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You’re going to need to add this keto buffalo chicken meatballs recipe into your meatball repertoire ASAP! It’s got all of the buffalo chicken flavors you adore, wrapped up into easy low carb buffalo chicken meatballs. These buffalo meatballs have all the meaty flavor of keto sausage balls with a zesty kick — plus they are easy, requiring just 6 ingredients and NO flour or breadcrumbs at all! They make a perfect appetizer, or pair them with some roasted veggies for an easy and healthy dinner.
Show of hands… who else loves buffalo wings? I know you do! But, sometimes they can be messy, and these keto buffalo chicken meatballs and other fork-friendly options like buffalo spaghetti squash casserole and buffalo chicken salad are great solutions for that. Serve them with celery sticks and either blue cheese or ranch dressing.
This keto buffalo chicken meatballs recipe was originally published on October 23, 2015 as buffalo turkey meatballs, but people kept telling me that they preferred chicken! So, they were updated to be buffalo chicken meatballs in December 2019.
How To Make Keto Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
These low carb buffalo chicken meatballs take just 10 minutes to prep. (I told you they were easy!)
Here’s how to make buffalo chicken meatballs:
- Mix together the buffalo meatball recipe. Combine ground chicken, egg whites, blue cheese, scallions, and buffalo sauce in a bowl. (You can use pre-made sauce, or make keto buffalo sauce yourself.)
TIP: Mix just until combined, so as to not over-work the meat. It may be dry if you over-mix.
- Form the keto buffalo chicken meatballs. Use a small cookie scoop to make this process really easy, otherwise, gently roll the meatball mixture into 1-inch balls and place onto lined baking sheet.
- Bake the chicken meatballs. You want to bake them until they are just barely done, but not 100% done, so that we can pop them back in the oven after the following step without drying them out.
- Make buffalo sauce. Whisk together more buffalo sauce with a little olive oil.
- Drizzle the buffalo sauce onto cooked low carb buffalo meatballs. Do your best to evenly coat the meatballs.
- Lightly coat each meatball and bake for another 2-3 minutes. Serve up your buffalo meatballs!
Can You Really Make Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Without Breadcrumbs?
Yes! This buffalo meatball recipe requires no flour or breadcrumbs of any kind, not even low carb ones.
I just didn’t find it necessary. It’s true that the meatballs are slightly less perfectly round this way, but who cares?!
I much prefer to make chicken meatballs without breadcrumbs so that there are no carbs, no flour, and no specialty ingredients.
TIP: If you really want to add a binder to your meatballs, add 1/4 cup almond flour or pork rinds for keto buffalo chicken meatballs that hold their shape just a bit better.
Can You Make Buffalo Turkey Meatballs Instead?
Absolutely! This used to be a buffalo turkey meatballs recipe, and I only changed it to chicken based on reader feedback.
But if you prefer ground turkey, by all means, use turkey instead.
How To Serve Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Buffalo wing meatballs must certainly be served with blue cheese and celery! Adding crunch and creamy blue cheese dressing is all this buffalo chicken meatballs recipe needs, and in my opinion, it’s a non-negotiable. 😉
Can You Make Low Carb Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Ahead?
Yes, you can make low carb buffalo chicken meatballs ahead. Simply form them into meatballs, bake, and then let them cool completely. Store them in the refrigerator.
When you’re ready to serve them, drizzle with buffalo sauce and bake until heated through.
Can You Freeze Buffalo Meatballs?
Yes, you can also freeze this buffalo chicken meatballs recipe. After the initial baking time, let the meatballs cool completely. Transfer them to a clean piece of parchment paper lining a sheet pan and then freeze in a single layer. Once they are frozen solid, you can transfer them to a freezer bag.
To reheat, thaw them in the fridge overnight, drizzle with buffalo sauce and bake until hot. They are perfect for meal prepping or making a double batch.
More Keto Meatball Recipes
I’m a big fan of meatballs and for good reason – they are packed with protein, everyone loves them, and they make a great dinner! In fact, I’m all about serving meatballs for a main dinner. I know they are usually considered an appetizer, but I usually serve them for dinner.
Why? They are packed with protein, and make a fantastic dinner with a side of veggies. If you love these no carb buffalo chicken meatballs, you might like some of these other meatball recipes:
- Italian Keto Low Carb Meatballs – These are your classic meatballs with Italian flavors and herbs. They are perfect with some zucchini noodles.
- Healthy Chicken Meatballs With Cream Sauce – Another keto chicken meatball recipe! This one features a cream sauce that you’ll probably want to drizzle over everything.
- Easy Keto Sausage Balls – Ok, so technically these aren’t meatballs, but close enough! Sausage balls make the best appetizer or party snack, everyone gobbles them up!
