Instant Pot Chicken Wings

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Want to make the BEST Instant Pot Chicken Wings? Let me show you how in this post with 3 delicious flavours: honey chilli, buffalo and teriyaki. All 3 are suitable for Gluten-Free and Keto diets and the buffalo flavour is also suitable for Paleo diets. Post includes Weight Watchers points.

Folks, something VERY special happens in the US, 29 July. If you are in the UK it happens in the 22nd of March.

No matter where you live, this post is going to prepare you for that very special thing. What is it, you might ask?? National Chicken Wing Day of course.

I think National Chicken Wing Day should be celebrated every day but I guess they have to make room on the calendar for events like Christmas and New Year’s. But that’s okay… we can celebrate it any day we want.

Instant Pot Chicken Wings

No matter when you celebrate National Chicken Wing Day, this post is going to show you how to whip up some finger-licking good wings in 3 gorgeous flavours: Honey Chilli, Buffalo and Teriyaki. I don’t think I can pick a favourite to recommend so you’re just going to have to try all 3.

Even better, these are Instant Pot Chicken Wings. Yeap, you can use your handy Instant Pot for the best ever electric pressure cooker chicken wings. 5 minutes under pressure in the Instant Pot will help them lock in flavour, then you’ll grill them for 2-3 mins in a grill / broiler tray to give them that classic wings crispiness (aka finger-licking good-ness).

So you almost get the taste of deep fried wings, but with a fraction of the calories. Oh and you can make this with fresh or frozen wings.

Oh and did I mention all 3 recipes produce gluten-free  and keto chicken wings? And the buffalo wings are also Paleo. Wings perfection, folks.

Ingredient Notes

  • Chicken wings – This recipe called for raw chicken wings that have been separated into drumettes  and wingettes.
  • The cooking sauce – Depending on the recipe you want to make, there are 3 different sauce. Buffalo wing sauce, Teriyaki sauce or honey chili sauce. You can use store bought sauces sauces or make your own (see make your own ingredient list in further below)

Let’s first talk about the 3 sauces and then I’ll show you how to easily make Instant Pot Wings….

Honey Chili Instant Pot Chicken Wings {Gluten-Free, Keto}

four instant pot chicken wings on a white plate with honey chilli sauce

The honey chilli sauce includes:

  • Honey
  • Tamari soy sauce (or regular if not gluten-free)
  • Orange juice
  • Chilli sauce (sriracha)
  • Ginger
  • Garlic powder
  • Salt
overhead view of ingredients for instant pot chicken wings honey chilli sauce

This sweet and spicy honey chilli sauce is oh-so-good.

Buffalo Instant Pot Chicken Wings

instant pot chicken wings with buffalo sauce on a white plate

The buffalo sauce includes:

  • Frank’s hot sauce or other hot chilli sauce (note – this is spicy, so use a milder sauce if you prefer)
  • White vinegar
  • Garlic
  • Paprika
  • Salt
overhead view of instant pot chicken wings buffalo sauce ingredients

Only 5 ingredients to spicy buffalo chicken wings perfection. (Fun fact: Buffalo chicken wings were invented in 1964 in Buffalo, New York.)

Teriyaki Instant Pot Chicken Wings {Gluten-Free, Keto}

instant pot chicken wings on a white plate with teriyaki sauce

The teriyaki sauce includes:

  • Tamari soy sauce (or regular if not gluten-free)
  • Sweetener of choice or brown sugar (use a calorie-free sweetener if keto or on Weight Watchers)
  • Rice wine vinegar
  • Orange juice
  • Ginger
  • Garlic
  • Gluten-free hoisin sauce
  • Hot chilli sauce
  • Sesame oil
  • Salt
overhead view of instant pot chicken wings teriyaki sauce ingredients in bowls

If you like your chicken wings on the sweeter and milder side, you’ll love this teriyaki sauce.

How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Wings Step by Step

Get the complete ingredients list and instructions from the recipe card below.

This recipe is sooooo easy, folks. Choose your sauce then follow these steps….

