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Buffalo & Ranch Chicken Meatballs
When planning a dish to bring to a party, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, stick to crowd-pleasing flavors. Second, the dish should be easy to eat with one hand so you can have a drink in the other hand. From there-it's all fair game!
I was invited to a get-together this weekend and I was trying to think of something easy and crowd-pleasing that wouldn't be too fussy. I know that everyone at the party loves buffalo anything, so I decided to make cheddar-ranch buffalo chicken meatballs.
I start by mincing half a white onion, one carrot, and one rib of celery.
Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a sauté pan with a pinch of salt and cook the veggies until they're translucent and tender, then set them aside to cool.
Combine the veggies with ground chicken, water, salt, pepper, egg, breadcrumbs, ranch seasoning, hot sauce, and shredded cheddar.
Use a tablespoon to make mini-meatballs and place them on an oiled baking sheet. From one pound of chicken this recipe usually creates about 40-43 meatballs.Bake the meatballs at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
While the meatballs are cooking, make the buffalo sauce. Melt a stick of butter in a small saucepan, then add a tablespoon of flour and cook for a minute or two. The added flour will thicken the sauce just slightly and allow it to stick to the meatballs better.
Then stir in a cup of your favorite hot sauce and two tablespoons of honey. The honey will balance out the heat from the hot sauce, but if you want them extra spicy, leave it out. Once everything is combined, set the sauce aside until you're ready to coat the meatballs.
When the meatballs are cooked, toss them in the sauce and garnish with celery leaves. Feel free to serve them with fresh carrot and celery sticks and ranch dressing.
Recipe:
Total Time: 45 minutes | Serves: 6-8 as appetizer
Ingredients:
1/2 white onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 rib of celery, finely diced, leaves set aside
2 tbs olive oil
1 lb ground chicken
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 tbs ranch seasoning
1 cup + 1 tbs hot sauce, divided
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 stick butter
2 tbs honey
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Sauté onion, carrot, and celery in olive oil with a pinch of salt until tender and set aside.
3. Combine chicken, egg, water, breadcrumbs, ranch, 1 tbs hot sauce, cheddar, salt, pepper, and cooked veggies in a bowl until just combined.
4. Use a tablespoon to measure out mini-meatballs, roll them gently between your palms and place them on an oiled baking sheet. If the meatballs are sticking to your hands, rub some olive oil on them first and then roll the meatballs.
5. Bake the meatballs for 30-35 minutes until they are browned.
6. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Melt the butter, 1 cup of hot sauce, and 2 tablespoons of honey in small saucepan.
7. Toss the meatballs with the buffalo sauce in a bowl and transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with the reserved celery leaves, and serve with a side of ranch dressing and carrot and celery sticks.