- Asian Turkey Meatballs – The keto friendly, sweet and sticky sauce is so good.
Tools To Make Keto Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Tap the links below to see the items used to make this recipe.
- Baking Sheet – This baking sheet is one of my most used kitchen tools.
- Whisk – This whisk is a great tool to have in your kitchen. Perfect for whisking together your cayenne pepper sauce and olive oil to drizzle over your hot sauce meatballs.
- Parchment Paper – Parchment paper is a must for this delicious baked buffalo chicken meatballs recipe. Easy clean-up is always a plus when cooking! 🙂
Low Carb Keto Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Recipe
Low Carb Keto Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Recipe
See how to make buffalo chicken meatballs with just 6 ingredients! This easy low carb keto buffalo chicken meatballs recipe is a mashup of wings + meatballs, with only 10 minutes prep.
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Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
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Combine the ground chicken, egg whites, blue cheese, scallions, and 3/4 of the cayenne pepper sauce in a bowl. Form into 1 in (2.5 cm) balls and place on the lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until barely done.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining cayenne pepper sauce with the olive oil.
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Drain the fluid released by the meatballs and transfer them to a clean sheet of parchment paper (still on the baking sheet). Drizzle a small amount of the cayenne olive oil mixture over each meatball. Bake for 2-3 minutes.
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Recipe Notes
Serving size: 4 meatballs
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
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43 Comments
Alexandra
0What can I sub for the blue cheese?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Alexandra, You can omit the blue cheese.
Alyssa Cordova
0I don’t know how you do it but every recipe I try is better than the last. This one was another hit with my whole family. Yes, I make one dinner. Yes, my kids eat it. My teenage daughter requested this be a regular rotation and that we make it for school lunches! I used primal kitchen buffalo sauce and a cookie dough scoop to form the meatballs. I broiled them for a few minutes after adding the sauce/olive oil combo. This came together in less than 10 Minutes. Served with a side of roasted broccoli and I am totally satisfied! Thank you, Maya!
Marie Lynn Fincher
0What can be used instead of blue cheese?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Marie, You could use ranch.
Eliza
0Awesome recipe, a real crowd pleaser. I ground my chicken because then I know what I’m serving. It’s very important to buy a high quality ground chicken. I’ve found that cheap ground chicken is the reason people are getting a watery consistency as it happened to me.
Toni
0Hi I just recently started keto and I’ve been saving difference recipes of yours since I’ve been surviving off of different ham sandwiches with keto bread lol. Would I have to cook them any different if I’m going to be reheating them in a microwave at work?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Toni, Not at all! Follow the recipe as instructed and they will reheat just fine in the microwave. Enjoy!
Colleen
0This recipe is so flavorful. I added a but more salt and a few handfuls of crushed pork rinds to help with the binding. I made the balls quite small so I served them in a celery stick and top with blue cheese or ranch dip.
Christopher Winter
0This came out waaaaay too watery to form into balls for me. Disappointing
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Christopher, I’m sorry this didn’t turn out to your liking. Did you use carton egg whites? I’m not sure how it ended up too wet to form the meatballs.
Stacey
0I plan on using egg whites from the carton, should I adjust the amount?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Stacey, No need to adjust the amount, use the 1/4 cup as written in the recipe.
Lorri Goddard
0Mine is too watery also. Not sure if it is because the chicken has a lot of water content or what. Not sure what to do now.
Lorri Goddard
0Is the Buffalo sauce measurement that goes in the chicken mixture 3/4 of the 1/2 of a cup?? Cause 1/2 of 1/2 is 1/4 and then 3/4 would be slightly more. I did that and waayyy too watery. Ended up putting in a small muffin tin
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Lorri, Sorry this recipe didn’t turn out as expected. It should be a bit more than 1/3 cup of buffalo sauce that goes in the ground chicken mixture.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Lorri, Were you able to make these work in a muffin tin?
Jennifer
0Do you think these would freeze well, and would you freeze raw or partially cooked?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Jennifer, These do freeze well. Because they are chicken, I would freeze them after being fully cooked. Enjoy!
Mary
0This recipe sounds great for a party. Was wondering if you could finish cooking them in a crockpot in the Buffalo sauce or perhaps just serve them that way using the warm setting on the slow cooker. What do you think?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Mary, Yes, that sounds like a great idea!
Claudia
0I have made these many times everyone loves them great recipe
Kelly Anthony
0Buffalo chicken is one of my favorite flavors, but I rarely eat wings because they’re fried. I am so excited to have a new way to eat it without having to worry about what it’s going to do to my waistline! Thank you for the recipe!
