Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Meatballs served in a shallow bowl with extra buffalo sauce, celery sticks and a glass of beer in the background.

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5 from 3 votes

Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Tender chicken meatballs air fried to perfection and coated in a smoky, sweet n' spicy buffalo bbq sauce.

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Chilling time 10

Total Time 40

Servings servings

Calories 152kcal

Author Kim Peterson

Equipment

Ingredients

Sauce

1 cup Buffalo Sauce
¾ cup BBQ sauce (I’m a fan of Stubb’s)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon celery seed
Salt and pepper, to taste

Meatballs

2 pounds ground chicken
½ cup Panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons milk
1 egg
½ cup celery, minced
¼ cup homemade buffalo sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

To Serve

Celery sticks
Ranch dressing
Sliced green onions
Chopped chives
Crumbled blue or gorgonzola cheese

Instructions

Sauce

In a medium saucepan, combine buffalo sauce, bbq sauce, honey, vinegar, butter, Worcestershire sauce and celery seed. Season with salt and pepper.
Bring to a low simmer over medium heat until butter melts, stirring frequently. Gently simmer 5 minutes more for flavors to meld and sauce to thicken slightly.
Reserve ¼ cup of sauce for meatball recipe. Set remaining sauce aside. Makes about 2 cups and can be made up to 5 days ahead.

Meatballs

In a large bowl, add ground chicken, panko, milk, egg, celery, ¼ cup prepared buffalo sauce, cumin, onion powder, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix with your hands until combined.
Gently roll into 1 ¼ to 1 ½-inch meatballs and place on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. You should get 24-30 meatballs.
Place meatballs in the fridge for at least 10 minutes and up to 1 day.
Select Preheat on your air fryer and press Start/Pause.
Take meatballs out of the refrigerator and add to the preheated air fryer basket. Spray meatballs with cooking spray and cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
Transfer cooked meatballs to a large bowl. Pour enough Buffalo bbq sauce over meatballs to coat them evenly.
Transfer to serving bowl and pass remaining sauce alongside with celery sticks, ranch or blue cheese dressing, and suggested garnishes. Enjoy!

Notes

Uncooked meatballs can be formed and refrigerated a day in advance. Cooked meatballs can also be stored in the refrigerator up to 5 days or frozen up to 3 months.

To bake the meatballs, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and bake 13-15 minutes until they're cooked through.

See post for Recipe Tips and Variations.

Nutrition