Easy Buffalo Chicken Meatballs loaded with spice and flavor and are drowning in buffalo sauce. These meatballs are ready in under 30 minutes and can be doubled or tripled for your football party! If you’re looking for Game Day appetizer recipes, this is a great option.
Serve them with our Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings and Blue Cheese Sauce!
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Looking for a quick and easy game day appetizer! Look no further than these Easy Buffalo Chicken Meatballs. They are loaded with flavor and bursting with buffalo sauce, both inside and out. They’re as delicious as Meatball Casserole and Firecracker meatballs.
These bite-size bad boys can be made in either the oven or slow cooker. We’ve included directions for all three cooking styles below.
From start to finish these Buffalo Chicken Meatballs take as little as 20 minutes. Feel free to double or triple the recipe as needed. No adjustments would be needed.
Other Favorite Appetizer Recipes: Instant Pot Little Smokies, Little Smokies in Grape Jelly, and Loaded Pork Pulled Potato Skins.
Ingredients
Here are the simple ingredients required to make buffalo chicken meatballs. Check the recipe card below for the full list:
- Ground Chicken – you could also use ground pork
- Panko – you can also use Breadcrumbs
- Louisiana-style Hot Sauce
- Egg – this acts as a binder, don’t omit it.
- Blue Cheese or Ranch Salad Dressing
Buffalo Sauce
Our go-to buffalo sauce is Frank’s Red Hot Wings Sauce. You may use any Louisiana- style Hot Sauce brand, however. They’re all good!
How to Make
Here’s how to make these meatballs in the oven. For the instructions to make in the slow cooker, reference the recipe card below.
Make the Mix – combine the ground chicken, Panko, 1/3 cup hot sauce, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, green onions and salt.
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Shape the Meatballs – Use your hands, or a scooper, to make (24) 1″ meatballs.
Bake – bake for 15-20 minutes.
Sauce ‘Em Up – gently toss in the hot sauce.
Darcey’s Recipe Tips
Like Things Extra Spicy? I add a bit of cayenne spice to the Frank’s Red Hot Wing Sauce, but I love some spicy buffalo chicken meatballs.
Meatball Size – you can increase the size to 1.25″ if desired vs 1″. You’ll yield about 18 meatballs versus 24 but you’re left with a heartier size.
If you’re out of eggs, or don’t eat them, check out this list of Egg Substitutes For Meatballs.
Drink Pairing
Wine- Off-dry Riesling
Beer- American Pale Ale (Sierra Nevada) and IPAs
This recipe was originally posted in January 2018, but has been updated to include new text and photos. The recipe itself has not changed. Below is one of the original photos.
Easy Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- ¾ cup Panko (*Note 1)
- 1⅓ cup Louisiana-style Hot Sauce, divided
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper
- 2 green onions, finely diced
- salt, to taste
- Optional: Blue Cheese or Ranch Salad Dressing
Instructions
OVEN:
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil (spritzed with cooking spray) and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken, Panko, 1/3 cup hot sauce, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, green onions and salt.
- Using your hands or a 1″ scooper, roll (24) 1″ balls and place on the cookie sheet.
- Bake 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and immediately toss with remaining hot sauce.
- Optional: drizzle with salad dressing just before serving or in a small dipping bowl.
SLOW COOKER:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil (spritzed with cooking spray) and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken, Panko, 1/3 cup hot sauce, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, green onions and salt.
- Using your hands or a 1″ scooper, roll (24) 1″ balls and place on the cookie sheet.
- Bake for only 4-5 minutes until the meatballs are browned.
- Transfer the meatballs into a slow cooker. Add the rest of the buffalo sauce and gently toss to combine.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours.
- Serve immediately.
- Optional: drizzle with salad dressing just before serving or in a small dipping bowl.