This keto buffalo chicken meatballs freezer meal recipe is a great meal option for those nights that you have minimal time or energy to whip together a low-carb, satiating meal. These meatballs are keto, low-carb, primal, and gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, coconut-free, egg-free, and sugar-free.
This keto buffalo chicken meatballs recipe is the key to creating more than just your “average chicken meatballs.” Perfectly juicy and full of flavor, this is the easy keto dinner meal you’ve been waiting for!
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Delicious and quick keto buffalo chicken recipe
This keto buffalo chicken meatballs freezer meal is a filling, satiating, and savory weeknight dinner option that will satisfy your cravings for something protein-packed and full of flavor!
These meatballs are incredibly easy to prep, freeze, and then cook when you’re ready to eat! This recipe only requires 20 minutes of prep time, followed by 45 minutes of cooking time in the oven. When all is said and done, you’re left with 16 buffalo chicken meatballs, which amounts to 4 servings.
This recipe is a great option for game day! I love to serve these meatballs alongside low-carb veggies, keto dips, and charcuterie boards!
Keto buffalo chicken meatballs make the perfect freezer meal
If you didn’t know already, freezer meals are a staple in our household. Freezer meals are perfect for those times when you find yourself in a time crunch or just altogether not having the energy to cook an entire meal, which seems like every single weeknight, doesn’t it?!
How do freezer meals work? Simple! Set aside a day or afternoon as your “prep” day, and spend some time cooking and prepping ingredients before freezing.
Personally, I take a few hours every single Sunday to prepare my freezer meals by adding all of my ingredients to freezer bags then freezing until I’m ready to cook the meal.
Materials you will need to make this buffalo meatballs recipe
Ingredients available online that are required to make buffalo chicken meatballs
These freezer meal keto meatballs are so easy to make
Once the mixture has been mixed and the meatballs rolled together, transfer the raw chicken meatballs to a freezer bag. Then, when you find yourself needing a quick and easy, low-maintenance meal, whip them out of the freezer, place them in a baking dish, and bake straight from frozen!
When these are done baking, drizzle the meatballs with hot sauce, garnish with green onions, blue cheese crumbles, grated parmesan, and pepper and serve!
I absolutely LOVE freezer meals because of their ease. They’re totally stress-free and provide me with an easy option that I can whip together in a pinch.
Cooking chicken in the oven from frozen… is it safe?
The short answer is: YES! Cooking chicken in the oven (or on the stove) from frozen is absolutely safe.
In most cases, the only difference between cooking raw and frozen chicken in the oven is that you’ll need to increase cooking time by about 50% to cook through the frozen chicken meat evenly.
How to get juicy chicken meatballs with a keto panade
Traditional meatballs typically use either pork or beef, and due to their fattier content, these types of meatballs are typically quite juicy and not dry. In knowing that chicken is a leaner meat, you might expect chicken meatballs to wind up dry, but that doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, it’s possible to make very juicy chicken meatballs!
Typically, to yield juicy chicken meatballs, a panade is needed, which is a mixture of liquid and starch. Panade adds moisture to the meatball mixture and prevents the meat from drying out while cooking. Since panade is normally very high in carbs, I came up with a low-carb alternative for this freezer meal recipe!
Ingredients in keto panade
The keto-friendly panade I made utilizes ground pork rinds and heavy whipping cream, both of which contain minimal carb content! I used these two ingredients and the results were so impressive! The meatballs are flavorful and juicy!
Net carbs in keto buffalo chicken meatballs
This low carb dish is a perfect option for those following the keto lifestyle. Super appetizing and satiating, these keto meatballs only have 8g of net carbs for every 4-piece serving!
Freezer meal ingredients, tools, and substitution
This is the kind of keto dinner meal that will make your family and friends come back for more. It’s easy to downplay the flavors considering that the ingredients are pretty common, but this simple recipe is anything but boring.
If you are looking to substitute any of the ingredients, the only ingredient substitution that I have personally successfully tested is:
Ground Chicken Breast Substitution: If you do not like ground chicken breast or do not have any on-hand, ground turkey or ground chicken thighs can be used in place of ground chicken at a 1:1 ratio. If you are having trouble locating ground chicken thighs at your grocery store, ask your deli counter or butcher, as they will likely be able to grind some thighs for you. Ground chicken thighs will actually yield an even juicier final meatball!
Note that any ingredient substitutions will alter the final nutritional content.
Garnishes and serving suggestions for these freezer meal meatballs
I love to garnish my keto buffalo chicken meatballs with blue cheese crumbles, green onions, grated parmesan, and pepper to add additional depths of flavor to each bite.
You may choose to serve these simply on their own, on top of some Miracle Noodles or zucchini noodles, or individually with toothpicks as a party appetizer.
Cooking these meatballs before freezing them
If you’d prefer to first cook the meatballs, then freeze, you can absolutely do so. Bake the meatballs in the oven at 425 degrees until the internal temperature of each meatball reaches 165 degrees; this should take about 25 minutes.
Allow the cooked meatballs to cool completely before transferring them to a freezer bag and freezing.
