Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Salad
There are tons of different ways to enjoy this Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Salad. I like to enjoy mine over arugula with a little blue cheese or Creamy Homemade Ranch Dressing but my husband enjoys his as a wrap on an Organic Flour Tortilla. I love base recipes that are versatile so that I can make everyone happy while only preparing one meal.
This is a recipe that is going to be a huge hit with family and friends. It can be used in so many different ways that will make even the pickiest of eaters happy. There will be leftovers, so this is an easy meal to heat up and take while on the go or heat up for a dinner on a hectic night. An added bonus is it freezes really well! I always make sure I have plenty of freezer bags handy.
One thing I love about the recipe is its versatility. You can enjoy this by itself, on a salad, or by making it into a sandwich.
This is a recipe that is very easy to make. I love that all I have to do is get the ingredients and prepare them and then put them into my Instant Pot. After that the Instant Pot takes care of everything and all I have to do is shred the chicken (I like to shred my chicken with a mixer), clean the salad and then get ready for all the deliciousness that is coming my way.
This is one recipe you will make over and over again for years to come! Enjoy!
If you enjoyed this recipe you will also love Instant Pot Skinny Crustless Chicken Pot Pie, 5 Minute Low Carb Chicken Soup, and Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos.
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Brittany Williams has taken the weight loss world by storm with her best-selling Instant Loss Cookbook. After reaching a peak weight of 260 pounds and spending a lifetime struggling with obesity, yo-yo dieting, autoimmune diseases, and chronic fatigue, Brittany changed her relationship with food and lost an astonishing 125 pounds in a year through diet alone.
Brittany’s latest book, Instant Loss Eat Real, Lose Weight shows how to make this a sustainable lifestyle with kid and family-friendly meals—from Strawberry Shortcake Oatmeal to Cowboy Chili to Easy 2-Minute Pork Chops. Members of her growing community have reported losing 50 and even 100 pounds themselves! This cookbook will help others achieve similar success with simple, delicious meals, nearly all ready in 30 minutes or less.
Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Salad
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1/4 cup butter or ghee
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/3 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon dried minced onion
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 5 ounces arugula
- 2 1/2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (optional)
- 1 Recipe Homemade Ranch Dressing omit the sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your Instant Pot Pressure Cooker by pressing the SAUTE function on the display panel. Add butter or ghee to the pot and let it melt.
- After the butter has melted move the liner around to make sure the bottom is evenly coated and moving quickly place the chicken thighs or breasts inside the pot. Add the hot sauce, red wine vinegar, minced onion, garlic powder, and sea salt.
- Place the lid on top of the pressure cooker and make sure the vent valve is in the SEALING position. Select the CANCEL button to void the sauté function and select the MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK button, high pressure. Use the +/- arrows until the display reads 15.
- After the pot beeps to let you know it's finished cooking let it naturally release the pressure, about 25 minutes. If the pin still hasn't dropped after 25 minutes vent the remaining pressure.
- Carefully shred the chicken and let it soak in the juices while you prepare the salad.
- Rinse and drain the arugula, set aside. Make the Homemade Ranch Recipe, omit the sea salt, and add 2 tablespoons Blue Cheese to make a creamy Blue Cheese Dressing.
- Assemble individual salads by adding arugula, blue cheese, blue cheese dressing, and top with the Buffalo Chicken.
I just made this tonight! Delish! My tween sons even loved it. And even so quick and easy in the instant pot. Thank you.
Could you use frozen chicken for this and if so how would I adjust the recipe time? Thank you Brittany!
Yes, same time. 🙂
Are you using bone in Chicken Breast?
Boneless, skinless 🙂
HI Brittany!
Can I accomplish this with frozen chicken breasts?
Yes, 🙂 same time.
do you add 1 cup of water to the instant pot?
No, the liquid from the sauces and the chicken is sufficient. 🙂
I see you use a larger InstaPot for your family and recipes. Would your recipes also work for the mini InstaPot?
Yes, I use a 6 qt but the vast majority of my recipes translate well to the 3qt. 🙂
Can I just use butter ? not grass fed??
Sure!
Does this freeze well?
This was incredibly tasty! One of my boys had three helpings of it! Thank you for sharing. Easy instructions and simple ingredients. Will definitely add this to the regular dinner rotation.
WOW! I made this tonight! Delish! Its just md and i dont have an Instant Pot. I sauteed one chicken breast in butter, added raw chopped onions and the other ingredients including one cup water to ensure the chicken was tender and onions were soft. Don’t like arugula, served it on a bed of chopped romaine and 1 T chunky blue cheese dressing. I’ll make this again! Thank you!
Should the chicken be served hot or cold?
Brittany! This was SO, SO GOOD! The tangy, spicy chicken, sharp blue cheese, creamy, cool ranch and the pepper arugula. We all loved it! Thanks so much for such a great recipe;
This was so easy to make and absolutely delicious. I’m not a fan of arugula but this salad was phenomenal. I made it last week and I already want to make it again. Everyone loved it.
Im worried about not having enough fluid in the instant pot for this recipe. 1/4 butter and 1/3 cup of hot sauce….won’t it just burn and not come to pressure?????
Not unless you are using an 8qt Instant Pot, if you are using a 6 qt Instant Pot it will work just fine 🙂
I’m using an 8qt how much additional liquid please?
You would need at least a cup and a half of liquid for the 8 qt. to come to pressure
How would you adjust this recipe if family does not like hot sauce?
There unfortunately is no substitution for the hot sauce in this recipe. Hot sauce is the only way to get the buffalo flavoring.
So simple and tastes great, make sure you leave a little time for the juices to soak back into the shredded chicken. We used regular bottled ranch dressing and romaine instead of arugula and I’m the only blue cheese fan so just sprinkled some on mine. The little kids liked their chicken (with a little sour cream on top to tone down the spice) separate from their salad. Definitely a keeper recipe.