Buffalo Chicken Meatballs ~ An easy and make ahead appetizer!

I wanted an easy, make ahead appetizer that I could freeze for the Holidays.  This little recipe fit the bill for me and they were a big hit too!  What I really liked about this recipe, is you get all of that great buffalo chicken wing flavor, without the mess with the wings!

I made the meatballs one evening, put them on the cookie sheet and froze them.  When they were frozen, I transferred them to plastic containers and sealed them for two weeks before I was planning on serving them.  I took them out of the freezer 1/2 hr. prior to baking.  So, so easy to do and have on hand!

I found it on shrinkingkitchen.com, in case you want her recipe as I adapted it just a bit!

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

 

      

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground chicken

1 egg

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 carrot (medium)

1 stalk celery (medium)

2 green onion

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 ounce crumbled blue cheese

1/2 cup Frank's Hot Sauce (or your favorite), divided

1 tablespoon butter

Step by step

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. (If making the same day) 
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment 
3. Cut the celery, carrot and green onion into large chunks and throw into a food processor.
4. Pulse to chop into small bits.
5. In a large bowl, combine the vegetable mixture, chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, garlic powder, salt, 1/2 the hot sauce and the blue cheese.
6. Gently fold together to combine, but don't overmix.  *Regrigerate the mixture for at least an hour, before making the meatballs, they are too soft and sticky otherwise.
7. Form the mixture into small meatballs - you should get about 28 small meatballs. *I used a teaspoon to measure the size, as I wanted small ones. 
8. Place the meatballs on the cookie sheet.
9. Bake for 18 minutes.
10. While the meatballs are baking, put the rest of the hot sauce and the butter into a microwave safe dish.
11. Microwave about 30 seconds, until butter melts.
12. Stir well to combine.
13. Remove the meatballs from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.
14. Place the meatballs onto a serving dish and drizzle with butter/hot sauce mixture. *Or to be on the safe side, in case you have guests who don't like things too spicy, serve the hot sauce as a dipping sauce on the side.

 

 

 

 

Nutrition

WW PP 4; Calories 157; Total Fat 8.7g; Saturated Fat 3.5g; Trans Fat 0.0g; Cholesterol 87mg; Sodium 741mg; Total Carbohydrates 5.8g; Dietary Fiber 0.6g; Sugars 0.8g; Protein 13.8g