Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Traditional buffalo wings for me, boneless wings for my husband - they were either the perfect appetizer, or a quick weeknight dinner, depending on our mood.

In my pre-keto days?

Buffalo chicken dip, buffalo chicken pizza ... whatever.

You know what happens when you’re in the mood for chicken wings, but ALSO want meatballs?

Split the difference and make a batch of these easy buffalo chicken meatballs - one of my favorite meatball recipes to date, and the perfect way to indulge two cravings at once!

This recipe for these buffalo meatballs took a few tries to get right.

The original recipe trial was WAY too heavy on the hot sauce, and was *way* too salty, as a result.

Eventually, I found a good balance between “buffalo flavor”, and... well, edibility.

I added a bit of xanthan gum to thicken it up a little, giving it a really nice texture.

The result is a buffalo chicken meatball recipe that you can eat as a main dish, rather than something SO strongly flavoured that it should really just be an appetizer.

These healthy buffalo chicken meatballs are a great way to indulge in a craving while on a keto diet, or just aiming for more healthy eating habits in general.

Not only are they a healthier alternative, they’re less hassle than firing up the deep fryer!

The best part? The whole family will love them, whether as a light dinner, or a quick appetizer for football Sundays!

Low Carb Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Ingredients

Before getting to the buffalo chicken meatballs recipe, I want to talk a bit about the ingredients I used.

While most of the ingredients are pretty simple ingredients that you can find in any grocery store - lean ground chicken (you can use ground turkey if you prefer), onion powder & garlic powder, parsley, etc - I have something to say about a few of them!

”Star Trekked” Celery

I used celery IN with the meatballs, as a reference to the celery sticks usually served with buffalo wings... and as an autistic, sometimes I form some pretty solid opinions about how things need to be.

IMHO, any celery used in any form of a stir fry - or even tangentially related dishes - should be “Star Trekked”.

This is both a matter of aesthetics AND texture. Plus, it’s just fun.

If we can’t have silly shaped marshmallows in cereal, at least we can have Star Trek Insignias in our meatball dish, right?

All you have to do is place your celery concave side down, and slice on an angle, as shown below:

Xanthan Gum

Xanthan gum is a thickener that is commonly used in gluten-free baking, to help alternative flours behave a little more like regular flour.

When it comes to low-carb cooking, using traditional methods of thickening sauces - cornstarch slurries, flour roux, etc - aren’t really an option anymore.

So, I whisk a little bit into the sauce before cooking, and it thickens it up just enough to have a nice, silky texture.

This is entirely optional. If you don’t have xanthan gum available, feel free to skip it. (It IS a nice thing to have on hand, though!)

Note: If you don’t sprinkle it into the liquid, you may end up with clumps. If you do end up with clumps that you can’t break up, just pour it through a metal strainer when adding it to the sauce.

Hot Sauce

As written, I went traditional - Frank’s RedHot Sauce, as that’s the gold standard hot sauce for making for traditional Buffalo wings.

That said, you can use any wing sauce / your favorite buffalo sauce that you want - just note that you’re probably going to want to keep an eye on the heat / salt level!

I recommend mixing the ranch and broth together, then adding your choice of hot sauce to that, tasting as you go.
As a note, if you want more of a kick WITHOUT the added vinegar / salt, you can bolster your sauce with spices.

Cayenne Powder*
Chipotle Powder
Crushed Chilies
Hatch Chile Powder
Jalapeno Powder
Smoked Serrano Powder

... etc are all great options for adding heat!

* Cayenne pepper is the pepper in Frank's, if you want to match.

Ranch Dressing

I used ranch salad dressing, as I’m not a fan of Bleu cheese. If you are - and the dressing works with your particular diet - feel free to substitute it!

Be sure to use full fat ranch, and watch the carbs on the brand you use - some have more added sugar than others.

How to Make Keto Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

The full recipe follows in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is the pictorial overview with some additional tips and info:

In a large mixing bowl, combine ground chicken with the herbs, spices, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of black pepper.

Using clean hands - or a small cookie scoop - form chicken meatball mixture into meatballs (I usually aim for small meatballs, about 1 inch balls).

Note: For tender meatballs, handle the mixture gently - I tend to prefer tender chicken meatballs, personally.

If you prefer tough meatballs, you can squeeze it more, and/or run the mixture through a food processor. (Think IKEA meatballs, the more firm texture.)

Place meatballs in a large skillet / nonstick pan along with the olive oil.

Note: You’ll want to keep it to a single layer, with a bit of space between each meatball.

Whisk together chicken broth, hot sauce, ranch and xanthan gum in a medium bowl or large measuring cup.

Turn element down to medium heat and continue to cook for a few minutes, until meatballs are cooked all the way through and the spicy buffalo sauce has glazed them.

You can use a meat thermometer probe, inserted into the center of the meatballs to check for safe internal temperature. Once the internal temperature reaches 165 F, you’re good to go!

How to Serve Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

On a Bed of...

As pictured, my favourite way to serve these meatballs is on a bed of celery root (celeriac) rice.

I love the texture, and I love the faint celery taste - celery and hot wings is a popular combo for a reason!

Aside from celery rice, this also goes really nicely with Low Carb Cauliflower Mash, or with cauliflower rice.

Drizzled With...

Want a drizzle with this, whether for appearance, extra flavour, or to boost the fat content?

Go with blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing for a creamy contrast. Sour cream can be spooned into a pastry bag and drizzled on that way, if desired.

Sprinkled With ...

I love topping this with sliced green onions and/or chopped up celery leaves, but if blue cheese crumbles are more your style, go for it!

For a Crowd

Football season is coming up! Not only is this a the perfect party appetizer in general - always a crowd pleaser - it’s a great game day appetizer, specifically.

For this use, I like to do them up as slow cooker buffalo chicken meatballs / crockpot buffalo chicken meatballs.

I recommend cooking up a double batch of the meatballs ahead of time, chilling in an airtight container in the fridge until a few hours before use.

Heat the meatballs in your crock pot, before whisking together the sauce ingredients. Allow it to simmer gently for a short amount of time before serving.

Serve with celery sticks, carrot sticks, and - for those not on low carb - French fries, if desired!

Pro tip: Having a small serving bowl with toothpicks on hand makes self-service fun and easy!

More Low Carb / Keto Meatballs - and Meatloaf! - Recipes

Meatballs and meatloaf can be really great comfort food. Here are a few variations I’ve come up with:

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf
Scotch Egg Meatloaf Recipe
Jalapeno Popper Meatloaf
Low Carb Chicken Cordon Bleu Meatloaf
Keto Stromboli Meatloaf
Easy Keto Swedish Meatballs
Low Carb Chicken Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce
Keto Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry Glaze

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