Making Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Wings is an easy recipe that's super flavorful. If you love hot wings, this will be your new go-to recipe for spicy chicken wings. They are juicy, addicting & so tender they fall off the bone.
This electric pressure cooker chicken wing recipe is to die for. Just a few steps and set the Instant Pot and you have the best spicy wings. Enjoy them sauced or take the extra step for a crispy skin finished in the oven. Like my Hot Honey Lemon Pepper Wings, they are spicy & juicy.
Enjoy as a snack or appetizer. These buffalo wings are perfect for any game day, Super Bowl party, birthday, event, or holiday. Make it a meal and serve them with air fryer fries or sweet potato fries.
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What to Love about this Recipe
Here are all the reasons to love this recipe.
- Quick & easy recipe
- Keto, low-carb, gluten-free, & diabetic-friendly
- Crispy & crunchy skin
- Tender juicy meat that falls off the bone
- No breading, flour, or coating
- Easy recipe to double, triple, or make a lot for a crowd.
Ingredients for Buffalo Chicken Wings
This recipe only calls for a few ingredients. Besides the chicken wings, here is what you need to make spicy buffalo wings in the Instant Pot. Use drummettes, wings, or flats - all work well.
- Chicken Wings - defrosted or fresh drummettes & flats are best versus whole wings - there is a difference in Chicken Wings vs Wingettes.
- Frank's Red Hot Original Hot Sauce - the best buffalo sauce is this classic store-bought favorite.
- Salted Butter - for that ultimate buttery sauce flavor.
- Apple Cide Vinegar - a punch of flavor & helps with that tender & moist chicken meat.
- Cayenne Pepper - extra spice.
- Salt & Pepper - season to taste.
See the recipe card for the amounts & full instructions.
Secret to the Best Instant Pot Chicken Wings
The key to this recipe is the liquid that the chicken is cooked in. Most instant pot recipes call for the chicken to be cooked on a trivet above water. Yes with just water. My recipe layers the flavors in every step of the cooking process.
To make the chicken more distinct, these wings are cooked in a vinegary buffalo liquid that helps infuse flavor deep into the meat. This is so much better than simply adding the sauce only at the end.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Wings
It is as easy as 1 -2 - 3, to make chicken wings in the Instant Pot. I use this method in my recipe for Korean Gochujang Wings too. The pressure cooker makes it fast & easy to have tender chicken wings.
- Season the Chicken Wings
- Pressure Cook the Wings
- Crisp & Sauce the Chicken Wings
1 - Season the Chicken Wings
Pat dry your chicken pieces and season liberally with salt and pepper.
The secret to making the best pressure cooker chicken wings is the cooking liquid. This stuff is liquid gold!
To begin, mix together in a pourable bowl or pyrex measuring cup the melted butter, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, hot sauce, and water.
2 - Pressure Cook the Wings
Add the liquid and the chicken to the Instant Pot. Secure and lock the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing and is closed.
Set the Instant Pot to Manual for 5 minutes. The Instant Pot will say ON until it reaches pressure. Once it comes to pressure the 5 minutes will count down.
Let the Instant Pot release pressure naturally & then carefully open the lid.
3 - Crisp & Sauce the Chicken Wings
There is one more step to perfect these wings. Remove the chicken wings from the Instant Pot and place them on a baking sheet.
Crisp them up under the broiler on low, rotating as you cook to ensure all sides get golden. The skin will crisp up and caramelize the sauce that has been absorbed into every piece of chicken.
Time to heat things up! The final step is to melt the additional butter in a microwave-safe bowl and add ¼ cup of hot sauce.
Add the wings then toss with a set of tongs. You can also serve it without the additional sauce for a mild version that even my kids like.
I also suggest serving these with my homemade ranch dressing. Or try one of these sides that go well with chicken wings.
Substitutions & Variations
Here are some additional recipe ideas. Try these out to make it what you need based on lifestyle, dietary, & allergies you may have.