When ready to eat, transfer the frozen meatballs to the refrigerator to thaw.
Once fully thawed, reheat them on the stovetop over medium heat in a large pan until lightly browned, then follow the “Final Steps” instructions as written in the recipe card when you are ready to serve.
Storing leftover keto meatballs
After cooking, feel free to store any extra meatballs. Keep them refrigerated in an airtight container, and enjoy within 2-3 days. Keto meatball leftovers make great work lunches or snacks!
How to make this keto buffalo chicken meatballs freezer meal
To a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients and mix together until well-combined. Using hands, roll individual meatballs.
Transfer rolled meatballs to freezer bag.
Situate meatballs into even layer before transferring freezer bag to freezer to freeze.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees, add frozen meatballs to a small glass or ceramic baking dish, and bake until the internal temperature of meatballs reaches 165 degrees, about 40-45 minutes.
Using tongs or a fork, transfer meatballs from baking dish to a large mixing bowl, discarding excess liquid. Toss meatballs in hot sauce.
Serve meatballs in bowl and garnish with blue cheese crumbles, green onions, grated parmesan, and pepper.
Diets that keto buffalo chicken meatballs are compliant with
This keto freezer meal recipe is compliant with a variety of diets:
- Keto and Low-Carb: Each serving of meatballs only contains 1.4g of net carbs, making this a great keto and low-carb meal option.
- Primal: This freezer meal recipe complies with primal diet guidelines.
- Gluten-Free: These meatballs do not contain any gluten.
- Grain-Free: There are no grains used in this dish.
- Nut-Free: This freezer meal is a nut-free meatball recipe.
- Coconut-Free: These meatballs do not contain ingredients with coconut.
- Egg-Free: This is a meatball recipe that is egg-free.
- Sugar-Free: Sugar is not used to create keto chicken meatballs.
Check out these other delicious keto freezer meal recipes
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Keto Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Freezer Meal
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
- Yield: 16 meatballs 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Looking for a quick meal perfect for game day? This keto buffalo chicken meatballs freezer meal should do the trick! It’s easy, low-carb, and delicious! Plus, each serving of meatballs has just 1.4g of net carbs, making it the perfect ketogenic option.
Ingredients
Mix, Roll, and Freeze Together:
- 1 ½ lbs ground chicken
- 4 oz finely ground pork rinds
- ½ cup (60g) grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup (28g) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tbsp (30mL) heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp (45mL) Frank’s RedHot Hot Sauce
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Add After Cooking (Do Not Include in Freezer Bag):
- 2–3 tbsp (30mL-45mL) Frank’s RedHot Hot Sauce, depending on how much sauce you want in the final dish
- 3 tbsp (~22g) blue cheese crumbles
- 3 tbsp thinly sliced green onions
- 2 tbsp (15g) grated parmesan cheese
- 1/16 tsp pepper
Instructions
Prepare Freezer Bag: Add rolled meatballs to freezer bag, laying meatballs in even layer so they lay flat. Transfer freezer bag to freezer and freeze until ready to cook.
To Cook:
- Oven Instructions: Preheat oven to 425 degrees, add frozen meatballs to a small glass or ceramic baking dish, and bake until internal temperature of meatballs reaches 165 degrees, about 40-45 minutes. Move on to “Final Steps” as written below
Final Steps: Using a tongs or fork, transfer meatballs from baking dish to a large mixing bowl, discarding excess liquid from the baking dish. Toss cooked meatballs in hot sauce. Serve meatballs in bowl and garnish with blue cheese crumbles, green onions, grated parmesan, and pepper.
Recipe Notes:
Remove Excess Air From Freezer Bag Without Flattening Meatballs In Freezer Bag: Either use a vacuum sealer or, seal freezer bag almost completely, leaving a small section open to fit a straw in, suck the air through the straw, and then seal remaining portion of freezer bag.
Ground Chicken Breast Substitute: Ground chicken thighs or ground turkey can be substituted in for ground chicken breast at a 1:1 ratio.
Cooking Meatballs Before Freezing: If you’d prefer to cook the meatballs before freezing, bake them at 425 degrees until internal temperature of meatballs reaches 165 degrees, about 25 minutes, then freeze. When ready to eat, transfer frozen meatballs to refrigerator and thaw. Once fully thawed, reheat meatballs on stovetop over medium heat in large pan until lightly browned, then follow “Final Steps” instructions when ready to serve.
Serving Options: Serve meatballs simply on their own, atop Miracle Noodles or zucchini noodles, or individually with toothpicks as a party appetizer.
Storage For Cooked Buffalo Chicken Meatballs: Store the cooked meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eat within 2-3 days.
Keywords: keto meatballs, keto chicken meatballs, buffalo meatballs
D says
Thought there was supposed to be Instant Pot and slow cooker directions for cooking these also??
Sara Nelson says
Thank you for asking! This was a typo. These meatballs are best made in the oven. If you’re looking for other freezer meal recipes that can be made in an Instant Pot or slow cooker, take a look at some of my other freezer meal recipes here!
Aerond Sigue says
Looks so delicious! 🙂
★★★★★