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Buffalo chicken wings are possibly my family’s favorite indulgent “junky” appetizer, tied only with nachos. If life is good, and we are in that kind of restaurant, we might order both.
But, hey, the reality is that buffalo wings are a pretty special occasion appetizer, whether you are making them or ordering them. It’s not exactly as justifiable on a regular basis as a bowl of hummus and some vegetables. But we can’t only have the beautiful flavors of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce on limited occasions.
Buffalo Chicken Wing Inspired Meatballs
So, here the addicting flavors of chicken wings get translated into meatballs. Ground chicken meatballs, so there’s even more reason to feel like these are practically health food! These are like the skinny jeans of buffalo wings.
If you like your buffalo chicken world hotter than not, dial up the amount of cayenne pepper. These make buffalo chicken meatballs with a quite moderate level of heat.
The addicting flavors of chicken wings get translated into meatballs, made with ground chicken, so they are basically health food! These are like the skinny jeans of buffalo wings.
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Serve these with celery sticks and blue cheese dip. Make your own blue cheese dip if you wish, or grab a bottle if you don’t. If you are purchasing blue cheese dip or dressing, go for one of the better brands, usually found in the refrigerated vegetable section of the grocery store. I just think they are better than the shelf stable bottles of dressing.
You may have noticed I forgot to put the blue cheese dressing and celery sticks into these photos. Sigh.
Quick Pre-Bake
You do have to bake these briefly before piling them into the slow cooker, which I’ll be the first to admit is kind of annoying. But if you don’t, because the temperature in the slow cooker is (as you would guess) low, they won’t hold their shape as well, and might kind of fuse together into a buffalo chicken meatloaf. Which might be my next recipe, now that I’m typing this. Spray cooker with nonstick spray first.
Make Ahead Chicken Meatballs
Rolling meatballs is a bit time consuming, so if you can, shape the meatballs ahead , up to one day, and then when you are ready to cook them, just pull them from the fridge. Get a kid or a friend to help you with this. You can make the meatballs a bit bigger or smaller than the size suggested in this recipe—the cooking times will still be the same.
This recipe makes about 50 1-inch meatballs. You can certainly cut the recipe in half if you don’t need that many (you probably need that many – think about the fact that one could easily eat 10 if one were me). Give them a sprinkle of minced scallions or chives before serving (see, I at least remembered to do that!)
More Buffalo Style Recipes:
Other Great Slow Cooker Recipes:
- Slow Cooker Teriyaki Beef Tip Steaks
- Barbacoa Beef in the Slow Cooker
- Slow Cooker Barbecue Pulled Pork Loin
- Slow Cooker Barbecue Beer Beef Stew
- How to Make Shredded Chicken in the Slow Cooker
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Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Chicken Meatballs
- 2 pounds ground chicken
- ¾ cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 large egg
- 4 tablespoons minced scallions divided
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the Buffalo Sauce
- ⅔ cup Frank’s Hot Sauce use less if you are using another hot sauce
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Blue Cheese Dip for Dipping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray (line it with foil first if tyou like), or line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the ground chicken, bread crumbs, egg, 2 tablespoons scallions, salt and cayenne in a bowl until well blended.
- Roll the mixture into about 50 meatballs, about 1-inch in diameter. Bake the meatballs for 5 minutes until they have firmed up. Carefully transfer them to the slow cooker.
- While the meatballs are baking, combine the hot sauce, unsalted butter, and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl. Once the meatballs are in the slow cooker, pour the sauce over the meatballs, then cook on low for 2 hours.
- Transfer to a serving dish, if desired, or serve them right from the pot. Sprinkle over the remaining 2 tablespoons minced scallions and serve with the blue cheese dip for dipping.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Where do the other 2 hours come in?
that was a typo, apologies! 25 minutes of prep, 2 hours and 5 minutes of cooking.
Used my food processor to grind boneless chicken thighs. And used about 1/3 cup of an alternate hot sauce, as I did not have Frank’s. I appreciated your hint to use less of another brand. The meatballs were really tasty with your blue cheese dip!
excellent!
Summary cook time says 4 hours 20 minutes, but the cooking instructions only have a total of 2 hours and 5 minutes. Which is correct?
the second! fixed it, and apologies.
Could these meatballs be a main and what would you serve them with?
ye! I just serve them over rice, with a big old salad. Try https://themom100.com/recipe/classic-caesar-salad/ or just a simple salad with a vinaigrette.
havent made this yet, but am looking forward to doing so. question, it only takes chicken meatballs 20 minutes in the oven. why 2 hrs in a slow cooker?
super tender meatballs, and you can also time it and “set it and forget it”. And you can hold them on warm for another hour if you like.