We love buffalo chicken recipes and meatballs here at Whole30, so why not put them together in a Buffalo Chicken Meatballs recipe? Not only are they Whole30, they are also gluten-free and dairy-free. Check out the substitutions below to make them nut-free or egg-free as needed.
Meatballs are the perfect dinner or appetizer. Delicious for dipping or as an entree for a busy weeknight meal. These Buffalo Chicken Meatballs are fast and easy to make. Plus, they freeze well for meal prep or a make-ahead meal.
We love incorporating our Homemade Buffalo Sauce into this recipe, but you can use whatever compatible buffalo sauce is accessible to you. These meatballs have a mild heat level out of the oven or airfryer. Toss with the remaining buffalo sauce to crank up the spice to medium or hot.
Tips and tricks:
Traditional meatballs use breadcrumbs to keep them tender and juicy. As Whole30 is grain-free, that’s not an option, so we looked for other ways to prevent them from drying out.
- Add veggies into the mixture to increase the moisture content. We do that here with finely chopped celery and carrots.
- Don’t over-mix – the more you mix the meat, the tougher your meatballs will be.
- Keep your meatballs at least 1 inch in size or bigger. Also, try to make your meatballs all the same size so they will cook at the same rate. A metal cookie scoop can be perfect for this! We used a 1 ½ tablespoon one for this recipe.
- Air fry your meatball skewers! Air frying is a great way to keep meat juicy while cooking.
- Adding sauce to the meatball mixture. We did that in this recipe with the buffalo sauce – for a hit of kick and added moisture.
Make sure to finely chop your carrots and celery for this recipe. This gives the buffalo meatballs a more even texture and flavor. We do that with a mini food processor.
Substitutions:
- Use ground turkey instead of ground chicken
- For nut-free, use ⅔ cup mashed potatoes for the almond flour.
- For egg-free, substitute ¼ cup mashed potatoes or a flax egg for the egg.
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 2/3 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup finely chopped carrots
- 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
- 1/2 cup buffalo sauce divided
- 1.5 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
Optional
- Compatible Ranch Dressing, for dipping
Instructions
- COMBINE all ingredients except only ¼ cup buffalo sauce in a medium bowl, being careful not to overmix. We usually do this step with our hands. Shape into 30 1 ½ tablespoon meatballs.
- SPRAY whatever rack or tray you are using with cooking oil, so meatballs won’t stick.
- AIR FRY in a single layer at 350°F for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through and browned.
- Or BROIL in the oven on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment and a cooling rack set inside for 10-12 minutes, until browned, flip and then broil the other side for 2-3 minutes.
- TOSS cooked meatballs with remaining buffalo sauce, if desired for more heat.
- FREEZE meatballs in a sealed container for up to 3 months.
