Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Chili
By popular request, my award winning chili has now been converted so that you can make it in the pressure cooker! Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Chili is creamy, spicy and the best chili in town!
I can’t tell you how how thankful I am to see the notes pouring in even to this day for a chili I first made several years ago on a whim. It was one of those days where I took a look at what was in my cabinet and came up with a “kitchen sink” kind of meal, that has turned out to be the best kind of meal at all. It’s had a few slight adjustments over the years to take into account all of the feedback from all of you who have made it. And today it’s getting another kind of adjustment, by popular request, a way to make it in the electric pressure cooker. So today, finally, I share Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Chili!
How to make chili in the Instant Pot:
- use the sauté function to cook any ground meats, like the ground chicken in this chili
- Add broths, seasonings, water, tomatoes, etc.
- Leave out any dairy or thickeners for later, like the the cream cheese in this recipe
- Seal and cook under pressure for about 8-12 minutes to allow flavors to meld like they’ve been cooking all day
Is making chili in the Instant Pot really faster than cooking on the stove?
I know many of you will have this question, and it’s a comment I get on a lot of recipes. Allow me to explain.
Yes, if you want to make this on the stovetop, then go for it! It’s totally possible. However, I like the Instant Pot for a few reasons. Think about the fact that once you toss everything in, you can walk away and go do something else for awhile. That 10 minutes of time under pressure? That’s like 45 minutes on the stove, where you’d need to at least keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn’t boil over, the flame doesn’t go out (if using gas) or that something doesn’t go wrong. And yes, you do have to wait around 15 minutes for the pot to come to pressure, but again, that’s walk away time where you don’t need to be hands on, and I’m all about reducing hands on time for recipes because we all have a lot of other stuff to do.
Some notes about this buffalo chicken chili:
- Yes, you can use chicken breasts if you prefer. Cooking time should be increased to 12 minutes on high pressure and then chicken can be shredded.
- Use less buffalo sauce for less spicy, more for more spicy. Obvious, but you’d be surprised how many comments I get about this being either too spicy or too bland.
- Cream cheese gets added at the end and melted into the chili. Make sure it’s room temperature and then just keep stirring. I get this question a lot about the lumps or specks of cream cheese, and you just need to keep stirring. Using a whisk helps.
- Most of all, enjoy and make it your own!! Just be sure to come back and let me know if you win your local chili cook-off!
Equipment needed to make Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Chili:
- an Instant Pot – 6 quart or larger
- a meat chopper to cook the ground chicken
- a whisk to get the cream cheese smooth
- optional: a separate silicone ring for your Instant Pot in case you also use it for sweet treats (don’t want those to taste like buffalo sauce!)
Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 15 oz canned white navy beans drained and rinsed
- 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce add more later if needed
- 1 package ranch dressing mix
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 oz cream cheese room temp and cut into small pieces
Instructions
- Heat Instant Pot on sauté and add ground chicken
- Cook while breaking apart with spatula until browned and fully cooked (a teaspoon of oil can be added if needed)
- Turn off Instant Pot and add beans, tomatoes, broth, sauce and seasonings
- Cover, set to seal and high pressure for 10 minutes
- Allow 5 minute natural pressure release when done and then quick release remaining
- Add cream cheese and stir or whisk until smooth
Do we not drain the chicken?
Nope, it shouldn’t have that much fat.
This was absolutely delicious! I used chicken breasts, which I shredded. I also omitted the garlic and onion powder and sauteed garlic and diced onion instead. For tonight’s leftovers, I am going to thicken with masa harina to give it a bit more body, and serve it over rice. This will be a regular at our house, thank you!
Love the original recipe and have been making it for awhile! In your original recipe it calls for 8oz of cream cheese why is this one 4oz?
Thanks!! I got a lot of feedback that people like it with less cream cheese, but you can totally use 8oz if you prefer!
Just wondering when to add the frozen corn for the instant pot. I made it in the slow cooker and added it right away but was worried about them breaking down too much under the pressure. Love this recipe!
You could probably add it at the end of cooking and just let it sit and heat through for 10 mins or so before serving.
This was fabulous! My DH loved it (he doesn’t know that there is cream cheese in it). Wink wink. I did make a few minor changes to bulk up the chili and to get more veggies in. I had about 1 cup of mixed frozen peas and carrots on top of the corn that I tossed in as well as 1 large 28oz can of crushed tomatoes. I used 3 Tablespoons from the large container of the McCormick’s dry ranch 3 in 1 seasoning, which is the equivalent to 1 pouch. All in all this was so delicious and this will become a staple in my household! Thank you for sharing!!!
That’s awesome! And I always love added veggies 🙂
Can you say which setting to use on the instant pot
Hi Alena! You will need to use manual high pressure.
This was really great! I have a family of 7 and it was perfectly proportioned so everyone could eat and get full. I added chicken breasts and shredded it and some shredded cheese as well. I also added just a little bit more buffalo sauce( we like things really spicy!) All in all it was perfect! Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed this chili! It’s one of our favorites as well!
What is the serving size on the nutrition label?
I’m so sorry, I don’t have the exact measurements noted.
Hi ! Do you think it’s possible to double the recipe? Would the instant pot have enough room? I believe I have an 8 quart. Thank you!
Yes, in the 8 quart you should be fine to double the recipe!