Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
These simple ground chicken meatballs are cooked in a spicy buffalo sauce, making them great as an appetizer or a meal. As written, the recipe is completely gluten-free. Replace ground flaxseed with traditional breadcrumbs if you prefer.
Servings: 36 medium size meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 2 pounds (907g) ground chicken1 any fat content
- ⅔ cup (63g) ground flaxseed2
- 2 Tablespoons (30mL) olive oil plus more for the frying pan
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 and ½ cups buffalo sauce3
Need to keep track of your ingredients?Check out my Printable Ingredient List!
Instructions
- In a large bowl, lightly beat the egg. Add the ground chicken, flaxseed, olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. Stir with a large spatula until completely combined.
- Roll meat mixture into balls and place on a large plate or platter until you are ready to cook them. I like to use a cookie scoop (for medium size meatballs) or ice cream scoop (for larger meatballs). My meatballs are usually around 1oz in weight/size. Set aside.
- Place half of the buffalo sauce in the bottom of a large pot or slow cooker. Do not heat yet. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat. Lightly brown the meatballs (about 8 at a time), about 1-2 minutes each side. Place each batch of browned meatballs into the large pot or slow cooker until all meatballs are browned. Cover meatballs with rest of the buffalo sauce.
- Cover the meatballs and cook4 in slow cooker on low for 6-7 hours or high for 4-5 hours. If using a pot and the stovetop, simmer over medium-low heat until sauce thickens and meatballs are fully cooked, about 35 minutes. Leftovers will stay fresh in the refrigerator, covered, up to 1 week.
- Make ahead: prepare meatballs through the browning step, then cover and refrigerate up to 1 day or freeze up to 2 months. Add to slow cooker or large pot cold or frozen and cook as directed. Alternatively, fully prepare up to 1 day in advance, refrigerate, then reheat in the slow cooker on low for 1 hour or on stovetop 20-30 minutes. Cooked meatballs can be frozen in sauce up to 2 months. Defrost in refrigerator before reheating.
Notes
- Meat: you can actually use any ground meat here.
- Ground flaxseed: if you don't need or want these to be gluten-free, replace with the same amount of breadcrumbs.
- Hot sauce: I like to use Frank's Red Hot Wings but you can use your favorite buffalo sauce.
- Test for doneness: I check a few meatballs with a meat thermometer to ensure food safety. You're looking for 165°F (74°C) for poultry.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Serving: 1meatball | Calories: 61kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 389mg | Potassium: 159mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 7IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.4mg
