Cheesy Sausage Bites
My friend Jenn was a domestic goddess back before being a domestic goddess was cool. During our days at UNC-Chapel Hill, while the rest of the student body was doing keg stands and pulling all-nighters at the undergrad library, she was roasting turkeys and baking blueberry muffins. Needless to say, her bubbly personality wasn’t the only reason I thoroughly enjoyed our friendship.
Since she was such an outstanding cook, I knew any recipes she shared with me would be money. This one, for example, is a hit every time. It’s a creamy blend of cheeses, sausage, and vegetables, baked in a buttery crust. It’s an obvious choice for brunch, but I’ve also served them as hors d’oeuvres for parties and showers, always to rave reviews.
Cheesy Sausage Bites
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Prep time
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Total time
You’ll notice there’s quite a lot of grating in this recipe. A food processor makes short work of it.
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- 1 pound breakfast sausage
- 1 medium zucchini, grated
- 1 medium yellow onion, grated
- 8 oz. fresh white mushrooms, grated
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 (8 oz.) cans crescent roll dough
- 12 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium large pan, brown the sausage over medium-high heat, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks. When there’s no pink left, transfer the sausage to a mesh strainer to drain the fat. Return the sausage to the pan. Add the zucchini, onion, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until most of the liquid from the mushrooms and zucchini has evaporated. Stir in the salt and pepper, then set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Remove the crescent roll dough from the can and lay it out in one big rectangle, pressing the seams together to seal. Cut it into 1- to 1½-inch squares, depending on the size of your mini muffin tins.
- Lay a square of dough into each muffin tin, then lightly press the dough onto the bottom and sides to make a little cup. The corners of the square should be at or above the top of the tin.
- In a large bowl, combine the sausage mixture with the cheddar and cream cheeses. Mix well (clean hands are the best tool for the job). Add about a tablespoon of the sausage mixture to each cup (a #70 cookie dough scoop is the perfect tool for this).
- Bake at 350° for 9 to 10 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before lifting each bite gently from the pan with a spoon.