Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Homemade Buffalo Chicken Meatballs are an easy to make meatball recipe with perfectly seasoned ground chicken and spicy buffalo sauce! You'll love these chicken meatballs served as an appetizer for a Super Bowl part or any family gathering. 

For another buffalo chicken recipe try my Buffalo Chicken Pillows. 

Homemade Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Recipe

If you love spice and meatballs then you're going to want to make these buffalo chicken meatballs. No frozen meatballs needed! I love the ease and convenience of frozen meatballs, but I can't deny how amazing homemade meatballs are from scratch. 

Ground chicken gets mixed with buffalo sauce, celery, breadcrumbs, milk, and a few other ingredients. The meatballs are baked in the oven and then covered in more buffalo sauce. 

These are the perfect party appetizer served with toothpicks + a dipping bowl for ranch dressing. Garnish the ranch with crumbles of bleu cheese if wanted. 

Ingredients Needed

• Italian-Style Panko Bread Crumbs - This recipe has been tested with plain and Italian-Style bread crumbs and while they both work great, the Italian bread crumbs added a bit more flavor because of the added spices it includes.
• Buffalo Wing Sauce - This ingredient is divided in the recipe, meaning that you will use half of it in one part and save the other half for after the meatballs have baked. I love the more mild spice flavor of buffalo wing sauce but if you want more spice then hot sauce can substituted if wanted. Or use some of each.
• Ground Chicken - Lean ground chicken is the main ingredient. 
• Egg - The egg is the perfect binder for the meatballs along with the bread crumbs. Make sure that you whisk the egg well in a separate bowl before adding it into the main bowl of ingredients. 
• Green Onion - Make sure this is finely chopped or sliced so you don't end up with huge pieces of onion in the meatballs. 
• Celery - Again, make sure the celery is very finely diced.
• Garlic - Use fresh garlic cloves that have been minced or pressed, chopped garlic from a jar, or use garlic paste. 
• Kosher Salt & Black Pepper

How To Make Buffalo Chicken Meatballs with Ground Chicken & Buffalo Sauce

Learn how to make these homemade meatballs with the simple-to-follow steps below. Be sure and read to the bottom of the post where there is a printable recipe card option, and a pin it button so you can save the recipe for later. 

• Prep : Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet (aka- cookie sheet) with parchment paper. Set aside. 
• Buffalo Chicken Meatball Mixture : In a mixing bowl, add the bread crumbs and ¼ cup of the buffalo wing sauce. Stir to combine. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir gently to mix everything together. I think it's easiest to use your clean hands to mix the meatball mixture. 
• Form Meatballs : Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to make rounded meatballs and then roll them with your clean hands, so they are tight and round. Place them on the prepared baking sheet. 
• Cook : Bake the meatballs for 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature is at least 165 degrees F. 
• Buffalo Sauce : One baked, gently move the meatballs to a bowl and add the remaining buffalo wing sauce over top. Very gently mix the meatballs to coat them in the sauce. Serve. 

Buffalo Chicken Meatball FAQ's

• Is Hot Sauce The Same as Buffalo Sauce?

  • Technically, they are not the same. Buffalo sauce is hot sauce but it has been mixed with butter or butter flavoring, and sometimes other spices. So buffalo wing sauce is hot sauce but it's a more mild version of hot sauce. 
  • You can use hot sauce in this recipe if you want more spice.
  • I recommend using buffalo wing sauce because I think it's a more tolerable spice and I really love the Sweet Baby Ray's brand of buffalo wing sauce. So this recipe gives me an excuse to use it. 

• How To Store Leftovers

  • Store any leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days. 
  • Reheat leftovers in the oven, air fryer, or microwave. They're actually really good cold too! Perfect for a snack, a salad topping, or eat it inside a piece of lettuce for a lettuce wrap for lunch. 

• Can I Freeze Homemade Meatballs with Ground Chicken?

  • Yes you can. To freeze these meatballs, cook them and let them cool down slightly (you just want to make sure the baking pan is not hot anymore) and then place the baking sheet of meatballs into the freezer and allow them to freeze until solid. About 3-4 hours. 
  • Once frozen, place them inside a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. 

• How To Serve Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

  • These versatile meatballs are great as a warm snack, an appetizer with toothpicks, a light meal, in a lettuce wrap, on top of a salad, or as part of a party tray for any gathering. 
  • For an appetizer I love making a tray with the buffalo chicken meatballs, sliced celery, sliced carrots, sliced bell pepper (assorted colors), a big bowl of ranch dressing, and then a smaller bowl with bleu cheese crumbles in it. 

Recipe Tips

Here are a few of my helpful tips so that you can have success recreating this recipe in your own kitchen ♥

• Round & Tight Meatball Shape : Take the time to really make sure you are rolling the meatball into a tight and round ball. They will look much better once baked if they go into the oven already in a firm/tight round shape. Of course, they'll taste the same no matter what they look like, but if aesthetics is your thing (raises my hand really high... 🙋🏼‍♀️) then roll them tightly. 
• Buffalo Sauce Tips : Buffalo wing sauce is a more mild spice version of hot sauce. I love the flavor of the Sweet Baby Ray's brand buffalo wing sauce. You can use any buffalo wing sauce you prefer. 
• Spicier Buffalo Chicken Meatballs : The recipe, as written, is spicy but not so spicy that you couldn't tolerate it. If you prefer more spice then there are several things you can add. Use hot sauce instead of buffalo wing sauce. Add some cayenne pepper and/or red pepper chili flakes into the meatballs mixture. Or try dipping the meatballs in hot sauce mixed with ranch or just plain hot sauce. 
• Dipping Sauce : These meatballs are yummy eaten as a meatball but if you really want to take them over the top, dip the buffalo meatballs into some ranch. I always my Homemade Ranch Dressing. It helps tone down the spice, which is good if you're feeding younger palettes, and the ranch pairs really nicely with the buffalo flavors. 
• Very Finely Diced Celery & Green Onion : For the best texture take a few extra minutes to make sure that the celery and green onion is very finely chopped. 
• Handle With Care : Because these meatballs are so moist make sure to handle them with care with mixing in the buffalo wing sauce once they're baked. 
• Cooking Temperature : These meatballs need to be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F before you take them out of the oven. 

More Meatball Recipes You'll Love

• Crockpot Jelly Meatballs - So easy to make with frozen meatballs + 3 other store-bought ready to use ingredients. 
• Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs - Ground turkey + teriyaki makes these meatballs irresistible. Eat as an appetizer or serve them over rice for dinner. 
• Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs - So moist and bursting with flavor! Crushed pineapple + ground chicken is what makes these meatballs so moist. 
• Easy Swedish Meatballs - One of my family's favorite dinner recipes. Starts with frozen meatballs for ease and then they get served over egg noodles.