Ingredients
Method
- Prepare the Meatballs: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Combine all meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined. Form into balls and place on the baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes until cooked through and browned.
- Prepare the Sauce: In a sauté pan over medium-low heat, melt the butter with the hot sauce, stirring to combine.
- Combine and Serve: Once the meatballs are cooked, add them to the sauce and toss to coat well. Transfer to a platter and serve with celery sticks and your favorite dressing (e.g., ranch or blue cheese).
Nutrition
Notes
Pro Tips:
Use ground chicken thigh instead of breast meat because thighs have higher fat content that prevents the meatballs from drying out in the oven, and the extra richness balances beautifully with buffalo sauce's acidity. Add a tablespoon of cream cheese to your meat mixture - I learned this after making these dozens of times and noticing store-bought versions were moister. The cream cheese melts during baking, creating pockets of richness. Look for Frank's RedHot specifically, not generic hot sauce, because it has the perfect vinegar-to-pepper ratio that was designed for buffalo applications. Other hot sauces will make your meatballs too acidic or not tangy enough. Brush the meatballs with buffalo sauce twice during baking - once at the halfway point and once in the final five minutes. This creates layers of flavor that penetrate the meat rather than just coating the surface.
Use ground chicken thigh instead of breast meat because thighs have higher fat content that prevents the meatballs from drying out in the oven, and the extra richness balances beautifully with buffalo sauce's acidity. Add a tablespoon of cream cheese to your meat mixture - I learned this after making these dozens of times and noticing store-bought versions were moister. The cream cheese melts during baking, creating pockets of richness. Look for Frank's RedHot specifically, not generic hot sauce, because it has the perfect vinegar-to-pepper ratio that was designed for buffalo applications. Other hot sauces will make your meatballs too acidic or not tangy enough. Brush the meatballs with buffalo sauce twice during baking - once at the halfway point and once in the final five minutes. This creates layers of flavor that penetrate the meat rather than just coating the surface.
