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Why You’ll Love These Instant Pot Chicken Meatballs
I think everyone loves buffalo sauce-flavored anything, right? I’ve already made buffalo chicken dip, buffalo chicken salad, and even buffalo chicken chili, so these meatballs were kind of inevitable.
These buffalo chicken meatballs are one of those dinners that make the whole kitchen smell like game day food without standing over a frying pan or dealing with a tray of wings. The sauce cooks right into the meatballs, so every bite stays juicy with that buttery, vinegary buffalo kick. I also love that these work just as well for meal prep lunches as they do for football Sundays.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground chicken: The base of these paleo chicken meatballs. Ground chicken stays tender in the Instant Pot and soaks up the buffalo sauce really well.
- Almond meal: Helps bind the meatballs while keeping them grain-free and paleo-friendly.
- Sea salt: Balances the heat from the buffalo sauce.
- Garlic cloves: Fresh garlic gives the meatballs a deeper savory flavor than garlic powder.
- Green onions: Adds freshness and a little sharpness.
- Hot sauce: Gives these buffalo chicken meatballs that classic tangy buffalo flavor. I like Frank’s Red Hot, but always check labels if you need a paleo or Whole30 buffalo sauce option.
- Butter: Softens the sharpness of the hot sauce and creates that signature buffalo sauce texture. Use ghee for Whole30.
- Chopped green onions: For garnish. Adds color and freshness right before serving.
Recipe Variations
- Use ghee instead of butter to keep the recipe Whole30-compliant.
- If you don’t own an Instant Pot, the oven method listed below works great too!
- For spicier meatballs, drizzle extra hot sauce over the top before serving.
How to Make Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Step 1: In a large bowl, combine chicken, almond meal, salt, minced garlic cloves, and green onions. Mix until combined, but be careful not to overwork the meat.
Step 2: Grease your hands, then shape the meat into golf ball-sized balls. Set aside. Ground chicken can be annoyingly sticky to work with, so don’t stress if the meatballs look a little uneven at first. Once they cook, they firm up nicely and hold together really well.
Step 3: Make the buffalo sauce by heating up hot sauce and butter in the microwave or the stove top until the butter is completely melted. Use a spoon to stir.
Step 4: Add the buffalo sauce to the Instant Pot liner and spread evenly. Place the meatballs on top of the sauce. Close the lid, and make sure the pressure valve is set to SEALING. Cook on MANUAL for 15 minutes, then manually release the pressure right away.
Step 5: Serve warm garnished with chopped green onions.
Oven-Baked Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Option
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can still make these Whole30 chicken meatballs in the oven. You can quickly sear the meatballs in a skillet first if you’d like a little more color before baking.
Bake them in a 400 degree F oven for 15 minutes until the centers are cooked through and the outside looks lightly golden. The sauce thickens slightly as it coats the warm meatballs, which makes them especially good straight from the pan.
Expert Tips
- Grease your hands well before shaping the meatballs. It helps more than you might think with sticky ground chicken.
- Don’t overmix the meat mixture or the texture can turn dense instead of tender.
- If the meatballs seem soft before cooking, that’s normal. The almond meal absorbs moisture as they cook.
- Reheat leftovers gently in a skillet over medium heat so the buffalo sauce stays glossy instead of drying out.
- I usually throw these onto a big plate with veggie sticks and my homemade ranch for easy dinners, but they’re also great stuffed into wraps, added to salad bowls, or spooned over rice when we want something a little heartier.
If you use your pressure cooker as much as I do, my Instant Pot cocktail meatballs and classic Instant Pot meatballs in tomato sauce are two more easy favorites.
Storage & Make-Ahead Tips
- These also work really well chopped into lettuce wraps or served over salads like this Whole30 buffalo chicken salad for an easy lunch.
- Store leftover buffalo chicken meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- To reheat, warm them gently in a skillet over medium heat while turning occasionally. This keeps the sauce from separating and helps the meatballs stay tender.
Recipe FAQs
I love Frank’s Red Hot because it gives the closest classic buffalo wing flavor. If you’re doing Whole30, make sure to double check ingredient labels before buying.
Yes, as long as you use compliant hot sauce and swap the butter for ghee.
Yes. You can shape the meatballs ahead and keep them in the fridge until ready to cook.
