll preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Then, in a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients until combined. Divide the mixture into 28 balls and place in a 10.5″ cast iron skillet. See notes below about using a baking sheet or sheet pan if you don’t have a cast-iron skillet handy.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until the sausage balls are golden and cooked through.
How to freeze low-carb sausage balls
To freeze the sausage balls we like to lay the cooked sausage balls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Transfer to the freezer and flash freeze them for about two hours.
This helps them to not stick together. Then, we transfer them to a freezer-safe container. They will last in the freezer for about 4 months.
How to reheat from frozen
To reheat simply pop a few into your oven and bake at 400° for about 10-15 minutes.
Do I have to use a cast-iron skillet?
Nope! You can totally use a baking dish or baking sheet pan. Though, if you don’t have a cast-iron baking sheet, we highly recommend it! It gets food so crispy and works great for recipes like this one.
Nutritional Information
As always, you can find a full breakdown of the nutritional information per serving at the bottom of the recipe card. These sausage balls have 2 grams of net carbs per serving, that’s only 1 gram per sausage ball!
Check out The Best Keto Appetizers For Any Occasion for more Epic Keto Appetizers and Snacks!
Keto Sausage Balls
Ingredients
- 1 lb hot breakfast sausage we opt for pastured pork
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- In a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients until combined. Divide the mixture into 28 balls and place in a 10.5" cast iron skillet (or baking sheet if you don't have a skillet) and bake for 25-30 minutes until the sausage balls are golden and cooked through.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only and do not include carbs from sugar alcohols.
What do you mean by Hot Breakfast Sausage?
Hi Cass, hot breakfast sausage is a style of sausage that typically has sage and red pepper flakes added to it. It can be found at most grocery stores or you can use any breakfast sausage you like.
Can you substitute an eight of of Almond flower with coconut flower?
We’re not quite sure what you’re asking but typically, no we don’t recommend substituting flours as the recipes haven’t been tested any other way than written.
Is that only 1.3 carbs per serving for 2 pieces? I love these!! I’ve made them before & will do it again soon. Great for breakfast & I might have even had them as a snack! LOL
Yes! 1.3 net carbs per serving which is 2 sausage balls.
Are these served hot or cold?
Either!
These are going to rock our next church potluck! A handful of us at church do keto and this is just what we need to add to our (secret section) of the spread.
BTW if you ever have trouble finding pastured sausage, I use this gal’s recipe (tweaked a bit for the ultimate keto sausage)
https://happymoneysaver.com/homemade-sausage-patties-recipe/
ALso just wanted to say–I love the name of your blog.
Keep On Keto-ing On!
Thanks for the link, glad to hear you are enjoying our recipes!
I made a batch of these (modified) for New Year’s Eve – big hit! Nobody could hold at 2 sausage balls, but we survived the night if not the morning weigh-in!
Awesome to hear that!
Holy shit are these delicious!! I was looking for a keto sausage recipe that didn’t contain eggs as I was out, and man-o-man did I hit the jackpot with this one! My entire family loved it and I like your idea of serving them for breakfast. Thank you!!
Thrilled you guys loved them!
Excellent. As a southerner, we’re issued sausage ball recipes with our birth certificates. This really scratches the itch when I can’t bring myself to eat eggs again. I do add a half teaspoon of garlic powder because I always have and I drop a little maple wood smoked onion hot sauce on them because my sausage wasn’t very spicy. Great recipe. We’ll be doing it for Super Bowl.
That hot sauce sounds awesome!
Made these for Super Bowl. Only change was not spicy sausage since I can’t do nightshdes. Yummy! ? Will definitely make again. Thanks!
Can I substitute the shredded cheddar with a shredded cheese mix, or would it mess with it holding together? My husband recently brought home a HUGE bag of the shredded mix for my Keto diet (so sweet of him trying to be helpful!) but I am going to have to use it quickly or divide it up and freeze it.
Sure!
Sweet! I just got my hands on Penzeys Breakfast sausage seasoning. I am going to make two batches (ground pork & ground chicken) and freeze the leftovers.
Yummy. Made these a few months ago, and made again today. They’re going in the freezer for a pre-Thanksgiving snack. Love your recipes!
This recipe is better (yes, BETTER) tasting that the original Bisquick version!! I ate way more than two but who counts calories any more anyway?? Who would have thought that almond flour’s infinite capacity to absorb liquids & fats would knock this one out of the park?
I’ve made these more times than I can count at this point and I love them more with each bake! Can’t beat how easy they are to whip up, either—always great to have on hand.
Actually I did pre-ground pork for a great lunch, it tasted great and was quite weird for the taste buds.
I love these sausage balls! I make them all the time.
Yummy sausage balls.
Could these be made in a cast iron pan on the stove? I only have a toaster oven and my pan doesn’t fit. If not, I will use a cake pan. Thanks
I would go the cake pan route and bake them in the toaster oven, hope this helps.