Description
This Buffalo Meatball Crockpot Recipe features tender, flavorful meatballs coated in a sweet and spicy honey buffalo sauce. Baked to lock in juices and slow-cooked to perfection, these meatballs make a perfect appetizer or main dish with their delightful balance of heat and sweetness.
Ingredients
Scale
Meatballs
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup crushed saltine crackers (about 22 crackers)
- 1/3 cup dried minced onion
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Honey Buffalo Sauce
- 1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot Original Sauce, plus more to taste
- 1/4 cup honey plus 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 cup apricot preserves
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup.
- Prepare Meatball Mixture: In a large bowl, whisk the eggs gently. Add the lean ground beef, crushed saltine crackers, dried minced onion, milk, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, chili powder, smoked paprika, ground cumin, and pepper. Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are well combined.
- Form and Bake Meatballs: Roll the mixture into meatballs using a cookie scoop or your hands to achieve uniform size. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes or until lightly browned on the outside to seal in juices.
- Make Honey Buffalo Sauce: While the meatballs bake, whisk together Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (start with 1/4 cup), honey (1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon), apricot preserves, brown sugar, reduced sodium soy sauce, and cornstarch in a medium bowl until smooth and combined.
- Layer Meatballs and Sauce in Slow Cooker: Place half of the baked meatballs in the slow cooker and drizzle with half the honey buffalo sauce. Add the remaining meatballs on top, then pour over the rest of the sauce.
- Slow Cook: Cover and cook on low heat for 4 hours, stirring gently every hour to coat meatballs evenly without breaking them apart. After cooking, taste and adjust spiciness by adding more hot sauce if desired. Keep warm until serving.
Notes
- Consider doubling the sauce quantity if you want saucier meatballs, especially when serving as a main course.
- Use a crockpot liner for easier cleanup of the slow cooker.
- Ritz crackers can substitute saltine crackers if preferred.
- Use a cookie scoop to create uniform meatballs for even cooking.
- Adjust meatball size to your preference; smaller ones are better for appetizers, larger for dinner portions.
- Always brown meatballs first to seal in juices and improve texture in slow cooker.
- Test meatball doneness after 2 hours by cutting one in half.
- If making ahead, bake and cool meatballs, then layer with sauce in the slow cooker insert and refrigerate until ready. Add 30 minutes extra cooking time when reheating from cold.
- Frozen meatballs can be cooked directly in the slow cooker, stove, or oven then slow cooker following the described defrost/cooking methods.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 meatballs
- Calories: 210 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 450 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 16 g
- Cholesterol: 65 mg
