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Baked Buffalo Turkey Meatballs (Buffalo Chicken Meatballs)

Baked buffalo turkey meatballs with hot sauce and blue cheese are perfect for a meal or appetizer. Made with only six ingredients and baked in less than 30 minutes, these spicy meatballs are a healthier alternative to wings, and they are just as good. They can be made with either chicken or turkey.

Serve with a platter of carrot or celery sticks, add them to a salad, or serve them with a plate of crispy french fries.  These tasty meatballs freeze well, making them perfect for quick lunches and weeknight meals.

Turkey meatballs on a plate with green onion, blue cheese crumbles and hot sauce.

These easy buffalo turkey meatballs served with a side of ranch or blue cheese dressing, are a great weeknight dinner or the perfect appetizer to serve on football Sundays.  

These bite-sized meatballs cook quickly and make a large batch, and they freeze well, making them ideal for meal prep for quick lunches or an easy weeknight meal. 

If you love the flavors of spicy buffalo chicken, you may also love Buffalo Chicken Flatbread or this hot and cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe

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What you’ll love about this recipe:


  • Quick – These spicy buffalo meatballs come together super quickly and bake in less than 30 minutes. Using the air fryer will cut the cooking time in half.
  • Simple Ingredients – This meatball recipe uses only six simple ingredients, so you won’t spend much time prepping or shopping.
  • Freezes Well – This recipe makes a large batch and freezes well, making it a great food prep recipe for quick lunches or weeknight dinners.

These baked buffalo turkey meatballs are perfect as a meal, snack, or appetizer.

They are flavored with hot sauce and blue cheese and have just the right amount of heat.

They are delicious drizzled with additional hot sauce and served with ranch dressing or blue cheese dip

I like to serve them on toothpicks with sliced green onions and blue cheese crumbles as an appetizer.  

As a meal, you can add the cooked turkey meatballs to a salad or sandwich, crumble them and add them to a pizza, or serve them with a big plate of crispy french fries.

These turkey or chicken meatballs freeze very well, and because the recipe makes a large batch, it is the perfect meal prep recipe.  Frozen meatballs can be easily reheated in the oven or air fryer.

As an appetizer, serve them on a platter with Jalapeno Popper WontonsCheeseburger Taquitos, or Air Fryer Pork Chop Bites for a delicious spread perfect for your next game-day party.

Meatball on a toothpick drizzled with blue cheese dressing, sliced green onion and crumbled blue cheese.

Ingredients & Substitutions

For a full list of ingredients and measurements, see the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Lean ground turkey – Lean ground turkey, generally made with turkey thigh or a combination of thigh and breast, works best for this recipe as it has more fat and flavor than 100% ground turkey breast. If you prefer chicken to turkey, you can use ground chicken.

Hot sauce – We always choose Frank’s Red Hot, but you can use your favorite buffalo wing sauce instead. 

Fine breadcrumbs – Breadcrumbs help absorb some of the moisture and hold the meatballs together. If you are gluten-free, you can use alternatives such as gluten-free breadcrumbs or gluten-free ground oats.  Panko breadcrumbs work well if you don’t have fine breadcrumbs on hand.

Blue cheese – Blue cheese adds a great punch of flavor and is a common companion to buffalo wings. If you don’t like blue cheese, feta or goat’s cheese works great, or you can use mozzarella, parmesan, or cheddar.

Green onion – Green onion adds color and fresh flavor to the meatballs.  Fresh garden chives will also work well. 

Turkey meatball ingredients.

Pro Tip – You shouldn’t need to add salt to this recipe as both the hot sauce and cheese should add enough. But if you use a low-sodium sauce or cheese, you can use a pinch of salt. If you want extra seasoning, you can add a pinch of garlic powder or onion powder.

Step by Step Instructions

Make the Meatball Mixture

Add all of the ingredients to a medium-sized bowl and mix to combine.

Ingredients for turkey meatballs in a glass bowl mixed together.

Form the Meatballs

Form the mixture into 24 meatballs.

