This Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken is the perfect appetizer for game days. And the beauty of making it in the Instant Pot is that it’s far less messy than traditional buffalo wings. Whether you’re looking for an easy appetizer or a delicious Instant Pot chicken recipe, this one’s for you!
For complete transparency, I’m not much of a football fan. We do host an annual Super Bowl party though because as a former advertising executive, I love the commercials.
Plus, we pretty much take every opportunity we can to host parties. Cleaning my house for company is apparently my primary motivation for cleaning because those are the only times I actually do a good job of it!
While I appreciate the motivation to get the house spic and span and I love having friends over, slaving away in the kitchen on party food is not my idea of a good time.
That’s why, like my dinner recipes, most of my party food consists of easy appetizers. Thanks to my Instant Pot
, I have a whole new array of easy finger foods I can make. This Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken is one I’m planning on serving at our next Super Bowl party.
How to Make Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken
My family LOVES buffalo wings. Unfortunately, I hate making them. I’m not a super neat freak but I really dislike the messy process of dipping each piece of chicken in sauce before cooking them.
I thought I might be able to skip the messiest parts of this process by throwing everything in the Instant Pot, and sure enough, I got tasty buffalo chicken without the tedious step of dipping each piece!
I hope you enjoy this Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken too!
Step 1 – Brown the Chicken Legs
Turn on your Instant Pot and select “Saute.” Add oil to the pot and let it heat up for several minutes.
When the pot is hot, add the chicken legs and brown them on each side. You can also use wings, but I had a whole bag of legs on hand when I finally decided to take pictures for this post so that’s what you’ll see in all of the images.
Step 2 – Make the Sauce
Combine butter and brown sugar in a microwaveable bowl.
Microwave on high until the butter is melted (should take less than a minute). Then, add buffalo hot sauce and worcestershire sauce to the brown sugar butter mixture.
Step 3 – Pressure Cook
Next, pour the sauce over the browned chicken legs.
Secure the lid on the Instant Pot. Select the “Poultry” setting and set the time for 8 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally.
You’re Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Legs are ready to serve! Use tongs to remove them to a plate.
Ready to make this Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken? Here’s the recipe card with the exact measurements.
📋 Recipe
IP Buffalo Chicken
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup buffalo hot sauce
- 1 Tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4-6 Chicken legs skin-on
- 1-2 Tablespoon oil of choice
Instructions
- Place oil in the Instant Pot and select saute.
- When the oil is hot, add the chicken legs and brown on each side, about 2-3 minutes, then turn.
- Meanwhile, combine the butter, brown sugar and salt in a medium-sized bowl and microwave until the butter melts, about 45 seconds.
- Stir the hot sauce and worcestershire sauce into the melted butter mixture.
- When the chicken legs are done browning, pour the hot sauce mixture over them and secure the lid.
- Cook on poultry setting for 8 minutes. Natural release.
Notes
Nutrition
More Easy Appetizer Recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe for Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken, you might like some of my other easy appetizer recipes.
More Instant Pot Resources
Love your Instant Pot? Find more Instant Pot Recipes here. And check out my favorite Instant Pot Hacks.
Tell your husband thank you for serving.
I will! Thank you for your thoughtfulness.
I’d like to do this with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. That’s what I have on hand! Just need to know how to adjust cooking time. Thanks!
Hi Kristel, the cooking time should be the same since you’re still using bone-in, dark meat chicken.
I really like this Sauce! This sweet Heat is perfect for those who can’t handle to much spice.
What a Tasty recipe! Made this for dinner last night I too wasn’t in the mood for all the time and drama of making fried Hotwings. I did the initial browning in my 13” cast iron on the stove since I was cooking a Family pack of 12 or so legs; then followed the recipe from there. When they were done in the PC I threw them on a large baking sheet, drizzled with sauce and browned a little more in the oven. These babies were Fall a Part tender with a super yummy Sweet Heat. The only thing I’ll do next time is either cook down the sauce after removing chicken or add a Slurry since the chicken puts down so much juice; but the 4 Dudes weren’t giving me a chance this time. Served with Oven roasted seasoned cubed potatoes with cheese and Salad. Thanks for helping me turn out a great meal!
This looks amazing! I just got an instant pot for my birthday. I can’t wait to try it!
how many wings will this make do you think? could i double the recipe, to make a BUNCH for a big party?
You could easily double or triple the recipe, you’d just have to saute in batches. If you don’t brown each piece well, the texture of the chicken pieces will be inconsistent. Just make sure you don’t fill your pot more than 2/3 full.
I can’t eat the hot sauce. Can I substitute BBQ, or Teriyaki Sauce?
Hi Sharon, that’s a great idea! You will probably want to add some water though to prevent it from burning on the bottom of the post since both BBQ and Teriyaki tend to be thicker and a little sticker. I would add 1/4 cup of water to be safe and to make sure it comes to pressure. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out. If I can get to the store tomorrow, I’ll try it too this weekend and see what the family thinks. My son loves the Teriyaki wings at Buffalo Wild Wings!
I have tried both and they were great. Don’t know which I like the best. I just added the 1/4 C water to the bottom of the pan, put the chicken on top and covered well with either sauce. Loved it.