Make these Whole30 & Keto Instant Pot Buffalo Wings for a perfect paleo appetizer, Saturday night in, or game day! These Real Food Instant Pot Buffalo Wings are clean-eating, finger-licking good! (With keto/paleo/real food Buffalo sauce recommendations, too!)

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We are not one of “those families” who gets a craving for hot wings and drives to the nearest Buffalo Wild Wings or wherever to satisfy that craving. Not that “those families” deserve criticism…

I get it. When you start jonesing for wings, you’re jonesing for wings. It’s something that must be satisfied.

Full stop. 

There are two reasons why we aren’t one of “those families”:

1.) The nearest restaurant that sells wings is, like, 65 miles from my house. It’d have to be one hell of a craving to drive that far for wings. Like, maybe if you’re pregnant. Which I am not.

and

2.) We don’t eat out much because it’s expensive, and we’d rather spend our hard-earned money on organic, whole foods that we can make at home.

If I was to add a #3 in there, it would be because I’m one of those annoying restaurant customers who asks about every ingredient in every dish, wants to know the source of the meats, wants to know if the sauces have sugar/soy/gluten/dairy/etc./etc.

So, really, it’s just easier to stay home and make the food ourselves. Trust me, I’m the most annoying person to eat out with.

And, boy, did we ever make some hella good wings!

The Hubs and I were all alone in the old house. Thing 1 was playing Magic the Gathering with friends. Thing 2 was at a birthday sleepover.

I’m dealing with Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, so the only thing H-O-T happening in our house were these Whole30 and Keto Instant Pot Buffalo Wings and binge-watching The Office on Netflix. Know what I’m sayin’? 😉

So, let’s discuss some particulars about these Real Food Instant Pot Buffalo Wings, and then we’ll get to the easy-peasy recipe, ok?

#1 — Why use an Instant Pot for buffalo wings?

Ok, in the interest of full honesty here, this recipe isn’t entirely made in the Instant Pot. The chicken wings are cooked first in the Instant Pot but finished off in the oven under the broiler to make them browned and crispy. There’s my full disclosure statement.

BUT, if you don’t have an Instant Pot… WHY??? Just get one already. All the cool kids have one. 

Seriously. (I even have a great review that tells the good, the bad, and the ugly, if you’re still on the fence.)

This gadget has changed my kitchen life forever and ever, amen. I make everything — from soups and breakfast to pulled pork and even dessert — faster and better in this handy dandy appliance. (I even have an Instant Pot meal plan you can download for free here.)

I have both a 6-quart and an 8-quart  — and I assure you, two is better than one. 😉

Making these Whole30 and keto Instant Pot Buffalo Wings in a pressure cooker means the meat is moist, tender, and oh-so juicy! That juiciness is locked in. It ain’t going nowhere.

Then, letting that hot-n-spicy skin crisp up in the oven is magical in its own right.

In about 30 minutes, you’ve made damn near perfect AND healthy buffalo wings. And THAT’S why you use an Instant Pot for Real Food Buffalo Wings. 

#2 — Where do you find healthy Buffalo sauce?

Great question!

For this recipe, I used The New Primal Noble Made Medium Buffalo Sauce, which I purchase at Thrive Market. One bottle — costing $6.99 — will make three recipes of these delicious and easy Whole30 and Keto Instant Pot Buffalo Wings.

Ingredients in this paleo-friendly, Whole30-friendly sauce: water, cayenne pepper, vinegar, EVOO, salt, and xanthan gum. It’s clean buffalo sauce, y’all. Real clean.

Now, as if I had a crystal ball, I already know your next question: What if I don’t have that sauce? What if I want to make these amazing Instant Pot Buffalo Wings right. this. minute?

Well, Steve’s PaleoGoods has a clean Buffalo Wing Sauce, and you get can it on Amazon. If you have the patience to wait for 2-day shipping, your body will thank you.

