No better way to follow up Tuesday’s homemade buffalo sauce than with this instant pot buffalo chicken. AKA, my new favorite way to make chicken. My love for buffalo chicken runs deep and I try to have it whenever the chance arises. While this is usually in a form of boneless wings, chicken tenders, and burgers, I figured there has to be an easier way to have it.
Enter instant pot buffalo chicken. A super simple recipe ever that yields copious amounts of straight-up buffalo chicken you can use for whatever you like. The chicken is juicy and tender from cooking it in the pressure cooker, has a good kick to it without being too spicy, and has the perfect amount of chicken to sauce ratio.

And it only takes about 25 minutes from start to finish, with the Instant Pot doing most of the work for you. Serve it up on Sunday in sandwiches while watching football with a group of people or make it at the beginning of the week for meal prep. Either way, you won’t be disappointed.
The bonus is that it makes a lot so you are more than likely to have leftovers. Having leftover protein is a lifesaver during the week when you want to stay on track but on short on time. Throw it with some veggies and carbs and you have an easy and complete meal without too much effort!

Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken
Making buffalo chicken could not be easier than this. Two ingredients, plus some salt and pepper, and 25 minutes to make. It will become your new favorite bulk protein to make to have on hand throughout the week for easy and healthy meals. Here is what you need:
- boneless and skinless chicken breast – I love ButcherBox
- buffalo sauce – I like to use homemade because it’s so good and so easy to make, but you can use whatever kind you like
- salt and pepper


If you need to make the buffalo sauce, make that first. Once that is done, add about 1/4 cup buffalo sauce to the bottom of your Instant Pot. Make sure it is spread out evenly on the bottom of the pan. You want enough so the pressure cooker comes up to pressure and evenly cooks the chicken. Add chicken breasts and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Close the Instant Pot lid, make sure the vent is set to seal, and set to poultry on high pressure for 13 minutes. Once done, manually release pressure, open the lid and set on saute mode, and shred the chicken with two forks.
This helps reduce the liquid so the chicken isn’t too wet. The pan will be very hot, so just be careful shredding. If it’s too hot, you can shred in one of the other ways listed below. Once the chicken is shredded and the sauce reduces by about 1/2 (there should be about 1/3-1/2 cup of so left), add the remaining buffalo sauce and combine.
That is literally it. I told you it couldn’t get any easier!


How to shred cooked chicken
There are quite a few ways to shred cooked chicken. This instant pot buffalo chicken requires just using two forks in the pot as the sauce reduces, I figured I would share a few more ways as well.
- with 2 forks – probably the easiest way for me, but it does take a little elbow grease. Just simply leave it in the pot or move to a bowl and use 2 forks to pull apart the chicken
- in your stand mixer – this way is the newest to me as I just got my stand mixer, but it’s awesome. Put your cooked chicken in the bowl and use the paddle attachment at low speed to shred the chicken. The only downfall is that it dirties another bowl.
- with a hand mixer – I have only done this once or twice, but it works well if you don’t have a stand mixer. Add the chicken to a large bowl and shred with the hand mixer on low.
Can I make buffalo chicken in a slow cooker?
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can make buffalo chicken in your crockpot. Follow the exact directions to cook it by putting a little buffalo sauce on the bottom of the pot with the chicken on top. Place on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
When the chicken is done cooking, remove it from the pot and shred it. The chicken will give off a decent amount of excess liquid and since we aren’t cooking it off, you can just pour some into the shredded chicken and mix to combine. Then just pour in the remaining buffalo sauce and mix it all up!

How to use Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken
The reason I love this recipe so much is the chicken is so versatile. Obviously, it has the buffalo flavor, but you can use it for so much! Here are a few ways:
- as is – honestly, I love this as is with some veggies and carbs for a complete meal.
- stuffed in a potato – cook up some white or sweet potatoes, cut them in half, and stuff the shredded buffalo chicken in them. A drizzle of ranch or blue cheese dressing would be delicious.
- in tacos – add in some lettuce, tomatoes, and onions or a quick slaw.
- on the go salad – toss it with some greens and your favorite veggies for an easy on-the-go meal or for meal prep.
- in a sandwich – with your favorite sandwich additions
- quesadillas – need I say more?!
- enchiladas – would be great with some more buffalo sauce and cheese on top!
- literally EVERYTHING!
More Instant Pot Recipes
- instant pot eggplant parmesan
- 2 ingredient instant pot BBQ chicken
- how to make shredded chicken
- 6 instant pot rice recipes
- instant pot BBQ chicken meatballs
If you love quick and easy healthy recipes, check out our free 30-Minute Meals Recipe Book!


Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken
ingredients
- 1 batch homemade buffalo sauce (1 cup + 2 tablespoons)
- 2 1/2 pounds chicken breast
- salt and pepper, to taste (depending on your buffalo sauce, you might not need any extra salt)
instructions
- Pour 1/4-1/2 cup of the buffalo into the bottom of your Instant Pot and spread around. The amount will depend on the size of your instant pot, but you want it to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Add chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper if desired. Close Instant Pot lid, make sure vent is set to seal, and set to poultry mode on high pressure for 13 minutes. Manually release pressure when done.
- Open the lid and set it to saute mode for 5-10 minutes to help absorb excess liquid (the chicken gives off liquid as it cooks). While Instant Pot is on saute mode, shred chicken with two forks. Be careful as the pot will be hot. Once most of the liquid is absorbed (you still want some – about 1/3-1/2 cup left/in the pot), turn off Instant Pot.*
- Pour in the rest of the buffalo sauce (about 1/2-3/4 cup) and stir to combine. Enjoy however you like!
HEIDI says
Ok, let me just say this was super delicious! I’ve been eating healthier and this recipe was loved by my whole family. I made chaffles and added this on the top with a blue cheese drizzle and they LOVED IT! Thank you!
Kelly says
So glad you like it so much Heidi! I have never heard of chaffles but now I want to try one! The whole combo sounds so good!
Jen says
So no water?
Kelly says
No, I don’t find the need to use water and the sauce is enough liquid. I will say, every IP is different though, so just keep that in mind.
Samantha says
Awesome!! I used completely frozen chicken and added 3 minutes to the cook time. The flavor of the buffalo sauce was great. My hubby and I will add this to our cookbook! My only add would be maybe throwing some onion and celery in there if you have the time to chop it up.
Kelly says
Awesome! Good to know about the frozen chicken. And love that idea of onion and celery. Thanks Samantha!
Jon says
Is there a missing step to put more sauce in either during the pressure cook or during the sautée step? It says to leave 1/3 to 1/2 cup of sauce but we’ve technically only been instructed to put in 1/4 cup to that point.
Kelly says
Hey Jon! No, the chicken gives off liquid as it cooks, so when you open it up, there is more liquid in there then when you started with. So you add in about 1/4 cup to start, it cooks, and when you open it up, you probably have about a cup or so of liquid/sauce. Then you put in on saute mode to help absorb some of that. You want to reduce to about 1/3-1/2 cup liquid, then stir in the rest of the buffalo sauce. Does that make sense? I updated the instructions some to clarify.
April says
Can you start with frozen chicken breast? I forgot to thaw today?
Kelly says
Hey April! I haven’t tried, but I would think it would work. You just just need to add a little more time. Let me know if you try it!
Claire says
So so so easy! Foolproof! Even the buffalo sauce- very simple to make. Nailed it!
Kelly says
Yay! So glad you liked it Claire, thank you for trying it!
Jen Collins says
Can you do this in the croc pot too? I don’t have an instapot
Kelly says
Yep! I talked about it some in the post above, but I’ll add it to the notes. I haven’t tried it, but you would follow the same directions to cook it by putting a little buffalo sauce on the bottom of the pot with the chicken on top and cook for 6-8 hours (low) or 3-4 hours (high). When the chicken is done cooking, remove from the pot and shred. The chicken will give off a decent amount of excess liquid and since we aren’t cooking it off, you can just pour some into the shredded chicken and mix to combine. Then just pour in the remaining buffalo sauce and mix it all up! Let me know if you make it!
Dad says
Love the recipe
Kelly says
I will make it for you when you visit!
Mom! says
Can u show dad how to use this when he is there so he eats?? Or make it together b4 you leave!!
Kelly says
Yes, great idea! I already have some frozen pulled pork for him haha!