Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
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Published Feb 01, 2022, Updated Jul 24, 2023
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These baked buffalo chicken meatballs are an easy and delicious appetizer for game day or any party. They’re loaded with flavor and sure to become a new fan favorite! They also make a great low-carb option for meal prep.
While I’ve never been a huge fan of traditional wings, I have always loved buffalo-inspired recipes and it seems like many of you do as well!
I’ve shared buffalo cauliflower wings, air fryer buffalo cauliflower and a buffalo cauliflower salad… so many buffalo cauliflower creations. But today we’re switching things up and making buffalo chicken meatballs.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- These meatballs are the perfect addition to any potluck or party spread.
- They’re low carb – only 2g of carbs per serving when made with almond flour.
- The meatballs come together in just one bowl – yay for minimal dishes!
- They can be enjoyed as an appetizer, but also as a main dish. They’re great for meal prep.
Ingredients Needed
- ground chicken – ground chicken is the base of this recipe. I tested the recipe with ground turkey and while it turned out, the flavor wasn’t my favorite. I highly recommend sticking with ground chicken here.
- buffalo sauce – I like Primal Kitchen’s buffalo sauce and Noble Made buffalo sauce, but any buffalo sauce works.
- egg – helps bind the meatballs together.
- green onions – you’re actually going to mix some green onions into the meatballs and top with additional green onion.
- diced carrots – I love adding some veggies into my meatballs. Just be sure sure to dice these up into really small chunks!
- almond flour or panko bread crumbs – along with the egg, this helps bind the meatballs together. For a gluten-free option, I recommend almond flour, otherwise, panko bread crumbs work great!
- garlic powder and onion powder – the perfect spice pairing to round out the recipe.
- sea salt and black pepper – brings the flavors of this dish together.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Start by mixing up your meatballs! In a large bowl, mix together the ground chicken, buffalo sauce, egg, green onions, carrots, almond flour or bread crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. You can use a spoon to mix but it might just be easier to get in there with clean hands to mix it up!
Use a cookie scoop or small spoon to scoop the chicken mixture and then use your hands to form it into balls. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400ºF for 18-20 minutes. When the meatballs are done cooking, drizzle on the remaining sauce and carefully toss the meatballs to coat.
pro tip! If you want to serve these as mini meatballs for an appetizer, use a Tablespoon to scoop the chicken mixture. This recipe will make 25 mini meatballs!
How to Serve Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
I love drizzling on ranch (my vegan ranch dressing would be delicious) or blue cheese dressing, blue cheese crumbles and green onions for serving these meatballs!
For a potluck, you can serve them on a platter paired with celery sticks and carrots or you could have each meatball drizzled with dressing and poked with a toothpick so they’re ready to eat!
I’ve also served these buffalo chicken meatballs for dinner. You can serve them over rice (or cauliflower rice) or simply pair with a salad or other veggie side and you’re good to go!
What to Pair with Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
- Dips – I like eating these meatballs as an appetizer paired with a blue cheese or ranch drizzle. You can also serve with extra ranch or blue cheese on the side for dipping. I also recommend fresh celery or carrot sticks to cool your mouth between bites, especially if your buffalo sauce is on the spicy side!
- Veggies – if you want to enjoy this as a main dish, I love these meatballs served over cauliflower rice or with a side of roasted vegetables like my broccoli or root vegetables.
How to Store
These meatballs are great for meal prep! Once cooled completely, store meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. To reheat, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and heat in the oven at 350°F until warm throughout. Alternatively, you can also reheat these in the microwave, toaster oven or air fryer.
More Game Day Snacks
- Sweet Potato Skins
- Easy Vegetarian Chili
- Cheesy Cauliflower Nachos
- Healthy 7-Layer Dip
- Zucchini Pizza Bites
- Creamy Hummus
- Healthy Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Whipped Feta Dip
- Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Easy Black Bean Dip
- Healthy Guacamole
Need more inspiration? Be sure to check out my full collection of healthy game day snacks and all of the appetizer recipes on EBF!
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- ½ cup buffalo sauce, divided
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup thinly sliced green onions, plus more for garnish
- ¼ cup finely diced carrots
- ⅓ cup almond flour or ¼ cup panko bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- blue cheese dressing or ranch and blue cheese crumbles, for serving
- celery sticks and carrot sticks, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl mix together the ground chicken, ¼ cup buffalo sauce, egg, green onions, carrots, almond flour, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
- Using a cookie scoop or small spoon, scoop the ground chicken mixture and use your hands to form into balls.
- Place the meatballs onto a prepared baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and drizzle on remaining ¼ cup hot sauce and gently toss the meatballs.
