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These Buffalo Chicken Meatballs are a lighter and healthier alternative to the traditional buffalo chicken wings. Tender chicken meatballs are easy to make, juicy, and so delicious. They can be enjoyed as a meal, a side dish, or as an appetizer for your guests.
These chicken meatballs are made with ground chicken or turkey meat, coated with seasoned breadcrumbs, baked until crispy and then tossed with a homemade buffalo sauce. Served with a creamy homemade blue cheese dip, super tasty and simple to make, and perfect to serve as is or serve guests as an appetizer for game day or parties.
Ingredients needed
Below is a list of ingredients you will need to make these buffalo chicken meatballs. Full measurements are listed further down below in the recipe card.
- Ground Chicken , or turkey meat
- Eggs
- Panko Breadcrumbs
- Hot Sauce: any hot sauce of your choice.
- Chopped Green Onion
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Freshly Chopped Parsley
- Crumbled Blue Cheese
- Greek Yogurt
- White or Red Wine Vinegar
- Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- Optional sides: celery, cucumber and carrot sticks
How to make buffalo chicken meatballs
- Start by preparing a dip, in a small serving bowl, whisk yogurt, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Add crumbled blue cheese, gently fold and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Next preheat the oven to 400F and line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Crack eggs into a bowl and lightly whisk for 30 seconds with a fork.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground meat, 1 cup panko, green onions, beaten eggs, and 1/3 cup of hot sauce. Add onion powder, garlic powder, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Using your clean hands, mix the meat until all the ingredients are incorporated and distributed evenly throughout the meat. You can also use a large wooden spoon or a spatula to mix.
- Now rub your hands with some oil and pinch off a piece of meat mixture (about 1 tablespoon). Gently roll the meat between your palms to form 1-1/2-inch meatballs.
- Dip the meatballs into the remaining panko breadcrumbs, gently pressing to coat on all sides. Place the meatballs into the prepared baking tray and lightly spray with cooking oil spray.
- Bake for 12 minutes until nicely golden brown. Remove from the oven and pour the remaining hot sauce on top.
- Toss to coat evenly, place the dish back into the oven and bake for additional 5-6 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Serve the buffalo chicken balls with the blue cheese dip and your favorite veggie sticks. Enjoy!
Tips for success
Recipe Tips
- Make the meatballs the same size so they cook evently
- Try not to overcook the meatballs
- Use homemade or store-bought buffalo sauce.
- You may use a mild hot sauce to keep the heat down.
Frequently asked questions
Chicken meatballs can be baked in the oven anywhere between 15-20 minutes at 400F. Make sure you spray the pan before adding the meatballs and then placing them in the oven to prevent the meatballs from sticking onto the pan.
Any meats will shrink when cooked. It is no surprise that your meatballs came out tough if you didn’t use any binders like breadcrumbs. Use binders like breadcrumbs or blended oats to keep them tender and moist.
Yes. If you have your favorite buffalo sauce and want to use it, go right ahead. You can also check out my post on how to make homemade buffalo sauce.
Yes. You can air fry these meatballs instead of baking them. Once you have coated the chicken meatballs with breadcrumbs, place them in a preheated air fryer basket and air fry at 370F for 10-12 minutes or until crispy. Open the air fryer basket half way and shake it.
What to serve with chicken meatballs
This healthy buffalo chicken meatballs can get served as an appetizer, enjoyed as is, or served as a side dish or along with other sides to make it into a complete meal. Here are some ideas of things you can serve with chicken meatballs:
- Spaghetti or Zucchini Noodles (zoodles)
- Cauliflower Rice
- Make them into subs/sandwiches
- Rice Pilaf
- Corn on the cob
- Roasted potatoes like this Baked Hasselback Potato recipe
- Grilled Veggies like these Brussel Sprouts or this roasted cauliflower
- Homemade Hummus
- This Cauliflower Mash
- Coleslaw or Salads – like this avocado cucumber tomatoes salad
More chicken recipes
- Buffalo Chicken Salad
- Thai Green Chicken Curry
- Healthy Chicken Alfredo Zoodles
- Chicken Pasta Salad
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Fried Rice
- Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan
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Easy Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
Chicken Meatballs
- 2 pounds Ground Chicken , or turkey meat
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1¼ Cups Panko Breadcrumbs, divided
- 1 Cup Hot Sauce, divided
- ¼ Cup Chopped Green Onion
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 Tbsp Freshly Chopped Parsley
Blue Cheese Dip:
- ½ Cup Crumbled Blue Cheese
- ½ Cup Greek Yogurt
- 1 tablespoon White or Red Wine Vinegar
- Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Optional sides
- celery, cucumber and/or carrot sticks
Instructions
- Start by preparing a dip, in a small serving bowl, whisk ½ Cup Greek Yogurt, 1 tablespoon White or Red Wine Vinegar, and Kosher salt and pepper. Add ½ Cup Crumbled Blue Cheese gently fold and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Next preheat the oven to 400F and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
- Crack 2 Large Eggs into a bowl and lightly whisk for 30 seconds with a fork. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 pounds Ground Chicken , ¼ Cup Chopped Green Onion, 1 cup of the 1¼ Cups Panko Breadcrumbs (save the 1/4 cup), beaten eggs, and 1/3 cup of the 1 Cup Hot Sauce.
- Add ½ teaspoon Onion Powder, and 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Using your clean hands, mix the meat until all the ingredients are incorporated and distributed evenly throughout the meat.
- You can also use a large wooden spoon or a spatula to mix. Now rub your hands with some oil and pinch off a piece of meat mixture (about 1 tablespoon). Gently roll the meat between your palms to form 1-1/2-inch meatballs.
- Dip the meatballs into the remaining panko breadcrumbs, gently pressing to coat on all sides.
- Place the meatballs into the prepared baking tray and lightly spray with cooking oil spray. Bake for 12 minutes until nicely golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and pour the remaining hot sauce on top. Toss to coat evenly, place the dish back into the oven and bake for an additional 5-6 minutes, or until cooked through. Garnish with 1 Tbsp Freshly Chopped Parsley.
- Serve the buffalo balls with the blue cheese dip and your favorite veggie sticks like celery, cucumber and/or carrot sticks. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Makes about 14-16 meatballs
- Serving size is 2 meatballs
- Use ground turkey in place of chicken for a substitute
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I see in the video the parsley is added to the meat mixture, but it’s not in the instructions. Please verify!
I Alex. Yes, that’s a mistake on my part. The parsley is used to garnish and isn’t a necessary ingredient in the meatballs. I sometimes a bit with meatballs which threw me off as I was shooting the video.
Delicious! I also tried and substituted the hot sauce for bbq sauce for my kids and they turned out great as well. Soft and flavorful.
yummy. Glad they all loved it
Made this recipe today and it was absolutely delicious!
Thank you Jillian. Glad you liked it
Hi reciepe looks great! What do you suggest replacing the blue cheese with? We are not a fan of blue cheese
Hi there. You can use feta.
My kids preferred to dip in ranch
Do you know the best way to reheat the meatballs if you don’t eat them all?
Hi Joe. I prefer to use the microwave