How much time does it take to make these tasty meatballs? Buffalo meatball recipes are delicious and versatile. They go well with salads or pasta dishes and freeze very well. This recipe gives you my favorite way to prepare buffalo meatballs at home.
This recipe calls for fresh herbs, but dried herbs can be substituted if you don’t have them. If you want to add some extra flavor, try adding garlic powder, onion powder, or Italian seasoning.
What Are Buffalo Turkey Meatballs?
A buffalo turkey meatball is made from ground turkey mixed with breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and spices. This recipe makes about 30 small meatballs. They are usually served as appetizers at parties but can also be used for other dishes like sandwiches, salads, etc.
How to make Chicken Buffalo Turkey?
The best way to make chicken buffalo turkey is to marinate them overnight in a mixture of soy sauce, honey, garlic powder, salt, pepper, onion powder, and cayenne pepper.
After marinating them for at least 2 hours, place them into a hot pan with some oil until golden brown. Then add cheese, bacon bits, and ranch dressing mix. Cook for another 10 minutes or so, then serve.
Equipment You’ll Need
This recipe requires a large ovenproof skillet, such as a cast iron skillet. Use two pans if your pan isn’t big enough for the chicken thighs. It would help if you also had a cutting board and another large bowl. Make sure you keep all ingredients at room temperature.
Recipe-1
- Prep time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Serving: 32 meatballs
- Cooking Difficulty: Easy
- Cuisine: American
- Course: Main course
- Calories: 64 calories
Nutrition Information
Calories: 64kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 356mg | Potassium: 106mg | Vitamin A: 90IU | Vitamin C: 0.7mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 0.5mg
Ingredients
Regarding the Meatballs
- 2-pounds of ground turkey 1-and-a-half cups of Panko breadcrumbs
- Two big eggs
- Five garlic cloves minced
- 12 red onions, diced tiny
- 1/4 of a cup sugar 1 tsp. salt
- 0.5 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper
Seasoning
- One teaspoon of Italian
- 12 teaspoons of onion powder
- 12 cups of green onions, sliced thin
- Two teaspoons of finely chopped fresh chives for garnish
To Make Buffalo sauce
- One Cup of Spicy Sauce
- Half a Cup of Greek Yogurt
- In a microwave, heat four tablespoons of butter
Dinnerware Bowls
- Spaghetti squash or cooked rice
- Lettuce/cabbage
- Raw vegetables (carrots and celery) on a stick
- Dressings like ranch and blue cheese
Directions
Regarding the Meatballs
Set oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Put some parchment paper on a big baking sheet and put it aside. Ground Turkey, Panko breadcrumbs, eggs, garlic, chopped red onion, salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, onion powder, and green onions should be combined in a big basin.
Form the ground turkey mixture into meatballs about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Keep going until all the ingredients are gone; you should end up with about 32 meatballs.
Arrange meatballs in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes until meatballs are brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 160 degrees.
To Make Buffalo sauce
Add the melted butter to the hot sauce in a medium bowl and stir to mix. Blend in the Greek yogurt after that.
Take the meatballs out of the oven, let them rest for 3–4 minutes, and then put them in a big bowl. Toss the meatballs gently to coat with half of the buffalo sauce mixture and top with chopped chives, if using. Noodles, rice, or spaghetti squash (as illustrated) are all appropriate serving options.
Use reusable lunch containers and fill them with spaghetti squash, salad, and Buffalo Turkey Meatballs to make your meal prep bowls.
About 1 cup of spaghetti squash was cooked, and I tossed five meatballs and 1/2 cup of salad. If preferred, serve the meatballs with a side of Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing and drizzle with more Buffalo sauce.
Put a few carrots and celery sticks into individual plastic bags. Maintain in the fridge until ready to eat.
