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Fast and easy, Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken is made from just 5 ingredients it’s easy to throw together for a weeknight meal. The shredded buffalo chicken is great for meal prep, dips, and sandwiches.
Why You’ll Love Shredded Buffalo Chicken
With zero carbs and a good amount of protein, it’s a healthy dinner that can be made paleo, Whole30, gluten free and migraine diet friendly.
- The whole meal is complete in less than 30 minutes.
- It requires minimal ingredients and effort – everything cooks in one pot!
- If you needed shredded buffalo chicken for another recipe, like my buffalo chicken egg rolls or a buffalo chicken dip, this one is fast!
- This can easily be made in a slow cooker if you don’t own an instant pot.
Ingredients
This recipe serves 3-4 people as written, but can easily be doubled or tripled.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breast – I prefer to use air-chilled chicken for this recipe if you can find it. Or if you have boneless, skinless chicken thighs, those would work too.
- Franks Red Hot Sauce – Buffalo sauce is just a mixture of a hot pepper sauce (most famously Frank’s), vinegar, garlic, and butter.
- Vegetable or Chicken Broth – I recommend homemade broth or Trader Joe’s Hearty Vegetable.
- Garlic Powder – This can also be substituted with 2 garlic cloves, minced.
- Butter, Ghee, or Pressed Oil – All 3 will work here to create a simple buffalo sauce. Ghee can be used for Whole30 and paleo diets and pressed oils like Earth Balance make this a dairy free meal.
- Green Onion – Used for garnish and to add a boost of flavor.
Step by Step Process
- Add all of the ingredients except the green onion to the Instant Pot, cover, and turn vent to closed. Hit “Pressure Cook” for 8 minutes. If you have huge, thick chicken breasts, cook for 9-10 minutes.
- Allow a natural release for 10-15 minutes, not opening the vent and leaving the lid on. Then turn the vent to allow any excess pressure to release and open the lid. Watch your fingers during this process, the steam will be very hot.
- Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and shred with two forks or with a kitchen mixer on low.
- Meanwhile, reduce the sauce by turning the instant pot to “sauté” and letting it boil for about 5 minutes. If you’d like a thicker sauce, whisk in 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch till smooth. But don’t worry that it’s thin, the sauce will coat the chicken well once you combine the two.
- Mix the chicken with the sauce, stirring well to fully coat. Top with green onion, if desired.
How to Shred Cooked Chicken
- Two forks – Use two forks to pull the chicken breasts (or thighs) in opposite directions. To me, this is the easiest way if cooking the recipe as is. If you’re making this for a crowd, the below options will be better!
- Mixer – You can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on low, or a hand mixer on low. This pulls apart the chicken quickly and easily, shredding to smaller pieces. This is a good option if you’re doubling the recipe, but it does dirty another dish unless you mix it right in the bowl.
Recipe Tips
Here are some quick tips for using a slow cooker instead of an instant pot, making the sauce thicker, and freezing/reheating instructions.
- If you’d like to make this buffalo chicken in a slow cooker, use the same directions, but cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-6 hours. You may not need to reduce the sauce this way.
- For a thicker buffalo sauce – whisk in 2 teaspoons cornstarch till smooth before bringing the sauce to a boil.
- This recipe will freeze up to 6 months in a freezer bag. To defrost, place in the fridge overnight or place the bag in warm water for 30 minutes.
Meal Ideas for Pulled Buffalo Chicken
You can use this pulled buffalo chicken in a lot of different ways. Here are some ideas!
- Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls
- Tacos – Place the shredded chicken in a tortilla and top with ranch dressing and green onions. Or replace them for the chicken tinga in my taquito recipe.
- Salad – Top romaine lettuce with cucumbers and buffalo chicken, along with my ranch dressing.
- Quesadillas – Place chicken and white American cheese between two tortillas and toast them in a non-stick skillet till cheese has melted.
- Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches – Use Martin’s Potato Rolls (Target), and top with extra Frank’s Red Hot Sauce.
Easy Chicken Recipes
For more recipes like this Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken, see these posts. If you don’t have an instant pot, you’ll love the crispy buffalo chicken thighs. And for a vegetarian option, check out my baked buffalo cauliflower bites.
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Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken
Fast and simple, Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken is made from just 5 main ingredients it's easy to throw together for a weeknight meal. The shredded buffalo chicken is great for meal prep, dips, and sandwiches.
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
- 1/2 cup buffalo sauce (recipe below or can use Primal Kitchen)
Homemade Buffalo Sauce
- 1/2 cup hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot recommended)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons butter, ghee, or pressed oil spread
- 1 green onion (optional)
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Instant Pot
- Add all of the ingredients except the green onion to the Instant Pot, cover, and turn vent to closed. Hit "Pressure Cook" for 8 minutes. If you have huge, thick chicken breasts, cook for 9-10 minutes. Allow a natural release for 10-15 minutes, not opening the vent and leaving the lid on. Then turn the vent to allow any excess pressure to release and open the lid. Watch your fingers during this process, the steam will be very hot.
- Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and shred with two forks or with a kitchen mixer on low. Meanwhile, reduce the sauce by turning the instant pot to "sauté" and letting it boil for about 5 minutes. If you'd like a thicker sauce, whisk in 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch till smooth. But don't worry that it's thin, the sauce will coat the chicken well once you combine the two.
- Mix the chicken with the sauce, stirring well to fully coat. Top with green onion, if desired. Taste and adjust any seasonings.
Slow Cooker
- To make this recipe in a slow cooker, combine the ingredients and cook on high for about 3 hours or low for 5-8 hours. I prefer to reserve about 1/4 of the buffalo sauce for mixing in after shredding the chicken if cooking this way.
Notes
- 2 minced garlic cloves can be substituted for the garlic powder.
- Frank’s Red Hot is higher in sodium. Dave’s Cool Cayenne Sauce is an alternative but does contain onion powder. Trader Joe’s Chili Pepper Sauce is another option.
- I recommend using Primal Kitchen’s buffalo sauce for a dairy free version or one that’s very easy!
- This pairs well with my homemade ranch dressing recipe.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g, Calories: 264kcal, Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 36g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 128mg, Sodium: 1118mg, Potassium: 638mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 51IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 9mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
This is a staple meal in our house! We love to make buffalo chicken quesadillas with this. Makes great leftovers too! We have tried slow cooking it and pressure cooking it. IMO slow cooking makes it exponentially better.
How would this work in a slow cooker? I don’t have an instant pot.
It does work! I usually do on low for about 3 hours in mine. It may need more or less depending on how fast yours cooks!
AMAZING! I make buffalo chicken tacos twice a week with this recipe. SO easy and flavorful!!! My kids and I are obsessed and the family members who’ve tried the tacos couldn’t believe how good they were 🤗😋
When I make Buffalo chicken I put it on top of a baked sweet potato with some cottage cheese on top
Sounds amazing!
So good! And so easy! We really enjoyed it.
I just made this tonight and put it in a tortilla with a little goat cheese. Sooo good!!
Thank you, Rachel! The goat cheese sounds amazing!