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Home » Chili Pepper Recipes » Chicken » Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

by Mike Hultquist · Dec 13, 2019 · 7 Comments

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A plate of Buffalo Chicken Meatballs garnished with chopped herbs and drizzled with ranch, with sliced green chili peppers nearby. The text “BUFFALO CHICKEN MEATBALLS” is overlaid on the image for a bold, flavorful touch.

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

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Recipe made at home

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Recipe

Bring on the Buffalo Chicken Meatballs! These meatballs seriously POP with huge flavor and, truly, Buffalo sauce will always be a favorite here.

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. It's perfect for game day.

Featured Reader Comment

"My husband has been making this recipe for about three years now. It’s definitely one of our go-to meals. Quick and absolutely delicious! He adds brown jasmine rice and honey-buttered roasted baby carrots to complete the meal. It’s crazy yummy!!" -- April

These chicken meatballs are zingy and tangy and they have just the right amount of heat to them.

I like to cook down the peppers, onion and celery BEFORE mixing them into the chicken mixture, which adds lots of flavor. 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 to make Buffalo chicken meatballs, shall we?

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Ingredients

  • FOR THE MEATBALLS
  • Olive Oil.
  • Celery. Chopped.
  • Small Onion. Chopped.
  • Jalapeno Pepper. Chopped.
  • Serrano Pepper. Chopped (optional).
  • Garlic cloves. Chopped.
  • Taco Seasonings. Cajun is GREAT here as well.
  • Egg. Beaten.
  • Ground Chicken.
  • Panko. Or use bread crumbs.
  • Salt and Pepper.
  • Crumbled Blue Cheese. And blue cheese dressing for serving.
  • Chopped Scallions, Fresh Chopped Herbs and Spicy Chili Flakes. For serving.
  • FOR THE BUFFALO SAUCE - Try my Homemade Buffalo Sauce Recipe.
  • Hot Pepper Sauce.
  • Butter.
  • Garlic Powder.
  • Salt and Pepper.

How to Make Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

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.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs meat mixture in a glass bowl, ready to make meatballs

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

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs formed and ready for cooking

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.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs in a pan, ready for Buffalo Sauce

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.

Drizzling Buffalo Sauce over my Buffalo 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.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs in a pan with extra Buffalo sauce

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. 

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs on a plate, with blue cheese sauce drizzled over the top

BOOM! Done! I love it.

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?
  • 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.

Storage & Leftovers

Storing your Buffalo Chicken Meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge may allow you to store the leftovers for up to 3-4 days. To maximize the storage life, make sure to refrigerate them promptly.

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
  • Curry Meatballs

Try Some of My Other Popular Buffalo Sauce Recipes

  • Buffalo Chicken
  • Buffalo Chicken Pasta
  • Buffalo Wings
Saucy Buffalo Chicken Meatballs on a plate, ready to eat

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.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs looking very inviting
Print

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.
Save Recipe Saved!
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Buffalo sauce, meatballs
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes minutes
Calories: 41kcal
Author: Mike Hultquist
Servings: 20 meatballs
Tap or hover to scale
5 from 2 votes
Leave a Review

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
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs looking very inviting
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.

 

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    Recipe Rating




  1. April says

    May 15, 2025 at 2:37 pm

    5 stars
    My husband has been making this recipe for about three years now. It’s definitely one of our go-to meals. Quick and absolutely delicious! He adds brown jasmine rice and honey-buttered roasted baby carrots to complete the meal. It’s crazy yummy!!

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      May 15, 2025 at 3:37 pm

      Yes!! I love this, April! Glad to hear you both love it! I really appreciate it. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
  2. Tanj says

    May 15, 2024 at 2:40 pm

    Fantastic recipe! It is the only way I make chicken meatballs now. If I use them for spaghetti, I just leave off the Buffalo sauce. Love them! Thank you.

    Reply
    • Mike H. says

      May 15, 2024 at 4:36 pm

      Love hearing it, Tanj. Enjoy! =)

      Reply
  3. Chiranjib Pradhan says

    March 08, 2020 at 11:30 pm

    Awsome recipe, my mouth is watering.

    Reply
  4. Tony says

    December 14, 2019 at 6:44 am

    5 stars
    I wonder if I stuffed them with mozzarella cheese, and put them with spaghetti?????

    Reply
    • Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says

      December 14, 2019 at 9:06 am

      I think that would be absolutely amazing, Tony. I may have to give that a go myself!

      Reply

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