Description
Delicious and juicy slow cooker buffalo chicken meatballs flavored with garlic and onion powders, coated in a spicy buffalo sauce. Perfect as a party appetizer or a flavorful main dish served with ranch and crunchy celery sticks.
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 (e.g. Frank’s Red Hot or Primal Kitchen)
- ¼ cup butter, vegan butter or ghee, melted
- Ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing, celery sticks, or carrot sticks for serving
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare baking sheet: Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, foil or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- Mix meatball ingredients: In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, tapioca flour, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, sliced green onions, kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon or clean hands until well combined.
- Form meatballs: Using a spoon or your hands coated lightly with tapioca flour to prevent sticking, roll the mixture into 1 ¼ to 1 ½ inch meatballs. You should get about 24 meatballs from the mixture.
- Brown meatballs: Place the meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 4-5 minutes, turning as needed, until all sides are browned.
- Make buffalo sauce: While meatballs are browning, whisk the melted ghee (or butter/vegan butter) and hot sauce together in a small bowl until fully combined.
- Slow cook meatballs: Transfer the browned meatballs to a slow cooker. Pour the buffalo sauce over them and gently toss to coat evenly. Cover with the lid and cook on low heat for 2 hours.
- Serve: Serve the buffalo chicken meatballs immediately with paleo ranch dressing, blue cheese, and crunchy celery or carrot sticks for dipping.
Notes
- To use an air fryer, shape the meatballs and air fry at 380°F for 10-12 minutes until cooked through. Toss with buffalo sauce immediately after cooking and serve warm.
- If tapioca flour is not available, you can substitute with breadcrumbs, but this may affect texture slightly.
- Adjust the level of spiciness by varying the amount or type of hot sauce used in the buffalo sauce.
- For dairy-free, use vegan butter or ghee and choose dairy-free ranch or blue cheese alternatives.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 280 kcal
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 650 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 20 g
- Cholesterol: 80 mg
