These buffalo chicken meatballs are made with red onion, celery, garlic, blue cheese, ground chicken, breadcrumbs, and buffalo sauce. They are so tender and have just the right balance of cheese and spice.
Charles and I are currently sheltered in place and our access to fresh food is based on what we can get delivered. Fortunately, since we are in Chicago we have a lot of options. Many businesses have pivoted to fulfill the needs of the community during this time.
Read Good Stuff Co, which normally sells juice and smoothies is now offering produce boxes. I signed up as soon as I found out. Our first box came with vegetables like celery, kale, carrots, and sweet potatoes plus fruit like apples, avocado, and blueberries. I also added ground chicken to the box.
The box became the inspiration for several meals, including these buffalo chicken meatballs which I served over some sautéed kale. I was unsure about the pairing of the meatballs and kale, but it was so good! I also added some extra blue cheese on top. You can also serve the meatballs with macaroni and cheese.
These meatballs have two secret ingredients. The first is blue cheese and the second is bread – not breadcrumbs – a couple slices of bread. This is how my great aunt used to make meatballs. Instead of bread just using breadcrumbs, I added two heels of bread that I soaked in water. This helps to bind the meatballs together. I did end up adding some dried breadcrumbs just to give the meatballs the right consistency, otherwise they would have been too wet.
If you follow this recipe exactly, the meatballs have a mild spice. To add more spice, pour buffalo sauce over the meatballs once they cook. You don’t want to add extra buffalo sauce to the meatballs themselves because it will make them too wet.
You can also use this recipe to make buffalo chicken burgers. This recipe will make 4-5 burgers. Since they mixture is pretty moist, use a pan not a grill to cook the meatballs.
How to make Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Tender buffalo chicken meatballs with chunks of blue cheese, red onion, celery, garlic, and buffalo sauce. You can use this recipe to make meatballs or buffalo chicken burgers. Add the meatballs to salads, serve over sauteed kale, or serve alongside macaroni and cheese!
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground Chicken
- 1/2 cup finely chopped Celery
- 1/2 cup crumbled Blue Cheese
- 1/4 cup finely chopped Red Onion
- 1/3 cup Buffalo Sauce
- 2 cloves of Garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup dried Plain Breadcrumbs
- 1 Egg
- 2 slices of Bread (heels are perfect)
- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
Instructions
Heat your oven to 300 degrees.
Place the chicken, celery, blue cheese, red onion, buffalo sauce, garlic, breadcrumbs, and egg in a bowl. Wet the slices of bread, squeeze the excess water out, and add them to the bowl.
Stir everything together.
You are going to need to brown the meatballs in three batches. Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into a skillet and heat over medium. I like to form the meatballs and add them directly to the skillet. Use about 2 heaping tablespoons of the chicken to make meatballs that are roughly the size of a ping pong ball.
Brown the meatballs rotating them so that they brown completely.
Once browned, transfer the meatballs to a baking sheet lined with a silicone pad or parchment.
Continue browning the meatballs in batches, adding a tablespoon of oil to the skillet each time.
Once all the meatballs have browned, place them in the oven to finish cooking for 20 minutes.
Serve over kale, rice, macaroni and cheese, or however you like. Drizzle with extra buffalo sauce to add extra spice.