If you do not have the patience and, indeed, must have these wings ASAP, then you’re gonna have to go with your regular, off-the-shelf buffalo wing sauce. In this instance — and hey, you might not care — your Instant Pot wings will no longer be paleo/Whole30/keto. 

Still, what I’m going to recommend — because a good buffalo wing recipe is only as good as its buffalo sauce — is The New Primal Noble Made Medium Buffalo Sauce.

I highly recommend a Thrive market membership because it’s like Whole Foods and Costco had a baby and then decided to deliver that baby to your doorstep. It’s $60 bucks a year and worth every, single penny for my family.

Moving on…

#3 — You add fat to the buffalo sauce. Trust me on this.

To make the sauce go farther — and to save your taste buds from being burned off by the heat of cayenne pepper — you’re going to mix the buffalo sauce with some liquid fat.

I mixed 3/4 cup of The New Primal Noble Made Medium Buffalo Sauce with 1/2 cup avocado oil. (Which, you can also purchase through Thrive Market or on Amazon. Hint: Thrive is cheaper!)

If you don’t have avocado oil and dairy isn’t an issue for you, use a stick of melted butter or half a cup of melted ghee. I have also used melted tallow and lard with great success.

Nourishing keto fats: avocado oil, tallow, lard, butter, ghee

Nourishing Whole30 fats: avocado oil, tallow, lard

The point is: use a nourishing fat — none of that canola oil or safflower oil crap. Don’t use olive oil; it has too strong of a flavor.

And, don’t use coconut oil. ‘Cuz nobody ever ordered coconut-flavored buffalo wings.

Do I have you straightened out on fats? 🙂

#4 — What other sauces can I dip these wings into?

Big dipper?

Yeah, me too. 😉

(See what I did there??)

Obviously, you’re going to save any leftover buffalo sauce you have, because if a little hot is good, then a lotta hot is better, am I right?

But, I like the coolness of a dressing, too. Like bleu cheese or ranch.

Actually, I don’t like bleu cheese, but if you do, then dip in your favorite (hopefully healthy) bleu cheese dressing to your heart’s delight.

If you’re a ranch fan like I am, may I highly recommend these homemade ranch options:

• Quick & Creamy Probiotic Yogurt Ranch (if you’re ok with dairy)
• Whole30 Dump Ranch Dressing from 40Aprons
• The Whole Cook’s Easy Ranch Dressing

Need a pre-made ranch? Choose one of these:

• Tessamae’s Creamy Ranch from Thrive Market
• Primal Kitchen’s Avocado Oil Ranch
• Sir Kensington’s Ranch from Thrive Market

How To Make Whole30 & Keto Instant Pot Buffalo Wings

If you can find them, use chicken wingette and drumette pieces.

Remove them from the packaging and lay them out on a piece of parchment paper. Pat one side dry with a paper towel.

Next, get out your seasonings — salt, garlic powder, paprika, and chipotle powder. 

You might get annoyed with me, but I’m not giving you exact measurements because you’re simply sprinkling them over your wingette/drumette pieces.

So, sprinkle the first side with all your seasonings, adding more of the ones you love, using less of the ones you want to use less of.

Then, flip those bad boys over, pat side #2 dry with a paper towel, and sprinkle with seasonings again.

Place the metal trivet that comes with your Instant Pot inside the pot and add one cup of water.

Gather the parchment paper with wings up by the corners and place it on top of the trivet inside the Instant Pot. Yes, it is ok to put parchment paper in the Instant Pot. It’s going to keep your chicken from getting soaked by the water.

DO NOT USE FOIL. It’s bad for you and leaches aluminum into your food. (Had to say it.)

Put the lid on your Instant Pot, making sure the seal is in place. Seal the vent and set the time to 10 minutes on high pressure.

While you’re waiting for those wingettes/drumettes to cook, go ahead and turn on your oven’s broiler and prep the buffalo sauce. Also, have a large glass bowl out on your counter for the wings to go into. And get out a baking sheet, too.