- Mild - skip the last step of additional sauce for less heat
- Butter & Cheese - instead of hot sauce at the end, add parmesan cheese to the melted butter & toss to coat
FAQ
Without breading, these wings are low-carb and a keto diet dream. There are almost zero carbs in this recipe. For a 6-ounce serving or ⅛ of this recipe, these chicken wings have 376 calories, 18g fat & .1 carbs.
When cooking the wings from frozen, you will need to set them for a longer time on the Instant Pot. So instead of 5 minutes on Manual, set it for 15 minutes on Manual. Still, let it release pressure naturally for 10 minutes afterward.
Reheating leftovers is so easy. My favorite way is to reheat wings in the air fryer.
This recipe is specific for making chicken wings in an electric pressure cooker. Try my other recipe for how to deep fry chicken wings if you want to make them that way instead.
More Spicy Chicken or Wing Recipes
If you love this recipe, try these other delicious wing recipes.
Product Recommendations for this Recipe:
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Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Wings
Equipment
- pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken wings / drummettes
- ¾ cup water
- ¼ cup hot sauce
- 2 TB apple cider vinegar
- 4 TB salted butter melted
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt & pepper
- ¼ cup additional hot sauce
Instructions
- Combine cooking liquid ingredients together – water, hot sauce, AC vinegar, 2 TB melted butter and the cayenne pepper. Pour into the insert of your Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker.
- Season chicken thoroughly with salt and pepper. Add to the pot.
- Lock and seal the lid. Close the steam valve on the lid. Select Manual and press the up or down arrows to set the Instant Pot to 5.
- It will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure. Once it does it will count down the 5 minutes. After it counts down the Instant Pot will beep. At this point let the pressure release naturally by keeping the lid locked and the valve sealed until the clock counts back up to 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, open the steam valve carefully with a wooden spoon or long utensil. Remove the chicken wings with tongs and place on a baking sheet.
- Place under a low broiler and rotate to brown and crisp up all sides.
- While crisping, in a large bowl combine the other 2 TB of melted butter and more hot sauce – to your taste. I use usually about another ¼-1/2 cup at this point for all the wings.
- Once crispy toss wings in the butter and hot sauce mixture.
- Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing, raw vegetable sticks or coleslaw.
Notes
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheat in the air fryer or oven at 400°F for 5-10 minutes.
Laura says
These look absolutely delicious!!
Angela says
Thank you, they are delicious!
Cindy says
Looks like a great recipe. I love using the pressure pot, especially as the temps warm up outside.
Angela says
Yes, it really is great for cooking in the hot summer months. Helps to not heat up your house for sure.
Judith says
That look sooooooo yummy.
Kyndall Bennett says
OMG, these look amazing! I'm not a big fan of spicy food, but I would at least try this! I wonder if it would still work out if I substituted the hot sauce for teriyaki! 🤔
Angela says
HI, I have done this with teriyaki as well. Perfecting a gluten-free version using Tamari. You do not want straight soy/teriyaki as it will be VERY salty. I would do 1/2 & 1/2 w something like apple juice maybe and see if you like that? CHeck back as I hope to have a few other instant pot wings recipes on here soon.
Brittany says
Yummy! I love chicken wings, and I love my instant pot! Thank you for the recipe....and the secret step!
Angela says
You are welcome - enjoy!
Karla says
I have not gotten an instant pot yet. I'm not sure why.... I hear continuously how wonderful it is. But this might push me over the edge. 🙂
Angela says
Do it!
Stacey says
Looks yummy! I like the meat to fall off the bones.
Suzan says
Like Karla, I too do not have an instant pot but could easily adjust this recipe for my needs. Looks delish!
Charlene says
I love that secret tip! I bet it makes things extra flavorful!
Angela says
It really does allow the meat to take on more flavor.
Leigh Ann says
These sound so good and are just another reason I need an Instapot!
