Name: Instant Pot Easy Buffalo Chicken Wings
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 pounds chicken wings (look for just wingettes); salt, pepper, garlic powder; 1/2 cup buffalo sauce (like Franks Buffalo Sauce), add extra for more spicy kick; 1/2 cup tomato sauce; 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 3/4 cups homemade yogurt or fat free greek yogurt; 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese; 1 tablespoon mayo; juice of small lemon; 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar; 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder; kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste; carrot, celery, and jicama sticks; Ranch Dip

Easy, quick, and crispy Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Wings are another great reason to own 1, 2, or 5 Instant Pots. This pressure cooker version is sooooo much healthier than the deep fried. Slather them in buffalo or barbecue sauce, cook from fresh or frozen. Get ready to be blown away!

At the top of the list of things I never thought I would eat, let alone like: Chicken Wings. Followed closely by Halibut, Pork Ribs, and Butternut Squash. Sushi's gonna stay on the “not goin' there” list though. I'm 99% sure of it.

I was floored by how amazing these chicken wings turned out. Fa-LOORED! Even more shocking was that my daughter devoured my husband's share while he was napping. I even had to deal with her snickering at my fork and knife method of eating them. “Come on mom, eat em' like a man!” Whoa, wait. What did you just say to me?

Never have I eaten such tender, juicy, crispy baked, not deep-fried, chicken wings.

One caveat, if you're new to the world of wings. Don't be like me and just grab whatever package looks decent. I was sure I had bought the right thing. But to my dismay, when I opened the package I realized I had bought WHOLE wings. As in the drumette, wingette, and tip.

Typically when you order wings from a restaurant, you are getting just the wingette. I dreaded how hideous the pictures would look if I just cooked them as they were. I knew I was gonna have to break these babies down.

I channeled a past segment of Master Chef and broke them down into 3 pieces as quickly as I could. It was not easy, it was mostly gross (cracking bones and all), and I'm shocked I still ate the final product, after all was said and done.

PREPPING THE CHICKEN WING

If you want the adventure, check out this video tutorial on How to Break Down a Chicken Wing. This video will give you a step by step tutorial of how to prepare chicken wings before you pressure cook them. You will learn how to break down a whole chicken wing into the drumette, wingette, and the tip. However, might I suggest just cutting yourself a break and make sure you buy the meatiest looking WINGETTES on the grocery store shelf. You'll be so glad you did.

WHY YOU WILL LOVE INSTANT POT CHICKEN WINGS

Make 1 pound or make 3. Cook time and effort will remain the same
Healthier, crispy, tender wings, without the deep fry. Translation: you can eat more wings
You'll be the talk of the town at football game parties . . . so I hear anyway. I don't go to those. I'll ride motorcycles instead, thank you very much
It just might convince a chicken nugget only crew (lookin' at you kids) that there is life beyond the nugget
Buffalo sauce below, WOW it's good! I'll put it on salads, on wraps, on pasta, or in a small dixie cup for sipping. I'm not ashamed
Blue Cheese Dip below, again, WOW, it's good and good for you! Not even kidding.
The wings (not the dip) can easily be made Paleo-friendly by using Franks Red Hot and omitting the Worcestershire sauce

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHIER CHICKEN WINGS

Season wings and place on a trivet inside the pot
Let the pressure cooker cook them to perfection
Sauce em' generously
Place them on a cooling rack on top of a sheet pan
Throw them under the broiler until both sides are browned and crisp
Devour! Either with a knife and fork like myself or “like a man” like my daughter

SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR DETAILED COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

BEST CHICKEN WINGS EVER!

My proof:

I don't like wings and I LOVED these
My daughter is a fast food hamburger lovin' vegetarian and she LOVED these
My husband is a chicken wing snob and typically shares his food. He LOVED these and was slappin' hands that were trying to steal his wings

EXTRA SPICY WINGS

Note: As written, these wings are mildly spicy due to the addition of the tomato sauce with the hot sauce. If you want more heat, simply add extra hot sauce to the wing sauce.

BEST WAY TO SERVE

The best way to serve wings is hot out of the oven with a side of carrot and celery sticks (classic!) and a bowl each of blue cheese or ranch dressing. Everyone is happy and the wing haters can eat carrots – I can say that because I used to be a wing hater 🙂

Make them for game days, birthdays, or plain ol' weekdays. They're easy enough to whip out for all three and beyond.

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN WINGS FROM FROZEN IN AN INSTANT POT PRESSURE COOKER

Frozen will need a little extra time, but you can find some really amazing, meaty, already broken down wings in the freezer aisle. Simply cook frozen wings time and a half, which means for this recipe you'll cook them for 8 minutes, with a full natural pressure release.

FYI: A natural pressure release is when you simply allow the pressure to come down on its own, without flipping the pressure release knob. When the pressure is gone, you will hear a quiet click, and the lid will twist off with ease. For wings, this process will take less than 10 minutes.

Tip: When cooking from frozen, I like to check the temperature of the meat. The best way to know if the chicken is undercooked is to use a meat thermometer. The proper temperature for chicken is 165°F.

SAUCE VARIATIONS

Keep your wing game strong by switching up the flavors or even better, have a party with several trays of differently sauced wings! Here are some of my favorite sauces that I believe would be amazing on wings

MORE GAME DAY FOOD IDEAS

TOOLS USED TO MAKE INSTANT POT BUFFALO CHICKEN WINGS

MORE INSTANT POT CHICKEN RECIPES

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