The biggest game of the year may be in the rear view, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy these game day favorite inspired Buffalo Chicken Meatball Bowls. Spicy buffalo chicken meatballs are paired with cooling ranch slaw, creamy avocado, and crunchy celery. Serve it over rice for a perfect meal prep lunch or easy weeknight dinner!

This recipe holds up great when meal prepped! Here are a few tips to keep things fresh for the week:

• Keep the slaw separated. Because of the ranch dressing and vinegar in the slaw, you want to keep it away from the rice and meatballs during the week if you can so you don’t run the risk of it making them soggy. I found that it was okay if the slaw touched the carrots and celery since those are such hearty veggies.
• Use a silicone cup to easily remove the things you don’t want to microwave. Related to my first point, if you don’t have a divided container you can easily add the slaw and veggies to a silicone cup to make them easy to remove before microwaving the meatballs and rice.
• Add a dressing container for ranch dressing and/or gorgonzola cheese. This is another way to keep things separated that you don’t want to microwave so they can easily be removed. Plus, you don’t really want them just sitting on top of the meatballs all week – especially the dressing.
• Avocados can be sliced fresh or drenched in lime juice and added to the container. You can see from the photo above that I opted to slice the avocado fresh on top of the bowl each time I was ready to serve it, but you can also pre-slice the avocado and give it a good bath in lime juice to help keep it from getting too brown in your meal prep container.

The sauce will take some time and whisking to fully emulsify the butter into the hot sauce, but once it’s fully incorporated, you’re left with a velvety smooth looking sauce that’s absolutely delicious on these chicken meatballs!

Here’s what you’ll need to recreate this Buffalo Chicken Meatball Bowl recipe at home. To start with the meatballs and sauce:

• Ground chicken – I prefer a leaner ground chicken (92%) to keep the protein content in these meatballs high, but you can use whatever fat content you like here. Obviously the higher the fat content, the more tender the meatball.
• Panko breadcrumbs – I used the 4C brand seasoned panko breadcrumbs since that’s what I had on hand, but you can use whatever kind you like.
• Milk – Whole milk, half and half, or even non-dairy milk will work great here. I like to use something with at least a little bit of fat content in it. Rather than just dumping the breadcrumbs and milk
• Eggs – The binder that holds the meatballs together!
• Garlic – 2 cloves were just right flavor-wise. If you don’t have fresh garlic cloves on hand, try 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of garlic powder.
• Ranch seasoning – We’re making use of those Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning packets to help flavor the meatballs with very little effort. You can even mix up the leftovers with sour cream or Greek yogurt for an easy dip for the meatballs!
• Hot sauce – Use whatever hot sauce you like that won’t burn your lips off. I highly recommend Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, which to me is just the standard for buffalo hot sauce flavored anything.
• Butter – Like your favorite buffalo wings, the hot sauce needs butter to stick to the meatballs and tone down the heat. The more butter (and honey) you add to the sauce, the more mild it becomes.
• Honey – Just a touch of honey helps balance out the vinegar and spice of the hot sauce without having to add too much butter, making it less of a punch to the face and easier to eat (especially if you’re turning these balls into a meal). Maple syrup or brown sugar would work here too.

For the ranch slaw:

• Coleslaw mix – Any of the bagged coleslaw mixes in the grocery store will work here. You could even opt to use the dressing packets that come with them, but I prefer to make my own dressing to match this recipe. One note – if you use a coleslaw mix that includes red cabbage, the slaw will turn pink if left overnight.
• Ranch dressing – I like Hidden Valley’s light ranch dressing, but you can use whatever brand you prefer.
• Apple cider vinegar – The sweet acidity of apple cider vinegar helps give this the classic coleslaw flavor without being too vinegary alongside the hot sauce coated meatballs.
• Sugar – Just a touch of sugar helps balance out the flavors of the ranch slaw. Honey would work too, but don’t try this with brown sugar.

Other bowl ingredients:

• Carrots – Prepare them however you like, but I love the looks of a carrot ribbon in a bowl recipe. Matchsticks would be my next preference.
• Celery – We’re going for the classic buffalo wing pairing with a good bit of chopped celery. I wouldn’t skip this ingredient!
• Rice – The rice in this recipe is definitely not necessary, but makes a great foundation to help soak up the sauces from the meatballs and slaw.
• Green onions – Just a little pop of color and flavor to finish the bowls.
• Avocado – The cooling creaminess of avocado is perfect with the spice of the meatballs.

Recipe