BBQ Sausage Bites

These BBQ sausage bites are probably the easiest appetizer I've ever made, and somehow they're always the first thing to disappear at parties. Two ingredients. That's it. Smoked sausage and barbecue sauce. You slice the sausage, toss it with sauce, bake it for a while, and you're done. The sausage gets all caramelized and sticky from the sauce reducing in the oven, and people lose their minds over them. I started making these maybe five years ago when I forgot I'd volunteered to bring an appetizer to a friend's party and had about an hour to figure something out. Grabbed what I had in the fridge, threw it together, and now it's the most requested thing I make.

My brother-in-law is one of those people who's kind of picky about food. He doesn't like complicated flavors or anything too fancy. But he ate probably a dozen of these at Thanksgiving last year and then asked my sister if she knew how to make them. When she told him it was just sausage and barbecue sauce, he didn't believe her. He thought there had to be some secret ingredient I wasn't sharing. Nope. Just those two things. Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best ones.

What You'll Need

• Smoked sausage: Those pre-cooked tubes of sausage in the meat section, usually labeled as kielbasa or smoked sausage. I grab the skinless kind because it's easier to work with and the texture is better. Two 14-ounce packages give you enough for a good-sized crowd without being overwhelming.
• BBQ sauce: Any brand works, though I usually buy Sweet Baby Ray's because it's sweet and thick and everyone seems to like it. You need about a cup and a half, which is most of a standard bottle. The sauce is what creates that sticky glaze as it bakes down and caramelizes in the oven.

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Making Glazed Sausage

Getting everything ready:

Turn your oven to 350 degrees and let it heat up while you prep the sausage. Take out a 9x13 baking dish and spray it really well with cooking spray so the sticky sauce won't cement itself to the pan later. Trust me on this one—I've scrubbed too many pans to skip this step anymore.

Slicing the sausage:

Pull your smoked sausage out of the package and grab a sharp knife. Cut the sausage into pieces about an inch thick, working your way down the whole tube. You want them all roughly the same size so they cook evenly and look uniform on the platter. Don't stress about measuring each piece—just eyeball it and get them close to an inch. Repeat with the second package until you've got all your sausage sliced up and ready to go.

Coating with sauce:

Dump all your sliced sausage pieces into a medium mixing bowl. Pour the barbecue sauce over the top and grab a big spoon or spatula. Stir everything together, making sure every single piece of sausage gets coated completely in sauce. You want sauce clinging to all sides of each piece so they all get that caramelized glaze in the oven. Take your time with this—uncoated spots won't taste as good.

Baking until sticky:

Spread your sauce-covered sausage pieces into your prepared baking dish in a single layer as much as possible. Some pieces will overlap and that's fine, but try to spread them out reasonably. Slide the dish into your preheated oven and set a timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, pull the dish out and stir everything around so the pieces on the edges switch places with the ones in the middle. This keeps everything cooking evenly and prevents the edges from drying out. Put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes, then stir again. After the third 15-minute interval, give it one more stir and check your sauce. It should look thick and bubbly and reduced, clinging to the sausage pieces instead of pooling watery in the bottom of the pan. If it still looks thin, give it a few more minutes. When the sauce is thick and sticky and the sausage pieces have some caramelized edges, you're done. Take it out and let it cool for just a couple minutes before serving.

Things You Should Know

• Stirring: Stirring every 15 minutes is annoying but really important because it keeps the sauce from burning on the bottom while making sure every piece gets evenly glazed and caramelized
• Glaze texture: The sauce will look too thick and almost burnt on some pieces toward the end, but that's exactly what you want for maximum flavor and that sticky coating everyone loves
• Sausage type: You can use any type of smoked sausage for this, whether it's regular beef and pork, turkey sausage, or even those fancy andouille varieties if you want more spice

The first time I made these, I didn't stir them at all during baking. Just stuck them in the oven and walked away for 45 minutes. The pieces on the edges were practically charred while the ones in the middle were barely warm and sitting in watery sauce. Now I set timers on my phone so I don't forget to stir, and they come out perfect every single time. Those few seconds of stirring make all the difference.

I've tried this with different barbecue sauces over the years. The really vinegary Carolina-style sauces don't work as well because they're too thin and don't reduce into that thick glaze. Stick with the thicker, sweeter sauces like Sweet Baby Ray's, KC Masterpiece, or even store brands that have that same consistency. The thickness is what creates that coating that makes these so addictive.

