Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Meatball Subs
A slow cooker recipe featuring all the flavors of buffalo wings without the frying. Spicy chicken meatballs are served on crispy hoagie rolls with a tangy blue cheese spread. Perfect for game day!
A slow cooker recipe featuring all the flavors of buffalo wings without the frying. Spicy chicken meatballs are served on crispy hoagie rolls with a tangy blue cheese spread. Perfect for game day!
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons minced onion
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ====for meatballs====
- 1 pound ground chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons minced celery
- 1 tablespoons chopped celery leaves
- 1 garlic clove-minced
- 2 tablespoons frank’s hot sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ====for buffalo sauce====
- 1/2 cup frank’s hot sauce
- 1-2 cups low sodium chicken stock or water
- ====for blue cheese spread====
- 1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles
- 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon minced onion
- 1 teaspoon minced celery
- 4 hoagie rolls (i used the french dip rolls)
- fresh spinach, arugula, or lettuce, optional
- Carbohydrate 54.6216252772746 g
- Cholesterol 184.26892205 mg
- Fat 29.2710099716442 g
- Fiber 3.699458403821 g
- Protein 34.7873341026753 g
- Saturated Fat 13.4832923584171 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (256g)
- Sodium 1550.12734716609 mg
- Sugar 50.9221668734536 g
- Trans Fat 2.4122696956635 g
- Calories 621 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 400F Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and spray with cooking spray-set aside.
- In a large bowl combined the ground chicken, onion, garlic, celery, egg, hot sauce, celery leaves, panko breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.
- Using a tablespoon, scoop out chicken mixture and form into meatballs with your hands. Place on prepared baking sheet. This can get a little messy. I came out with 14 meatballs.
- Pop meatballs into the oven and bake 10 min, flip meatballs and rotate pan and cook for another 5 min. You aren’t looking at cooking them all the way through, just getting a light brown crust on the outside and firming them up so they don’t fall apart in the slow cooker. **If you are going to me cooking these for the game tomorrow, stop now. Let meatballs cool a bit and store uncovered in the fridge until morning.
- Place meatballs in your slow cooker.
- Add in the Frank’s and chicken stock. You want the meatballs to be submerged in the sauce, add more chicken stock or water.
- Add the butter. Set your slow cooker to low and cook these babies for 8 hours. After about 6 hours check the liquid level, and taste the sauce. Adjust to your preference. I originally made with 1 cup hot sauce and that destroyed our tongues, bumped it down to 1/2 cup hot sauce and was able to taste the chicken this time. If you like super spicy I wouldn’t go over 3/4 cups hot sauce.
- While the meatballs are cooking, whip up the blue cheese spread. Mix the ingridients in a med bowl, cover and let chill in the fridge.
- Place meatballs on toasted hoagie rolls slathered with the yummy blue cheese spread and crispy lettuce or spinach with a drizzle of the sauce. Serve with a side of chips, some celery sticks and a nice cold beer.
Can these meatballs be baked ahead and held in the refrigerator before slow cooking? Ground chicken is notoriously sticky and fragile, requiring careful handling during the initial prep phase. By baking the formed spheres at 400°F for fifteen minutes first, proteins denature on the exterior and create a firm casing. This thermal shock prevents the ground meat from disintegrating into the cooking liquid during eight hours of slow convection. Uncooked poultry will break apart under sustained heat and mechanical stirring, turning a sauce muddy.
Make-Ahead Logistics and Holding Safety
Raw poultry mixtures demand strict temperature control when pre-prepped. Storing shaped, partially cooked meatballs uncovered in the refrigerator overnight allows the exterior crust to dry out slightly, which further improves structural integrity. When transferring them to the slow cooker insert, ensure the chicken stock and hot sauce mixture completely submerges the protein. Fat from the four tablespoons of unsalted butter will melt upward, emulsifying with the vinegar-based hot sauce to coat the simmering spheres evenly.
- Bake the meatballs for ten minutes, rotate the rimmed baking sheet, and cook for five more minutes to achieve an even, light-brown crust without overcooking the interior.
- Monitor the liquid level at the six-hour mark to prevent scorching, adding more warm chicken stock if reduction exposes the top layer of meatballs.
- Whisk the blue cheese and Greek yogurt spread and keep it chilled at or below 40°F until assembly time to maintain a sharp, clean dairy contrast.
