I teamed up with Crystal Farms® cheese to bring you the MOST delicious, cheesy hot sausage bites ever! With holiday parties in abundance, these are the perfect little treats to take anywhere. They’re so easy to make, and they are bite-size, so they’re even easier to eat. 🙂
I call them “bites” because they are easily consumed in one bite. I adore party food (both making it and eating it), but I always feel slightly uncomfortable when I see people with a drink in one hand, food in the other, and no way of eating their food due to it being too big to eat gracefully in front of strangers.
Party food is so much more approachable when it is bite-size! These little guys are highly addictive, I’ll warn you, so be prepared to make them for multiple holiday parties. 🙂
For the cheesy hot sausage bites, I used two types of cheese. I measured 1/3 of a cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, chopped into smaller pieces, then used it inside the meatball mixture. After the meatballs were formed and placed on a baking sheet, I sprinkled a touch of shredded mozzarella on top of them! Because … cheese. Yum.
You are welcome to change the size of these meatballs if you’d like, but I recommend only making them as big as a tablespoon. They bake quickly at such a small size, which is another plus!
These little bites are pretty spicy, but that’s exactly how I like them! If you’d like to cut down on the heat a little bit, you can substitute half of the hot Italian sausage for ground beef, or use a milder version of sausage.
I had a side of marinara ready to dip these cheesy hot sausage bites into, but I ended up just eating ALL OF THESE BITES a few of them, daintily, on their own.
cheesy hot sausage bites
Ingredients
- 2/3 lbs. hot italian sausage
- 1/3 cup Crystal Farms® Wisconsin Sharp Cheddar cheese shredded then finely chopped
- 1/3 cup Italian seasoned panko bread crumbs
- 1 medium farm fresh egg
- 1 slice wheat bread torn into small pieces
- 1 small handful Italian flat leaf parsley finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp. grana padano cheese grated
- 1/4 tsp. oregano
- salt and pepper "to taste"
- Crystal Farms® shredded Mozzarella cheese about 1/3 cup
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400.
- Combine every ingredient except Mozzarella cheese into a large bowl. Gently combine using both hands and massaging until every ingredient comes together.
- Roll about one tablespoon of meat mixture into a ball. Place each ball onto a non-stick baking mat on a baking sheet. Be sure there is adequate space between each meatball bite (about one inch).
- Top each meatball bite with a touch of Crystal Farms Shredded Mozzarella cheese, about four to six shreds.
- Bake at 400 degrees for about twelve minutes, or until fully cooked.
- Remove from oven and allow to set for 1-2 minutes. Slide a toothpick into the top of each bite, and place each meatball onto a platter for serving.
- Serve hot!
Notes
2. You can't exactly taste the sausage to add salt and pepper, so add a generous amount (about 1/4 tsp. each) to ensure it is seasoned correctly. "To taste" means lay off of either if you are not a fan!
Tried this recipe?
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Comments & Reviews
I love this idea for appetizers and holiday parties!
Thank you, Julie!! They’re so fun to make (and eat)! 😄
Thank you, Julie! They’re ideal for both!!
These would be perfect for a holiday party! Yummy!
I totally agree! Thank you, Sara!!
What an awesome little appetizer! I love how cheesy it is and you are even making your own sausage – I’m impressed!
Thank you, Julia!
Yes I am game for these cheesy bites. That is why I like to make appetizer too as they are easy to make most of the time and not time consuming.
Exactly! They are delicious, but they don’t take a lot of time to make!
This is perfect for game day! Thanks for sharing your recipe:) Can’t wait to surprise hubby with this tomorrow.
My pleasure, Tina! Thanks for stopping by!
Finger foods are the best! They are so easy to eat and I love to prepare them. This recipe certainly looks and sounds delicious!
Oh these are so good ,perfect for party! amazing recipe.
What a gorgeous finger food! The pictures are doing it complete justice too. Thanks!
This looks so delicious! I am going to try this out without the egg, since I do not eat eggs, hopefully it works out and comes out as delicious as this looks!
Not going to lie, these totally sound amazing right now! Growing up in the Midwest, cheese has always been my life. Add a little sausage and some beer and now we’re talking, yum!
This sounds perfect for tailgating too! Anything I can eat with one hand is a win in my book. 🙂 Thanks for the new recipe, I can’t wait to try it out!
I love all the cheesy goodness here! I love their cheese as well and know they would make any recipe so amazing. I am craving these bites!
These look very good. I am also a fan of using crystal farms cheese too & have a really good green chile casserole that I make with their spicy cheeses.
These were fantastic! My family loved them. So much better than the average “bisquick” sausage, cheese meatballs/ appetizer! I want to make a meatball hoagie with these! Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these, Vicki!! A meatball hoagie would be SO good! I need to make that ASAP, lol.
How would you reheat these if made a day in advance?
if they are fully cooked, you can spread them out on a baking sheet, cover them with foil, and reheat them in the oven at 275 F until warmed through! (It should only take about 10-15 minutes.) Otherwise, you could make the meatball mixture in advance, refrigerate it overnight, and then form the meatballs, top them with cheese and bake them the next day! I hope this helps, but please let me know if you have any other questions!