Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
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All the flavor of Buffalo wings, but in the form of meatballs—equally delicious as a crowd-pleasing appetizer or as a hearty dinner over rice.
Both of my parents grew up in Buffalo, New York, so it’s no surprise that my love for Buffalo food specialties runs deep—it’s practically woven into my DNA! These Buffalo chicken meatballs embody the savory, tangy essence of Buffalo wings or Buffalo chicken dip, but in the form of meatballs cloaked in a rich and piquant sauce flavored with the iconic Frank’s RedHot sauce. You can enjoy the meatballs as a party or game day appetizer speared with toothpicks. Or, as a dinner option, serve them over rice with a side of your favorite steamed or roasted veggies (and, yes, there’s plenty of sauce to spoon over all of it).
A quick tip: for appetizer servings, make the meatballs a bit smaller (bite-size is ideal), and consider halving the sauce recipe since you won’t need as much for accompaniments like rice and veggies.
For those feeding little ones or if you have a timid palate, feel free to reduce the amount of hot sauce in the recipe; however, refrain from increasing it, as it might cause the sauce to curdle or become overly thick (hot sauce is acidic, and acid will thicken dairy—that’s how yogurt and cheese are made).
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray generously with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine the egg, dill, hot sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper until evenly combined.
Mix until evenly combined.
Add the chicken, cheese, and breadcrumbs.
Mix with your hands until evenly combined.
Using moistened hands, roll into 1½-inch meatballs and space evenly apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked through.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, combine the heavy cream and butter.
Stir until the butter is melted, then add 3 tablespoons of the hot sauce, the chili powder, dill, sugar, and salt.
Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until thickened to a cream sauce consistency, a few minutes.
Add the baked meatballs to the sauce and then simmer few minutes more to marry the flavors.
Taste and adjust seasoning, adding the remaining tablespoon of hot sauce if desired. Serve.
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Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
All the flavor of Buffalo wings, but in the form of meatballs—equally delicious as a crowd-pleasing appetizer or as a hearty dinner over rice.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1 tablespoon Frank's RedHot sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound ground chicken (preferably Purdue "Fresh & Lean," avoid the one that is 98% lean)
- ⅓ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- ⅓ cup plain breadcrumbs
For the Sauce
- 1⅓ cups heavy cream
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 to 4 tablespoons Frank's RedHot Sauce (see note)
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped dill (or ¼ teaspoon dried)
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For Serving (optional)
- 2 scallions, dark green parts only, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray generously with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix the egg, dill, hot sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper until evenly combined. Add the chicken, cheese, and breadcrumbs. Mix with your hands until evenly combined. Using moistened hands, roll into 1 or 1½-inch meatballs (depending on whether you're serving them as an appetizer or for dinner) and space evenly apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, combine the heavy cream and butter and stir until the butter is melted. Add 3 tablespoons of the hot sauce, the chili powder, dill, sugar, and salt. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until thickened to a cream sauce consistency, a few minutes. Add the baked meatballs to the sauce and then simmer few minutes more to marry the flavors. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding the remaining tablespoon of hot sauce if desired. Sprinkle with scallions, if using, and serve.
- Note: For a milder sauce, feel free to reduce the amount of hot sauce. However, refrain from increasing it, as it might cause the sauce to curdle or become overly thick (hot sauce is acidic, and acid will thicken dairy—that's how yogurt and cheese are made). If you'd like more heat, pass the hot sauce at the table.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Serving size: 5 dinner-size meatballs
- Calories: 840
- Fat: 74 g
- Saturated fat: 39 g
- Carbohydrates: 11 g
- Sugar: 3 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 34 g
- Sodium: 758 mg
- Cholesterol: 316 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I absolutely love every recipe you post! But as a Buffalonian, these were not up to par. I’m sorry. I think if the sauce wasn’t so thick and creamy ( from the heavy cream) it would have made a big difference. Since wing sauce is butter and franks hot sauce, keeping it simple would be the answer. Unfortunately, I put your sauce on all the meatballs ( I made a double batch too 🙄), so wasn’t able to try.
So, if you are craving Buffalo Chicken Wings make the traditional sauce and toss meatballs ( which were pretty good) in that sauce..
Could I make the meatballs in advance and heat them up in the sauce in a crockpot?
Sure!
