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This easy Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Recipe is made with just 5 ingredients and is perfect for sliders, wraps and dip — An quick dinner for busy days!

instant pot buffalo chicken recipe shredded in white bowl

If you’re looking for easy Instant Pot recipes with hardly any prep work and few ingredients, this shredded Buffalo chicken recipe is for you. Just dump everything into the Instant Pot, press start, and go!

I’m always looking for easy Instant Pot dinner recipes, and this one is one of the easiest dinner recipes ever! I’ve been meaning to make Buffalo chicken in the pressure cooker for longest time, and  I finally got the chance when we were on vacation last week.

Yes, I admit it. I am one of those people who cook on vacation. But in my defense, we were gone for a week, and eating out every day gets pretty darn pricey! Anyway, this easy chicken dinner is perfect for busy days or when you’re too tired to cook anything too complicated or when you’re on vacation!I

If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can make Buffalo chicken in the Crock-Pot. It’s one of our favorite game day dinners, but honestly, it’s so much faster in the Instant Pot!

How to make Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken

You only need 5 ingredients to make this Instant Pot Buffalo chicken recipe, and one of them is water! Just throw the chicken in the pot, and add the Buffalo sauce, butter and water.

You can even experiment with leaving the water out, but I like to thin the sauce just a tad. You don’t need much since the chicken releases its own juices, making plenty of thin liquid for the pot to come to pressure.

instant pot buffalo chicken recipe with sauce and butter in pot

10 minutes at high pressure and 10 minutes of natural release are all you need to cook the chicken breasts in the Instant Pot. But here’s the thing — If you happen to live at a higher elevation, you’ll have to add a few more minutes.

Normally, I cook recipes at about 1000 feet, but our vacation cabin in Flagstaff was at about 8000 feet, and 15 minutes of high pressure was perfect.

shred instant pot buffalo chicken recipe with hand mixer

You can shred the chicken with a hand mixer, which makes it super quick and easy. The kids love helping out twith this part!

If  you don’t have a mixer, just use two forks to shred the chicken. Toss in a little bit of ranch dressing, and you’re good to go!

instant pot buffalo chicken recipe shredded in tongs

I like to add the ranch for a creamier texture and because it cuts down the heat level a little. The Hubs isn’t a fan of hot sauce, so the ranch dressing makes the Buffalo chicken edible for him! It’s totally optional, though.

instant pot buffalo chicken recipe in white bowl with carrots and celery

You can use the shredded Buffalo chicken in sliders, wraps, pizza, dip or eat it straight up. We had it on slider buns one night and straight out of the fridge over some lettuce the next day. Yum!

Looking for more easy Instant Pot chicken recipes?

Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Recipe

5 from 9 votes

Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Recipe

By: Dee
This easy Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Recipe uses only 5 ingredients and makes shredded chicken for sliders,  wraps, salads, appetizers and dip. 
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 22 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients  

  • 3 large boneless chicken breasts (2 pounds)
  • 1 12-ounce bottle Buffalo Sauce (about 2 cups)
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons ranch dressing
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Instructions 

  • Place chicken breasts in the inner liner of Instant Pot
  • Pour Buffalo wing sauce over chicken, and add water and butter
  • Cover, turn valve to Sealing position, and hit PRESSURE COOK (or manual) for 10 minutes.
  • When pot beeps, allow 10 minute natural release, then turn valve to Venting to release remaining pressure.
  • When pin drops, open lid, and stir in ranch dressing. Shred chicken using hand mixer or shred chicken using 2 forks. 

Video

Notes

Recipe was made in 6-quart Instant Pot electric pressure cooker but can also be made in 8 quart.
 
For high altitude, cook for 15 minutes with 10 minute release, or until chicken is at least 165 degrees according to meat thermometer and easily shreds.

Nutrition

Calories: 200kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main
Cuisine: American
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I hope you love this easy Instant Pot Buffalo chicken recipe as much as we do!

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Recipe Rating




38 Comments

  1. Jeremy says:

    Can you sub buffalo sauce with like teriyaki or dry garlic and get the same affect minus taste obviously?

    1. Dee says:

      You can, but you might have to add a little more or less water depending on how thick or thin the teriyaki sauce is.

  2. Manish says:

    Hi! I made this recipe (but with four chicken breasts, just adding in a little extra of the ingredients). II find it very tasty, but too liquidy. I think when I eat the leftovers, I’ll use tongs, as seen in one of the pics, to pour some chicken out . Aside from that, very tasty and easy. Such a nice kick!

    1. Dee says:

      I’m glad you liked the flavor! There is a lot of sauce, and there will be more if you add more chicken or liquid. We use tongs for serving since it does allow extra sauce to drip off.

  3. Lori says:

    Have you tried starting with frozen chicken breasts ?

    1. Dee says:

      I haven’t personally used frozen chicken, but people do and say it turns out fine. It just takes longer to reach pressure.

  4. Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says:

    Looks delicious and so easy to make! !5 stars

    1. Dee says:

      Thanks, Erin! It’s super easy to make!

  5. Krista says:

    We love buffalo chicken anything! I have to make this!

  6. Toni | Boulder Locavore says:

    This will be a sure hit in my house! Can’t wait to give it a try!5 stars

    1. Dee says:

      Thanks, Toni. I hope you like it as much as we do! 🙂

  7. Sabrina says:

    I need to add this to our menu for next week! Love that there are so many ways to use this!

  8. Demeter says:

    This sounds so flavorful! What a great way to spice things up!

  9. Jamielyn says:

    Looks delicious! One of my favorites!

    1. Dee says:

      Thanks, Jamielyn. It’s one of our favorites, too! 🙂

  10. Amanda says:

    This is one of my all time favorite things to make and you just made it so much simpler!! Thank you!5 stars

    1. Dee says:

      Thanks, Amanda! I think we’ll be making this on a lot in the fall! 🙂