Emily says
YUM YUM YUMMMMMMMMMM!
Robin says
We love wings, although can't eat them very often! Can't wait to try these!
jen says
Sharing with my husband...the chicken wing master
Angela says
I hope the Master loves these as much as I do!
Ramae Hamrin says
What a great idea! I cook chicken in the instant pot all the time with just water, salt and pepper. This looks much tastier, and we always have hot sauce around.
Lina says
Another great recipe for my instant pot. Thanks1
Junell DuBois says
This looks like something that my husband and sons would love!
Tiffany says
This looks so easy and so tasty! Can't wait to try this for my boys! Yum!
Pauline says
I love chicken wings. They are so delicious. This would be a great treat for our next get together.
Carolina says
I love chicken wings and these look delicious!
Lisa says
I was JUST looking up instapot recipes... Thank you for this!!!
Angela Greven | Mean Green Chef says
I love a good basket of crispy wings every now and again and these look super scrumptious!! 🙌
Annette says
YUM!! I'm excited to try this recipe!!! I just got an Instant Pot three months ago, and am always looking for a new recipe to try. Thanks for sharing!!
T.M. Brown says
These look delish! I don't have an Instant Pot yet (I know, for shame!), but I wonder if I can do this with a crockpot.
Shanna says
yes! I have never made homemade buffalo wings, and I don't have an instant pot. But I need this in my life!
Amanda says
These look amazing!! I don't cook but I am passing this recipe onto my husband 🙂
Eileen Thorsen says
My husband would die for these wings! I'm more of a boneless-buffalo-wings-girl, so I would love to try it with boneless wings as well. I think I'll have to surprise my family with this recipe when football season starts this summer!
Jerri says
We LOVE hot wings! I've been wanting to try them in the Instant Pot, but my husband is a little skeptical! Maybe I can convince him to try this recipe! Thanks for linking up for Friday Favorites. I'm featuring you this week.
Angela says
Thanks so much Jerri for featuring this on simplysweethome.com! I have full confidence your husband will be a convert. Cannot wait to hear his review.
Miz Helen says
I just pinned your recipe and can't wait to try your instant pot wings! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday and hope you are having a great week.
Miz Helen
Angela says
Thank you Miz Helen - the wings are pretty amazing. I got a text the other night from a friend that made them and her whole family loved them. Hope you like them just as much.
Julie says
Love making wings in the Instapot!!
Angela says
Me too! They are so tender and full of flavor this way.
Michelle says
What a great way to make this popular party food.
Angela says
Thanks Michelle. Buffalo Chicken Wings are a party must!
Nart at Cooking with Nart says
Those wings look delicious. Thank you for sharing your secret step - I bet they're full of flavor!
Angela says
You are welcome and they are amazingly full of flavor.
Genevieve says
Angela this recipe looks delicious! Wonderful job!
Travel Clans says
looks fantastic!
Patrice says
I'm a fan of anything I can make in my instant pot. Your secret step is a wonderful idea! I'm going to try this next time.
Jacqueline Debono says
Fall off the bone chicken wings are definitely what I like. These look great. Good idea to grill them at the end to get them crispy!
Anindya Sundar Basu says
Thanks for the secret steps and I love chicken wings. So will try out the buffalo chicken wings. Thanks a lot for the recipe
Felicia Austin says
We love wings! And we all agree that Franks Hot sauce is the BEST hot sauce out there! Believe when I say we have tried ALL kinds of hot sauces and Franks tops them all. Also I love that you added your secret step! Thank you for that.
Angela says
Glad you like it and live a Franks Hot Sauce life as we do too - haha!
Nisha says
This looks just perfect and delicious , Thanks for sharing!
Arlene says
I made these for my teenage boys and they loved them. They really did fall off the bone and make it easy to eat.
Pat says
One never, EVER, serves wings with fanch dressing..
Pat from Buffalo
Angela says
I personally like blue cheese but I am out voted 4-1 in my house! haha