Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

These Buffalo chicken meatballs are perfectly spiced, drenched with a quick and easy Buffalo sauce, then topped with blue cheese crumbles. Spicy and Delicious!

Bring on the Buffalo Chicken Meatballs! This delicious recipe has been added to both Mike's Favorites and Patty's Favorites. They seriously POP with huge flavor and, truly, Buffalo sauce will always be a favorite here. We're also thinking ahead to the big GAME DAY that is rushing upon us. Football game? Yep, you need this recipe.

If you're planning a party and you're the one serving the food, or if you need to bring a dish to share, this might be the one.

Yum.

About These Buffalo Chicken Meatballs - How are They Different?

These chicken meatballs are zingy and tangy and they have just the right amount of heat to them. Why? Because we've incorporated a jalapeno pepper as well as a serrano pepper for some pleasant flavor and heat.

However! If serrano peppers are too spicy for you, you can skip them and double up on the jalapeno pepper. Problem solved! Just don't forget the chili peppers . They are necessary to the success of this dish. 

Also, my Buffalo chicken meatballs are different because I like to cook down the peppers, onion and celery BEFORE mixing them into the chicken mixture. Most people don't do this, and you don't have to, but for me the caramelization adds a level of complexity you won't find anywhere else. Give it a go!

Let's talk about how we make them, shall we?

Ingredients Needed to Make Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

• FOR THE MEATBALLS
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 celery stalk chopped
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper chopped
• 1 serrano pepper chopped (optional)
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 teaspoon taco seasonings (Cajun is GREAT here as well)
• 1 egg beaten
• 1-1/4 pound ground chicken
• 1 cup panko (or use bread crumbs)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Crumbled blue cheese and blue cheese dressing for serving
• Chopped scallions, fresh chopped herbs and spicy chili flakes for serving
• FOR THE BUFFALO SAUCE
• 1 cup hot pepper sauce see notes abovee
• 4 teaspoons butter
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make Buffalo Chicken Meatballs - the Recipe Method

First, heat a large pan to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat.

Add celery, onion and chili peppers. Cook about 5 minutes to soften.

Add garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring.

Remove from heat and add contents to a large mixing bowl. Cool slightly.

Add taco seasonings, egg, chicken and panko. Salt and pepper to your tastes.

Hand mix the meat mixture until everything is combined, but do not over mix. If you over mix with your hands, the chicken meatballs can become mealy.

Form the mixture into 1-inch meatballs. You should get about 20 meatballs.

Heat the pan again to medium heat and add remaining olive oil. Cook the meatballs 2-3 minutes per side, roughly 10 minutes total, until they are cooked through.

BAKED VERSION: Alternatively, you can add your meatballs to a prepared baking sheet, lightly oiled, and bake them at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, or until they are cooked through.

Remove from heat.

While chicken is cooking, add pepper sauce, butter, garlic powder and salt and pepper to a small pot or small saucepan. Heat gently, stirring, until butter is melted.

Pour Buffalo sauce over the chicken meatballs.

Sauce it up! Get them nice and saucy, my friends, with the hot sauce mixture. You can heat everything through if you'd like. I love it SAUCY.

Finally, serve topped with crumbled blue cheese and scallions, green onions or fresh chopped herbs, along with some spicy chili flakes. I drizzled on some blue cheese dressing as well, though a good ranch dressing is great here, too. 

BOOM! Done! I love it.

Let's Talk About the Buffalo Sauce

This is a super quick homemade version. Use your favorite starter hot pepper sauce, something simple like Frank's or Valentina (Amazon affiliate link, my friends), and mix in your ingredients. It's ready in five minutes.

The recipe is below. Or use this Homemade Buffalo Sauce Recipe of mine.

If you want to go purely homemade, start with a good Louisiana style hot sauce and go from there, like this Roasted Red Jalapeno Pepper Hot Sauce or this Super Hot Hot Sauce Recipe I made recently. Or just use your favorite store bought Buffalo sauce brand.

Whoa! Talk about heat.

Beware. You might scare people with the latter recipe.

