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Low Calorie Buffalo Chicken Meatballs are a low calorie appetizer or meal that's easy to meal prep, delicious and perfect for a balanced protein meal or snack!
There's something about buffalo sauce that just makes food taste so good! If you're eating bland protein, spice it up with buffalo sauce or another condiment. It makes a difference!
I literally use Frank's buffalo sauce on so many of my recipes like Buffalo Chicken Casserole, Crockpot Buffalo Chicken, Buffalo Chicken Dip, Chicken Tenders and more!
This healthy buffalo chicken meatball recipe is a spin off of my low carb buffalo chicken meatloaf recipe.
And... if you're concerned about ground chicken tasting dry, not to worry. This one has all the flavor!
Are Meatballs Healthy?
Meatballs can be a healthy addition to your diet and a great way to increase protein in your diet. Meatball recipes vary widely though. Some may be more caloric dense due to a higher fat content from using higher fat meat combined with whole eggs. Many contain flour as well.
It's not that these foods are bad. Recipes simply need to be balanced so it's important to evaluate the fat, carb and protein content in recipes first to understand whether or not it truly is healthy and aligned with your goals.
What Make This Buffalo Chicken Meatball Recipe Healthy?
This recipe is not only a delicious and flavorful way to enjoy protein like chicken, but it's also lower carb, low in calories, gluten free and Paleo friendly!
- High Protein - 21 grams of protein in each serving which contains about 6 meatballs.
- Veggie Packed - These meatballs have veggies hidden in them!
- Low Calorie - 192 calories per serving.
- Versatile - Make these meatballs for a protein snack, appetizer or enjoy them for a meal. They're also perfect for meal prep!
- Easy - I'm all about simple ingredients and easy recipes and this recipe checks all those boxes.
Ingredients for Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
You need just 7 ingredients to make these yummy buffalo chicken meatballs. They're also gluten free and Paleo friendly!
- Ground Chicken
- Celery
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Buffalo Sauce
- Coconut Flour
- Unsweetened Almond Milk
See the substitutions section below for questions about substituting specific ingredients.
How To Make Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Healthy
Step One - Preheat the oven to 425 F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step Two - Blend the celery, carrots and garlic by pulsing in a blender or food processor.
Step Three - Transfer all ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix together with your hands.
Step Four - Roll the meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet.
Step Five - Bake for 7 minutes then flip and bake another 7 minutes.
Step Six - Remove from the oven and serve warm with more buffalo sauce on top as desired!
What To Serve With Buffalo Chicken Meatballs?
Buffalo chicken meatballs can go with anything! Top them over a salad with a drizzle of yogurt for extra protein, dip them into yogurt as an appetizer with chopped veggies, add them to a sandwich or wrap or enjoy them as is for a high protein snack.
How To Store Meatballs
- Refrigerator - Meatballs will keep in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
- Freezer - These meatballs will freeze nicely. Let them come to room temperature completely before storing in a plastic storage bag. Then freeze up to 3 months! When you're ready to eat them, remove from the freezer the night before and place in the refrigerator then reheat to eat!
- Reheating - You can reheat meatballs in the oven at 300 F or a toaster oven. They reheat more evenly using an oven. But you can also pop them in the microwave or cook them until heated on the stovetop too.
Substitutions For Low Carb Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Here are the substitutions you can make for your low calorie buffalo chicken meatball recipe. As always, when you substitute or change ingredients, it does change the nutritional data from what you see below in the recipe card.
- Ground Chicken - Any ground meat you like will work. Lean ground beef, ground turkey, ground pork or even vegetarian ground meat versions will work too.
- Buffalo Sauce - BBQ sauce, Sriracha, chili-garlic sauce, curry paste, harissa, marinara or another tomato based sauce could be substituted.
- Coconut Flour - Whole wheat flour, all purpose gluten free flour may be substituted. You can also follow the ingredients for buffalo chicken meatloaf that uses almond flour too and make meatballs instead of meatloaf.
- Veggies - Onions, zucchini, bell peppers would make great substitutes or additions.
- Almond Milk - Any milk can be used in this recipe. It does not have to be dairy free milk unless that is your preference.
More Healthy Meatball Recipes
- Italian Turkey Meatballs
- Asian Meatballs
- Crockpot Turkey Sausage Meatballs
- Salmon Meatballs
- Instant Pot Spaghetti & Meatballs
- Spaghetti Squash & Meatballs
Low Calorie Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Chicken
- 1/2 cup Celery roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup Carrots roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons Garlic
- 1/2 cup Buffalo Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Flour
- 2 tablespoons Unsweetened Almond Milk
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roughly blend the celery, carrots and garlic in a blender or food processor by pulsing several times until nearly pureed.
- Transfer all ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together evenly.
- Prepare the meatballs by rolling 1 to 1 1/2-inches in diameter in size. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.
- Baking in the oven for 7 minutes then flip and bake another 7 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately with more buffalo sauce on top.
- Store in the refrigerator up to 4 days or in the freezer up to 3 months.
Notes
- This recipe makes 24 meatballs. One serving equals 1/4th of the 24 meatballs or about 6 meatballs.
Nutrition
Mine are falling apart- next time I will add egg
I've not had an issue with mine falling apart when I've made these. Sometimes I will add a bit of water to my hands when I'm trying to get things to stick together. You could also add a touch of olive oil.
How do you make them meatballs? They are too liqudy and don’t form into a ball.
I did not have that problem at all. Something is off.