Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Tender homemade buffalo chicken meatballs are baked for flavor, then finished in the crock pot with a buttery buffalo sauce. This easy slow cooker appetizer delivers classic buffalo wing flavor in bite-size meatballs perfect for game day, parties, and casual gatherings.
Equipment
- crockpot
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 pounds ground chicken [See Note 1]
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs [See Note 2]
- 1 large egg , slightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 green onions , sliced thin
- 3/4 cup hot sauce [See Note 3]
- 1/2 stick (4 tbsp) butter
- 20 celery sticks [See Note 4]
- 20 carrot sticks [See Note 4]
- 1/2 cup chunky blue cheese dressing [See Note 5] - plus more for serving
- fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside
- In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, Panko, egg, garlic and onion powder, green onions, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined. With a small scoop or your hands, roll the mixture into 1-inch meatballs, forming about 40 meatballs.
- Place meatballs onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 4-5 minutes, or until all sides are browned. Cook until meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
- While the meatballs are in the oven, add the butter and hot sauce into the crock pot to melt; then whisk together.
- Remove the meatballs from the oven and place into the slow cooker and gently toss to combine with the sauce. Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours.
- To serve: Either insert a carrot or celery sticks into the meatballs for serving or serve them with the carrots and celery on the side allowing guests to chose their stick for an interactive appetizer.
Notes
- We grind our own chicken. If you don't have a meat grinder, you can use a food processor. Our store was out of ground chicken so we opted to make our own. If you use the food processor, the texture of the raw chicken meat will look like ground meat with a soft texture free of lumps.
- Panko bread crumbs are Japanese-style bread crumbs sold on the flour aisle near the dry bread crumbs.
- I use Franks Red Hot Original brand hot sauce.
- Some stores sell carrots and celery already cut by the fresh salads. I cut and prepare my own julienne carrots.
- May substitute ranch dressing and/or gorganzola cheese.