  1. Mix chicken sauce ingredients together in the Instant Pot insert.
  2. Add raw chicken wings to Instant Pot insert and gently toss in the sauce.
  3. Close pot, set valve to sealing, select Pressure Cook or Manual (depending on the model of your Instant Pot), select high pressure and set the timer to 5 minutes.
  4. Pressure cook till done and let NPR (natural pressure release).
  5. Remove chicken wings to a prepared broiler tray broil chicken wings or grill wings, baste them whilst they are cooking and grill for 2-3 mins on each side. (This will give your crispy chicken wings that we all know and love.)
overhead view of instant pot chicken wings sauce inside instant pot insert

Step 2. Add chicken to Instant Pot insert and mix.

overhead view of chicken inside instant pot for instant pot chicken wings

Step 3. Close pot, set valve to sealing, select the manual or pressure cook button (dependent upon IP model), select high pressure and set the timer to 5 mins.

instant pot chicken wings timer set to 5 mins

Step 4. Cook till done and let NPR (natural pressure release).

Step 5. Remove chicken wings add to a grill / broiler tray, baste wings whilst they are cooking and grill for 2-3 mins on each side. (This will give your pressure cooker wings that amazing crispiness we all know and love.)

instant pot chicken wings on a grill pan after being grilled

Recipe Tips

  • If you want you can season them and then add seasoned wings into the Instant Pot insert, before pressure cooking. Just make sure the amount of seasoning works with the sauces.
  • If you are really short on time (or really hungry), you can skip the grilling / broiling step. You woun’t get crispy wings won’t be quite the same, but if you can’t wait the extra 2-3 mins on each side, go ahead and dig in.
  • Wings can be served with a sauce or dressing. Buffalo wings, for example, can be served with blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing (low fat if you would like).
  • If you get a ‘burn’ notice on your Instant Pot, open the lid and stir the wings and sauce. Then replace the lid and cook for the remaining time.
  • The sauces can be made and frozen for up to 3 months. If you want to make the sauces ahead of time in a large bowl, you can pour them into freezer-friendly jars or Ziploc bags and freeze them for up to 3 months before using.

Delicious Variations

  • Add extra heat – using red pepper flakes, cayenne or chipotle.
  • Vary the sauces – use sauces like store bought or homemade BBQ sauce, plain hot sauce, garlic parmesan sauce etc.

Storage

overhead view of instant pot chicken wings on a white plate with soy sauce

FAQs

Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Wings

Yeap, thanks to the magical Instant Pot you can cook frozen chicken wings. If you don’t have time to thaw your wings, you can throw them in the inner pot frozen.

To make Instant Pot frozen chicken wings, you’ll need to increase the time under pressure.
15 mins should do it, but please check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. (The internal temperature should be at least 82 C / 180 F.)

HOW TO CHECK IF THE WINGS ARE COOKED

Chicken must reach an internal temperature of 75 C (165 F) before serving. So use a meat thermometer to check the temperature if you are unsure.

HOW TO CUT CHICKEN WINGS

If you’re lucky and you’ve found chicken wings that are cut and ready to fry up, great. But if your store only has the whole wing don’t be intimidated.

Follow these steps for cutting your chicken wings before dropping them in the air fryer.

  • Place on cutting board and using your fingers, locate where the two joints connect.
  • Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife cut through the center of both joints to separate the drumette, flat, and tip.
  • Use the drumettes and flats in your recipe, discard the tip.

Weight Watchers Points

Calculating Weight Watchers points for these recipes was a bit tricky because not all of the sauce is actually absorbed into the chicken…. only about 30%. I calculated the points values below with that idea in mind.

Honey Chilli

  • 7 Blue Plan Smartpoints per serving
  • 6 Blue Plan Smartpoints per serving

Buffalo

  • 6 Blue Plan Smartpoints per serving
  • 5 Blue Plan Smartpoints per serving

Teriyaki (using a sugar-free substitute for the sweetener of choice)

  • 6 Blue Plan Smartpoints per serving
  • 3 Blue Plan Smartpoints per serving

Why These Instant Pot Wings are Keto

Because only about 30% of the sauce is absorbed into the meat, this greatly reduces the impact of any carbs in the sauce ingredients. Make sure to use a sugar-free subsitute in the teriyaki wings.

