Buffalo Chicken Meatballs are the ultimate appetizer for game days, parties, and more! You’ll love these spicy chicken meatballs with tons of great buffalo flavor!
An Addictively Delicious Buffalo Chicken Appetizer!
Meatballs are a fantastic party appetizer, aren’t they? Hearty, savory, and piquant, they’re always a big hit at any event. Plus, they’re versatile. You can make them with almost any meat or sauce that you like!
Barbecue meatballs and grape jelly meatballs are popular, but don’t sleep on these easy buffalo chicken meatballs. They are a fantastic alternative to regular hot wings, and they are a lot easier to eat and serve. If you make buffalo chicken meatballs for your next Superbowl party or small plate dinner, you’ll be a hero. Ask me how I know!
The Ingredients You’ll Need
To make these easy chicken meatballs, you’ll need ground chicken, bread crumbs, the sauce ingredients, and a few basic pantry staples. Make sure to have your ground chicken defrosted before you start.
- Egg: Adding a large egg to the mixture keeps it from falling apart.
- Nut Milk: Any kind will do. If you are not dairy-free, you can also use regular milk.
- Buffalo Sauce: AKA wing sauce. You can use bottled buffalo sauce, or make your own.
- Breadcrumbs: To keep this recipe healthier, I use gluten-free, sugar-free panko breadcrumbs
- Seasonings: Garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Ground Chicken: You could also use ground turkey.
- Green Onions: The white and light green parts, thinly sliced.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Now that we’ve covered the ingredients, let’s talk about making the meatballs. It’s really not difficult to do. Here are the steps:
- Get Ready to Bake. Before you get started, preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make the Meatball Seasoning Mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and just one tablespoon of buffalo sauce. Add the breadcrumbs, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper, and stir well.
- Add the Ground Chicken. Add the ground chicken to the seasoning mixture, and use your hands or a fork to gently combine the ingredients just enough so everything is mixed through. Don’t overmix or the meatballs will be tough. The mixture will be soft and sticky.
- Shape the Meatballs. Scoop up about a tablespoon of the chicken mixture and roll it into a ball, and set it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken. You will have about 20 little meatballs.
- Bake. Bake the meatballs until they are golden on the bottom, and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
- Coat in Sauce. Using the edges of the parchment paper, roll the meatballs to the center of the baking sheet and drizzle the remaining buffalo sauce over them. Roll the meatballs in the sauce.
- Plate and Serve. Transfer the buffalo chicken meatballs onto a plate, and scatter the scallions on top. Serve with toothpicks and a small bowl of extra sauce on the side.
Why Are My Chicken Meatballs Mushy?
Mushy meatballs usually happen because there’s simply too much liquid in your recipe. For that reason, be extra careful when you measure all of the ingredients. You want just the right ratio of liquid ingredients (like milk) compared to solid ingredients (like breadcrumbs). If you make the chicken meatball mixture and you feel that it’s still too runny to form into balls, add more bread crumbs.
Is It Better to Fry or Bake Meatballs?
Frying and baking are both great methods for making meatballs. These buffalo chicken meatballs are baked for extra easy prep. However, you could also fry them if you like. Frying is a little trickier and a little messier, but it definitely adds a lot of flavor. If you do choose to fry, use a neutral oil like refined coconut oil or vegetable oil, and shallow fry in a skillet until done.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
Be sure to check out these helpful tips for tender, flavorful, buffalo chicken meatballs. Give them a read, and enjoy! Here we go:
- Handle with Care: to avoid tough meatballs make sure you handle the buffalo chicken meatball mixture carefully and gently. Don’t overmix.
- Use Wet Hands: what your hands with water or alternatively moisten them with a bit of oil before rolling the meatballs. This helps the mixture not stick to your hands and creates need or tidy or meatballs.
- Change the Sauce: you don’t have to stick to buffalo sauce with this recipe. You could also use any other sauce you like, such as teriyaki, barbecue, or sweet chili sauce.
Serving Suggestions
These are one of my favorite appetizers to serve as part of a special meal, game day spread, or party dinner. You can also serve them for a light meal with some of your other favorite appetizers, small-plate style. Need some ideas? Try these!
- Skewer Salads: I love serving a little fresh bite of salad ingredients, threaded onto small skewers. Case in point? These Watermelon Feta Blackberry Skewers! They taste like summertime. So irresistible!
- Pesto and Dippers: Another fresh, tempting choice is pesto. I like all kinds of different pestos, but one that is super nourishing and satisfying is this Broccoli Pesto Dip. Serve it with really good crackers, or fresh vegetables for dipping.
- Potato Bites: Loaded Mashed Potato Bites are just little mouthfuls of creamy potato, topped with all of your favorites and baked until done. So cute, and so yummy!
How to Store and Reheat the Leftovers
Leftover buffalo chicken meatballs will stay good in your fridge for up 3 – 5 days. Keep them in an airtight container for the best results. Heat them up on the stove in a covered skillet. Make sure you don’t let them scorch! Just heat on medium or medium-low until heated through.
Can You Freeze Chicken Meatballs?
Sure! These can be frozen cooked or uncooked, depending on how much prep you want to do later on. To freeze, cool them down and place them on a baking tray in your freezer. Let them hang out in there until frozen solid, and then transfer to a freezer bag. They will be good for up to two months frozen.
To cook frozen, uncooked buffalo chicken meatballs, just bake them directly from frozen according to the recipe, adding a few extra minutes so that they are cooked all the way through.
If you’re just warming up frozen, cooked meatballs, add the meatballs and sauce to a covered skillet over medium heat, and cook until the sauce simmers a bit and the meatballs are hot all the way through.
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons nut milk any kind
- 1 tablespoon + ¼ cup buffalo sauce divided, plus more for serving
- 1/2 cup gluten free sugar free panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 green onions white and light green parts thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl whisk together the egg, milk, and 1 tablespoon buffalo sauce. Add the breadcrumbs, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper, and stir well.
- Add the ground chicken and use your hands or a fork to gently combine the ingredients just enough so everything is mixed through.
- Don’t over mix or the meatballs will be tough. The mixture will be soft and sticky.
- Scoop up about a tablespoon of chicken mixture and roll it into a ball, and set it on the prepared baking sheet. Meatballs will feel wet.
- Repeat with the remaining chicken. You will have about 20 little meatballs.
- Bake the meatballs until they are golden on the bottom and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
- Using the edges of the parchment paper, roll the meatballs to the center of the baking sheet and drizzle the remaining 1/4 cup buffalo sauce over them. Roll the meatballs in the sauce. Transfer them onto a plate and scatter the scallions on top. Serve with toothpicks and a small bowl of extra sauce on the side.
Notes
- Storing: Leftover buffalo chicken meatballs will stay good in your fridge for up 3 – 5 days. Keep them in an airtight container for the best results. Heat them up on the stove in a covered skillet. Make sure you don’t let them scorch! Just heat on medium or medium-low until heated through.
- Freezing: These can be frozen cooked or uncooked, depending on how much prep you want to do later on. To freeze, cool them down and place them on a baking tray in your freezer. Let them hang out in there until frozen solid, and then transfer to a freezer bag. They will be good for up to two months frozen.