Recipe-2
- Prep time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Serving: 20 meatballs
- Cooking Difficulty: Easy
- Cuisine: American
- Course: Main course
- Calories: 52 calories
Nutrition Information
- Calories 52Calories from Fat 18
- Fat 2g3%
- Cholesterol 14mg5%
- Sodium 141mg6%
- Potassium 97mg3%
- Carbohydrates 1g0%
- Protein 6g12%
- Vitamin A 705IU14%
- Vitamin C 0.7mg1%
- Calcium 16mg2%
- Iron 0.3mg2%
Ingredients
- Turkey ground meat, 1 pound
- Carrots, minced (about half a cup’s worth)
- 14 cups of chopped celery
- 1 cup of minced spinach
- Two Tablespoons of Olive Oil
- 1/2 cup blue cheese dressing
- Reduced-Spice Sauce (Pepper)
- Three tablespoons of coconut flour
- Blue cheese, crumbled, 1/3 cup
- Serving options include rice, cauliflower rice, or spinach.
Sauce complements:
- 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt
- One-tenth of a teaspoon of buffalo sauce
Directions
Oven Instructions
- Bake at 450 degrees and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
- I was chopping up the vegetables. Put everything into a big dish and stir it up. (Mix either by hand or with a low-speed stand mixer.
- Form into balls and arrange on a baking sheet.
- Put in a 450-degree oven for 20 minutes, then let cool and savor.
- To make the optional Greek yogurt sauce, combine all the ingredients and whisk.
Airfryer Instructions
- Put everything into a big dish and stir it up. (Mix by hand or in a stand mixer on low.)
- Form into balls and place in a greased air fryer basket with oil.
- Set the air fryer to 400 degrees and cook for 12-15 minutes or until the food is golden brown.
- The meatballs will need to be air-fried in groups of two or three. For each round, I put 12 into the wicker.
- To make the optional Greek yogurt sauce, combine all the ingredients and whisk.
Optional Ingredients for Buffalo Turkey Meatballs
- Because of their adaptability, these meatballs can have a lot of different things done to them and still turn out great.
- The vegetables can be left out if you don’t care for celery, carrots, or spinach.
- If you’re following the Whole30 or Paleo diet, you can easily make this dish compliant by leaving out the blue cheese and the yogurt sauce.
- Instead of coconut flour, whole wheat breadcrumbs can be used if you are not following a strict paleo or Whole30 diet.
Recipe-3
- Prep time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Serving: 24 meatballs
- Cooking Difficulty: Easy
- Cuisine: American
- Course: Main course
- Calories: 52 calories
Nutrition Information
serving: 1meatball, Calories: 43kcal, carbohydrates: 0.5g, Protein: 4.4g, fat: 2.7g, fiber: 0.3g, sugar: 0.1g, vitamin a: 15iu, calcium: 6mg, iron: 0.4mg
Ingredients
- 1 pound of ground turkey, trimmed of excess fat
- 1/4 pound of almond flour
- One-third to one-half cup of hot sauce
- A pinch of salt
- A half teaspoon of garlic powder
- one-fourth of a teaspoon of ground black pepper
- One-fourth of a teaspoon of onion powder
- One-Fourth Teaspoon of Chili Powder
- One egg
Directions
- Bring the oven temperature to 400 degrees—wrap aluminum foil around a baking sheet.
- Put everything into a big bowl and stir it with a fork until it’s well combined.
- Form the meat into balls about the size of a golf ball using a tablespoon. About 20-24 meatballs, depending on size.
- Prepare in 20 to 25 minutes. For extra crispness, I prefer to broil them for a few minutes after cooking for 20.
- Soak up some liquid and fat pooling with paper towels at the bottom of the meatballs.
Why Should you choose the recipe?
Fewer micronutrients are found in turkey, yet it still has many of the same health benefits as chicken. Turkey is an excellent source of lean protein, with only 170 calories and 21 grams of protein per 4-ounce serving. Maintaining muscle mass is impossible without protein, which is crucial for cell structure, metabolic function, and nutrition delivery.
B vitamins, especially niacin (B6), are abundant in Turkey. Niacin is essential for the body to produce energy and communicate with its cells. In addition, it’s a great source of selenium, a mineral that plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy metabolism.
What should I serve with the recipe?
The best dish for serving chicken buffalo turkey is a spicy chicken salad served coldly with celery, carrots, peppers, olives, and mayonnaise. Another option is a sandwich made out of whole wheat bread.