- Serve immediately with a drizzle of blue cheese or ranch dressing and extra green onions sprinkled on top.
Notes
- Mini meatballs – This recipe makes 12-15 regular size meatballs or 25 mini meatballs.Â
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi, I’m planning to make these for a party, how long would you bake them for the 25 mini meatballs please? Thanks! I found the Primal Buffalo Sauce and I’m excited to test it out.
Hi Whitney – You could probably cut the time in half, but I would still keep a close eye on them, possibly, 10-12 minutes should be enough time, just depends on how thick they are. Hope you enjoy this recipe!
Thanks so much for the info Brittany! I had 26 minis using my meatball scooper tongs and in my sadly-not-convection oven they took 12 mins. I used 1/3 cup almond flour and then added in a few dashes of the panko. I’m making these as a test for a tapas party I’m attending this weekend so I’m super happy to have found this recipe for something new and great for the GF attendees (if no panko)! Thank you. They’re SO delicious, oh my goodness. I did find they didn’t hold their shape too well, but not the end of the world.
Yay! I am glad to hear that they worked out great! Thanks so much for coming back and sharing your feedback, I really appreciate it!
forgot to mention I baked at 400, checked them at 10 mins and they were overdone. maybe because they were more flat but there were some good sized pumps so I’m not sure why mine turned out like this
making these now. any ideas for when meatballs are too mushy? and starting to fall apart?
Hi Mel – I would recommend adding a bit more almond flour or bread crumbs until you reach your desired consistency. Enjoy!
What is the buffalo sauce made of or what do you use for it?
Hi Susan – You can use any buffalo sauce that you’d like. I recommend Primal Kitchen or Noble Made buffalo sauce! Hope you enjoy these!
Mine were so wet I couldn’t even roll them into balls. I just placed them in a mound like when making cookies. They didn’t look to great but tasted good.
Oh no! I am sorry to hear that, Carrie. Did you change anything about the recipe? I am glad they were still able to be enjoyed though.
Could I get away with putting crumbled blue cheese into the meatball mix rather than using a blue cheese dressing?
Hi Walter! This is a great idea, I haven’t tried it, but I bet it would turn out for you! Let me know how it turns out!
Just made these and thy look good, however I want to freeze some for another time. Do I do this before or after baking, and do I reheat from frozen or extend reheating time?
I am so glad! I would recommend freezing after baking and then reheating in the oven. To reheat, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and heat in the oven at 350°F until warm throughout. Enjoy!
I followed the recipe exactly, using panko instead of almond flour. I found them a bit underwhelming. They fall apart very easily and had a lot of melted fat clinging to the meatballs when I took them out of the oven. Not sure what I did wrong.
Hi Emily – What was the consistency? They may have been a bit dry, which caused them to fall apart. I am not sure why there is more fat on them, ground chicken is usually pretty lean.
I love these meatballs! I’ve made this recipe a few times and always delicious. I bake them head of time and freeze them.
Sounds amazing, April. I am glad you are loving this recipe and they are great to make ahead of time. Thank you for your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
the recipe seems great and I would definitely try it. I am a big fan of meatballs. I remember my unce used to cook meatballs for me sometimes with spaghetti and sometimes with curry. I have eaten buffalo-flavored chicken burgers so I know how it taste. it would be a good combination with meatballs. i want to know whether I can use mutton meat instead of chicken or turkey as I prefer mutton over them. I have been searching for a mutton dish after I found out that the rates of chicken and mutton have not much difference. Additionally, mutton is more healthy so why not use mutton instead? kindly share the mutton recipe if possible
Hi – I have not cooked a ton with mutton so I am not sure, but after researching I believe it is a bit fattier than chicken or turkey so you would need to adjust this recipe a bit if switching up the meat.
Wish I could leave 4.5 stars, 4 isn’t quite enough! These were delicious, but like other reviewers I found the meat mixture to be on the wet side (moistening my hands with water to form balls was helpful). I used fresh garlic rather than powder, and instead of tossing with the remaining Buffalo sauce, I drizzled the sauce over the baked meatballs and popped them under the broiler for a few minutes – divine! Keeper recipe for sure; thank you for sharing!
Yay! I am SO glad you are loving this recipe and it turned out great for you. Thanks so much for coming back and sharing your review & star rating, I truly appreciate it!
I followed the recipe using almond flour and these were so mushy. I added some gluten free panko to the mix and scooped them onto the pan with an ice cream scoop. they were basically meat pumps instead of meatballs. the flavor was ok.
Hi Marie! Thanks so much for your feedback, I should retest these meatballs. What type of almond flour did you use? Curious why the mix stayed so wet for you, that shouldn’t have been the case.