These healthy buffalo chicken meatballs are a great option for a weeknight dinner, game day snack, or party appetizer. Serve them with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing for dipping, or enjoy them on their own.
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
These healthy buffalo chicken meatballs are a tasty and nutritious way to enjoy the bold flavor of buffalo sauce. They are easy to prepare and can be served in many different ways, making them a great option for any occasion whether you’re serving them as an app, for dinner or meal prep. Some favorite buffalo chicken dishes are Buffalo Chicken Strips, Buffalo Chicken Jalapeno Poppers and Buffalo chicken dip, it’s my favorite!
Buffalo chicken wings are a staple at many sporting events and gatherings, but they are not always the healthiest option. If you’re looking for a healthier way to enjoy the bold flavor of buffalo sauce, try these healthy buffalo chicken meatballs. They are packed with protein and flavor, while also being lower in fat and calories than traditional buffalo wings.
Chicken meatballs are a versatile and tasty dish that can be enjoyed in many different ways. They are a great option for those who are looking for a healthier alternative to traditional beef or pork meatballs, as chicken is a leaner meat that is lower in fat and calories. Top them with buffalo sauce and you have one tasty appetizer! You can put buffalo sauce on anything and it will taste great!
Meal Prep
They are also a great option for meal prep, as they can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How do you make buffalo chicken meatballs?
Ground chicken is mixed with chopped celery, carrots, scallions and panko, then rolled into balls and baked in the oven. Once they are ready you toss them with hot sauce, and drizzle them with blue cheese dressing.
You may also enjoy these chicken recipes:
- Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets
- Pickle Brined Baked Chicken Tenders
- Tortilla Encrusted Chicken Tenders
- Skinny Buffalo Chicken Strips
- Sesame Encrusted Baked Chicken Tenders
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- oil spray, I used my mister
- 1 1/4 lb ground chicken
- 1/4 cup panko crumbs
- 1 large egg
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1/3 cup finely minced celery
- 1/3 cup finely minced carrot
- 1 clove crushed garlic
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/3 cup Franks Hot sauce
- 1/4 cup skinny blue cheese dressing, optional
- finely chopped celery leaf for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Lightly spray a non-stick baking sheet with oil.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, panko crumbs, egg, scallions, celery, carrot and garlic; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Using clean hands, mix until combined. Roll the mixture (1/8 cup each) into 26 round meatballs.
- Place meatballs onto prepared baking sheet and bake until cooked through and golden, about 16 to 18 minutes.
- Place the meatballs in a bowl, add the buffalo sauce and gently toss to combine.
- Serve immediately, drizzled with blue cheese dressing, if desired.
These are amazing! Can be used as and appetizer, snack, or even a buffalo chicken meatball sandwich. Next time I will double or triple the recipe. I thought I had bought 98% FF ground chicken but didn’t. I will next time for even lower points. They are so low in points and great to have around for a quick snack or lunch.
exelent
Third time making this one! Perfect guilt free Super Bowl snacks.
Awesome recipe.
Just so you know, if you use 98% fat free ground chicken breast on the new WW program, these are zero points for 3 meatballs & 1 point for 4! I didn’t use the blue cheese dressing but they were so good.
Next time I will put the carrots and celery in the microwave a bit to soften them up. They were a bit too crunchy for me. I made the recipe exactly how it’s listed and it was so good. Just a few things I would do a little different but will make again!
Just made these and they were a hit! Only change was adding more garlic.
Made these a few times already and had to make some for the Super Bowl tonight. Outstanding recipe! Satisfies the taste for chicken wings in a healthy way. As usual, Gina never disappoints. Thank you for what you do Gina!
Just made these for super bowl party!!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!
Making for the first time today. 😊
Oh these look good,I’ll have to try this. I make these with blue cheese crumbles instead of the bread crumbs. 🙂
Delicious! I liked them better than a chicken wing. We will definitely make this recipe again!
Hello
Could I prep these and freeze without sauce. Then cook would I cook from frozen or thawed
Sure I would probably partially cook, then they will finish when you reheat
These look amazing! Do you think subbing almond flour for the panko would work (for those who are Paleo or doing a W30?)
I like using riced cauliflower, works great!
These are yummy.
Can you prep these ahead of time?? A day or two possibly?
Sure
OMG! These were awesome! Thanks so much for sharing!
Man, these are so good. They really scratch that ‘itch’ for chicken wings when you don’t have any, can’t be bothered to make or don’t have the calorie budget for the real deal. Definitely need the dressing (or something creamy) as they’ve got a little spice, which is wonderful. Yum!!
I used these with Gina’s zero point marinara sauce instead of Frank’s hot sauce. Since 1/4 cup panko = 3 blue points and the ground chicken I used was 99% fat free, these were practically a zero-point dinner. Also, instead of spraying the sheet pan, I lined it with non-stick tinfoil. They are excellent.
Delicious! My family loved them. I will definitely be making these again!
These were great! I actually like them without the buffalo sauce and added more carrots and celery. I also substituted ground turkey. My question is about the calories… 37000 per meatball? Is that wrong?
Lol, no it is 37 calories.
Does no one else find it frustrating when a recipe says “salt and pepper to taste” even though you’re adding the salt and pepper to raw meat? Otherwise, recipe is good!
Agreed! How much did you use?
No, some people like more and some people like less; I never measure either one
I do 1 tsp per pound of meat if nothing else is salty. But if I add W sauce, soy sauce, seasoned salt, broth, cream soup, etc., I do 1/2 tsp. We do not have high blood pressure (mine runs low) so I don’t worry about restricting. For pepper I do half the salt amount. I always figure people can add more. You might do less, but for me, it makes cooking less stressful to standardize the amount in my head.
These are amazing, my husband and dad eat them up fast and furious, ok, truth be told, I do too. I have made them many, many times. I add a tablespoon of Frank’s hot sauce to the mixture then use Frank’s buffalo wing sauce to coat after cooking. It’s important to not overcook, I watch them closely and take the meatballs out when they reach 165 degrees internal temperature.
Not sure what I did wrong but there is NO way these were going into meatball. Nothing to hold them together. So sad!
Nothing to hold them together??? The panko and egg hold them together. I have made these dozens of times and they never fall apart.
I decided to slightly switch up my normal buffalo chicken meatball recipe and try this instead. The addition of carrots and celery to the meatballs gave it a great crunch this is something that I haven’t done before but will continue to do moving forward as it really adds something to the meatball. My only modifications that I made was the addition of some fresh parsley and blue cheese crumbles and I omitted the green onions (I did not have any). The flavor even before the hot sauce was added was great. I am definitely looking forward to this weeks lunches.
These were good! Mine came out a little dry but I broiled them at the very end so my fault. Instead of blue cheese I made a ranch with Greek yogurt.
Fabulous!
I was wondering why mine came out so wet, and i realized I added the wing sauce to the mixture rather than pouring on top after baking! I saved the mixture by adding more breadcrumbs and I was able to roll them. They came out delicious with the wing sauce baked in the mixture! Also, the blue cheese dressing was very easy to make and compliments well!
Hi Gina.
To bring as an API somewhere. Making ahead and bringing with you to the party. How would you serve the blue cheese ?
Any tips ?
Gonna try making these tonight or tomorrow to try first 🙂
Tnx
how would you recommend doing this in an air fryer?
Thank you for this recipe! We love it sooo much in my home. I make a batch weekly. Easy, healty and delicious. Oh, and they freeze really well! ❤️❤️❤️