Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs are incredibly easy, tender, and succulent. They're the perfect meatball appetizers for parties, gatherings, or family dinner.
Servings: 50 meatballs
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 3 pounds ground chicken
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup celery, very finely chopped, see notes
- ¾ cup Panko breadcrumbs, or regular breadcrumbs
- ½ cup green onions, thinly sliced, plus extra for garnish
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
For the Sauce:
- ½ cup hot sauce, I recommend Frank's Red Hot Original Sauce
- ½ cup honey, pure
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch, fully dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
Optional garnishes:
- Extra hot sauce, crumbled blue cheese, ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F with rack in middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine chicken, eggs, celery, breadcrumbs, green onion, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper (all the meatball ingredients)
- Mix until well combined. Use clean, water-dampened hands to form 1 1/2" meatballs, roughly 50 total. Place on prepared pans and bake one pan at a time for 15 minutes each. Meat thermometer should read 165 degrees.
- While meatballs are baking, make the sauce: Melt butter in a saucepan on medium-high heat. Whisk in the hot sauce and honey until smooth. Once smooth and bubbling, add the dissolved cornstarch, whisking until sauce is a bit thickened. Keep warm.
- Once all meatballs are done cooking, place them in a large bowl and gently toss the sauce onto meatballs to fully coat. Serve meatballs warm and garnish as desired.
Notes
- I use my mini chopper to "chop" the celery, as it works really well for finely chopping veggies.
- Keep a small bowl of water nearby when forming meatballs. Dipping your hands prevents sticking and helps shape them evenly.
- Baked meatballs may seep albumin, which is a protein found in meat. This is completely normal.
- Feel free to use your favorite type of store-bought meatballs; just be sure they are pre-cooked prior to using.
- If you want to place pre-cooked, frozen meatballs directly into the crockpot without baking first, you can do so. Note that the meatballs might less browned if they're not baked first.
- For slow cooker method: Place cooked meatballs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over meatballs, stirring to coat. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours to meld flavors together. Keep on warm setting while serving.
- Store leftover meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- This recipe is part of our Appetizer Recipes Collection.
- We love serving these meatballs along with Easy Cheesy Chicken Dip or a platter of Crispy Baked Chicken Wings when feeding a crowd.
Nutrition (per serving)
Serving: 1meatball | Calories: 63kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 107mg | Potassium: 153mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 55IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.3mg