More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes

If you love these Instant Pot Chicken Wings (and I think you will), how about trying some of my other Instant Pot chicken recipes – like Instant Pot Chicken Breast, these easy Instant Pot Chicken Breast Marinades and Instant Pot Chicken Thighs. Chicken is soooo easy in the Instant Pot.

More Wings Recipes

Also if you love making chicken wings then you can try these Air Fryer Chicken Wings and you can Reheat Chicken Wings in Air Fryer or you can make Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings.

And if you like cauliflower then why not try these Airfryer Buffalo Cauliflower Wings.

overhead view of plate of cooked instant pot chicken wings next to a small bowl of soy sauce

Thank you for reading my Instant Pot Chicken Wings (pressure cooker chicken wings) recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, travel plans and much more for you. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry.

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Print Recipe
5 from 8 votes

Instant Pot Chicken Wings

Learn how to make the BEST chicken wings with this recipe!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time8 minutes
Total Time13 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6
Calories: 222kcal
Author: Bintu Hardy

Ingredients

Honey Chilli Wings

  • 5 tbsp runny honey
  • 4 tbsp tamari Soy Sauce or regular if not gluten-free
  • 4 tbsp orange juice
  • 1 tsp chilli sauce sriracha
  • 1 tsp minced ginger
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • Salt
  • 1.1 kg (2.5 lbs) Chicken Wings cut into flat and drumette pieces

Buffalo Wings

  • 250 mls (1 cup) Frank’s hot sauce or other hot chilli sauce (this is spicy; use a milder sauce if preferred)
  • 2 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • Salt
  • 1.1 kg (2.5 lbs) Chicken Wings cut into flat and drumette pieces
  • Optional low fat blue cheese dressing to serve

Teriyaki Wings

  • 6 tbsp tamari Soy Sauce or regular if not gluten-free
  • 3 tbsp sweetener of choice or brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp orange juice
  • 2 tsp minced ginger
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp gluten free hoisin sauce
  • 1 tsp hot chilli sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • Salt
  • 1.1 kg (2.5 lbs) Chicken Wings cut into flat and drumette pieces

Instructions

  • Mix sauce ingredients together in the Instant Pot insert.
  • Add chicken to Instant Pot insert and mix
  • Close pot, set valve to sealing, select the manual or pressure cook button (dependent upon IP model), select high pressure and set the timer to 5 mins.
  • Cook till done and let NPR.
  • Remove chicken wings add to a grill / broiler tray, baste wings whilst they are cooking and grill for 2-3 mins on each side.
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Notes

  • Nutrition facts are calculated for Buffalo Wings.
  • The total cook time does not include the time it takes for the Instant Pot to get to pressure and the time for the natural pressure release. Plan for additional time.
  • If you are really short on time (or really hungry), you can skip the grilling / broiling step.
  • Wings can be served with a sauce or dressing. Buffalo wings, for example, can be served with blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing (low fat if you would like).
  • If you get a ‘burn’ notice on your Instant Pot, open the lid and stir the wings and sauce. Then replace the lid and cook for the remaining time.
  • The sauces can be made and frozen for up to 3 months. If you want to make the sauces ahead of time in a large bowl, you can pour them into freezer-friendly jars or Ziploc bags and freeze them for up to 3 months before using.
++
Weight Watchers Points in Instant Pot Chicken Wings
Calculating Weight Watchers points for these recipes was a bit tricky because not all of the sauce is actually absorbed into the chicken…. only about 30%. I calculated the points values below with that idea in mind.
Honey Chilli
  • 7 Freestyle points per serving
  • 6 PointsPlus points per serving
Buffalo
  • 6 Freestyle points per serving
  • 5 PointsPlus points per serving
Teriyaki (using a sugar-free substitute for the sweetener of choice)
  • 6 Freestyle points per serving
  • 3 PointsPlus points per serving
++
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
Instant Pot Chicken Curry
The Best Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken Thighs

Nutrition

Calories: 222kcal | Protein: 18g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 1350mg | Potassium: 162mg | Vitamin A: 310IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg

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