Place the meatballs on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray or lined with parchment paper.

Bake a 375°F for 22-25 minutes until golden brown.  

Meatballs are done when the outside is slightly browned, and the juices run clear when pierced.  If you have a meat thermometer, you are looking for a minimum internal temperature of 165°F. 

Turkey meatballs on a 9x13 baking sheet before and after baking.

Pro Tip -A cookie scoop is the easiest way to form the meatballs. It helps ensure they are a uniform size so they cook evenly, and it does most of the rolling for me. I use a 1.5-inch cookie scoop when forming my meatballs, which I find just the right size for appetizers and meals.

Air Fryer Buffalo Turkey Meatballs

These turkey meatballs cook up perfectly in the air fryer.

If you have one, and would prefer to use it, follow the directions above for forming the meatballs and then place them in the air fryer basket or on the tray.

Cook at 350°F for approximately 12 minutes until the meatballs are lightly browned and feel firm when you touch them.

Serve as desired.

How to Serve Spicy Turkey Meatballs

I like to serve these spicy buffalo turkey meatballs drizzled with extra hot sauce, sprinkled with green onion and crumbled blue cheese. I always serve them with a dish of blue cheese dip or ranch dressing on the side.

They are great on top of a salad, in a wrap, or on a submarine sandwich.

When served as an appetizer, I dress them up with all the toppings and serve them on toothpicks. Add them to a platter with fresh celery and carrot sticks.

If you want to serve these as a main meal, they go great with mac & cheese or pasta salad, or you can keep it simple and serve them with a plate of crispy french fries.

Buffalo turkey meatballs on a plate with crumbled blue cheese and sliced green onion.

Storing and Freezing Turkey Meaballs

Leftover cooked turkey or chicken meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Store them in an airtight container or freezer bag to freeze cooked meatballs. They will keep for several months.

You can freeze uncooked meatballs. To do so, form the meatballs and store them in an airtight container lined with parchment paper. This will help prevent them from sticking to the container and each other.

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More Buffalo Chicken Recipes

Printable Recipe

Turkey meatballs on a plate with green onion, blue cheese crumbles and hot sauce.

Baked Buffalo Turkey (or Chicken) Meatballs

Baked buffalo turkey meatballs with hot sauce and blue cheese are are quick and easy. Made with simple ingredients they are perfect as an appetizer or main meal.
4.93 from 26 votes
Print Pin Save Recipe Rate
Course: Appetizers, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 24 Meatballs
Calories: 38kcal
Author: Deanna

Ingredients

  • 1 Pound lean ground turkey or chicken
  • 1 Large egg
  • ¼ Cup hot sauce like Frank's Red Hot
  • ¼ Cup crumbled blue cheese
  • ½ Cup fine breadcrumbs

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 375°F
  • In a medium size bowl, mix the ground turkey, hot sauce, egg, crumbled blue cheese, breadcrumbs and green onion.
  • Form the mixture into 24 meatballs, about one and half tablespoons each. I like to use a medium size cookie scoop for this as it's easy to get a uniform size.
  • Place the meatballs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick spray.
  • Place the tray on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes until meatballs are lightly browned and feel firm when you touch them.
  • Serve with extra hot sauce, blue cheese, blue cheese dip or sliced green onion.

Notes

You can substitute ground chicken if you prefer.  Be sure to select lean ground chicken and not mechanically separated chicken.
If you don’t like blue cheese, you can substitute feta or goat’s cheese.

Nutrition

Estimated Nutrition Facts
Baked Buffalo Turkey (or Chicken) Meatballs
Amount per Serving
Calories
38
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
1
g
2
%
Saturated Fat
 
1
g
6
%
Trans Fat
 
1
g
Sodium
 
115
mg
5
%
Carbohydrates
 
2
g
1
%
Fiber
 
1
g
4
%
Sugar
 
1
g
1
%
Protein
 
5
g
10
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

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4.93 from 26 votes (26 ratings without comment)
Recipe Rating




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