Name: Sausage Stuffing Balls
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 14.8 oz/ 420g (around 6 sausages) Sausages (, high quality removed from their casings); 1 small Sweet Apple; 2 tbsp Fresh Breadcrumbs; 1 small (or half large) Red/Purple Onion; 2 cloves Garlic (, minced); 1 tbsp Fresh Rosemary (, finley chopped); 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp fennel seeds; Salt and pepper (to season); 1 tbsp olive oil (, for frying)

Recipe Print

Delicious, soft and juicy sausage stuffing balls made with sausage, apple, garlic and herbs. These bite sized beauties are perfect for any festive spread, be it Christmas, Thanksgiving or just because it's the best time of the year! Serve with homemade cranberry sauce.

These sausage stuffing balls are not something you'd often find on an Italian table but they're something I cannot forget about at this time of year! They're super easy to make and let me tell you they are SO juicy, tender and delicious.

If I'm making a roast dinner at this time of year I always love to add a festive spin on it with these sausage stuffing balls. Here's what's in them;

Ingredients - What You Need

Sausages, removed from their casings. - Use the highest quality sausages you can get your hands on preferably 97%+ pork meat
Apple - a sweet apple, grated to help keep in moisture
Red/Purple Onion
Garlic
Fresh Rosemary
Dried Herbs; Oregano & Fennel Seeds
Fresh Breadcrumbs - don't sub for storebought
Salt and Pepper

P.S If you LOVE Italian sausages I have a great recipe for making them at home from scratch without any casings or fancy equipment! Check out my post for How to Make Homemade Italian Sausages here.

How To Make Sausage Stuffing Balls - Step By Step

Grate the apple and onion either using a box grater or the shredding attachment on a food processor (photos 1 & 2). You might find a food processor helpful if you have very sensitive eyes when chopping onions.

Add the apple, onion, sausage meat and all other ingredients listed in a mixing bowl and combine the mixture thoroughly by using your hands (photos 3 - 5).

Shape the mixture into golf ball sized stuffing balls, put them on a plate then refrigerate for 10 minutes (photo 6).

Heat a little olive oil in a medium sized frying pan, remove the stuffing balls from the fridge and brown on all sides (photo 7).

Place the stuffing balls on a baking tray and cover with tin foil. Bake the balls in the oven covered for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and serve (photos 8-9).

Top Tips For Making Sausage Stuffing Balls

Use high quality sausages. This is very important and a crucial ingredient to get right, stick to 97%+ pork meat if possible with coarsely ground meat.
Go for a sweet apple rather than a sour or tart variety.
Use fresh homemade breadcrumbs, these with soak up a lot of moisture and keep the stuffing balls juicy. I use stale ciabatta for making breadcrumbs but you can use any crusty bread you have. Don't substitute for dry storebought breadcrumbs.
No egg. Don't be tempted to add an egg to the mixture, there's no need for it as the sausage meat helps bing everything together.
Season the mixture well with salt and pepper. If you are using Italian sausages then they may not need added salt.
You can make these in advance and store in the freezer.

Variations

You can add different herbs, spices and flavourings to these stuffing balls they're so easy to adapt, here are some ideas;

Swap the apple for a small pear
Try adding fresh thyme, basil, sage or parsley
Add dried cranberries to make them extra festive (this will add more sweetness)
Add chili flakes / red pepper flakes for a spicy kick
Use shallot instead of onion

Perfect Party Food

As well as being perfect served as a side dish these sausage stuffing balls make great party food nibbles. Make the sausage balls slightly smaller into bite-sized pieces then serve with cocktail sticks at parties.

Here are some other Italian style party food recipes you could serve alongside them;

More Delicious Sides To Serve;

Have you tried this recipe? Then let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you. You can also follow me on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I'm getting up to.

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