Normally, buffalo chicken conjures images of fried buckets of wings. Not exactly what you expect on a page that’s all about healthy food for busy families, right? Usually, you’re right, but not if you’re talking about this pulled Instant Pot buffalo chicken.
What’s to love about this recipe? Well, really, what’s not to love? It’s:
- Easy
- Fast
- Super tasty
- Healthy
- Can be used multiple ways
One of the ways is on top of sweet potatoes with yogurt blue cheese dressing like this 🙂
Why use the Instant Pot?
Good question! If you haven’t joined the cult of the Instant Pot yet, here are some of the reasons people (especially busy parents) love it:
- Fast cooking times
- You can cook meats from frozen
- Hands off cooking
- Multi-purpose: it’s has rice cooker, pressure cooker, slow cooker, and (sometimes) yogurt maker functionality all in one
If you’re just getting your Instant Pot, I’d suggest checking out this post of 10 Things to Know About your New Instant Pot first.
For this recipe in particular, I love that you can throw some frozen chicken in a pot with broth, push a button, shred and toss with a sauce and come out with a versatile protein option.
How to Make and Use Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken
Making shredded chicken in the Instant Pot literally could not be any easier (and I really truly mean that literally). In this recipe, I use frozen chicken because that means you could throw this dinner together any night, regardless of whether you’ve remembered to buy fresh chicken or defrost what you have in the freezer.
Cooking meat from frozen is one of my favorite features of the Instant Pot. It’s so fantastic for busy parents who can barely remember to drink their coffee before it gets cold, let alone plan what’s for dinner and get all the ingredients together. And BTW, it’s not just chicken that you can cook from frozen. There are lots of other possibilities as well!
But you’re probably wondering, how does it work?
- Pressure cookers like the Instant Pot can cook meat from frozen because they cook foods under high heat quickly
- When cooking meat from frozen it’s best to make sure it’s completely covered by liquid
- There are definitely cuts and recipes that better lend themselves to being cooker from frozen (I happen to think shredded chicken is a great application). There’s lots more info in this article from Hip Pressure Cooking
And because I know someone is going to ask…”can I do this in a slow cooker as well?”
- You CAN make shredded chicken in the Instant Pot with the same recipes below. You’ll just need to cook on low for at least 4 hours
- But I DON’T recommend cooking meat from frozen in your slow cooker. Slow cookers by nature bring foods up to temperature really slowly, so it’s likely that frozen foods may stay in the “temperature danger zone” for longer than is safe. Check out a great explanation here
So where does the “2 ways” come in? When you make the Instant Pot buffalo chicken and yogurt blue cheese recipes below you can make EITHER the Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes or the Buffalo Chicken Mason Jar Salads. Both got rave reviews in my house, but if you’re struggling to decide I’d say that the sweet potatoes are a better dinner option and the mason jar salads are a fantastic take-to-work lunch option. Check it out:
Ingredients
- Buffalo Chicken:
- 1 lb frozen chicken
- 1-2 cups chicken broth or water
- 1 cup buffalo wing sauce (not just hot sauce)
- Yogurt Blue Cheese Dressing:
- 1 cup plain yogurt (fat free to full fat is fine)
- 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sweet Potatoes:
- 4 small sweet potatoes
- Mason Jar Salad:
- 2 heads romaine lettuce
- 2 carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
- 1/4 cup raisins
Instructions
- Put frozen chicken breasts in the pot of the Instant Pot. Add chicken broth or water, being sure there's enough to full cover the chicken breasts.
- Cover with lid and set to Seal. Select "Chicken" setting.
- Allow to come to pressure and run through cycle. Quick release pressure when done.
- Remove chicken from Instant Pot to a bowl and shred with 2 forks or with a potato masher.
- Toss with 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce. Taste for flavor and add more as needed.
- Mix together all of the ingredients. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Store for up to a week in a covered container.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place washed sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or tinfoil.
- Bake 20-30 minuts in oven until easily pierced with a fork.
- To serve, split open cooked sweet potatoes and top with buffalo chicken and blue cheese dressing.
- Line up 4 quart sized mason jars or other similarly sized conteiners.
- Place 1/4 of blue cheese dressing into the bottom of the container.
- Dice carrots and celery and put 1/4 of each into each container.
- Add 1/4 of cooked buffalo chicken to each.
- Top each with 1 Tbsp blue cheese, raisins, and sunflower seeds.
- Store 3-5 days in fridge. Shake to combine before enjoying.
Notes
One batch of buffalo chicken and blue cheese dressing will give you enough to make EITHER the stuffed sweet potatoes or the Buffalo Chicken Mason Jar salads. Want to make both? Double the chicken and dressing portions of the recipe.
Note that I mention buffalo chicken sauce in the recipe above. Please note that this is not the same as Frank’s Red Hot Sauce but more like Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce which has a creamier more buttery flavor.
Don’t like Buffalo Chicken? Feel free to substitute BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, or who knows what to make this your own. Or you could always leave half plain for the kids and toss the rest with wing sauce for the parents.
