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These Instant Pot chicken wings are super tender and full of flavor, and they’re so quick and easy to make, too! There’s no deep fryer required, making them healthier but just as delicious as traditional buffalo wings. Naturally low carb and keto and easy to make Whole30 or paleo, too.

A plate of Instant Pot chicken wings with ranch dressing

For more ways to enjoy chicken wings, check out our recipes for Boneless Chicken Wings, Sous Vide Chicken Wings, Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings, Crockpot Chicken Wings, and Whole30 Buffalo Wings.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

These Instant Pot chicken wings are perfect for tailgating, game day, or just an at-home wing night. They’re tender and juicy inside, nice and crispy outside, and coated in a delectable hot wing sauce you won’t be able to get enough of.
The Instant Pot makes cooking chicken wings as easy as can be. You can even cook the wings from frozen if you’re short on time (or just forget to thaw them, we’ve all been there).
This method will work for any flavor chicken wings you like. Feel free to play around with the sauces – lemon pepper wings, BBQ wings, teriyaki wings, etc. They’ll all work here! Just be sure to use enough liquid in the Instant Pot to avoid a “burn” warning.
As-is, this recipe is naturally low carb, keto, and gluten free. Making it Whole30-compliant or paleo is SUPER easy, though. All you have to do is swap out the butter for ghee and serve them with a compliant ranch dressing! To make it dairy free, use a dairy-free butter and serve with a dairy-free ranch dressing.

Key Ingredients

Chicken Wings – If you didn’t know, there are actually 3 separate sections to a chicken wing. The tip, the wingette, and the drumette. The tip really isn’t served to eat, but it’s great in stocks. This recipe calls for wingettes, which are the middle part of the chicken wing, or the flat. You can use drumettes if you prefer them, or a mix of the two. If you can’t find the wingettes and drumettes already separated, you can pick up whole chicken wings and separate them yourself.

Hot Sauce – Use your favorite hot sauce for this recipe. Different brands and types will alter the flavor slightly, so keep that in mind when you’re choosing a sauce. I personally really like Frank’s Red Hot for my Instant Pot chicken wings because it has a great flavor and because it’s gluten free, dairy free, keto, low carb, paleo, and Whole30-compliant. That means I don’t have to give it a second thought when I’m cooking for different dietary needs.

Chef’s Tips

There are two keys to really amazing Instant Pot chicken wings: 1) Don’t overcook them in the Instant Pot, and 2) crisp them up really well under the broiler. Seriously, do NOT skip the broiler step. It’s crucial to getting really crispy wings.
Unlike in an air fryer, stacking the wings in the Instant Pot is totally fine. I wouldn’t stack them on the baking sheet under the broiler, though. You’ll want them spread out so they crisp up evenly.
To really maximize the flavor, these chicken wings get tossed in wing sauce twice. Once after they’ve cooked but before they’re broiled, then again after they’re broiled. You can skip that first toss if you want, but I highly recommend at least trying it this way first. There’s SO MUCH FLAVOR when you coat them twice!
Cook times vary from one appliance to another no matter what appliance you’re using. You may find that you need to shorten or lengthen the cook time with your specific Instant Pot. Also, if you’re using very small or very large wings, you may need to adjust the cook time so they’re not overcooked or undercooked.