Cure your craving for buffalo in one swift, healthy, easy swoop with these buffalo chicken meatballs! They come together with a very short list of ingredients you probably already have on hand and then, that dipping sauce, well …it’ll knock your socks clear off.

This recipe is…

I love these meatballs so much because they’re a fun way to mix up dinner for the week! I love a meatball night, but sometimes I get stuck on a classic beef and marinara meatball meal. These buffalo chicken meatballs are unique in flavor and protein: ground chicken!

If you’re looking for a delicious buffalo-flavored meal, this buffalo chicken pasta is delicious!

What’s In Buffalo Chicken Meatballs?

The ingredient list is short and sweet – here’s everything you’ll need for both the meatballs and the blue cheese sauce:

Buffalo chicken meatball ingredients on a grey and white marble surface.

For the Meatballs

  • 1 pound of ground chicken
  • ¼ cup of buffalo sauce (or Frank’s Red Hot Sauce)
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • ½ teaspoon of pepper

For the Sauce

  • 4 ounces of blue cheese crumbles
  • 1 cup of creme fraiche
  • 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon of water
  • ¼ teaspoon of salt

Ingredient Modifications and Variations

These buffalo chicken meatballs are divine as written, but if you’re looking for some subs and swaps, we’ve got ideas for you! 

  • Make them dairy-free – the buffalo chicken meatballs are dairy-free as-is, but to make the sauce dairy-free, you’ll need to swap the blue cheese crumbles for a dairy-free blue cheese and the creme fraiche for a plain dairy-free yogurt. If you can’t find these dairy-free subs, consider swapping the blue cheese sauce for a dairy-free ranch dressing!
  • Swap the creme fraiche – if you can’t find creme fraiche in your local grocery store, swap it for whole milk sour cream or plain full-fat Greek yogurt.
  • Use a different protein – feel free to use ground beef, turkey, or pork in place of the ground chicken here!

How To Make Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

If you’re looking for an incredibly easy recipe, look no further! Here’s the full how-to:

Ground chicken covered with sauce ingredients in a glass bowl.
Hand holding a spatula stirring together a ground chicken mixture in a glass bowl.
Hand squeezing a citrus juicer over top a plastic blender container.
Hand holding down the blender container of a nutribullet.
Hand placing meatballs on a quarter sheet pan.
Cooked meatballs on a quarter sheet pan.
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  2. Combine the meatball ingredients – add the ground chicken, buffalo sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Use your hands to fully combine the ingredients.
  3. Form the meatballs – use a #30 scoop (1.25 ounce/2.5 tablespoons) to form your meatballs, and place them on a rimmed baking sheet (we recommend a quarter sheet so that the meatballs can be placed close together and steam one another as they cook).
  4. Bake – bake the meatballs at 400°F for 25 minutes.
  5. Make the sauce – while the meatballs are baking, make your sauce by combining the blue cheese crumbles, creme fraiche, lemon juice, water, and salt in a blender (you could also use an immersion blender), and blend on high until smooth.
  6. Garnish, serve, and enjoy – garnish your meatballs with chives and serve with celery sticks. Enjoy!

How to Serve Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Serve your buffalo chicken meatballs as an appetizer alongside celery sticks and the blue cheese sauce, or as a full meal over perfect, fluffy white rice and your favorite green veggie (oven-roasted asparagus would be delicious!) or a simple arugula salad!  

Hand holding a gold fork with a buffalo meatball on the end. The meatball is being dipped into a small dutch oven with a blue cheese dipping sauce.

How to Store and Reheat

Store any leftover buffalo chicken meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you’re looking for a longer storage option, place the meatballs in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To reheat from the fridge or freezer, simply pop the meatballs back in the oven for 15-20 minutes until warmed through, in the microwave for 1.5-2 minutes until warmed through, or in the air fryer for 5-10 minutes until warmed through.

Plate of buffalo chicken meatballs with a side of blue cheese dipping sauce and celery sticks.

Just for You

Chicken Recipes

Want more recipe ideas like this?

Buffalo Chicken Meatball Recipe

5 — Votes 2 votes
By Cassy Joy Garcia
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Servings: 19 Meatballs
Cure your craving for buffalo in one swift, healthy, easy swoop with these buffalo chicken meatballs! They come together with a very short list of ingredients you probably already have on hand and then, that dipping sauce, well …it’ll knock your socks clear off.

Ingredients  

For the Meatballs

  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • ¼ cup buffalo sauce or Frank's Red Hot Sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper

For the Sauce

  • 4 ounces blue cheese crumbles
  • 1 cup creme fraiche
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  • Add the ground chicken, buffalo sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Use your hands to fully combine the ingredients.
  • Use a #30 scoop (1.25 ounces/2.5 tablespoons) to form your meatballs, and place them on a rimmed baking sheet. (We recommend a quarter sheet so that the meatballs can be placed close together and steam one another as they cook.)
  • Bake the meatballs at 400°F for 25 minutes.
  • While the meatballs are baking, make your sauce by combining the blue cheese crumbles, creme fraiche, lemon juice, water, and salt in a blender (you can also use an immersion blender), and blend on high until smooth.
  • Garnish your meatballs with chives and serve with celery sticks. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

  • Nutrition facts are calculated for 1 meatball.
  • These meatballs freeze REALLY well. Simply pop them in an airtight container and stick them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen in either the oven, air fryer, or microwave until warmed through.

Nutrition

Calories: 35kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.1g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 234mg | Potassium: 127mg | Fiber: 0.02g | Sugar: 0.004g | Vitamin A: 0.3IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.2mg

Additional Info

Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 19 Meatballs
Calories: 35
Keyword: buffalo chicken, buffalo chicken meatballs, chicken meatballs

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Brandi Schilhab


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4 Comments

    1. Hi Sarah! The nutrition was calculated automatically as 1 serving (out of 19 total servings) of the entire recipe (so 1 meatball and 1/19th of the sauce). I changed it to show the nutrition for JUST one of the meatballs since it’s hard to know how much sauce someone would eat with a single meatball. I hope that helps and makes it more user-friendly!

  1. 5 stars
    Delicious and so easy to make! I enjoyed these over a salad of romaine, celery, & carrots for lunch.

    1. That sounds so yummy, Carrie! Thank you for sharing!