These Instant Pot chicken wings are the best of ALL of the worlds – they’re easy, crispy, and SO delicious! Read to find out why this dual cooking method might just be the MVP of game day.
Table of Contents
- This recipe is…
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Instant Pot Chicken Wings Ingredients & Supplies
- Recipe Variations and Modifications
- How to Make Our Instant Pot Chicken Wings
- Recipe Tips
- How to Serve Chicken Wings
- How to Store and Reheat Chicken Wings
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More of Our Best Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Wings Recipe
This recipe is…
Chicken wings are practically synonymous with game day. So it only makes sense that the debate over the best way to cook chicken wings is as hotly-contested as the big game itself.
Around here, we love chicken wings – from our Crispy Oven Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings to Teriyaki Chicken Wings, Lemon Pepper Air Fryer Wings to Easy Dry Rub Chicken Wings, there are just so many delicious ways to cook ‘em up.
But these Instant Pot Chicken Wings are something special: first, the chicken gets steam-cooked in an Instant Pot. Not only does this speed up the cooking process, but it also achieves a healthier wing by rendering the fat. Then — to make the wings extra crunchy and delicious — they get crisped in an air fryer or oven.
Toss them with your sauce of choice, and they’re ready to hit the table. If you’ve got to throw some elbows around your friends and family to score your fair share of these addictively delicious wings yourself, you’ve got our blessing. Do what you’ve got to do!
If you’re looking for an excellent dipping companion for these wings, don’t skip this Creamy Blue Cheese Dip!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Dual steaming-and-crisping method is so much healthier than deep frying.
- The recipe is almost entirely hands-off!
- This chicken wings Instant Pot method is so much faster than the usual oven-baking.
- It’s the perfect Super Bowl recipe or any other game day recipe that’s a total crowd pleaser.
Instant Pot Chicken Wings Ingredients & Supplies
To make these crispy wings, you’ll need just a couple ingredients and pieces of equipment. If you use an Instant Pot already, the equipment won’t be new to you. But if you don’t own an Instant Pot yet, it might be time to pick one of these trusty, time-saving appliances up. Read all about all of our favorite Instant Pot models here.
- Chicken Wings – you’ll need about 1 1/2-2 pounds of chicken wings.
- Sauce of Choice – grab your favorite pre-made buffalo or BBQ sauce, or make your own (our homemade BBQ sauce, 3-ingredient ranch sauce, and jalapeno ranch are all delicious options). Any sauce you love will work – these are very sauce-friendly wings.
- Instant Pot – any Instant Pot will do, but if you want to pressure cook and air fry them in the same pot, we recommend using the Instant Pot Duo Crisp or an Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid.
- Steamer Basket or Wire Trivet – feel free to use the wire steamer rack that comes with your Instant Pot, OR snag a super handy steamer basket to get the job done just a little bit easier. We really love this silicone one, but any Instant Pot compatible steamer basket will work.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Use frozen wings instead of fresh – this recipe calls for fresh, raw chicken wings, but you can cook them straight from the freezer too (see instructions below).
- Pick your favorite sauce – of course Buffalo sauce is the classic sauce to serve with wings, but we’ve given you three sauce options below, so pick your favorite!
- Use the oven instead of an air fryer – you do need an Instant Pot for the speedy steam-cooking portion of this recipe, but if you don’t own an air fryer, we’ve also included an easy oven method for the final crisping stage of cooking the wings.
How to Make Our Instant Pot Chicken Wings
What is the best cooking method for wings? And what is the secret to the best chicken wings? These questions have always been hotly debated. I’ll admit…I was initially a little skeptical about this dual-cooking method. But now, I’m a believer that first using an Instant Pot to steam your wings, and then get them nice and crispy either in an air fryer or oven is one of the best ways to cook up amazingly crisp-tender wings.
Here are the two options, depending on what equipment you have at home:
Instant Pot Steaming + Air Fryer-Crisping Method
- Prep – first, place the wire trivet (or steamer basket) in your Instant Pot and pour in 1 cup of water.
- Season + Steam – toss the wings with salt and pepper, then place them on top of the steamer. Cook for 8 minutes on high pressure.
- Release the Pressure + Remove – once the timer goes off, immediately release the pressure in the Instant Pot (turn the nob on the lid to “vent”). Remove the chicken wings and trivet from the pot, and pour out the water.
- Air Fry – place the air fryer basket in the pot (inside the steel insert) and line with a parchment paper insert (optional, but helps with sticking). Place the chicken wings in the basket and place the air fryer lid on the pot. Set to cook at 400°F for 15-20 minutes, flipping the wings about halfway through cooking (the pot will beep at you halfway through), until crisp. Note: your chicken wings do *not* need to be in a single layer in order to crisp! The air fryer does a really great job of circulating the air around the wings and tossing at the halfway mark really helps too.
- Make the Sauce – if you’re making a homemade sauce, do that while the wings cook!
- Toss + Serve – toss the finished wings in the sauce and serve.
Instant Pot Steaming + Oven-Crisping Method
- Prep – first, place the wire trivet (or steamer basket) in your Instant Pot and pour in 1 cup of water.
