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Grilled Ground Sausage Meatball Kabobs Recipe

This Grilled Ground Sausage Meatball Kabobs recipe makes a really fun skewer to add to your barbecue. The meatballs are made from five simple ingredients.

For more ideas of what to make, check out all of our grilling recipes.

Three skewers with three meatballs each on a plate with painted flowers and the words "Grilled Ground Sausage Meatball Kabobs" digitally written on top.

We have a block party every year during the summer months when it’s still nice enough to grill outside. Hamburgers and hot dogs are always taken care of, so I try to come up with something different to bring as my protein contribution. This year, I brought our Grilled Ground Sausage Meatball Kabobs.

They’re the perfect backyard barbecue food. They’re made on the grill, so you can make them whenever everyone is ready to eat. And since they’re on skewers, they’re a great way for your guests to eat while carrying on being social. No one has to sit and eat.

And yes. I’m a big fan of mindful eating and not just shoving food into my mouth on the go. But at a party, it’s different. At a party, you want something that you can eat while you’re engaging with guests. That’s also why these don’t have a sauce with them. It’s really hard to concentrate on a conversation while you’re worried about sauce dripping down your chin.

Of course, these would be really good with a sweet and spicy sauce or a teriyaki sauce. You could even dip them in a homemade marinara sauce.

Just not when you’re making them for a party.

Two chicken kabobs on a grill with the words "Easy Shish Kabob Recipes" digitally written on top.

If you want to make some other skewers to go along with these, check out our list of Easy Shish Kabob Recipes.

Grilled Ground Sausage Meatball Kabobs Recipe

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Grilled Ground Sausage Meatball Kabobs Ingredients:

How To Make Grilled Ground Sausage Meatball Kabobs:

Finely chipped onions on a cutting board.

Finely chop the onion. Add it to a medium bowl.

Panko bread crumbs, ground sausage, an egg, and chopped onions in a bowl.

Add the ground sausage, bread crumbs, egg, and garlic powder to the bowl.

Meatloaf mixture in a bowl.

Mix until combined.

Meatloaf mixture in a cookie scoop.

Use a size 50 cookie scoop to scoop some of the meat mixture.

Using a cookie scoop guarantees that the size of your meatball won’t vary from meatball to meatball. This way, if they’re all uniform, they’ll all cook evenly.

You can eyeball the size if you don’t have a cookie scoop, but make sure you’re making small meatballs. Large meatballs will be too heavy and will fall off the skewers while they’re cooking.

Meatballs on a cookie sheet.

Gently shape the mixture into a ball and put it on a silicone baking mat-lined cookie sheet.

If you don’t have a silicone baking mat, you can use parchment paper. One of the great things about a baking mat is it’s reusable, so it’s more frugal and sustainable. But, as long as you have something down on the tray to prevent the raw meatballs from sticking, you’re fine.

Continue until you’re done with the meatball mixture. This should make about 28 meatballs.

Put the entire tray in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.

Meatballs on a skewers.

Take them out of the fridge and put three meatballs on a bamboo skewer, then put the sausage skewers back onto the baking sheet.

Meatball skewers on a cookie sheet.

Keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to grill.

Four Meatball skewers on a piece of foil on a grill.

When the grill is warm, put down a piece of aluminum foil.

Spray the foil with cooking spray. Or, if you don’t have aluminum foil, brush a little olive oil on the grill grates. You need to prepare them in some way so the meatballs don’t stick. Foil is easier for clean up.

Put the meatball skewers on top of the foil.

Cooked Meatball skewers on a piece of foil on a grill.

Grill them for about 20 minutes, rotating them a quarter turn every five minutes, until they’re cooked to an internal temperature of 145 F.

Quick note: Your cook time may vary depending on how constant you can keep the temperature of your grill. So, be sure to start turning the skewers when they start to brown and check the temperature when there isn’t any pink left in the meat.

I don’t serve them with any dipping sauce, but you could serve them with a pasta sauce, if you wanted.

Grilled Ground Sausage Meatball skewers on a white plate.

Grilled Ground Sausage Meatball Kabobs: Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of sausage works best in this recipe?

I use mild sausage when I’m making these kabobs because I’m usually making them for a party, so I want to make sure everyone will like them. If you want an extra kick, you could use hot Italian sausage instead.

A ground sausage log works best. But, if all you can find in your grocery store are sausage links, you can cut the casing off and use the sausage inside.

Can you use a different ground meat?

If you don’t eat pork, you could use ground turkey or lean ground beef instead. The flavor will be different, so you’ll need to add more seasoning to the meatball ingredients (since ground pork comes seasoned and other ground meats don’t), but the process to make these will be the same.

Can you use a red onion instead?

If all you have at home is a red onion, you could use it. But yellow onions are sweeter when they’re cooked, so they really offset the deep flavor of the sausage, making a really nice balance of flavor.

Can you make these sausage kabobs in the oven?

These are grilled kabobs. So, if you made them in the oven, they wouldn’t be the same.

However, if you want, you can make these in the oven. Set the oven to 350 F and bake them for about 25 minutes. Make sure to flip the skewers after 10 minutes so they cook evenly.

Do you have to soak the bamboo skewers in water before grilling?

I’ve never soaked skewers in water before grilling. The jury is out on if you really need to soak them or not. I never do it, but I also never step away from the grill when I’m grilling, so I’m not worried about them catching on fire.

How do you store leftover Grilled Ground Sausage Meatball Kabobs?

After the kabobs have cooled to room temperature, you can remove them from the wooden skewers. Place them in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge up to four days.

How to you reheat leftover sausage meatballs?

You can reheat these homemade meatballs in the microwave on high for one minute. Just note that when you do reheat them, there will be some grease on the bottom of the bowl, so you’ll want to drain that before eating.

A log of ground pork sausage on a table with the words "10+ Budget-Friendly Ground Sausage Recipes" digitally written on top.

More Ground Sausage Recipes:

If you bought extra ground sausage and you don’t want to use it to make a double batch of these meatballs, we have a ton of other ideas for you in our list of Budget-Friendly Ground Sausage Recipes. You’ll find an easy recipe for grilled sausage burgers, a great recipe for sausage and rice stuffed bell peppers, a few soup recipes, and more.

Yield: 10 Skewers

Grilled Ground Sausage Meatball Kabobs

This Grilled Ground Sausage Meatball Kabobs recipe makes a really fun skewer to add to your barbecue. The meatballs are made from five simple ingredients.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Additional Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 1 pound ground pork sausage
  • 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

  1. Finely chop the onion. Add it to a medium bowl.
  2. Add the ground sausage, bread crumbs, egg, and garlic powder to the bowl.
  3. Mix until combined.
  4. Use a size 50 cookie scoop to scoop some of the meat mixture.
  5. Gently shape the mixture into a ball and put it on a silicone baking mat-lined cookie sheet. Continue until you’re done with the meatball mixture. This should make about 28 meatballs.
  6. Put the entire tray in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
  7. Take them out of the fridge and put three meatballs on a bamboo skewer, then put the sausage skewers back onto the baking sheet.
  8. Keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to grill.
  9. When the grill is warm, put down a piece of aluminum foil.
  10. Spray the foil with cooking spray. 
  11. Put the meatball skewers on top of the foil.
  12. Grill them for about 20 minutes, rotating them a quarter turn every five minutes, until they’re cooked to an internal temperature of 145 F.

Nutrition Information

Yield

10

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 179Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 58mgSodium 416mgCarbohydrates 5gFiber 0gSugar 1gProtein 10g

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