13 Best Chicken Meatball Appetizers: Crowd-Pleasing Bites! (2024)

When it comes to crowd-pleasing starters, you can’t go wrong with these 13 best chicken meatball appetizers–you’ll love these savory, sweet, and spicy bites!

Chicken meatball appetizers are a crowd favorite.

They don’t require a lot of time to put together, they are great tasting and versatile.

When you’re hosting a casual get-together and don’t have a lot of time on your hands, you can make the chicken meatballs in advance, put them inside the freezer and only bring them out on the big day!

Finding ingredients and seasonings to use are not challenging at all and so it’s easy to use this simple ingredient to come up with various recipes.

Looking for something sweet, spicy, or simply different from what you usually serve?

In this article, we’ve rounded up 13 of the best chicken meatball appetizers that are just perfect for your next get-together.

Whatever it is you are craving, we are confident you will find them in this list!

We’ve got age-old recipes passed down through generations, like Grape Jelly Meatballs, Sweet & Sour Meatballs, and Ranch Chicken Meatballs.

Make sure to check out #9 and #12!

To say that they pack a unique punch would be an understatement.

Once you’ve given these a try, you’ll find yourself making them again and again!

Game night?

Dinner with friends?

You’ll come up with all sorts of excuses to plan your next chicken meatball appetizer!

They’re spicy, crispy, and tender—and the best appetizer to serve at your next party.

The meatballs are seasoned with a mix of apple cider vinegar, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder.

They’re then cooked in an air fryer—a cooking method that leaves them super crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Serve these meatballs with rice or noodles and your favorite dipping sauce for an uncomplicated weeknight meal!

Satisfying and savory with a hint of heat, these Honey-Garlic Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs are ideal for game nights.

With this simple recipe, you can spend more time enjoying these meatballs with your friends and family instead of making them.

The sauce is a wonderful balance of sweet and spicy, and the chicken is tender and flavorful.

It is also quite painless to make adjustments should you prefer to lessen the saltiness of the sauce or make it gluten-free.

If you’re looking for a delectable, hearty appetizer that’s done in a flash, look no further than these Chicken Parmesan Meatballs.

These meatballs are made with a blend of ground chicken and Italian-spiced breadcrumbs, and they’re topped with a flavorful tomato sauce, melted mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil.

The meatballs are great as a standalone appetizer or tossed with pasta for a quick and straightforward main dish.

They’re sure to be a hit with kids and adults alike.

We love a good lettuce wrap, but this Asian Chicken Meatball Lettuce Wrap recipe is one of those we like the most!

It’s packed with flavor, the meatballs are made with ground chicken and seasoned with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil—yum!

You can also top the lettuce leaves with fresh cilantro and green onions for an extra pop of flavor.

We are positive that you are going to love it.

You will have a hard time falling asleep after taking a bite of these yummy sweet and sour meatballs!

The flavor and texture will hunt you until you get to make them again!

Mirin, soy sauce, and more sake—do we need to say more?

These meatballs are slathered in an easy-to-make sauce that leaves your taste buds tingling long after you’ve savored the last drop.

These meatballs will be gone quicker than you think.

Go on, try them for yourself.

Make a huge batch, store it in the freezer, so that you have something ready to reheat when cravings occur.

We promise you that they will change the way you think about chicken meatballs forever.

These Buffalo Chicken Meatballs are spicy, tender, and juicy—and an awesome entree to serve for game day!

These are baked so there’s less mess to deal with (cleaning wise) versus when they are fried.

Plus, they don’t require a lot of ingredients to make and give out an unforgettable flavor when dunked into the flavorful buffalo sauce.

Whether you dunk them into the sauce or drizzle the sauce over the meatballs, is up to you but regardless of how you’d want the sauce served, the result is the same luscious Buffalo Chicken Meatballs bound to impress.

With the flavorful blend of lemongrass, ginger, and fish sauce, these meatballs are bursting with bold flavors and make an impressive appetizer for any occasion.

Because of the way these flavors combine with the rice noodles, cilantro, green onions, and fresh lime juice, your taste buds will be left wanting more.

These meatballs are so good that they’re sure to become a regular in your household.

Tender chunks of chicken, mixed with sweet chili sauce and wrapped in a delicately crisp breading, are baked to perfection in this easy Thai Baked Chicken Meatballs recipe.

These meatballs combine the classic flavors of Thailand—lemongrass, ginger, garlic, cilantro, lime, and sweetened chili sauce—with ground chicken.

The result is a finger-licking good appetizer that’s ready in less than 30 minutes!

Try serving the meatballs with your favorite dipping sauce or drizzled with peanut sauce.

Chicken satay skewers are also an appetizing option.

When you think of a honey sriracha chicken meatball, what comes to mind?

If you’re anything like us, you imagine a juicy, tender meatball that’s been cooked in a sauce made from the two most remarkable and flexible ingredients in the world: honey and sriracha.

This recipe is so effortless to make and so good that it will become your go-to meal for dinner parties, game days, and any other occasion.

This recipe is a fun twist on classic meatballs and grape jelly, and it’s sure to be a party pleaser.

The sweet, tangy grape jelly mixed with the rich, savory meatball is a match made in heaven.

Make this dish your own by swapping out the beef or pork for chicken, or spice up the sauce with your favorite herbs and spices (we recommend cumin and coriander).

These Ginger Sesame Chicken Meatballs are so good, you won’t remember making meatballs any other way!

While they’re awesome to serve as an entree, they also pair well with a side of rice.

You can use any chicken meat you have on hand, but we recommend using thighs because they tend to be more tender than breasts.

We also used sesame oil in this recipe, which adds a distinctive nutty flavor that you’ll love.

Buffalo chicken wings are amazing and liked by many so why not take that amazing flavor and make it even better?

Introducing Blue Cheese Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Meatballs!

Ground chicken and blue cheese are the foundation for these meatballs, which are then made even better with a sticky buffalo sauce of hot sauce, butter, and other tasty ingredients.

You’ll love them whether you’re watching a game, celebrating with friends, or just looking for finger-licking snacks.

You can serve them as is, as a mouth-watering appetizer, or turn them into a complete meal by siding them with rice or pasta.

If you’re feeling especially indulgent, serve them with celery sticks on the side for dipping!

Ranch Chicken Meatballs are the ultimate addition to your cookout.

The delicious filling of ground chicken, blanched almond flour, and dry Ranch seasoning that goes into these will leave you wanting more.

The flavorful ranch dressing is then used to coat the meatballs after they have been pan-fried to a golden crisp.

Putting this dish together is as easy as ABC; you’ll want to make them all summer long.

The bottom line

Chicken meatball appetizers are just what you need to get a party started!

You can serve them on skewers or you can put them on a tray as part of the buffet.

Either way, they’re sure to be a hit with your guests.

If you’re planning a co*cktail party, we recommend making at least two batches of chicken meatballs—one for the appetizer course and one for the main course.

This way, you’ll have enough to satisfy everyone’s hunger without running out too quickly.

If you want to serve a delectable appetizer at your next co*cktail party that will leave a lasting impression on your guests, consider making chicken meatball appetizers.