Description
This Buffalo Meatball Crockpot Recipe combines flavorful lean ground beef meatballs with a sweet and spicy honey buffalo sauce, slow-cooked to tender perfection. Perfect as appetizers or a main dish, these meatballs are easy to prepare, packed with bold flavors, and ideal for parties or family dinners.
Ingredients
Scale
Meatballs
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup crushed saltine crackers (approx. 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
- 5 tablespoons honey (1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon)
- 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 the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup.
- Prepare meatballs: In a large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Add all meatball ingredients including ground beef, crushed saltines, dried minced onion, milk, brown sugar, and spices. Mix gently until all ingredients are combined, taking care not to overmix.
- Shape meatballs: Roll the meat mixture into meatballs of your preferred size. Using a 1-inch cookie scoop yields approximately 70 meatballs. Place them evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake meatballs: Bake meatballs in the preheated oven for 8 minutes or until they are lightly browned. Browning seals in juices and helps meatballs keep their shape.
- Make honey buffalo sauce: While the meatballs bake, whisk together all sauce ingredients—hot sauce, honey, apricot preserves, brown sugar, soy sauce, and cornstarch—in a medium bowl until smooth. Start with 1/4 cup hot sauce and add more later if desired.
- Layer in slow cooker: Place half of the baked meatballs in the slow cooker. Drizzle with half of the honey buffalo sauce. Add remaining meatballs, then pour the rest of the sauce on top.
- Slow cook: Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 hours, stirring gently every hour to coat meatballs. Test meatballs for doneness after 2 hours by cutting one in half. If desired, stir in additional hot sauce to increase spiciness.
- Serve and keep warm: Once fully cooked and sauce is hot, keep the meatballs warm in the slow cooker until serving.
Notes
- Watch the "how to make" video for step-by-step guidance.
- Consider doubling the sauce as many find it more flavorful and saucy with extra sauce.
- Use a slow cooker liner for easy cleanup.
- Ritz crackers can substitute saltine crackers if preferred.
- Use a cookie scoop to make uniform meatballs that cook evenly.
- Adjust meatball size based on serving style—smaller for appetizers, larger for dinner.
- Browning meatballs before slow cooking seals juices and prevents them from falling apart.
- Cooking times may vary depending on slow cooker brand, size, and meatball size; plan accordingly.
- Test meatballs at 2 hours for doneness, but allow up to 4 hours in total cooking time.
- Meatballs can be prepared ahead by baking and refrigerating them with sauce layered, then adding an extra 30 minutes to cooking time when ready to serve.
- Freeze baked meatballs before slow cooking or fully cooked meatballs in sauce for up to 3 months for convenient make-ahead meals.
- To reheat frozen meatballs, follow stovetop, slow cooker, or oven/crockpot methods described in notes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 meatballs
- Calories: 200 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 400 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
