Bacon Wrapped Stuffing Balls
Bacon Wrapped Stuffing Balls are here to rock your holiday! Dress up leftover stuffing with cheese, barbecue sauce, and dried cranberries, wrap in bacon and bake for these super tasty, salty sweet stuffing balls. Directions for making easy stuffing are included to make these any time of year for a special treat or party finger food.
Why you will love this recipe
I am always looking for creative leftover stuffing recipes because as much as I love my best ever stuffing recipe, even I can tired of eating it after like five meals.
Enter stuffing balls. These tasty bites are deliciously savory with a touch of sweet from the dried cranberries and bit of barbecue sauce. I used maple flavored bacon for another hint of sweetness as well.
You will love this recipe because it is soooo yummy and it is a perfect way to use up leftover stuffing. OR you can just make the stuffing super quick (see directions below) and make yourself some stuffing balls to enjoy anytime you dang well please.
About the ingredients
- Stuffing. This recipe calls for 3 cups of stuffing which is coincidentally (wink wink) precisely what you get if you make a box of Stovetop stuffing. Just saying.
- Dried cranberries.
- Mozzarella cheese. Adding a bit of cheese makes the “glue” to hold our stuffing together into balls.
- Barbecue sauce. I used purchased sauce because I was lazy, but if you would like, here is an amazing Cherry Chipotle Barbecue Sauce recipe that could completely complement the cranberries.
- Maple flavored bacon. If maple bacon is not available, regular bacon is fine. Just be sure to get thin/regular sliced bacon and not thick sliced bacon because it won’t cook properly in the oven.
If using my directions below to make stuffing, you will also need an egg, some dried minced onion, and water.
How to make stuffing balls
First, we obtain our stuffing by either using leftover stuffing or make up a new batch. Three cups is how much we want, which as I stated above, is equivalent to the amount you get when you make a box of Stovetop.
To the stuffing, we add the dried cranberries, mozzarella cheese, and barbecue sauce, and we mix these ingredients up in a bowl.
Lay out the 12 slices of bacon on a washable cutting board or large bake sheet. Grab a handful of stuffing, form a ball, and place on a strip of bacon. Repeat with the rest of the stuffing and strips of bacon. You will have to add to some and take away from others to distribute the stuffing evenly between the 12 stuffing balls.
Next we wrap the bacon around each stuffing ball, secure each with a toothpick, and bake. Using the toothpick ensures that the bacon stays put and does not unravel while cooking.
FAQs
Yes fresh cranberries should work fine, but the flavor profile will be a bit more tart. If using fresh cranberries, chop them up first before adding to the stuffing.
No. If maple flavored bacon is not available nor desired, regular bacon can be used.
Yes. You can make the stuffing mixture in advance and the stuffing balls can be assembled in advance. They can also be assembled in advance. All that can be done a day in advance. Note that when baking, if the stuffing balls are coming right from the fridge, they will take longer to cook so adjust the cook time accordingly.
Yes! Just make the balls and put one in each tin of a 12-muffin tin. Bake for 10-15 minutes until heated through and a little crispy on the outside.
Bacon Wrapped Stuffing Balls
Ingredients
- 3 cups prepared stuffing see Notes
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 2 Tbsp barbecue sauce
- 12 slices uncooked maple flavored bacon see Notes
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400°F.
- In a bowl, combine the stuffing, cranberries, cheese, and barbecue sauce.
- On a large cutting board or bake sheet, lay out the strips of bacon.
- Use your hands to grab a bit of stuffing (~heaping 1/4 cup) and form a ball. Place on a strip of bacon. Repeat with the rest of the stuffing mix, taking and adding to balls so they are uniform and all the stuffing is used.
- Wrap each slice of bacon around its stuffing ball, and secure each with a toothpick. Transfer onto a grate set over a rimmed bake sheet to catch the drippings.
- Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes or until bacon is cooked through and crisp.