Why is this My Favorite recipe?
Buffalo Turkey Meatballs are my favorite recipe because they taste great and are easy to prepare. They also look adorable when served at parties.
The best part about them is that you don’t need fancy ingredients like fresh herbs, garlic, onion, etc. All you need is some ground beef, breadcrumbs, egg yolk, milk powder, salt, and pepper. I usually add some hot sauce too.
Things you should avoid
When cooking buffalo meatballs, you must avoid adding too much onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, sage, bay leaves, black peppercorns, and nutmeg. These ingredients can mask the flavor of the meatball, making them bland.
Also, do not use all butter when sauteeing the meatballs. Instead, use only half the butter and add some olive oil. This will prevent the meatballs from sticking together, which would be difficult to break apart once cooked.
How to Store?
Buffalo Turkey Meatballs should be stored in a container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. If refrigerated for longer than two weeks, thaw them at room temperature and refreeze them. They are deliciously served cold or warmed slightly in a pan on medium heat.
Expert Tips
Use ground turkey that has been partially rendered for the most significant results. 99% lean turkey in this recipe yields meatballs that are a little drier but lower in fat and much lighter. To make these meatballs juicier, use ground turkey with a fat content of 94%.
If you choose a ground turkey that is 94% lean, you can remove the patties from the oven without worrying about the additional fat that will melt away; wipe away the liquid.
Initially, I added a third of a cup of hot sauce. Then, inadvertently, my spouse added 1/2 cup of hot sauce, but the result was delicious.
Tweak it by serving it with condiments for dunking.
Finally, the buffalo sauces in these Healthy Buffalo Turkey Meatballs are out of this world delicious.
How long does it take to cook?
Cooking buffalo turkey meatballs takes about 30 minutes to prepare, and they taste great. The key to cooking them is using a slow cooker. If you don’t want to use a slow cooker, you should preheat your oven to 350°F for 20 minutes. Then place your meatballs inside the range for 10 to 15 minutes.
Statistics
I noticed that using 99% lean turkey in this recipe results in the meatballs being a bit drier, but they have less fat and are lighter.
Source: perchancetocook.com
If you use 94% fat ground turkey, these meatballs are juicy.
Source: perchancetocook.com
Don’t be alarmed by the extra fat that melts off while they bake. If you use 94% ground turkey, remove them from the pan, and wipe off any excess liquid.
Source: perchancetocook.com
What Makes This Recipe So Great?
Buffalo Turkey Meatball Recipe is great for those who love spicy food. The main ingredients include fresh ground turkey, cooked rice, cheese sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and crushed red peppers. This recipe has less fat than other recipes and is easy to prepare.
Why did I choose this recipe?
Buffalo Turkey Meatballs Recipe is delicious and healthy. This recipe has all the essential ingredients for a great meal – protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and fat. All these nutrients help keep you full longer and boost your energy levels. Also, with fewer calories and fat, you’ll feel fuller faster.
How to make Buffalo Turkey Meatballs [FAQs]
1. Why are my turkey meatballs tough?
Turkey meatballs are usually made with ground turkey instead of beef. This is because ground turkey has less moisture than beef, making it more challenging to cook.
2. How do you thicken turkey meatballs?
You can use breadcrumbs instead of flour for thickening.
3. Why are my turkey meatballs falling apart?
Your turkey meatballs are falling apart because they’re too dry. To fix this problem is to add more breadcrumbs and eggs.
4. How do you get turkey meatballs to stick together?
You can use breadcrumbs, egg yolks, and milk to make them stickier.
5. How do you keep meatballs moist after cooking?
You can store them in an airtight container for up to three days.
Conclusion
These meatballs are delicious, easy, and, best of all, made from the leftover turkey from your holiday dinner. You can make a big batch of these and serve them to your friends and family for your next party or freeze them for a quick and easy dinner down the road. We hope you enjoy this recipe. Please share it with your friends and family, and if you end up making it, don’t forget to take a picture. Also you may want to read (how to cook chicken in the perfect way).
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