Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
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
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Hi! I just found your blog and will be making this recipe tonight! I will add a small ball of fresh mozzarella to the center of the meatballs for some extra melty, cheesy goodness.
This recipe seems to be a great, lower-calorie alternative with all the same buffalo flavor. Even with the added cheese I calculated 388 calories per serving (at 4 servings for me, not 6), so your original without the cheese would be even less. And Frank’s Red Hot is my fave too! Sorry to ramble, but thank for the recipe and I’m sure they will turn out delicious!
When you bake the meatballs, does 1 side become flat. I tried another recipe awhile back and baked them but 1 side was flat.
The meatballs inevitably flatten a bit on one side. After all, they are sitting flat on a baking sheet the entire time they are baked!
Thanks for the quick response! I just found your blog through Pinterest and I cannot wait to try this and other recipes you have posted 🙂
I just came across your blog and I’m so excited to try these for a college football game tonight! As well as your Parmesan zucchini crisps. Your dishes look amazing, surely I’ll be trying many more! Thanks for sharing your skills with all of us! 😀
Amber
Instead of cooking in oven first, do you think cooking them in crock pot longer would work.? Slow cook on low for 4-6 hours? They look yummy!
I’ve actually tried cooking them completely in the crockpot before and I was personally not a fan. A lot of the fat surrounding the meatballs had floated to the top, leaving it to be very unappetizing.
I like the ease of this recipe, but I’m not a fan of buffalo sauce. How would these meatballs be without the buffalo sauce?
Melissa, as the star ingredient of this recipe is the buffalo sauce, I do not recommend omitting it. It may be best to try a different meatball recipe.
These meatballs would be great in any sauce – sweet sauce, pasta sauce etc.
This sounds delicious!!! I love buffalo chicken and these meatballs sound so simple to make. Thanks for sharing!
These look great!! Thanks so much for sharing. Can’t wait to this recipe!
can I use ground beef – forgot to buy chicken 🙁
You can certainly use ground beef but I worry that the texture may be a bit more tough than using ground chicken.
thank you – I’m actually making them tonight for dinner so I will let you know how the ground beef is….
I’ve made these before but I add crumbled blue cheese into the mix then bake them.
That sounds amazing! Will definitely have to try that next time.
Do you think this would also work with ground turkey?
Yes, absolutely!
Pingback: Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Meatballs with Blue Cheese Dressing
Just added these to my food list for my hubby’s poker party this Saturday… Can’t wait to try. Looks delish!
Another winner! I always find the best stuff on your blog!
I understand. I kept the temperature at 400 degrees, cooking them for a total of 30 minutes, turning them twice the first 20 minutes, basting with buffalo sauce and cooking for an additional 10. Perfect! 🙂
Thanks, Annette!
If I needed to cook them entirely in the oven, how long would they stay in? Maybe brown them at 400 for 4-5 minutes, then turn the oven down to 325, sauce them and leave them in for an additional 20 or 30 minutes?
Unfortunately, I cannot give you the exact time/oven temp as this is a recipe specifically for a slow cooker. I recommend using your best judgement to ensure that the meatballs are completely cooked through.
More than the preparation I liked the presentation. Thanks for sharing.
I made these last night for Cinco de Mayo. I added about 2 tbsp. of crumbled blue cheese to the meatball mixture and decided to make mini hoagie sliders with them. I made a ‘slaw’ out of shredded (chiffonade) Romaine lettuce, shredded carrots and diced celery. I topped the mini hoagie roll with the slaw mix, plopped the meatballs on top and drizzled with Blue cheese dressing. Wow! It may not have been ‘authentic’ Mexican fare, but it sure tasted delicious with a Margarita!!!
Your changes sound great!!! I am not on the “blue cheese” bandwagon yet but putting it in the meatballs might get me there yet.!!!
Sandi
Hot weather? Please send some to the New England area 🙁
I would love to feel that heat, so tired of wet and damp. These look wonderful.
These are a total lifesaver! I’m out near Sacramento, and we were above 90° the entire past week. It was almost torture to go outside during mid-afternoon, and I’m definitely not looking forward to the summer when the thermometer reads 100°+ nearly every other day. So smart to pull out the slow cooker! And all those delicious flavors? Count me in!
Oh my goodness, I was subscribed to your Tumblr feed still. I’ve just been going through all my feeds to update them and noticed. Ugh! Sorry I’ve been MIA for so long.
So need to try these meatballs. In fact, it’s dinner time here now and I’m literally salivating all over the keyboard! *wipes mouth* 🙂