Guest Post: Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Oh, hey there, PaleOMG friends! I’m Stacie, a dietitian, a foodie, a lover of nature, a dog mom and one of the co-founders of The Real Food Dietitians, where we dish up on gluten-free and paleo-friendly recipes. I’m all about keeping it simple by sharing recipes with less than 10 ingredients and nutrition tips that can easily be applied to everyday life. No need to complicate things anymore than they need to be. We’ve got places to go and things to see! And while I like a good therapeutic cooking day here and there, most of the time I would rather be outdoors, at a yoga class, at my cabin in northern Minnesota, or with my favorite peeps and pups.

Before I get into my Buffalo Chicken Meatballs recipe, I want to thank Juli for this incredible opportunity.

There are absolutely no words to express my excitement for being a guest on the PaleOMG blog and sharing one of my most favorite recipes with you! I’ve been following PaleOMG for a few years now and like you, I’m quite a fan and continuously inspired by her blogging skills, drool-worthy recipes and her style! I’ve never actually met Juli in person, but thanks to social media it feels as if we’ve been friends for years. Seriously, her sense of humor is one of a kind and I can always count on Juli’s snapchats to brighten my day. She’s hilarious!

As a “real food” dietitian, I emphasize the importance of choosing wholesome foods. Foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. No fat-free, sugar-free, artificially sweetened, “diet” foods here. Just real food! And like Juli, I don’t count calories or macros, and I don’t recommend it either. I feel by doing so it masks our internal intuitions and creates a faulty relationship around food (I’ve been there – I’m a recovering calorie-counting queen and diet-soda junkie). What I do recommend and encourage is for my readers to nourish their body with delicious real foods that make them feel their absolute best. Discovering these foods may take time and patience, but it’s worth it! My best tip for getting started is to simply start a journal and take notes of what you ate, how you felt and any symptoms you’re feeling (bloating, low energy, breakouts etc.). Over time, you will learn what those “feel good” and “not so feel good” foods are.

Okay, I digress! Back to the recipe.

After receiving rave reviews on my Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken, the No. 1 viewed recipe on my blog, I knew I needed to share this other favorite buffalo chicken recipe of mine. It’s my hubby’s favorite too! These Buffalo Chicken Meatballs are crazy delicious! And what better place to share this recipe than on the PaleOMG blog!?

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs are made entirely in a skillet. Like I said, I’m all about keeping it simple and the fewer the dishes the better because kitchen clean-up is the pits! These meatballs make for the most kick-ass appetizer (hello, football season!), but can also be served for dinner on top of spaghetti squash or zoodles for a super delish and hearty paleo-friendly meal. And please don’t forget about the ranch. My Homemade Paleo Ranch is one of my go-to’s and will take this recipe to another level of tastiness. In fact, I make this ranch dressing almost weekly and store it in a mason jar in the fridge for an easy and clean dressing option. You can also find Juli’s delicious Ranch Dressing recipe on page 272 of her Paleo Cookbook. Oh, and if you’re wondering how I make spaghetti squash, you can get a full tutorial here.

I’d consider these meatballs more on the mild side, so if you’d like a little extra kick, feel free to add ¼-½ teaspoon of cayenne to the sauce. And if you’re making them as an appetizer, you most certainly can cook them up ahead of time and place in a slow cooker on low to keep warm. The Buffalo Chicken Meatballs are lightly covered with sauce, so feel free to double the sauce recipe if you’d like them more…”saucy!” Lastly, this recipe is freezer-friendly. So if you’d like, go ahead and double the recipe and then freeze half for a future meal or appetizer. Then all you’ll need to do is thaw the meatballs out in the fridge overnight and throw them in a slow cooker on low to heat through. Easy peasy!

Alright, let’s get cooking.

Oh hey – let’s be friends and eat good food together…connect with me on:

Website: The Real Food Dietitians

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