Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
by Chungah
These meatballs are a lighter, healthier alternative to buffalo wings, and you can easily make them right in the slow cooker!
It’s been insanely warm out here in the Bay Area, and I even think it high 90 degrees in the house yesterday. So the last thing I want to do is leave the stovetop or oven on. That’s why I finally dusted off my slow cooker, and seeing that I had an entire bottle of Frank’s RedHot ready to be used up, I just had to make these epic buffalo chicken meatballs. I’m not even a buffalo fan but these meatballs still blew my mind!
You can even make these ahead of time up to the point of baking them. When you’re ready to serve, pop these babies right into the slow cooker for about 2 hours, really letting the buffalo flavors soak right in. From there, you can drizzle on that blue cheese dressing goodness to taste. Best of all, these can be served as a snack, a party appetizer or even a light dinner!
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ¾ cup Panko*
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¾ cup buffalo sauce
- ¼ cup blue cheese dressing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, Panko, egg, garlic and onion powder and green onions; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-inch meatballs, forming about 24 meatballs.
- Place meatballs onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 4-5 minutes, or until all sides are browned.
- Place meatballs into a slow cooker. Add buffalo sauce and gently toss to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours.
- Serve immediately, drizzled with blue cheese dressing, if desired.
Notes
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Probably a stupid question, but how many meatballs does this recipe yield? I see it says six servings but how many meatballs per serving?
Elizabeth, the number of meatballs is indicated in the recipe:
In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, Panko, egg, garlic and onion powder and green onions; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-inch meatballs, forming about 24 meatballs.
Can I fry them instead? thanks!
Raven, if you prefer to make this without a slow cooker, you can pan fry these first and then pop them in the oven to finish it off.
Hi – just picked this up in UK. Chicken meatballs sound great. Not familiar with Buffalo sauce. Is it like a spicy bolognaise sauce?? I live in a small provincial town and our supermarket doesn’t have commercial buffalo sauce or Panko. Any thoughts on alternative?
I would do this for a pot luck supper – with a liquid sauce over spaghetti or rice.
Love the thought.
Judith, this is the buffalo sauce that I used. If it is not readily available in your area, it may be best to make it from scratch.
Just made these. Smell awesome. Going to serve them with a bowl of the Bleu Cheese dressing for dip and celery sticks
These were delicious! Just made them tonight and accidentally forgot the egg but they still turned out great. Thank you!
Fabulous recipe! Your directions and photos were perfect. I made these as an appetizer for our Super Bowl party and they were a big hit! Next time I will double the recipe as everyone wanted more!
My granddaughters will be 18 in October and we will be having them a big party these will go over great for my twins!
thank you for your reply i meant frying them on a pan instead of the oven before putting them in the slow cooker
Thank you for clarifying. Pan-searing the meatballs instead of baking should work just fine.
hello i am about to make these for the super bowl do you think it would still taste good if i cooked the meatballs on a pan instead of baking them? thank you
Unfortunately, I cannot really say for sure as I have only tried this in the slow cooker.
I’d love to make these for a potluck but I’d have to make them ahead and then drive 2 hours… any ideas on how to reheat them without making them dry?
Unfortunately I cannot answer this with certainty as I have not tried reheating these myself. Please your best judgment on storing and reheating.
I took a chance and made these for the first time to enter into our appetizer contest at work for our Super Bowl party, and I won! I doubled the recipe and baked the meatballs the night before, (they do take longer than 5 min, they take about 10 min). The next day before the party, I put them in the crockpot with the sauce for 2 1/2 hrs. on low, they were prize winning!
how many meat balls were made with doubling the recipe?
When you say Franks Buffalo sauce, is it the pre-made variety or do you make it with the straight Franks hot sauce mixed with butter? Thanks..Kevin
You can use it as is – there is no need to mix it in with butter.
hi love the recipe but I am cooking for a 2 and 6yr old do you think I could substitute buffalo sauce for bbq sauce so its not so spicy??
That sounds like a great idea but without further recipe testing, I cannot say with certainty how this will turn out. Please use your best judgment to make the appropriate substitutions.
I’ve made these and there great, i even subbed the tooth pick with a celery stick so you can eat the whole thing, with out ever having to worry were to ditch the stick…hahah
If we don’t have two hours for cooking on low, is it okay to do 1 hour on high?
I’m not entirely sure if the meatballs will be fully cooked through after one hour. It may be best to taste-test one of the meatballs prior to serving.
It took me much longer than 4-5 minutes to have the meatballs brown. It took almost 15 minutes. Can’t wait to try them this evening as we ring in 2015!! Can’t wait to check out all your other recipes on here!!
Pat, I’m so glad you tried this recipe! As for browning, your heat source may have been set too low. Also, please keep in mind that the meatballs do not have to be completely cooked through in this step. You are simply browning it for the slow cooker.
Thank you for sharing! I am making them as I type 🙂 today is my Husbands Bday so I want to surprise him when he gets home from work with this as an appetizer. I think he will love them! I forgot the green onions, so I replaced with a tsp or so of freeze dried chives. I am sure he will love them! also he is not a fan of bleu cheese dressing so I grabbed a bottle of the buffalo ranch dressing. Cant wait to surprise him! ps- My slow cooker is still packed since we just moved so I will probably just cook them very very low and slow on stove top in a sauce pot with lid on. I think that will work. Thanks again! Happy Holidays!
thank you for this great recipe! Made these for a small gathering and they were a hit! I did make and bake them early, then put in the crock pot later in the day. Turned out perfect! Used more Frank’s for our taste and made a blue cheese dressing. Will become a staple in our home!
I am new to your site and so glad that I found it! You do an amazing job!!
I have never used buffalo sauce any suggestions for a brand?
I love using Frank’s RedHot!
Can you use chopped onions?…..I bought some, but they look kind of thick and show through the meatballs unlike yours in the picture.
Onions would be a great addition! But I recommend giving it a good dice and cooking it first before adding to the meatballs.
I don’t have any parchment paper…. Would aluminum foil work jus as well?
Yes, absolutely.
I wonder if I can use ground beef instead of chicken, would it be the same?
You can certainly try substituting ground beef but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. It is always best to use the ingredients listed in the recipe to obtain the best results possible.