These buffalo chicken meatballs are the perfect appetizer for any gathering. They are made with ground chicken, spices, and breadcrumbs tossed in a buffalo sauce. Watch these little morsels disappear at your next holiday party or game day celebration.
When the time comes for you to host or attend a party and you need an easy to make and flavorful appetizer, these buffalo chicken meatballs are the perfect choice. They make the perfect little bite and when it comes to game day, they will be a complete hit. One of the best things is they only take 30 minutes to make so you don’t have to spend a lot of time and effort. Topped with some crumbled blue cheese and you will watch these meatballs disappear before your eyes.
In this recipe
One of my favorite things about this recipe is you will have most of the ingredients in your kitchen or pantry right now. Which makes it easy to just “whip them up” or “throw them together” like you didn’t have to put too much effort into them. Which is one of my favorite ways to cook.
Ground chicken: I tend to like to use ground chicken that is a little fattier, around 92-95% versus 97% ground chicken.
Buffalo sauce: I like to use Franks Red Hot for this recipe however you can use any hot sauce that you would like for this recipe.
Breadcrumbs: are going to be what binds the meatballs together. Since they absorb fat and water using ground chicken with a higher fat % will give you a more tender meatball.
Keys to not overmixing.
One of the biggest contributors to a dry meatball is overmixing. The easiest way to avoid that is to try and mix as quickly and little as possible. Add all of the ingredients to the chicken except the breadcrumbs, once they are just barely mixed add the breadcrumbs. They will absorb some of the liquid and make it easier to mix. To test the chicken, make a patty the size of your palm and press it into your hand. Just above the mixing bowl turn your hand palm side down. The meat should stick for a couple of seconds and then release.
The scoop is your friend.
One of my favorite tools for making meatballs is to use my 2-tablespoon cookie scoop. This ensures that the meatballs are uniform in size and similarly shaped. That way they will all cook at the same rate. My other favorite tool is the baking rack. By keeping them elevated all sides will be nice and crispy instead of the part of the meatball that is touching the pan cooking in the fat and juices.
How to make buffalo chicken meatballs in 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven, and while that is getting warm go ahead and mix the chicken with all of the ingredients except for the breadcrumbs. Once mixed add the breadcrumbs and mix until just combined. This should take about 5 minutes. Using the cookie scoop portion out the meatballs and roll them placing them on the baking rack. This can take up to 10 minutes.
From there just pop them in the oven and they will be ready in 15 minutes. While the meatballs are cooking you will bring the sauce to a boil and then immediately remove it from the heat. Toss the meatballs in a bowl with the sauce, pour into a serving dish and top with crumbled blue cheese.
What do you serve with buffalo chicken meatballs?
This isn’t an all-inclusive list however here are some of my favorites:
Looking for other game day recipes?
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Equipment
- Sheet pan with a baking rack
- Mixing Bowl
- Saucepan
- 2 tablespoon scoop
Ingredients
Chicken Meatballs
- 2 pounds ground chicken
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Buffalo Sauce
- ¾ cup buffalo sauce
- ⅓ cup butter
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar packed
- 2 ounces blue cheese crumbled, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F, 200°C, or gas mark 6.
- In a bowl add the chicken, eggs, salt, cumin, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper. Mix until combined then add the breadcrumbs. Mix until the breadcrumbs are evenly mixed.
- Using the 2-tablespoon scoop roll out the meatballs and place them on the sheet pan with a baking rack. Cook for 15 minutes and the meatballs are golden brown.
- While the meatballs are cooking add the buffalo sauce, butter and brown sugar into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and then remove from the heat.
- Place the cooked meatballs into a mixing bowl and pour the sauce on top. Toss or stir to coat evenly.
- Top with crumbled blue cheese.
Nutrition
