Description
These meatballs are perfect for appetizers for any party, they can be kept warm in a crock pot. They just take 20 minutes to make including the buffalo sauce and blue cheese sauce.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/4 cup white or yellow onion, grated
- 1/4 cup white quinoa, cooked and cooled
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Pinch of pepper
- For the blue cheese sauce:
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh blue cheese
- 1 cup plain full fat Greek yogurt (can use no-fat, but it won’t have as thick of a consistency)
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1–2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- For the buffalo sauce:
- 1/3 cup hot sauce
- 1 to 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch or arrow root powder mixed with 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional depending on preference of spiciness)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare 2 large baking sheets lined with foil and with a drying rack.
- Place all of the ingredients for the meatballs into a medium-sized bowl. Use your hands to gently mix the ingredients together. Try not to handle the meatballs too much; the warmth of your hands melts the fat which affects the texture of the meatball.
- Gently roll the meat mixture into balls that are roughly 2 tablespoons in size. I use a small ice cream scoop/cookie dough scoop to help me keep the balls all the same size. Place the balls onto the drying rack part of the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until browned and cooked all the way through, with no pink. Remove the meatballs and allow them to rest for 3 to 5 minutes before handling.
- Meanwhile prepare the blue cheese sauce. Using a fork mash the fresh blue cheese against the side of a small mixing bowl until the cheese is mostly in small crumbles with a few larger chunks. Add the remainder of the ingredients and stir to combine. Set aside in the refrigerator.
- To prepare the buffalo sauce heat a small sauce pan over low heat. Add the hot sauce, butter, white wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard, and corn starch and hot sauce mixture. Allow the liquid to come to a simmer and whisk in the butter as it melts. Once the butter has melted whisk in the cumin, garlic powder, sea salt, and cayenne pepper to taste. Remove from the heat.
- Toss the cooked meatballs into the buffalo sauce. Serve immediately with the blue cheese sauce on the side for dipping.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week. Gently reheat the meatballs and buffalo sauce, stirring occasionally. The butter will separate from the hot sauce.
Notes
If you are planning this dish to bring to a party you can keep it heated in a crockpot on low for up to 3 to 4 hours. The sauce does seem to separate a little but it still tastes great. The buffalo sauce soaks into the meat creating extra flavor for the meatballs.
These meatballs would freeze beautifully if you want to make them ahead of time and simply reheat them in the oven for a few minutes and whip up the buffalo sauce and the blue cheese sauce.
