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Enjoy the taste of buffalo chicken without the mess with these Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Meatballs . Oven-baking option included if you don’t own an Instant Pot!
It’s been 6 months since I purchased my very first Instant Pot, and it’s seriously been the best game changer in my kitchen. I didn’t think I would rely on it almost every day of the week, but it’s abilities are endless and amazing. If you’ve never heard of the Instant Pot before, it’s an electrical pressure cooker that also has a rice cooker, slow cooker, steamer, warmer, and sauté and browning function all in one. The new version, which I don’t have, also has a yogurt maker. It’s just wonderful.
As I got familiar and more comfortable with mine over the past several months, I’ve been thrilled at how I can cook rice in 10 minutes, bone broth that gels in under 2 hours, whole chicken in 20 minutes, and just transforming tough meat into fall-off-the-bone deliciousness in 30 minutes, which would’ve taken hours in the slow cooker.
As more and more people purchase this beautiful appliance, I have been receiving a ton of interest in how to cook with them every time I mention it. Because of this, I decided to start posting more Instant Pot recipes and uses. First up: buffalo chicken meatballs!
I think everyone loves buffalo sauce-flavored anything, right? At least that’s how C feels about it. He gets excited anytime he smells buffalo sauce scent drifting from the kitchen, or when he sees me making oven baked wings. It’s so popular at gatherings and sporting events, and it’s because of the spicy kick that’s so addicting and yummy for many people. I love these meatballs, because you get the same delicious flavors as wings but it’s less messy and you don’t have to deal with the bones.
Working with ground chicken can be sticky and difficult, so your raw meatballs may not look as round as you like. Don’t worry about it! Grease your hands well before shaping the meat, and even if they don’t look perfect, they’ll firm up and look delicious once they are cooked.
Don’t have an Instant Pot? These can easily be baked! Check out the recipe below to find out how to cook them in the oven.
What’s your favorite way to use your Instant Pot?
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
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 6 tbsp hot sauce
- 4 tbsp ghee, or butter
- Chopped green onions, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine chicken, almond meal, salt, minced garlic cloves, and green onions.
- Use your hands to combine everything together, but be careful not to overwork the meat.
- Grease your hands with ghee or coconut oil, then shape the meat into balls 1-2 inches wide.
- Set your Instant Pot to sauté setting and add 2 tbsp of ghee.
- ***Working in batches, gently place the chicken meatballs in the Instant Pot to brown them. Turn them every minute until all sides are brown.
- While the meatballs are browning, combine hot sauce and 4 tbsp of butter or ghee and heat them in the microwave or the stove top until the butter is completely melted. Use a spoon to stir. This is your buffalo sauce.
- Place all the browned meatballs in the Instant Pot, then pour the buffalo sauce evenly over the meatballs.
- Screw on the lid to the Instant Pot, make sure that the pressure valve is set to “sealing,” then set it to “Poultry.”
- Once the meatballs are finished cooking (about 15-20 minutes), the Instant Pot will beep. If you are eating right away, hit “Cancel” then release the pressure valve, making sure your hand is away from the opening where the steam escapes. If not, the Instant Pot will automatically switch to the “Warm” setting for the next 10 hours and the pressure will slowly lower on its own.
- Serve over rice, cauliflower rice, zoodles. or just eat on its own!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I notice the serving size is not on the nutritional information. Or is the entire batch one serving? I am really trying hard to watch my portion control—I have no control so if I make these I need to measure out my portion and box up the rest 🙂
If you look in the gray text area, it says there are 6 servings. You can just divide the full recipe by 6 for individual portion size.
Just made this– the whole family loved it! In my case, I had to modify it so that my 3 year old, who cannot tolerate any spiciness, would be able to eat it. I sent my husband to the store for “mild hot sauce” (kind of an oxymoron) and he came back with mild taco sauce. I thought it was going be gross. It smelled wrong when I mixed it with the butter to make the sauce. And yet, somehow, after cooking in the IP it came out really great! Not taco-y at all. So that’s a suggestion for anyone who’s looking to make this not spicy. I can’t wait to make it again for a party or something when I can go for full-on heat.
Also, I doubled up on the sauce as another poster suggested. When I added in one batch of sauce, it just didn’t look like enough to cover the bottom. So I quickly melted some more butter and whipped up some more sauce. Super easy and quick.
So glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for the suggestion for anyone looking for a milder sauce!
These were amazing! My boyfriend couldn’t get enough. I used Frank’s hot sauce for the buffalo sauce, and they came out great. Thank you!
These were the first thing I tried in my instant pot and they are soooo good. I also used a bit of blue cheese to make the sauce a bit more creamy. But so good!!
Aw, so glad you enjoyed! Thank you so much for trying my recipe. 🙂
Burn, baby, burn. Browning them in the Instant Pot did NOT work out well. I would brown them first in a non-stick pan on the stove top and then take it from there.
So for me, trying to cook the meatballs in the IP was a disaster. Even though my pan was hot and I had plenty of ghee on the bottom, they stuck like crazy. So, I tossed the first batch, which was only about 7 of them.
I put the rest of the raw meatballs on a stoneware baking pan and drizzled the sauce on top of them, generously. I baked then at 409 degrees for 20 minutes, turned them and scooped sauce from the baking pan on top again. Baked another 15 minutes. Let them sit while pouring pan drippings over them again. Delish! My husband said they might be the best meatballs I’ve ever made. Thanks for the recipe!
Why 409 degrees? Just wondered because that’s an odd #
I’m sorry if I missed it but how many meatballs is this supposed to make and how many are in a serving?
The number will be different every time you make it since meatball sizes will vary. After you are finished, just divide the number of meatballs by 6 and that’s 1 serving!
Can I make these ahead and freeze them?
I’ve never tried but I don’t see why not. Just freeze them in individual portions and take them out when you are ready to eat! 🙂
Made these for the family and they were a big hit. I made a double batch for leftovers and because my youngest does not like spicy I left the sauce off of some of them. My youngest loved them without the sauce. Quick question the calories per serving is that one meatball? That seems really high for one meatball so I thought I would check.
Thank you so much and so glad you enjoyed it! The nutrition information is for 1 serving, not 1 meatball. There are a total of 6 servings so whatever number of meatballs you make, divide by 6, and that is the nutrition information you are looking at.
What would you suggest for a vegetable side dish? This is my 3rd time making this! I’ll serve it over rice but looking for a veggie dish to pair with it.
I love refreshing salads like this Roasted Brussels Sprouts Salad or this Curtido.