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Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Wings

The Instant Pot is your secret weapon for making perfectly cooked wings right at home!
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While ordering a plate of chicken wings at your favorite bar is certainly a special treat, you'd be shocked to learn how easy it is to make a plate of chicken wings right at home. Thanks to a very handy appliance, you can enjoy Instant Pot buffalo chicken wings at home with this easy recipe. The best part? You won't need to deep fry these wings to get them crispy! Between cooking those wings in the Instant Pot and doing a quick broil in the oven, you'll have yourself a delicious and tasty appetizer to enjoy with a crowd—or just eat all of them for dinner yourself!

Here's how to make perfect chicken wings using your Instant Pot.

Ingredients

20 chicken wings
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup water
1 stick butter
1/2 cup Buffalo Sauce

How to Make It

Cook the wings in the Instant Pot.

cooked chicken wings inside an Instant Pot
Kiersten Hickman/Eat This, Not That!

Mix together the seasonings to make a rub for the chicken. With clean hands, rub the seasoning onto the chicken wings. Fill the Instant Pot with 1/2 cup of water, then add the trivet inside the Instant Pot. Place the rubbed chicken wings inside the basket, then close and seal the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure (Manual, or Pressure Cook) for 10 minutes. Release the pressure immediately.

Dip in sauce, then broil.

chicken wings after broiling in the oven
Kiersten Hickman/Eat This, Not That!

To make the buffalo sauce, melt the butter in a microwavable bowl, then whisk in the buffalo sauce. Set the oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. When the chicken wings are finished cooking, dip them in the sauce then place it on the baking sheet. Broil for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the wings get nice and crispy. I found 10 minutes to be perfect, but it depends on how hot your broiler gets.

Hot tip: If the wings are too hot to touch, use tongs to get the wings out of the Instant Pot and into the bowl of sauce.

Want extra crispy wings?

chicken wings on a plate with celery and dip
Kiersten Hickman/Eat This, Not That!

Getting wings to be super crispy like they've been fried can be difficult in the oven. However, there's a nifty trick that can help you achieve the crispiest wings right from your oven!

When you reach the step where you have to broil the wings in the oven, don't place the wings directly on the lined baking sheet. Instead, place a cooling rack on top of the lined baking sheet, then add the chicken wings to the rack. That way the bottoms will get nice and crispy as well as the tops.

Full Buffalo Chicken Wings Recipe

  1. Mix the garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
  2. With clean hands, rub the seasonings onto both sides of the chicken wings.
  3. Add the 1/2 cup water to the Instant pot, then place the trivet inside the Instant Pot.
  4. Add the seasoned wings to the rack, then close the Instant Pot with the lid.
  5. Cook at high pressure on manual (Pressure Cook) for 10 minutes. Wait for the Instant Pot to come to pressure, then it will cook the amount of time you set.
  6. While the chicken is cooking, melt the butter in a medium-sized bowl in the microwave. Once melted, whisk in the buffalo sauce.
  7. When the timer goes off, release the pressure right away, then open the lid.
  8. Set the oven to Broil.
  9. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  10. Carefully take the wings out of the Instant Pot with tongs. Dip the wings into the buffalo sauce until they are fully covered, then place onto the lined baking sheet.
  11. Broil in the oven for 5-10 minutes, or until the skins get nice and crispy.
  12. Serve with blue cheese and celery.

Easy, healthy, 350-calorie recipe ideas you can make at home.

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Kiersten Hickman
Kiersten Hickman is a freelance health and nutrition journalist. Read more about Kiersten