Recipe Tips & Notes

• The Heat Factor. You'll get a good level of heat depending on the hot sauce you start with. I've added an extra level of heat with serrano peppers, but you can easily skip them to tame some of that heat. Try adding habanero peppers or hotter peppers for some REAL heat, you crazy chiliheads!
• The Dressing. I love blue cheese dressing when I enjoy Buffalo wings or these Buffalo chicken meatballs. Patty prefers ranch dressing. Either one will work! What's your preference?
• The Seasonings. I'm using a simple taco seasoning blend because it works nicely with chicken and Buffalo sauce, but feel free to use your own favorite seasoning blend. A good Cajun seasoning blend is great here, as is Creole seasoning, or even something like Old Bay Seasoning.
• Ground Turkey. This recipe is great with ground turkey. Try it out instead of chicken, which can sometimes be more difficult to find in grocery stores.
• Why Cook the Veggies First? I like to cook down the peppers, onion and celery before mixing them into the meatball mixture. Why? For me, it's and extra flavor building step. The caramelization process removes the extra moisture and adds more flavor complexity. You can save time by adding the raw vegetables to the meatball mixture, then cook the meatballs.

Patty's Perspective

I LOVE the flavors Mike infused into these Buffalo Chicken Meatballs. The flavor and spiciness are really kicked up a notch above the heat of the Buffalo sauce. He's also seriously converting me into a blue cheese lover. I never loved blue cheese, but when it is paired this way, it is a perfect combination. These would be great on their own as a meal, served as an appetizer with toothpicks for game day, or on a toasted roll as a sandwich.

Try Some of My Other Popular Spicy Meatball or Buffalo Recipes

• Spicy Meatballs in Chipotle-Lime Sauce
• Spicy Meatballs Sub Sandwiches
• Spicy Italian Meatballs
• Korean Chicken Meatballs
• Albondigas (Mexican Meatballs)
• Grape Jelly Meatballs

Try Some of My Other Popular Buffalo Sauce Recipes

• Buffalo Chicken
• Buffalo Chicken Pasta
• Buffalo Wings

If you make this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations. Thanks! -- Mike H.

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Buffalo Chicken Meatballs - Recipe

A recipe for spicy chicken meatballs made with jalapeno peppers and serrano peppers (optional!), served with classic Buffalo sauce, then topped with blue cheese crumbles. Pure Madness style.

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Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Buffalo sauce, meatballs

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Calories: 41kcal

Author: Mike Hultquist

Servings: 20 meatballs

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5 from 1 vote

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Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 celery stalk chopped
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper chopped
• 1 serrano pepper chopped (optional)
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 teaspoon taco seasonings Cajun is GREAT here as well
• 1 egg beaten
• 1-1/4 pound ground chicken
• 1 cup panko
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Crumbled blue cheese and blue cheese dressing for serving
• Chopped scallions, fresh chopped herbs and spicy chili flakes for serving

FOR THE BUFFALO SAUCE

• 1 cup hot pepper sauce see notes abovee
• 4 teaspoons butter
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Heat a large pan to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat.
• Add celery, onion and chili peppers. Cook about 5 minutes to soften.
• Add garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring.
• Remove from heat and add contents to a mixing bowl. Cool slightly.
• Add taco seasonings, egg, chicken and panko. Salt and pepper to your tastes.
• Hand mix the meat mixture until everything is combined, but do not over mix. If you over mix with your hands, the meatballs can become mealy.
• Form the mixture into 1-inch meatballs. You should get about 20 meatballs.
• Heat the pan again to medium heat and add remaining olive oil. Cook the meatballs 2-3 minutes per side, roughly 10 minutes total, until they are cooked through. Remove from heat.
• BAKED VERSION: Alternatively, you can add your meatballs to a prepared baking sheet, lightly oiled, and bake them at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, or until they are cooked through.
• While chicken is cooking, add pepper sauce, butter, garlic powder and salt and pepper to a small pot. Heat gently, stirring, until butter is melted.
• Pour Buffalo sauce over the chicken meatballs and serve topped with crumbled blue cheese, blue cheese dressing, chopped scallions, fresh chopped herbs and spicy chili flakes

Notes

Heat Factor: Medium-Hot if you're using serrano peppers or hotter peppers. You can tame the heat by omitting serranos and going with jalapenos only. Core out the jalapenos for even milder heat. Buffalo sauce inherently has a bit of heat to it.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 41kcal   Carbohydrates: 3g   Protein: 1g   Fat: 2g   Cholesterol: 15mg   Sodium: 355mg   Potassium: 74mg   Vitamin A: 75IU   Vitamin C: 10.7mg   Calcium: 11mg   Iron: 0.3mg

Did You Enjoy This Recipe?I love hearing how you like it and how you made it your own. Leave a comment below and tag @ChiliPepperMadness on social media.

NOTE: This recipe was updated on 12/13/19 to include new photos and information. It was originally published on 1/11/16.