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Tender, juicy Slow Cooker Honey Buffalo Meatballs simmered in the most tantalizing sweet heat sauce that everyone goes crazy for! Perfect appetizer or delicious, easy meal!
I love Fall for one main reason – not the changing weather or beautiful Autumn colors – its still in the 90’s here in San Diego – but because ’tis the season of appetizers and desserts! Everyone is either stuffing their face with appetizers for football season, or storing up appetizers for Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year. Fall through New Years – the most wonderful foodie time of the year!
Last year, I posted my Sweet and Spicy Slow Cooker Cranberry Meatballs and everyone LOVED them. They are ridiculously delicious and easy, so I wanted to create a similar easy, intoxicating delicious meatball but with more of a game day flair, AKA Honey Buffalo Meatballs! The meatballs themselves are incredibly tender, juicy, and flavorful from an easy splash of spices. The spices make the ingredient list seem somewhat lengthy, but they just take seconds to throw in and take these meatballs all the way to the end zone; smother them in Honey Buffalo Sauce and you have a touchdown.
The sauce is s simple whisking of Frank’s Original Hot Sauce, honey, brown sugar, apricot preserves and a splash of soy sauce that simmers with the meatballs for an appetizer that is nothing short of addicting or because I like to eat them all the time, they make a fabulous dinner with rice! You can also completely customize the heat of these meatballs by adding more hot sauce to taste at the end of cooking so they can be more honey or more buffalo. Either way, these irresistible Honey Buffalo Meatballs will have you licking your lips, and strongly tempted to lick the slow cooker itself.
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Slow Cooker Honey Buffalo Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 eggs
- 22 saltine crackers crushed
- 1/3 cup dry minced onion
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoons black pepper
Honey Buffalo Sauce
- 1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot Original Sauce plus more to taste
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup apricot preserves
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add eggs and gently whisk. Add all remaining Meatball Ingredients and mix until well combined. Roll meat mixture into desired meatball size**. Place meatballs onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes, or until lightly browned.
- Meanwhile, add all of the Honey Buffalo Sauce Ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk to combine (only use ¼ cup hot sauce at this point. You can add more hot sauce to taste at the end of cooking).
- Line the bottom of your slow cooker with meatballs, drizzle with some Honey Buffalo Sauce, then remaining meatballs followed by the remaining Sauce.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours, gently stirring an hour after cooking. When done, taste and stir in additional hot wings sauce. (I add 1 ½ more tablespoons which is pretty spicy.) Keep warm until serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love this recipe and have made it several times over the years. I’d like to make it again this weekend, but am missing the apricot preserves. Can I substitute a different flavor jam?
Thank you!
I haven’t tried it with another flavor but yes, you definitely can do that. Let me know how they turn out!
I used strawberry preserves, and it tasted really good. I think I still prefer the apricot, though….:)
Are the saltines and milk just mixed in with the rest of the meatball ingredients or do they need to soak first?
Add them in with the rest of the ingredients.