Description
Delicious and easy Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Meatballs featuring tender ground chicken meatballs coated in a spicy buffalo sauce, perfect for a game day snack or appetizer.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Meatballs:
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ¼ cup tapioca flour (or breadcrumbs)
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
For the Sauce:
- ¾ cup hot sauce (Frank’s Red Hot or Primal Kitchen recommended)
- ¼ cup butter, vegan butter, or ghee, melted
- Ranch, blue cheese, celery sticks, or carrot sticks for serving
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, foil, or a silicone baking mat to prevent sticking.
- Mix Meatball Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, tapioca flour, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, green onions, kosher salt, and black pepper; mix thoroughly using a wooden spoon or your hands until well combined. The mixture will be sticky, so dust your hands with a little tapioca flour to help form the meatballs.
- Form Meatballs: Roll the mixture into 1 ¼ to 1 ½-inch meatballs, forming about 24 meatballs, and place them evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake Meatballs: Bake the meatballs in the preheated oven for 4-5 minutes or until all sides are browned but not fully cooked through.
- Prepare Buffalo Sauce: While the meatballs brown, whisk together the melted butter (or ghee/vegan butter) and hot sauce in a small bowl until well combined.
- Cook in Slow Cooker: Transfer the browned meatballs to a slow cooker, pour the buffalo sauce over them, and gently toss to coat evenly. Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours to fully cook and infuse flavor.
- Serve: Serve immediately with ranch or blue cheese dressing and celery or carrot sticks for a classic buffalo accompaniment.
Notes
- For a quicker method, air fry the meatballs at 380°F for 10-12 minutes instead of baking and slow cooking.
- Tapioca flour can be substituted with breadcrumbs if not restricting gluten.
- Using ghee or vegan butter makes the dish paleo-friendly and suitable for dairy-sensitive guests.
- Add more green onions or garlic powder to taste if you like stronger flavors.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and reheated gently.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 250 kcal
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 8 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 20 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
