If there’s anything more enjoyable than finger foods, it’s finger foods with sausage in them. The flavor of Italian sausage is a no-brainer when it comes to Italian dishes, but it’s wonderful in these Bisquick sausage balls as well.

The flavor of this dish comes not only from the spices in the sausage (buy anything from sweet to hot), but also from chives and freshly-grated cheddar cheese. Using fresh cheese grated from a block means that the sausage balls will have more moisture when they come out of the oven.

This recipe calls for cheddar cheese, but you could use Colby or pepper jack if you prefer. The only cheeses to not use in this recipe are ones that are too hard, too soft, or have an overwhelming flavor. Outside of that you have a lot of options.

These sausage balls are the perfect appetizer (with ranch to dip them in!), but we could also see these flavorful nibbles being an ideal topping for a mushroom risotto or perhaps a rice pilaf. The possibilities are endless and you won’t believe how easy these tasty treats are to make.

To make these Bisquick sausage balls remove the casing of your Italian sausage. Or you can skip this step if you can find Italian sausage without casings at your grocery store.

Then combine all the ingredients into one bowl and blend well. Roll the mixture into 24 equal balls and refrigerate for 30 minutes so that the balls don’t melt in the oven. Then bake at 350˚F for 20-25 minutes or until the outsides become a tempting golden brown color.

They’ll look fried even though you baked them in the oven. It’s so much easier than standing over a pan of hot oil!

If you need an easy (but impressive) appetizer or you just want to add some pizazz to a meal you already enjoy making, these Bisquick sausage balls are just the ticket and only require 5 ingredients to make. Talk about bang for your buck.