As soon as your Instant Pot beeps, release that pressure valve.

Carefully gather the corners of the parchment paper — use oven mitts if needed — and transfer the whole thing to the large glass bowl you got out earlier.

Then, slide the parchment out from under the chicken. Lay the used piece of parchment on your baking sheet — no need to use more parchment!

Pour half of the prepared buffalo sauce over the chicken and use tongs to evenly coat the chicken in the sauce. Next, use tongs to transfer the coated chicken to the baking sheet with the parchment on it.

Put the chicken into your oven under the broiler for about 5 to 7 minutes — until the skin begins to brown and get crisp.

When ready, take them out of the oven and serve!

Grab your ranch, your bleu cheese, your celery sticks, and your remaining buffalo sauce. Turn on The Office (or ESPN or Lifetime or whatever floats your boat) and enjoy a night in with Real Food Instant Pot Buffalo Wings that are saving you money and giving you a clean-eating appetizer!

4.41 from 5 votes

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Whole30 & Keto Instant Pot Buffalo Wings

Make these Whole30 & Keto Instant Pot Buffalo Wings for a perfect paleo appetizer, Saturday night in, or game day! These Real Food Instant Pot Buffalo Wings are clean-eating, finger-licking good! (With keto/paleo/real food Buffalo sauce recommendations, too!)

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 17 minutes

Total Time 22 minutes

Author Rebecca Hansen

Ingredients

• 1cupwater
• 3poundsorganic, free range chicken wingettes/drumettes
• sprinklesaltto taste
• sprinklegarlic powderto taste
• sprinklepaprika to taste
• sprinklechipotle powderto taste
• 3/4cupNoble Made Medium Buffalo Sauce
• 1/2cupavocado oil(melted ghee, butter, or tallow also work)

Instructions

1. First, add 1 cup of water to your Instant Pot and place the metal trivet inside the pot. Set aside.

2. Lay a piece of parchment paper down on your work surface and spread the chicken over the parchment. Pat it dry with a paper towel.

3. Evenly sprinkle salt, garlic powder, paprika, and chipotle powder over one side of the chicken.

4. Flip the chicken over, pat the other side dry with a paper towel, and evenly sprinkle seasonings on that side.

5. Gather the parchment paper with chicken on it up by the corners and place it inside the Instant Pot, on top of the trivet.

6. Place the lid on the pot, seal the vent, and set the time to 10 minutes on high pressure.

7. Now, turn on your oven's broiler, get out a baking sheet, get out a bowl large enough to hold the chicken, and prep the sauce.

8. To a jar, add Noble Made Medium Buffalo Sauce and avocado oil (or other melted fat of choice).

9. Use an immersion blender to emulsify the sauce and fat to make a smooth sauce. Set aside.

10. When the Instant Pot beeps, immediately release the pressure.

11. Carefully, gather the corners of the parchment and place all of the chicken into the bowl you set out. Then turn the chicken out of the paper.

12. Use that parchment paper on the baking sheet.

13. Pour half of the buffalo sauce over the cooked chicken and toss with tongs to coat evenly.

14. Transfer the coated wings to the parchment on the baking sheet. Then, place under your oven's broiler for 5 to 7 minutes, until browned and starting to crisp.

15. Remove from the oven and transfer to a serving dish with the remaining buffalo sauce, ranch or bleu cheese dressing, and celery if desire.

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More Deliciously Nourishing Appetizer Recipes You’ll Love…

• Paleo Butternut Squash Curly Fries (Whole30, real food)
• 2-Minute Everything Seasoning Cream Cheese Dip (keto, primal, THM:S)
• Pinchos de Pollo
• Dairy-Free Instant Pot Queso (aka Nooch Queso)
• Mind-Blowing Grain-Free Fried Cheese Curds

Are you making Instant Pot Buffalo Wings tonight? I sure hope so!