Rotel Cream Cheese Sausage Balls
These Rotel Cream Cheese Sausage Balls are packed with flavor and packaged into a bite-sized ball perfect for an appetizer or snack. Easy to make and even easier to eat, this recipe is about to be a new favorite you never expected.
If you’re a fan of Cream Cheese Salsa Dip or Cheddar Bay Sausage Balls I need you to pay attention because this, my friends, is the best of both worlds.
Rotel Cream Cheese Sausage Balls have all the flavor of tomatoes and green chilies, sausage, cheese and bisquick – basically all the flavor you could ever ask for in a savory snack, in one little ball. Each one is the perfect bite-size for dipping and sharing.
It’s the ultimate game-day snack or party appetizer.
These delicious appetizers are also super easy to put together. Mix all the ingredients, scoop and bake. You could even make them ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze until you’re ready to serve.
Don’t look any further for the perfect appetizer for your next get together. Give these sausage balls a try!
Why Make This Recipe
- Explosive Flavor: You may not think all these flavors go together but trust me, they do. It’s everything good in one little bite!
- Easily Shared: Rotel Cream Cheese Sausage Balls are great for a party. They are perfectly bite-sized (for dipping in Honey mustard sauce or Cottage Cheese Dip) and easy to double or triple to feed a crowd.
- Make Ahead: You can make these sausage balls ahead of time and reheat for breakfast, brunch, an appetizer or snack! We even had them for dinner!
Ingredients for Rotel Cream Cheese Sausage Balls
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Cream Cheese: Allow it to soften to room temperature. I don’t recommend using reduced fat. You need all the fat to help hold the balls together.
- Ground Sausage: You can choose any ground sausage you like. I used mild sausage but I’ve seen this made with spicy as well. You can also use chicken or turkey sausage.
- Bisquick: This acts like the breadcrumbs from a normal meatball recipe to hold the meat together but Bisquick adds a unique texture.
- Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies: You could use a generic brand, but Rotel has the best flavor and just a hint of spice. Be sure and drain the can really well.
- Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend: You could easily substitute cheddar cheese, colby jack or pepper jack cheese.
Tools
- Electric Hand Mixer: This isn’t necessary but it makes it very easy to mix up the meat mixture
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper: Not required, but will keep your sausage balls from burning on the bottom. You can also use a silicone baking sheet.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Use an electric hand mixer to mix the cream cheese until it softens.
Step 2: Then add the sausage, bisquick, and drained Rotel. Mix until fully combined.
Step 3: Add the shredded cheddar cheese to the mixture and mix until fully incorporated.
Step 4: Scoop the biscuit dough into 2 tablespoon portions and roll into equal balls. Place the balls on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet
Step 5: Bake the sausage balls in the oven for 18-20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
EXPERT tips
- It’s very important to drain the can of Rotel well so you don’t get too much moisture in your mixture. Try dumping your tomatoes and green chilies into a colander and let it sit for a minute or two to drain as much as possible.
- These Rotel Cream Cheese Sausage Balls are not too spicy but if you want more spice feel free to use spicy sausage and even a dash of hot sauce or a sprinkle of red pepper flakes to turn up the heat.
- Don’t overmix. This is important any time you are making meatballs. Mixing too much will cause the fat in your meat to break down and make the balls tough. Mix until just combined.
- I recommend using a cookie dough scooper to scoop your balls. This helps ensure you don’t overwork the dough and gives you consistent-sized balls.
Recipe FAQs
Store any leftover sausage balls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Heat them up in the oven or air fryer to enjoy again later.
Place the leftover sausage balls on a baking sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes to allow the balls to quickly freeze, then transfer to a freezer-safe container. Freeze them for up to three months. You can also freeze the balls prior to baking if you prefer ro bake them just before serving.
Your sausage balls may dry out if there is too much bisquick in the mixture. You can try adding a splash of milk to save the mixture, but next time reduce the amount of Bisquick you use. The recipe should now turn out dry as is.
It is important not to overcook or undercook these Rotel Cream Cheese Sausage Balls. They are usually done when they are slightly browned on the outside. The internal temperature should reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
You can honestly enjoy these hot or cold but I prefer them warm. They have plenty of flavor to be enjoyed all by themselves but it’s fun to offer a few different dipping sauces.
The flavor of these sausage balls could honestly be enjoyed as a snack, appetizer or side for breakfast or brunch. We ate leftovers for dinner with mashed potatoes and broccoli.
Did you enjoy this Rotel Cream Cheese Sausage Ball Recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
If you tried this Rotel Cream Cheese Sausage Balls Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Rotel Cream Cheese Sausage Balls
Equipment
- Electric Hand Mixer This isn’t necessary but it makes it very easy to mix up the meat mixture
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper Not required, but will keep your sausage balls from burning on the bottom. You can also use a silicone baking sheet.
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 lb ground sausage
- 1 ½ cups Bisquick
- 10 oz Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained, 1 can
- 2 cups Mexican blend cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, use an electric hand mixer to mix the cream cheese until it softens. Then add the sausage, bisquick, and drained Rotel until fully combined.
- Add the shredded cheddar cheese to the mixture and use a wooden spoon or your hands to mix until fully incorporated.
- Portion the biscuit dough into 2 Tbsp portions and roll into equal balls.
- Place the balls on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet and put in the oven for 18-20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Cream Cheese: Allow it to soften to room temperature. I don’t recommend using reduced fat. You need all the fat to help hold the balls together.
- Ground Sausage: You can choose any ground sausage you like. I used mild sausage but I’ve seen this made with spicy as well. You can also use chicken or turkey sausage.
- Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies: You could use a generic brand, but Rotel has the best flavor and just a hint of spice. Be sure and drain the can really well.
- Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend: You could easily substitute cheddar cheese, colby jack or pepper jack cheese.
- It’s very important to drain the can of Rotel well so you don’t get too much moisture in your mixture. Try dumping your tomatoes and green chilies into a colander and let it sit for a minute or two to drain as much as possible.
- These Rotel Cream Cheese Sausage Balls are not too spicy but if you want more spice feel free to use spicy sausage and even a dash of hot sauce or a sprinkle of red pepper flakes to turn up the heat.
- Don’t overmix. This is important any time you are making meatballs. Mixing too much will cause the fat in your meat to break down and make the balls tough. Mix until just combined.
- I recommend using a cookie dough scooper to scoop your balls. This helps ensure you don’t overwork the dough and gives you consistent-sized balls.
