Name: Sausage Stuffing Balls – Juicy And Delicious
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 16 balls (roughly)
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)

good, soft and juicy sausage stuffing balls made with sausage, apple, garlic and herbs. These bite sized beauties are suited to any festive spread, be it Christmas, Thanksgiving or 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 we cannot forget about at this time of year! They're easy to make and let us tell you they are SO juicy, tender and good.

If we're making a roast dinner at this time of year we 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 we have a great recipe for making them at home from scratch without any casings or fancy equipment! Check out our 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 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).

Step by step photos for making sausage stuffing balls

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 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. We 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.

Swaps

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

Solid Party Food

As well as being solid 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

A close up of sausage stuffing balls on a plate with cranberry sauce

More good Sides To Serve

Ingredients

Makes 16 balls (roughly)

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)

Method

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.

Kitchen notes

Top Tips For Making Sausage Stuffing Balls

Use high quality sausages. This is 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. We 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.