Elyse
0Hi. Is there a recipe for the sauce? I only see a link to buy one on line.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Elyse, I don’t have a buffalo sauce recipe currently, I just use the a store bought one and the ingredients are fine.
Kathy
0Hi there. I found your recipe by searching for ground turkey keto recipes. I had 3 lbs of meat so I doubled the recipe. Made a few changes. I used whole eggs- 4. I didn’t have green onions so I used some chives, parsley, and a grated medium onion. I used feta instead of bleu cheese. I also cut the hot sauce in half for this first time. Perfect for me, but the boys could have used the whole amount. I can get adventurous next time! I served edamame pasta on the side with some marinara sauce. I don’t this this is keto, but the carbs are very low, protein is high, and it tastes pretty close to real pasta- but it is green. Needless to say, we do dirty keto. It is working for us right now. My hubby just committed to this WOE and I have to work around what he is willing to eat and not eat. We have no dietary restrictions. Just trying to eat healthy and lose weight. It is working.
Adine
0Love these!! My husband doesn’t like bleu cheese so I made half with feta and compromised! Great over a salad for lunch or dinner.
Barbara
0I’m from Buffalo and newly subscribed to your blog because I’m gluten free and like to see new recipes. Born and bred in Buffalo and this is the first I’ve seen Buffalo Meatballs!!! Franks hit sauce is a staple in our house and the meatballs – What a novel idea and why on God’s green earth have I not thought of this?!?!?!?!?! Well, I’m going to make these soon Superbowl or not!
To the commenter below who was not bc they didn’t like blue cheese- they can substitute Ranch dressing instead. Ranch and bleu cheese are Buffalo’s best friends and interchangeable lots of times. Or if ranch doesn’t thrill them either, leave it out and reduce the amount of hot sauce or add butter to the sauce to tame it.
Cant wait to try this recipe!!
Kim
0This looks so good. I’m not a big blue cheese fan. Would it affect the recipe?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Kim, I haven’t tried them without it. It might work, but the heat might be overpowering without the cheese to balance it out. Let me know if you try, and how that goes!
Shauna Skinner
0Thank you so much for this recipe! We are a nut free family (my son is very allergic) and many of the grain-free options have almond flour in them (which is like death at my house! ha!). So I was eager and happy to find this recipe! Making it now!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Shauna! I’m glad the recipe is helpful for your nut-free family!
Nikki
0Is there anything you can substitute for the blue cheese?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Nikki, Any crumbled soft cheese, like goat cheese or feta, would also work. Of course the flavor would be different based on the type of cheese you choose.
Christy
0I’m with you… love buffalo sauce, on anything except wings! Can’t wait to try this.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I’m glad I’m not the only one! 🙂
KalynsKitchen
0Hi Maya,
Just letting you know I featured these meatballs today in my weekly Low-Carb Recipe Love on Fridays post, which was all about low-carb meatballs today. (And I leave these comments partly so I can tell I’ve featured this recipe, in case I find it again!) Hope a lot of my readers will try the meatballs!
Rachel Pierson
0Hi Maya,
Just wondering — in the directions it says “barely done.” Does that mean almost done or close to raw?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Rachel, it means almost done. Hope this helps!
Francia
0How many meatballs are in a serving?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Francia, The nutrition info is for 4 meatballs, about 1″ to 1.5″ in diameter. Hope this helps!
Caroline D'Elia
0I had run out of greaseproof paper and was worried that the rather sloppy meatball mixture would really stick badly to the baking pan, so I microwaved them in two to three batches until pale looking and half cooked for a couple of minutes on each side and finished cooking them in an ovenproof dish until slightly browned . This worked well, and they didn’t stick to the base this way, and when I make them again I’ll do it this way again. I added some Italian mixed herbs. The meatballs were tasty although a weany bit on the dry side and they really need some sort of sauce to make them more palatable.. We ate them with soured cream and fresh tomato salsa as this is what we happened to have in the fridge and this combination worked well. I was thinking that if they weren’t eaten up then the dog can eat them for breakfast, However, they were a hit and we only had four meatballs left over to save for the dog’s breakfast.. I’d give this meatball recipe 9 stars out of 10.
Maya
0Thank you for the feedback, Caroline! The meat would dry out in the microwave more than it would in the oven, but it’s a good compromise to partially bake them if you don’t have parchment paper. Foil that is greased well would probably also work. I do usually serve these with blue cheese dressing (as shown in the picture), or you can drizzle more of the cayenne pepper sauce and olive oil mixture on top of them if you want more moisture and don’t mind the extra heat. They’ll definitely work with any herbs that you like – Italian herbs sounds delicious. I’m glad you liked these and am so happy that you came by to share how the recipe went for you. Thank you so much!