Keto sausage balls are the perfect appetizer for any time of the year. These low carb, gluten-free buffalo chicken sausage balls are sure to be a hit at your Game Day celebrations. Make a double batch because they will go fast!
These keto sausage balls have a very special place at my Super Bowl celebrations every year. I originally created the recipe back in 2016 and took them to a friend’s party and they became an instant hit. Ever since then, my friends request that I bring my “balls” to any get together.
Yes, we do take it to lewd and childish places. Because that’s how middle aged men and women get their kicks, by acting like 12 year old boys. We have even hatched a plan for a local food truck called Carolyn’s Ballz. Because of course it has to end with a z.
All sorts of balls will be served at this imaginary food truck, from savory to sweet. They will all be keto-friendly, of course, and all perfect bite-sized round balls of deliciousness. I can envision some of my best ball-shaped treats, such as the cheddar jalapeño meatballs, the chicken piccata meatballs, and my famous keto peanut butter truffles. And perhaps my coconut rum balls and some keto-friendly snowballs too.
Round, bite-sized food is where it’s at, my friends. And these Buffalo Chicken Sausage Balls are the delicious appetizers that kicked off the trend.
Revamping my keto sausage balls recipe
After several years, I decided it was time to update this recipe. Because I originally created these keto sausage balls with Buffalo flavored chicken sausage. The problem is that this particular brand and flavor of sausage isn’t available to everyone and I like my recipes to be accessible across the board.
So I decided to overhaul the whole thing and start from scratch, using regular chicken sausage, adding in the Buffalo sauce and other seasonings to get the right flavor and consistency.
I also decided to cut back on the flours and reduce the carb count while I was at it. And so you have it… new and improved Buffalo Chicken Sausage Balls.
Is Buffalo chicken keto?
There are so many things you have to forego on a keto diet, but thankfully buffalo chicken isn’t one of them. Just make sure your chicken isn’t breaded or dredged in something that contains gluten, grains, or starches.
The original Buffalo wings were made with melted butter and Frank’s Hot Sauce, which contains only cayenne peppers, vinegar, water, salt, and garlic powder. This is a great zero carb option for Buffalo chicken recipes.
But now there are any number of Buffalo wing sauce brands out there, and many of them contain soybean or canola oil. While they are technically still keto-friendly, they aren’t your healthiest option.
Better choices include paleo-friendly sauces from brands such as Tessamae’s and The New Primal. You could also simply make your own by mixing melted butter and Frank’s Original Hot sauce at a one-to-one ratio.
How to make Keto Buffalo Sausage Balls
Sausage balls are quite similar to meatballs, although they start with already pre-seasoned sausage. They also tend to contain more dry filler than meatballs do, and usually have shredded Cheddar cheese mixed in as well. Meatballs often have eggs to bind them, whereas sausage balls
Bulk sausage: Bulk sausage refers to seasoned ground meat that isn’t in casings like link sausages. You can use link sausages too, as long as they are fresh and uncooked. You can simply slit the casings and remove the sausage. It isn’t always easy to find bulk chicken sausage, but it’s more mild in flavor than pork sausage so I recommend it.
If you simply can’t find chicken sausage, just use ground chicken. Once you add in the Buffalo flavoring, it will taste much the same.
The filler: No Bisquick here! Originally I used 2 full cups of almond flour for these keto sausage balls but this time I used a combination of almond and coconut flours. Coconut flour on its own tends to make things like this too dry, but the combination was perfect and it reduced the carb count.
The cheese: In the first iteration of this recipe, I used both cheddar and crumbled bleu cheese. This time I used only cheddar in the sausage balls themselves, reserving the bleu cheese for the dipping sauce. This makes them a little more friendly to kids and to those who simply don’t like that funny bleu cheese tang.
Ready to make some seriously good Keto Buffalo Chicken Sausage Balls?
More delicious Keto Buffalo Chicken recipes
Keto Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks
Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Avocados
Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats
Buffalo Chicken Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Wings
Keto Buffalo Chicken Sausage Balls
Ingredients
Sausage Balls:
- 24 ounces bulk chicken sausage or ground chicken (casings removed if sold as links)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/2 cup Buffalo wing sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
Bleu Cheese Ranch Dipping Sauce:
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk can substitute regular milk
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp dried dill
- ½ tsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¼ cup crumbled bleu cheese or more, if desired
Instructions
Sausage Balls:
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or tin foil.
- In a large bowl, combine the sausage, cheddar cheese, almond flour, coconut flour, Buffalo sauce, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Mix thoroughly until well combined.
- Roll into 1-inch balls and place about an inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake 25 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm with dipping sauce.
Dipping Sauce:
- While the sausage balls are baking, combine mayonnaise, almond milk, garlic, dill, parsley, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir well and then mix in crumbled bleu cheese.
Notes
Total fat: 14.02g
Carbohydrate: 3.90g
Total dietary fiber: 1.67g
Protein: 14.54g
Nutrition
Erin M. says
These look amazing and a lot quicker to make than my normal game day chicken strips with pork rind coating. Going to give them a try this year.
Voted for your recipe!
Carolyn says
Thanks, Erin!
Kathy M. says
What brand bleu cheese did you use? Not all bleu cheeses are gluten free.
Carolyn says
Whole Foods raw milk bleu cheese crumbles. It does contain a little potato starch to keep it from clumping, but no wheat. But if people buy non-crumbled bleu cheese and crumble it themselves, it should certainly be gluten-free.
