Gluten Free Sausage Balls Recipe – Gluten Free Cooking School (2024)

Gluten Free Sausage Balls Recipe – Gluten Free Cooking School (1)

10 Comments / Gluten Free Breakfast Recipes, Gluten Free Bread Recipes / By Mary Frances Pickett

One of my absolute favorite recipes to make with my grandmother was Sausage Balls. I loved to grate the cheese with her Mouli grater, and then mix, and mix, and mix the dough to get all of the flour worked it. A few sausage ball sculpture appeared along the way too.

I finally got around to de-glutening this recipe a few weeks ago and made them for my family for the first time. The gluten free sausage balls were a hit with everyone. If you’ve never had sausage balls (I’m not sure how widespread this recipe is outside of the Deep South), you must try them. Heaven in your mouth!

Instructions

  • 9 oz. (2 c.) Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose GF flour
  • 1 Tbsp. baking powder
  • 16 oz. ground sausage
  • 10 oz. Cracker Barrel Sharp or Extra Sharp Cheddar**

1. Let the cheese come to room temperature and then grate it using a Mouli grater, or the small holes on a handheld grater.
2. Mix the grated cheese and the sausage together with your hands until it is very well combined.
3. Mix the flour and baking powder together, and then gradually work all of the flour into the sausage and cheese mixture. Use your hands again.
4. Form the dough into small balls – approximately golf ball size. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees (pre-heated oven) for 25 minutes.

Notes:

  • If you don’t have a grater with small holes, you can use a larger holed grater. It will just take you longer to work the sausage and cheese into a hom*ogenous mixture.
  • **If you opt for a less expensive cheese, do go for the Extra Sharp. My grandmother always insisted on Cracker Barrel cheddar for Sausage Balls and Cheese Straws so I’ve kept up the tradition here. I’ve also noticed that Cracker Barrel has reduced their package size to 8 oz. I’m wondering if the packages were even larger than 10 oz. when I used to make this with my grandmother back in the 80’s? Feel free to up the cheese amounts if you want! Sarah S. emailed me to let me know that you can make these dairy free by using Daiya cheese.
  • I weigh my flours on a digital scale instead of using measuring cups. If you do the same, use 9 oz. of the specified flour. If you prefer measuring cups, then you’ll use 2 c. of the flour.
  • If you’ve never made sausage balls before, you’ll probably think that you’ll never get all of the flour worked in. Keep working at it. It takes a lot of hand power. I have a feeling my Grandmother only made these when the kids were around so that she could spare her arthritic hands.
  • The sausage balls are the best when you cook them long enough to so that the tops start to brown. (The ones in the picture above were from my first batch and they could have used another 5 minutes in the oven). You want there to be a slight crunch to the outside to that there are two distinct textures when you bite it. A crunch on the outside and then soft on the inside.
  • Always cut a few in half to make sure that they are completely cooked through.
  • I tested this recipe in our RV’s oven. I have no idea how closely it’s heating to the correct temperature. There was an unfortunate accident with my oven thermometer involving a certain curious 2 yr old. Thankfully, only the oven thermometer suffered harm. So, following the baking instructions, but do keep an eye on things and use the tips in the cooking notes to verify that the baking process is complete.

10 thoughts on “Gluten Free Sausage Balls Recipe”

  1. Gluten Free Sausage Balls Recipe – Gluten Free Cooking School (2)

    Elisabeth

    December 19, 2011 at 3:55 pm

    Thank you so much for your gluten free recipes. I love your website…it is a wonderful resource for my family. I love the stories you’ve shared about cooking with your grandmother. I have many wonderful memories of cooking with my grandmother as well! My eyes are starting to well up now! We always made “Humdingers” together…delicious date balls with rice krispies, pecans, butter, powdered sugar and butter of course. They are my favorite Christmas tradition and luckily they are gluten free! Thanks again!

    Reply

      1. Gluten Free Sausage Balls Recipe – Gluten Free Cooking School (4)

        Elisabeth

        June 12, 2012 at 10:06 am

        Sorry it took me so long to reply! Here is the Humdinger recipe:

        8 oz chopped dates (with sugar on)
        1 stick butter
        2/3 c powdered sugar
        1-1/2 c Rice Krispies (gf rice cereal)
        1 c chopped Pecans
        1 t gf vanilla
        powdered sugar

        Use a double boiler. Melt butter; add dates & sugar. Cook mixture in double boiler for 8 minutes, Stirring constantly. Add cereal, nuts & vanilla. When cool enough to handle, roll into small balls or finger-shape & roll in powdered sugar.
        Enjoy! Elisabeth

        Reply

  2. Gluten Free Sausage Balls Recipe – Gluten Free Cooking School (6)

    Dietmar

    January 22, 2012 at 9:44 pm

    Nice recipe, Mary. I have the problem to find sausages that don’t contain wheat.

    Reply

  3. Gluten Free Sausage Balls Recipe – Gluten Free Cooking School (7)

    Jennie

    April 11, 2012 at 7:21 pm

    These look delicious! I just started an elimination diet and wheat is the first thing to go. I thought I’d go insane since almost everything I used to eat had some component of wheat in it, but then finding your great blog has allowed me to not feel so restricted in my dietary choices.

    Reply

  4. Gluten Free Sausage Balls Recipe – Gluten Free Cooking School (8)

    Becky G

    November 12, 2012 at 8:38 pm

    Johnsonville makes GF sausage.
    Also, just checking is the sausage cooked in advance of combining it with other ingredients?

