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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;
- Fried Gnocchi, Prosciutto and Pecorino Appetizers
- Chicken Liver Pate
- Crostini Three Ways – Perfect Party Food
- Fried Sage Leaves With Anchovies
- Fried Sausage Stuffed Olives
- Easy Marinated Olives – Ready in 5 Minutes
More Delicious Sides To Serve;
- Italian Roast Potatoes
- Fagioli All’Uccelletto – Beans In Tomato Sauce
- Pan Fried Gnocchi With Rosemary
- White Bean Mash With Rosemary & Lemon
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.
Step By Step Photos Above
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Sausage Stuffing Balls
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
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180°C.
- Grate the apple and onion using a box grater or shredding attachment on a food processor.
- Place all ingredients apart from the olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands mix all ingredients together until throughly combined.
- Shape the sausage stuffing mixture into meatballs using your hands (this makes around 16 balls). PLace in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Put 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan and brown the stuffing balls all over. Place the balls on a baking tray and cover with tin foil. Bake the balls for 25-30 minutes until cooked through and juicy.
Notes
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
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made these yesterday for a Christmas party we hosted. Delicious! I forgot the rosemary but everyone enjoyed them. I will definitely make them again.
Thanks so much Kim, I’m so happy you enjoyed them!
These look AMAZING! I am wondering however, could they be made the day before and popped into the fridge & re-heated on Christmas Day to sae time? What would your recommendation be?
Best wishes,
Alice
Hi Alice, yes sure, you can make them the day before and keep them in the fridge. Personally, I wouldn’t cook them the day before because they might dry out slightly but I would shape them into balls so they are ready to be cooked. If you are really pressed for time though I’d cook them the day before, refrigerate overnight then reheat them in the oven for around 10 minutes until hot all the way through. Hope you enjoy and have a great Christmas!
What kind of apple? And do you think any kind of cheese added to it would work well?
Any sweet apple such as golden delicious would work best. Hmm I’ve never tried these with cheese before but maybe a little sprinkling of parmesan in the mix would work well, you could also try little pieces of mozzarella mixed throughout the balls, I think that would work really well. Hope you enjoy!
I made these at Christmas time and they were so good, can’t wait for them this year.
Am I missing something on the ingredient list? like stuffing? I don’t think 2 tsp breadcrumbs do mush in 1 lb of sausage?
Hi Paul, it’s just under 1 Ib of sausage (I’m working on using imperial measurement to make it easier in the future) and 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs. There is nothing else missing from the ingredients, the sausage should hold together fine. I’ve had no problems with it.
This is SUCH a genius way to use up leftovers!!! I always need some more meatball recipes to stock up my freezer.
these look so easy! I love the flavors you’ve got in there.. I bet you could use leftover stuffing for this too!
What a creative idea! I love serving food in individual portions so I would love to make these for Christmas this year. Or even serve for little finger foods, like you suggested. Love this!
This is really fun! I love how creative and tasty this is!
Aw thank you Debi! ☺️
Delicious and savory! These look just like what I’d love next to an easy over egg!
Ohhh what a great idea, thanks so much!