Kristen says
Is the net carb count per ball or for all 12?
Carolyn says
Per 4 balls (4 per serving, 12 servings…as an appetizer).
Jan says
I was pleasantly surprised to find out my local Kroger store carries al fresco products. I’ll be getting some of this Buffalo Chicken Sausage to try these sausage balls. I may not be obsessed like your son, but I am a huge fan of buffalo sauce 🙂 These sound like a great thing to make for the Superbowl. Thanks.
Kate says
Looks fantastic, Carolyn ! Who doesn’t loved Buffalo and Bleu cheese 🙂
I voted for you, and saw that you’re “way” ahead in votes ! Yea !!
Diane says
Just made these…..YUM! So addicting!
Barbara Schlatter says
Carolyn, I need your recipe for Chia crackers ! I looked and searched ( the search bar box) does not work. and finally gave up .
I hope that you will find a way to make a recipe search easier. A very good example is http://WWW.gourmetgirlcooks.com . One is able to access a recipe tout de suite.
/ThanksCarolyn !
Carolyn says
Hi Barbara…my search box is working just fine. I just used it right now to get you the link to the recipe. It may be your browser?
https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2014/08/low-carb-rosemary-parmesan-chia-seed-crackers-nut-free.html
Kate says
Worked fine for me. I typed Chia Crackers and I got the same link back Carolyn posted. I also haven’t had any issues in the past. I literally wore it out over the holidays 🙂
I used Firefox v43.0.4. I believe it’s the most current. Maybe Carolyn is right ? Strange stuff !
Evelyn says
I use Chrome and the result is https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2014/08/low-carb-rosemary-parmesan-chia-seed-crackers-nut-free.html
Seems to work fine
Holly Waterfall says
I too love everything buffalo flavored! My family would love these for game day, movie night… or just any time really.
[email protected]/wp says
Voted for AND pinned your recipe. It looks delicious.
Paula says
I kept checking the recipe for some sort of liquid to hold everything together, but lo and behold, it all stuck together just fine, especially after they cooled a little bit. My new favorite thing. Thank you Carolyn!
Dena Swinson says
The Al Fresco sausages you use are not available in my neck in the woods. Any substitute suggestions?
Carolyn says
Any sort of chicken sausage (or pork, if you prefer) and add buffalo sauce to it. Maybe 1/4 cup? You may need additional almond flour to make up for the added liquid.
Dena Swinson says
Great, thanks! I’ll try it tomorrow 🙂
KalynsKitchen says
Hi Carolyn,
Just letting you know I featured these meatballs today in my weekly Low-Carb Recipe Love on Fridays post, which was all about low-carb meatballs today. (And I leave these comments partly so I can tell I’ve featured this recipe, in case I find it again!) Hope a lot of my readers will try the meatballs!
[email protected] says
Interesting recipe. Thanks for sharing. I wiil try it next weekend.
Rachel @ Cooklogic.com says
Can’t wait to try this out with my girls. Your photos are great, what camera do you use?
Carolyn says
Canon 6D
Terry Masten says
Do you have a newsletter?
Carolyn says
Yes, you can sign up right here http://madmimi.com/signups/107971/join
Kim - Today's Creative Life says
I can see why your son would be obsessed with these! Looks delicious!
Michael Wurm Jr says
This is my favorite flavor combo! What an awesome recipe!
xo Michael
Rachael says
My family loves recipes like this, especially during football season. Thanks so much for sharing.
Sabrina says
Adding these to my game day food spread! I know everyone is going to love them!
Jessica Burgess says
Get in my belly! I love buffalo anything! Cannot wait to try these!
Krissy Allori says
I love that these are gluten free! I can’t wait to try them with my family!
Jamielyn says
Such a yummy appetizer!
Rachael Yerkes says
These are so perfect for game day! Love them so much
Becky Hardin says
Perfect for game day! They look so good.
Allyson Zea says
Buffalo EVERYTHING for me! I love this stuff!!!
Anna says
We loved these as an appetizer for our party! They were gone in no time!
Jocelyn says
Our son is obsessed with all things hot sauce or buffalo too!! These are a must make for our game days!
JP says
Do these require any butter with the Frank’s original sauce? Can’t wait to try them!
Carolyn says
Yes, I mentioned that in the blog post itself. If you want to use the original, you will want a 1:1 ratio of the sauce and melted butter.
Holly says
I’m obsessed with everything buffalo! Thanks for the recipe! However, I recently found out that my body no longer tolerates dairy. My fingers swell up if I eat it. 🙁 So, I will attempt to make these without the cheese and hope they still hold up okay. Fingers crossed!
Cindy says
Can another kind of cheese be used? I don’t like blue cheese.
Carolyn says
Absolutely OR… you can leave it out altogether.
Nick says
Made these yesterday and only got 32 balls, I guess the scoop I used was an inch and a half. Nobody complained about them being larger, LOL. They were light, satisfying and delicious. Thanks for the great recipe!
Carolyn says
It’s all good!
Sarah says
I made these and everyone loved them. However, they were very soft and almost fell apart when I pick them up. The only thing I changed and the recipe is omitted the coconut flour and just added extra almond flour because I didn’t have any. Can I add an egg in to bind it together better? I prefer if they were a little more firm. But they were delicious.
Carolyn says
Yes, well that’s your problem right there.
Emily says
Can these be prepped ahead and kept refrigerated the night
Before baking?
Carolyn says
yes, that should be fine.