Description
These Buffalo Chicken Meatballs are a flavorful and spicy appetizer or main dish perfect for game day or casual dinners. Juicy ground chicken meatballs are stuffed with melting blue cheese, baked until golden, then simmered in buttery buffalo sauce to coat every bite with tangy heat.
Ingredients
Scale
Meatballs
- 1 pound lean ground chicken
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning
- ¼ cup blue cheese crumbles
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (¼ stick)
- 1 cup Buffalo sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to ensure the meatballs don’t stick and set it aside.
- Mix meatball ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken, minced garlic, ranch seasoning, egg, and Italian-style breadcrumbs. Use a fork to stir everything together until well mixed.
- Form meatballs with blue cheese center: Using a cookie scoop or your hands, portion the chicken mixture. Press a cube or small amount of blue cheese into the center of each portion, then fold the meat mixture over the cheese and roll it into a tight ball ensuring the cheese is fully enclosed.
- Bake meatballs: Arrange the meatballs evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 16-18 minutes or until the meatballs are golden brown and cooked through.
- Simmer in buffalo sauce: Transfer the baked meatballs to a slow cooker. Add the unsalted butter and buffalo wing sauce. Set the slow cooker to high heat and cook for about 20 minutes to let the flavors meld and the sauce heat through. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Notes
- Use lean ground chicken to avoid excess fat while keeping the meatballs moist.
- If you don’t have ranch seasoning, you can make your own by mixing dried dill, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper.
- Blue cheese crumbles can be substituted with feta or omitted if preferred.
- Store leftover meatballs and sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheat gently in the slow cooker or on the stovetop to maintain texture and flavor.