    Reply

    1. Gluten Free Sausage Balls Recipe – Gluten Free Cooking School (9)

      Mary Frances

      November 13, 2012 at 9:17 pm

      Becky G » The sausage is NOT cooked before adding it to the other ingredients. I saw my college roommate do that once, but I can’t bring myself to break with tradition and try it.

      Reply

  5. Gluten Free Sausage Balls Recipe – Gluten Free Cooking School (10)

    Windy

    February 15, 2013 at 5:17 pm

    I am a sausage ball fanatic!!! I have to say that when I followed this recipe, I was dissapointed. I have made gf sausage balls before and did not add as much gf flour and they were pretty good. Maybe I mixed too much…… Thanks Anyways!!!

    Reply

  6. Gluten Free Sausage Balls Recipe – Gluten Free Cooking School (11)

    Carol Cripps

    December 20, 2013 at 9:55 pm

    This recipe looks so very delicious, and I would love to take it to my sister’s open house on Boxing Day. However, Bob’s Red Mill flour contains bean flour, and I can’t eat beans. At all. Can another flour be substituted/

    Reply

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Gluten Free Sausage Balls Recipe – Gluten Free Cooking School (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to baking with gluten-free flour? ›

Use xanthan gum or guar gum: Gluten-free flours lack the elasticity and structure that gluten provides, so adding a binder like xanthan or guar gum can help to hold the ingredients together and give your baked goods a better texture.

Does gluten-free flour bake differently? ›

Gluten-free flours often contain fine starches, so they absorb more liquid than conventional flour. To address this, gluten-free recipes usually call for more liquid and produce looser batters. They may also call for a larger quantity of leavening, like baking powder, to help add volume and lighten the texture.

How to warm up cooked sausage balls? ›

When you're ready to reheat your frozen sausage balls (already cooked) – Remove the desired amount from the freezer, put them on a baking sheet and reheat them at 350° for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through.

What flour is best for gluten free baking? ›

Sorghum Flour

It's great in pie crusts, cakes, muffins, breads like our Best No-Knead GF Bread and Fluffy Gluten-Free Focaccia, and cookies like our Cranberry Macadamia Nut Cookies.

What to avoid for gluten free baking? ›

All of the following flours have gluten:
  • Enriched flour with added vitamins and minerals.
  • Farina, milled wheat usually used in hot cereals.
  • Graham flour, a course whole-wheat flour.
  • Self-rising flour, also called phosphate flour.
  • Semolina, the part of milled wheat used in pasta and couscous.

What is the closest gluten-free flour to all purpose flour? ›

In contrast to tapioca flour, which is made from a starchy liquid extracted from the cassava root, cassava flour is made by grating and drying the whole root. This flour is gluten-, grain- and nut-free. It's most similar to white flour and can easily be used in recipes calling for all-purpose flour.

How much longer do you bake with gluten-free flour? ›

Gluten-free goods tend to brown faster and take longer to cook through. So they need to be baked at a slightly lower temperature, for a slightly longer time. Every recipe is different, but in general, try lowering the temperature by 25 degrees and baking the item for 15 minutes longer.

Does gluten-free flour need extra baking powder? ›

2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup of gluten-free flour is necessary to ensure proper leavening. Baking soda and buttermilk can be used to leaven instead of baking powder, but 1-1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar should be added for each 1/2 teaspoon baking soda used.

How to keep sausage balls from burning on the bottom? ›

HOW DO YOU KEEP SAUSAGE BALLS FROM BURNING ON THE BOTTOM?
  1. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (Silpat) to create a barrier between the sausage balls and the direct heat of the baking sheet. ...
  2. If possible, choose a light-colored baking sheet. ...
  3. Check early and often.
Jan 11, 2024

Why are my sausage balls dry? ›

Why are my sausage balls dry? Dry sausage balls happen 1 of 2 ways: by overcooking or by adding too much Bisquick.

Can you freeze sausage balls after they are cooked? ›

Can You Freeze Sausage Balls? Yes, you can freeze uncooked or cooked sausage balls.

What is missing in gluten free sausages? ›

Sadly, even big brand sausages that have been certified as gluten free may still contain other allergens, sugar, artificial preservatives or other inflammatory ingredients.

Why isn't sausage gluten-free? ›

1. Sausages. While there are plenty of gluten-free versions available, your regular sausages often contain rusk made from wheat.

Is oatmeal gluten-free? ›

Yes, pure, uncontaminated oats are gluten-free. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration considers oats a gluten-free grain under its gluten-free labeling regulations and only requires that packaged products with oats as an ingredient contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten overall.

How to use gluten-free flour instead of regular flour? ›

Substitute by weight, not volume. Moreover, because they are finer, they weigh less than all-purpose flour, so it is a good idea to substitute your blend for the all-purpose by weight, rather than by volume. If the original recipe calls for 260 grams of all-purpose flour, substitute with 260 grams of your blend.

Should you add baking powder to gluten-free flour? ›

2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup of gluten-free flour is necessary to ensure proper leavening. Baking soda and buttermilk can be used to leaven instead of baking powder, but 1-1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar should be added for each 1/2 teaspoon baking soda used.

How do you get gluten-free flour to bind? ›

Xanthan Gum

It serves many roles in gluten-free baking. Because gluten-free flours have less protein than wheat flours and are not capable of forming the same network required to stretch and surround starch granules, they need reinforcement. Xanthan gum strengthens these networks and also makes them more elastic.

References

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