Cutting the sausage into one-inch pieces is pretty important. I made them with half-inch pieces once thinking smaller would be better, and they dried out too much in the oven. Too big, like two inches, and they don't heat all the way through evenly. One inch is the sweet spot where they stay juicy inside while getting that nice exterior.

The cooking spray on the pan is non-negotiable. That reduced barbecue sauce basically turns into caramel and will glue itself to your pan if you don't grease it first. I've stood at the sink scrubbing stuck-on sauce for way too long before I learned this lesson. Now I spray generously and everything slides right out.

Using skinless sausage instead of the kind with natural casing makes a difference in texture. The casing can get a little tough and chewy when it bakes for that long. Skinless sausage stays tender and just develops this nice exterior while the inside stays juicy.

Serving These Bites

Transfer these to a serving platter or bowl while they're still warm and stick a cup of toothpicks right next to them so people can spear pieces easily. They're perfect for game day parties where people want to snack while watching the TV and don't want to deal with plates. Set them out on the coffee table or kitchen counter where people can grab them between plays. These work great as part of a bigger appetizer spread alongside wings, chips and dip, or veggie trays. For potlucks, I usually keep them warm in a small slow cooker on the low setting after baking so they stay hot throughout the party. You can also serve them over rice or with dinner rolls on the side if you want to make them more substantial.

Different Ways to Make Them

Try using spicy barbecue sauce or add a few shakes of hot sauce to the regular kind if your crowd likes heat. Mix in some pineapple chunks with the sausage before baking for a sweet and savory Hawaiian vibe. Use honey mustard instead of barbecue sauce for a completely different flavor profile that's tangy and sweet. Add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to the barbecue sauce for extra tanginess that cuts through the richness. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top during the last 10 minutes of baking for a little crunch and visual interest. For a smokier flavor, add a teaspoon of liquid smoke to the sauce before coating the sausage. During fall, I sometimes use a maple barbecue sauce that adds this nice seasonal touch.

Storage and Warming Up

These keep in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container, and they actually taste even better the next day after the flavors have had time to meld together. Reheat them in a baking dish at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes until they're warmed through and the sauce gets sticky again. You can also reheat them in the microwave if you're in a hurry, though they won't get quite as sticky and caramelized as they do in the oven. For parties, make these a day ahead and reheat right before guests arrive to save yourself stress. They also freeze surprisingly well for up to 3 months in a freezer bag—just thaw them in the fridge overnight and reheat as usual. Don't leave these sitting out at room temperature for more than 2 hours since they're meat-based.

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I've made these BBQ sausage bites for more parties than I can count at this point. Super Bowl gatherings, birthday parties, holiday get-togethers, random weeknight dinners when I don't feel like cooking anything complicated. They're my emergency appetizer that I know will work no matter what. Nobody has ever complained about them being too simple or boring—if anything, people are shocked when I tell them how easy they are to make. There's something really satisfying about a recipe that delivers maximum flavor with minimum effort. The smell of them baking fills your whole house with this sweet smoky aroma that makes everyone hungry. And watching a whole platter disappear in like 20 minutes always makes me feel like I did something right. These are the definition of a crowd-pleaser that never lets me down!

Frequently Asked Questions

→ Can I make these in a slow cooker instead?

Yes! Mix the sausage and BBQ sauce in your slow cooker and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours or high for 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

→ What kind of sausage works best?

Smoked sausage or kielbasa work great. You can also use cocktail sausages or Little Smokies - just adjust the slicing accordingly.

→ Can I add other ingredients?

Definitely! Some people add a splash of hot sauce, a spoonful of brown sugar, or even some pineapple chunks for a sweet and savory twist.

→ How do I keep them warm at a party?

Transfer them to a slow cooker on the warm or low setting. They'll stay hot and ready to eat for hours without drying out.

→ Can I double this recipe?

Sure! Just use a larger baking dish or two 9x13 pans. The baking time should stay about the same, just keep stirring every 15 minutes.

→ Do I have to stir them while baking?

Yes, stirring every 15 minutes helps the sauce coat everything evenly and prevents the bottom from burning. It also helps the sauce thicken up nicely.