- Season + Steam – toss the wings with salt and pepper, then place them on top of the steamer. Cook for 8 minutes on high pressure.
- Release the Pressure + Remove – once the timer goes off, immediately release the pressure in the Instant Pot (turn the nob on the lid to “vent”). Remove the chicken wings and trivet from the pot, and pour out the water.
- Bake – bake the chicken wings at 450°F for 15 minutes. If you like crispier chicken wings, bake for an additional 10 minutes (so, 25 minutes total).
- Make the Sauce – if you’re making a homemade sauce, do that while the wings cook!
- Toss + Serve – toss the finished wings in the sauce and serve.
Recipe Tips
- You can stack chicken in the Instant Pot – don’t worry about an overlap of wings during the first steam-cooking step. When you transfer the wings to an air fryer or oven, though, the more space they have, the more evenly they will crisp. So make sure to spread them out in an even layer with plenty of room around each wing.
- No need to defrost – if you don’t have time to thaw your wings, no problem. Part of the Instant Pot’s speedy magic is that you can actually cook them straight from the freezer! Just be sure to increase the cook time from 8 to 12 minutes on high pressure.
How to Serve Chicken Wings
Serve ‘em up hot and crispy alongside your favorite dipping sauce and a couple of sides (potato wedges + arugula salad are my picks). Some of our favorite dipping sauces include:
- Alabama White BBQ Sauce
- Mustard BBQ Sauce
- Keto Friendly BBQ Sauce
- Homemade Classic BBQ Sauce
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Honey Mustard
- 3-Ingredient Ranch
- Buffalo Sauce
- Jalapeno Ranch
How to Store and Reheat Chicken Wings
Refrigerate any leftover wings in an airtight container for up to five days.
To reheat, use the same cooking method you used to crisp the chicken (either the oven or air fryer) until the wings are heated through and starting to sizzle.
Frequently Asked Questions
While you could use a few different settings on your Instant Pot to cook chicken wings, we like the steam function. That’s because this helps render the fat off the wings, which results in a crispier wing after the second cook.
Yes: Instant Pots need water to work properly. The liquid is needed to create steam, which then builds pressure. Consult your manual, but the minimum amount of liquid needed is usually a cup.
Of course, the most classic sauce for chicken wings is Buffalo sauce. We’ve included our easy 2-ingredient Buffalo sauce in the recipe below for you. If you want to be a little more adventurous (or if you’re not a fan of spicy food), we’ve also included two other sauce options: lemon pepper and honey BBQ. And we’ve got lots of other options for dipping sauces too:
Jalapeno Ranch
Creamy Honey Mustard
3-Ingredient Dairy-Free Ranch
Creamy Chili Sauce (scroll midway through our Roasted Potato Wedge recipe to learn how to make this easy 3-ingredient sauce)
We like serving wings alongside crispy oven potato wedges, a simple veggie side like this lemon sea salt arugula side salad, creamy green apple coleslaw, or a healthy serving of roasted vegetables.
More of Our Best Instant Pot Recipes
If you tried these Instant Pot Chicken Wings, or any other recipe on the Fed & Fit website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Instant Pot Chicken Wings
Ingredients
For the wings:
- 1.5-2 pounds chicken wings
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the sauce:
Honey BBQ:
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2-1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, optional
Lemon Pepper:
- 1.5 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, optional
Buffalo:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons hot pepper sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot
Instructions
- Place the wire trivet (or steamer basket, if you have one) in your Instant Pot and pour in 1 cup of water.
- Toss the wings with salt and pepper, then place them on top of the steamer. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
- Once the timer goes off, immediately release the pressure on the Instant Pot. Remove the chicken wings and trivet from the pot, then pour out the water.
Air Fryer Method
- Place the air fryer basket in the pot (inside the steel insert) and line with a parchment paper insert, if needed. Place the chicken wings in the basket and place the air fryer lid on the pot. Set to cook at 400°F for 15-20 minutes, flipping the wings about halfway through cooking when the pot beeps at you, until crisp.
Oven Method
- Transfer the wings to a rimmed baking sheet (lined with parchment paper, if you like) and bake at 450°F for about 15 minutes, or for crispier wings, bake at 450°F for 25 minutes.
- While the wings cook, make the sauce by mixing together all of the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Toss the finished wings in the sauce and serve!
Recipe Notes
- You can stack chicken in the Instant Pot – don’t worry about an overlap of wings during the first steam-cooking step. When you transfer the wings to an air fryer or oven, though, the more space they have, the more evenly they will crisp. So make sure to spread them out in an even layer with plenty of room around each wing.
- No need to defrost – if you don’t have time to thaw your wings, no problem. Part of the Instant Pot’s speedy magic is that you can actually cook them straight from the freezer! Just be sure to increase the cook time from 8 to 12 minutes on high pressure.
Nutrition
love your content, but this website is killing me with all these ads! please make it more readable!
Thank you for your feedback, Tam! We totally get it! Ads are annoying! Unfortunately, showing ads is the best way for us to keep these recipes free and available to all. Thank you for sticking with us. We really appreciate it!
Can’t wait to make this!! If I double the recipe, will it take longer in the IP?
The time should stay the same, Katie!