Made these for Christmas Eve snacking. Very good overall, but the sauce was way too creamy for me (and I LOVE cream sauces) and for this to resemble Buffalo chicken bites. I would make the meatballs again, maybe with a tad more Frank’s and would toss them in Frank’s Buffalo sauce to serve.
Jenn,
I am making these for Christmas Eve. I plan to freeze some of the meatballs and I’m wondering if the sauce can be frozen as well. I would freeze meatballs and sauce separately.
Thanks
Hi Ellen, Unfortunately I don’t think the sauce will freeze well – sorry!
Made these as written along with a set of beef cocktail meatballs from another recipe source. These were way better! The meat was moist and tender (even with reheating) and they tasted yummy. I did add a little bit of leftover cherry-BBQ sauce to the recipe sauce, just to give it a bit more depth of flavor. Definitely would make again.
Made these Christmas Eve and had to make them dairy free but everyone loved them including me! Ty for the great recipe!
This was excellent! Made it exactly as written and served it with your Monterey Jack & Jalapeno Cornbread. Huge hit! Thank you for the recipe!
Amazing! I have learned never to second guess Jen. Make this recipe as written. No other twists or tricks needed. Thanks again Jen.
A loyal follower.
Keep ’em coming
Michael
In your picture of needed items you show scallions, but nowhere in the recipe do you indicate when or even if they are used.
Thank you for catching that, Helene. They are an optional garnish – recipe has been updated!
Hi Jenn,
Planning to make these as appetizers. Did you use raw ground chicken breast for your recipe?
I don’t enjoy the flavor of thighs or legs.
Thank you for so many wonderful meals provided to my family and guests from your cookbook!
So glad you like the recipes! I believe that the chicken packaging says “fresh and lean,” and that it does include some dark meat; don’t worry, though – you can’t taste it at all. If you go solely with ground chicken breast, I’m concerned, the meatballs will be dry.
These were so tasty! I made half the sauce since I was serving these as an entree and didn’t want alot of sauce. I also used the new plant-based cream product in lieu of the regular cream in the sauce and it worked well. I upped the amount of garlic, dill, and hot sauce in the meatballs because I like those flavors alot. I made your blue cheese dressing from your Wedge Salad recipe to put on my green salad that accompanied these meatballs for dinner. Delicious combination! Another winner from Jenn Segal. Thanks for all the great meals for my family!
Since I was serving these as an appetizer I did make a bit less sauce. Also did not use the full amount of Frank’s Hot Sauce so they could be enjoyed even by my friends who can’t do really spicy foods. These are easy to make and everyone liked them so the recipe got passed around. Everyone of your recipes that I’ve tried has been scrumptious. I appreciate the detailed instructions and photos of the ingredients and the process needed to get the delicious end result.
At what stage in the preparation can these be frozen?
Hi Helene, You can bake and freeze the meatballs without the sauce. Before serving, thaw the meatballs in the fridge and prepare the sauce, then add the meatballs to the sauce to warm up. Hope that helps!
Thank you for your recipes. When I’m out of ideas they are particularly good and the directions are clear. We do not have that hot sauce as such here in Australia. What could I use in its place please?
Hi Wendy, any hot sauce will do. Just make sure you taste it first as different hot sauces have different levels of heat. Please, LMK how they turn out if you make them!
What if we cooked the meatballs in the sauce?
I don’t recommend it in this case — sorry!
Any suggestions on substitutions for the dairy items… would be appreciated… this recipe does sound intriguing….
Hi Sandra, This has so much dairy, that I don’t think it would translate well with non-dairy substitutes — sorry!
Has anyone tried light cream or half and half instead of the heavy cream? Thanks!
I’m so excited to try this! I love the flavor of Buffalo hot wings but I’m not really much of a wing fan. I like a little more meat and this works perfectly!
Can we swap ground chicken for ground turkey?
Yep that should be fine! Just be sure it’s not too lean.
I swapped chicken with ground beef and added one clove of garlic to the sauce – it was delicious
Is there a way to make this without the heavy cream? It seems to add a lot of calories and fat.
Hi Jeff, You could try using half and half, but the sauce won’t be as thick. A better option would be to just use less sauce; the recipe makes a lot of sauce so the calorie count may not be as high as it seems. I think you could cut the amount in half if needed.