If I'm being totally honest with you, these mini buffalo chicken meatballs are the ultimate little flavor bombs that will blow all other meatballs out of the water.
Whether you're putting out an appetizer spread or loading up meal prep containers for the week, these are a go to recipe time and time again. Popping a few of these for dinner takes no time, and add a kick to your dinner menu.
Chicken recipes are a staple in my home with favorites like my honey chicken recipe or my chicken thighs and rice skillet. But real talk: these buffalo chicken meatballs are a game-changer for virtually every and any occasion.
Recipe at a Glance
- 👩🏼🍳 Cook Level: These are truly the easiest meatballs ever. A dash of spice, a sprinkle of parmesan and breadcrumbs, roll them up, and bake. Easy!
- ⏱️ Cook Time: Prep time takes about 5 minutes, and rolling and baking takes just under 20 minutes.
- 😋 Taste: Spicy, tangy, juicy little meatballs of fire.
- 🍽️ Best Paired With: Make a batch of buffalo meatballs to go along with my spinach artichoke dip, four layer taco dip, or if you're meal planning, plan to make these with my fresh summer sauce pasta or aside a broccoli mac and cheese for balance of creamy and spicy.
Jump to:
Tried and True Tips and Reminders
- Rake the Meatball Mix: In order to prevent over-mixing the meatball mixture, use your fingers and "rake" the meat and other ingredients together, folding everything in and then forming the meatballs. This will result in super tender, juicy meatballs.
- Use a Scoop: To make uniform meatballs, use a cookie scoop to form the meatballs, then roll in between the palms of your hands until they are circular in shape.
- Use a Greased Pan: In my experience of making meatballs for many, many years, I find having a greased baking pan makes a difference when it comes time to remove the meatballs after they cool. Otherwise, you run the risk of them ripping and falling apart.
The Ingredient list
- Ground Chicken: Ground chicken tends to result in softer, juicier meatballs than turkey in my personal opinion. While I love ground turkey recipes, ground chicken is the go-to here.
- Buffalo Seasoning: I use The New Primal's buffalo seasoning and I love it. It's got clean ingredients in it and tastes really yummy in these meatballs. If you don't have a buffalo seasoning, use one teaspoon of garlic powder, cayenne powder, paprika, and onion powder.
- Breadcrumbs: the binding agent for the meatballs.
- Egg: another binder for the meatball mixture.
- Worcestershire Sauce: A little extra flavor in the meatballs.
- Parmesan: we add just a ⅓ cup to help combine the meat, egg, and breadcrumbs together.
- Salt and pepper: The salt and pepper are important to not only season the chicken but help to balance out the spice.
Be sure to check out the recipe card at the end of this post for more information about quantities, measurements, and specific cooking instructions.
Simple Swaps and Subs:
- Swap out the chicken for turkey or even ground beef.
- You can use a variety of different types of hot sauces if you prefer to make it fancy.
- Sub gluten free bread crumbs instead of regular.
How to make mini buffalo chicken meatballs
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375º and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a large mixing bowl, add the ground chicken, egg, seasonings, Worcestershire sauce, buffalo seasoning, breadcrumbs, and parmesan cheese.
Rake the meat mixture together until the ingredients are well combined and distributed.
Step 2: Once the meat has come together, form meatballs with your hands (about two tablespoon of meat per meatball).
Place on the baking sheet and repeat until all the meat has been made into meatballs. Bake for 18 minutes.
Step 3: While the meatballs cook, add 1 cup of hot sauce to a small saucepan, then add in the butter.
Stir on a low flame until the butter is fully melted.
Step 4: Add the baked meatballs into a small bowl, then pour the hot sauce over the top.
Toss to fully coat the meatballs, then plate and serve with a side of greek yogurt, bleu cheese, or sour cream.
Store these meatballs in airtight container and place in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. You can reheat in a small saucepan on a low flame until it's warmed up.
To freeze: Simply add all the meatballs to a dated ziplock bag and seal tight. Make sure to write down the temperature for the oven and time for baking.
Bake the batch and either add all of them to one larger tupperware for a dinner time buffet, or divvy out into smaller tupperware for lunches.
You can easily use ground beef, ground turkey, or other meats like ground lamb, sausage, etc.
If you wanted to make these into larger meatballs, you can do so by using a larger cookie scoop. The recipe will yield around 12-14 meatballs (depending on the size), and you will bake them for 28-30 minutes.
Looking for other meatball recipes? You've got to try these:
Did you love this recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you're just as in love with this recipe as I am, please share a comment below and rate it! Better yet, share this recipe with family and friends!! Thank you!
Two-Bite Mini Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Equipment
- baking sheet
- large mixing bowl
- Small Saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Chicken
- ½ cup Breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1 tablespoon Buffalo Seasoning
- 1 large Egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375º and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a large mixing bowl, add the ground chicken, egg, seasonings, Worcestershire sauce, buffalo seasoning, breadcrumbs, and parmesan cheese.
- Rake the meat mixture together until the ingredients are well combined and distributed.
- Once the meat has come together, form meatballs with your hands (about two tablespoon of meat per meatball).
- Place on the baking sheet and repeat until all the meat has been made into meatballs. Bake for 18 minutes.
- While the meatballs cook, add 1 cup of hot sauce to a small saucepan, then add in the butter. Stir on a low flame until the butter is fully melted.
- Add the baked meatballs into a small bowl, then pour the hot sauce over the top.
- Toss to fully coat the meatballs, then plate and serve with a side of greek yogurt, bleu cheese, or sour cream.
Glenn says
These were just outstanding! I love how small they were that you can just pop them in your mouth. I used too much hot sauce, but we were ok with it.
Morgan Peaceman says
Hi Glenn, wow thanks for that feedback! There's definitely no such thing as too much hot sauce!!