These Buffalo Chicken Meatballs are SO good. They’re loaded with spicy hot sauce, homemade ranch dressing and are SO juicy. They’re a fun appetizer or full meal to serve up on a weeknight!
Happy Super Bowl week! Okay, if you’re like me, in the past, the only reason I ever went to Superbowl parties was for the food. I found out a long time ago that football gives me heart palpitations in the worst way and I was always disappointed by my favorite team.
But you know what never disappoints me?! FOOD! Specifically these Baked Buffalo Chicken Meatballs!
And now that Ben and I will of course, just be chilling at home watching the Superbowl – I can make all of my favorite Superbowl foods! Which of course include my Spicy Shredded Beef Nachos, maybe a Lemon Lime Margarita (or two) and these brand new delicious Buffalo Chicken Meatballs!
Why You’ll Love This Dish:
You know how a lot of meatballs can just be like “meh”? Super dry, not tasty, kind of like cardboard?
NOT THESE.
Y’all – these are made with ground chicken which makes them incredibly juicy. They are loaded with fresh pieces of onion which also helps yield more moisture.
Oh, and you can’t forget the HOT SAUCE. For these meatballs, I used Texas Pete Hot Sauce – although you can use your favorite buffalo sauce. If you’re from NC – you know about Texas Pete! 😉
Another reason I love these meatballs is because I added in some homemade ranch dressing. I’m not sure about you – but when it comes to anything buffalo flavored, I am team ranch! Get outta here with that blue cheese! Ha 😉 Ranch is always where it’s at!
You also have breadcrumbs and an egg in the meatball to help bind everything together.
They get golden brown and seriously baked to perfection in the oven. Steaming hot on the inside when you take a bite and the flavor is phenomenal! It’s spicy, but definitely balanced out with that creamy delicious ranch on the inside.
Oh, and for me, please dip them in MORE ranch. It makes them that much better!
Ingredients You Need:
- Ground chicken
- Minced garlic
- Yellow onion
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Egg
- Hot sauce (or buffalo sauce)
- Ranch dressing (homemade or store bought)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Green onions to garnish
How to Make Them:
Begin by preparing a baking sheet with either a silicon mat or aluminum foil. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees as well and get that warming up!
Go ahead and finely mince your onion and garlic. If you want to make homemade ranch, whip it up now! If you have a favorite brand, you can use that as well.
In a large bowl, add in the ground chicken, egg, bread crumbs, ranch, salt, and pepper. Get your hands dirty and mix it together!
The meatball mixture WILL be a little sticky.
If it still feels TOO sticky, add more breadcrumbs until you’re able to scoop it with a tablespoon and roll it into a ball in your hands.
It’s okay if the batter is still a little sticky (it has a lot of liquid in it after all) but it needs to be able to be rolled into a ball. I used both of my hands and passed the meatball back in forth in my hands to form it. Mine looked like this before I popped them into the oven:
Add these to a baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silicon mat like I have above – my batter made about 15 large meatballs.
Pop them in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. If you want them to be extra golden brown on top, you can always pop them on broil for a minute or so – although I didn’t need to do that for mine.
Once they’re done, use a spatula to remove them from the baking sheet.
Meatball Pro Tips:
Once they’re baked, feel free to just eat them right off the pan! But….to take it one step further, I love to douse them in EXTRA sauce and of course homemade ranch.
Oh, and you MUST garnish with green onions. The crunch of them adds an incredible texture!
Lastly, If you DON’T want fresh onion or garlic in your meatballs (as in, you aren’t a fan of the texture) – sub garlic powder and onion powder! 1 tsp of each should work.
Overall, these are such a delicious recipe to chow down on when you’re watching the big game OR if you want to load them into a bowl with rice and some greens. I hope you guys love this recipe!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Here are a few others you might like:
Thank you so much for following along here, friends! Want to see more? Be sure to follow ourbalancedbowl on Instagram and tag me with your photo if you end up making a recipe! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the Our Balanced Bowl Facebook page! Like a recipe that you saw? Follow me on Pinterest here! I always love to see your re-creations! If you do make a recipe, it would make my whole day if you were to rate and comment so I can get your feedback! Lots of love! – Haylie
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
These Buffalo Chicken Meatballs are SO good. They’re loaded with spicy hot sauce, homemade ranch dressing and are SO juicy. They’re a fun appetizer or full meal to serve up on a weeknight!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup yellow onion, finely minced
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (more if needed, see notes)
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup buffalo sauce (or hot sauce - I used Texas Pete)
- 1/4 cup ranch dressing (I linked my homemade recipe in the blog post)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- extra hot sauce to top
- extra ranch to top
- green onions for garnish
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400. Next, prepare a large baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silicon mat. Set this aside.
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Finely mince your fresh garlic and onion. (If you don’t like small chunks of onion or garlic in your meatballs, I would omit them completely or use 1 tsp onion powder and 1 tsp garlic powder in its place!)
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In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, egg, hot sauce, garlic, onion, ranch, and salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix all of this together to combine.
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The meatball mixture will be slightly sticky. That’s okay! Use a tablespoon to measure yours out and then pass them between both hands until they begin to form a ball. Place them on the baking sheet. My mixture yielded about 15 medium size meatballs.
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Place your meatballs in the oven and bake them for about 20-25 minutes! If desired, once done, place them on broil for 1-2 minutes for an extra crispy top!
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Once they are done, gently add them into a bowl and douse them with extra hot sauce, drizzle with homemade ranch and top with green onions. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Your meatball mixture should be a little sticky - if it feels OVERLY sticky, add in some more breadcrumbs.