Soups
Spicy Buffalo Chicken Chili with Meatballs
Prep
15 minutes
Cook
40 minutes
Yield
4
This delicious Buffalo Chicken Chili is loaded with flavor, protein, and is the ultimate comfort dish to make this winter.
This Buffalo Chicken Chili is a cozy but spicy comfort food. It’s loaded with tender chicken meatballs, hearty beans, and veggies that are simmered in a tangy buffalo tomato broth. I added cream cheese at the end to make the chili extra creamy and delicious. This is the ultimate comfort dish. Whip it up for a weeknight dinner, a potluck, or for meal prep.
❤️ Why You’ll Love Buffalo Chicken Chili
- Quick Prep: This Buffalo Chicken Chili recipe requires only 15 minutes of prep time. It’s the perfect easy dish for a busy night.
- Healthy: This dish is high in protein from the chicken and beans, and nutritional benefits from the veggies.
- Comforting: Is anything more comforting than a big bowl of hot chili on a cold winter’s night?
🍲 Ingredients
Buffalo Hot Sauce – Buffalo hot sauce brings the perfect balance of heat and tang that gives this chili its kick. It’s the key flavor of this dish, infusing every spoonful with that classic wing-inspired spice you can’t resist. Perfect for Football Sunday!
Ground Chicken – Ground chicken is a lean, protein-packed alternative to beef that keeps this chili light without sacrificing heartiness. I love how ground meat soaks up all the bold buffalo flavors in this chili, making every bite tender and full of flavor.
👩🍳 How to Make Buffalo Chicken Chili
- Make the meatballs: To a medium bowl, add the ground chicken, garlic powder, onion powder, chili flakes, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, dried oregano, pressed garlic, salt and pepper and mix to combine. Scoop out about 2 tablespoons at a time and form each into a meatball – place all meatballs on a plate and set aside. (Makes about 14 meatballs)
- Into a large Dutch oven or pot add olive oil and turn heat to medium. When the oil is hot, add the diced onion, diced red pepper, diced celery, diced carrots and minced garlic. Saute, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender and starting to turn golden brown.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, stir, and cook for 1 minute until mostly evaporated.
- Add the tomato paste and chicken stock paste and cook for 1 minute, stirring most of the time.
- Add the drained and rinsed beans and stir to combine.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, hot sauce and water and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
- Once simmering, nestle in the meatballs and bring to a simmer again. Once simmering, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the flavors blend, the meatballs are cooked through and the chili thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 20-30 minutes.
- Once you’ve reached the desired consistency, stir in the cream cheese, the corn and ¼ cup fresh cilantro. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the corn is warmed through and the chili is creamy. Add up to 1/4 cup more cream cheese if you enjoy an even creamier chili.
- Serve in bowls topped with a dollop of sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, minced green onions and remaining fresh cilantro. Serve with bread or buns for dipping.
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- Don’t Overmix Meatballs: Gently combine the ingredients so they stay tender, not tough.
- Adjust The Heat: Use more or less buffalo sauce (or add a pinch of cayenne) depending on your spice tolerance.
- Low & Slow: By simmering your chili low and slow, it gives the flavors time to deepen and the meatballs to soak up all that saucy goodness.
- Toppings: Get creative with the toppings for this chili and use whatever you have or like.
🗒 Variations
If you love the flavors of buffalo chicken, I have some other recipes you’re going to love:
🗒 Best served with
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Store leftovers of your Buffalo Chicken Chili in an airtight container, once cooled, in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze this chili. Let it cool, and then put it in airtight containers. It’ll last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
🤔 Common Questions
Yes! This is a great chili recipe to make ahead of time or use as meal prep. Reheat on the stove on medium.
Use a mild buffalo sauce or cut the amount in half. You can also stir in a bit more cream cheese at the end to mellow out the heat.
Swap the cream cheese for a dairy-free version and skip the sour cream topping, or use a plant-based alternative
Spicy Buffalo Chicken Chili with Meatballs
Ingredients
For the chicken meatballs
- 450 grams / 1lb ground chicken
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp chili flakes
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3 garlic cloves, pressed
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp ground pepper
For the chili
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 2 celery sticks, diced
- 2 medium carrots or 1x large, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp worchestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp chicken stock paste
- 398 ml can butter beans drained and rinsed
- 398 ml can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup buffalo hot sauce This chili is spicy! If you or your family is spice averse start with ¼ cup hotsauce and can substitute with ¼ cup more crushed tomatoes or more hotsauce depending on your tastes.
- 4 cups Culligan water
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1/4 cup plain cream cheese
- ½ cup chopped cilantro, divided
Serve with
- sour cream
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1 bunch green onion, diced
- 1 buns for serving (see notes below on how to warm buns with garlic butter)
Instructions
- Make the meatballs: To a medium bowl add the ground chicken, garlic powder, onion powder, chili flakes, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, dried oregano, pressed garlic, salt and pepper and mix to combine. Scoop out about 2 tablespoons at a time and form each into a meatball – place all meatballs on a plate and set aside. (Makes about 14 meatballs)
- Into a large dutch-oven or pot add olive oil and turn to medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the diced onion, diced red pepper, diced celery, diced carrots and minced garlic. Saute, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender and starting to turn golden brown.
- Add the worcestershire sauce, stir and cook for 1 minute until mostly evaporated.
- Add the tomato paste and chicken stock paste and cook for 1 minute, stirring most of the time.
- Add the drained and rinsed bean and stir to combine.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, hot sauce and water and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
- Once simmering, nestle in the meatballs and bring to a simmer again. Once simmering, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the flavors blend, the meatballs are cooked through and the chili thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 20-30 minutes.
- Once you’ve reached the desired consistency, stir in the cream cheese, the corn and ¼ cup fresh cilantro cook for 5 more minutes, until the corn is warmed through and the chili is creamy. Add up to 1/4 cup more cream cheese if you enjoy an even creamier chili.
- Serve in bowls topped with a dollop of sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, minced green onions and remaining fresh cilantro. Serve with bread or buns for dipping.
Notes
- This chili is spicy! If you or your family is spice averse start with ¼ cup hotsauce and can substitute with ¼ cup more crushed tomatoes or more hotsauce depending on your tastes.
- If you can’t find butter beans, easily substitute with another can of cannellini beans.
- Take this chili to the next level by making garlic butter buns/ rolls. In a small saucepan melt 1-2 tablespoons butter with add 1/4 tsp garlic powder and 1/4 tsp onion powder. Once the butter is melted remove from the heat and stir in 1-2 tsp finely chopped cilantro and add salt and pepper to taste. Brush the butter over buns/ rolls of choice (we love King’s Hawaiian Rolls) and then put the buns on low broil in the oven for 1-3 minutes to just warm.