Ground chicken is naturally softer and stickier than ground beef or pork, which can make it a little frustrating at first. Greasing your hands lightly makes shaping the meatballs so much easier.
More Easy Meatball Recipes
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Paleo Greek Meatballs with Tzatziki Sauce (Whole30, Keto)
If you make this buffalo chicken meatball recipe, please leave me a star rating and comment below! I love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Follow me on social media Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for even more delicious recipes!
Easy Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb ground chicken
- 3/4 cup almond meal
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 6 tbsp hot sauce, like Frank's Red Hot
- 1/4 cup butter, or ghee
- Chopped green onions, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine chicken, almond meal, salt, minced garlic cloves, and green onions. Mix until combined, but be careful not to overwork the meat.1.5 lb ground chicken, 3/4 cup almond meal, 1 tsp sea salt, 2 garlic cloves, 2 green onions
- Grease your hands, then shape the meat into golf ball-sized balls. Set aside.
- Make the buffalo sauce by heating up hot sauce and butter in the microwave or the stove top until the butter is completely melted. Use a spoon to stir.6 tbsp hot sauce, 1/4 cup butter
- Add the buffalo sauce to the Instant Pot liner and spread evenly. Place the meatballs on top of the sauce. Close the lid, and make sure that the pressure valve is set to SEALING. Cook on MANUAL for 15minutes. Release pressure manually right away.
- Serve warm garnished with chopped green onions.Chopped green onions, for garnish
Notes
- Grease your hands well before shaping the meatballs. It helps more than you might think with sticky ground chicken.
- Don’t overmix the meat mixture or the texture can turn dense instead of tender.
- If the meatballs seem soft before cooking, that’s normal. The almond meal absorbs moisture as they cook.
- Reheat leftovers gently in a skillet over medium heat so the buffalo sauce stays glossy instead of drying out.
- I usually throw these onto a big plate with veggie sticks and my homemade ranch for easy dinners, but they’re also great stuffed into wraps, added to salad bowls, or spooned over rice when we want something a little heartier.
- Store leftover buffalo chicken meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- To reheat, warm them gently in a skillet over medium heat while turning occasionally. This keeps the sauce from separating and helps the meatballs stay tender.
- These also work really well chopped into lettuce wraps or served over salads like this Whole30 buffalo chicken salad for an easy lunch.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We have a dairy allergy here and can’t even use ghee. What would you recommend in place of butter/ghee to make the sauce?
You can use avocado oil.
Do you put the sauce on the meatballs before baking them in the oven, or after? Looks great. Thanks!
Yes, pour the sauce on the meatballs before baking!
My husband has a dairy allergy so I will use EVOO in place of the ghee. Since we don’t need to worry about wheat, what can I use instead of going out to buy almond flour? Regular flour? Panko? Cornmeal?
Hi there. EVOO has a specific flavor so that might over power the taste of the sauce. I would recommend using butter instead. I am actually gluten intolerant, so I haven’t tried it with any kind of wheat flour before. I think panko might work but I can’t guarantee that it’ll turn out the same way.
anything a suitable substitute for ghee or coconut oil? Regular butter or EVOO? These look good, hope to try them soon.
Yup, either butter or EVOO works! Hope you enjoy.
I did them with the flax seed meal and they were amazing!
This was amazing! Thank you so much for such an easy recipe. My husband asked for seconds!
This was soooo delicious. My boyfriend and I both loved it. Thanks for the recipe!!
I was hoping these would be good! My husband and son love buffalo chicken, so I was hoping they’d love these too! The meatballs do not really have any flavor-disappointed. 🙁
Sorry it didn’t work out for you! I’ve been hearing great things from people who tried it, so I’m surprised. Let me know if you try anything different with it to make it better! I would love to learn and improve. 🙂
I used a good quality ground chicken thigh and they were delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it!!
Help! My meatballs stuck to the pan. I sprayes it too with canola
Hi Lisa – Make sure that the oil is hot enough before you add the meatballs. I would wait about 10 minutes for the pot to heat up. This should help!
How many tablespoons of ghee are mixed with the hot sauce? 2 or 4?
Oops, sorry. 4. I’ll clarify it in the recipe. 🙂
What’s a good substitute for almond meal?
Hi Shauna, you can try flax meal, although it might taste the flavor a bit. You can also try coconut flour, but I would reduce the amount so it doesn’t dry out.