Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Chili
Published 9/26/2023
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Full of flavor and spice, this buffalo chicken chili combines everything we love about classic chili with our favorite buffalo flavors. Top with Greek yogurt blue cheese dressing for the ultimate flavor duo!
If you love our healthy buffalo chicken or buffalo chicken wrap, this buffalo chicken chili recipe is for you! This is a fun twist on chicken chili and features the best buffalo flavors.
Ready in under an hour in the Instant Pot, this chili recipe is a great option for busy weeknights, game day, or Sunday dinners. It’s packed with protein and veggies and fun to top with traditional buffalo chicken dips!
Featured Comment
“Made this today, it was yum! I added a shredded zucchini and a chopped bell pepper with all the sautéed veggies, just so there were more veggies, we loved it.” – Allyson
What You Need for Buffalo Chicken Chili
This chili recipe has all of our favorite buffalo flavors! You’ll need:
- Veggies including onion, carrots, and celery
- Ingredients for the chili base like crushed tomatoes, buffalo sauce, and chicken broth
- Spices like chili powder, ground cumin, and garlic powder
- Chicken and beans for protein and texture
- Maple syrup and Greek yogurt to offset the spice
Buffalo Chicken Chili Variations
Use this recipe for buffalo chicken chili as a base and add-in any of your favorite chili ingredients! Here are a few ways to mix it up:
Veggies: Mix in additional veggies in step 1 like finely chopped zucchini or squash, finely diced sweet potatoes, or chopped jalapeños.
Buffalo Sauce: Use your favorite kind of buffalo/hot sauce. We like Frank’s, but any kind works. For spicier chili, add a couple more tablespoons of it at a time until the chili is spicy enough for you.
Spices: Use about 1 tablespoon of our homemade chili seasoning in place of the individual spices.
FAQ
Buffalo chicken is naturally spicy, so yes, this chili is spicy but not too spicy. We give it about a 6/10 spice-wise.
Simply use less hot sauce. This recipe calls for 1/2 cup of Frank’s hot sauce, so start with 3 tablespoons and increase from there. You can also add more Greek yogurt to offset the spice.
Storage
The flavor of buffalo chicken chili intensifies as it sits and tastes great as leftovers! Store chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If needed, add a little water or broth to thin out the leftover chili.
Freezer Instructions
We love keeping all kinds of chili on hand in the freezer for a quick lunch or dinner. Let the buffalo chicken chili cool completely, transfer to a freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to 3 months. Here are all of our tips about how to freeze soup (and chili!).
Buffalo Chicken Chili Serving Suggestions
The sweet spice of this buffalo chicken chili pairs wonderfully with our skillet cornbread! Top each bowl with fresh green onion, parsley, and our Greek yogurt blue cheese dressing or homemade ranch.
Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 medium carrots, finely diced
- 2 medium celery stalks, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup buffalo sauce, we used Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth*
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
- 15 oz. can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 15 oz. can white navy beans, rinsed and drained
- 15 oz. can sweet corn
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Turn on your Instant Pot's sauté feature and add the olive oil. Once the oil is fragrant, add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and salt. Sauté veggies for 2 minutes and transfer them from the Instant Pot to a bowl.
- Turn off the Instant Pot sauté feature and add the crushed tomatoes, buffalo sauce, chicken broth, chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder. Mix well. Submerge the chicken breasts in the sauce and close the Instant Pot.
- Seal the valve and turn the Instant Pot to manual > high pressure and set the timer to 8 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to build enough pressure to start counting down from 8.
- Once the timer goes off, open the valve to quick release the Instant Pot. Take the top off and transfer the chicken to a cutting board or plate. Use 2 forks to shred the cooked chicken breasts and add the shredded chicken back into the Instant Pot.
- Add the cooked veggies, pinto beans, navy beans, sweet corn, and maple syrup. Stir to combine and turn on the sauté feature.
- Let the chili simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the Greek yogurt.
- Serve with green onion, fresh parsley, and our Greek Yogurt Blue Cheese Dressing.
Tips & Notes
- Storage: Store chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing Instructions: Let the buffalo chicken chili cool completely, transfer to a freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to 3 months
- Broth: Feel free to add more chicken broth before serving to thin out the chili as needed.
- Recipe Update: We updated the recipe on 1/4/21 to prevent the burn notice from happening.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I tried out this Instant Pot recipe and it was fantastic! The step-by-step instructions were easy to follow, and the cooking time was incredibly quick thanks to the Instant Pot. The flavors were perfectly balanced, and the dish turned out even better than I expected. I’ll definitely be making this again soon!
I made this recipe pretty much as written and it was really delicious. The only different thing in my batch was that I accidentally left the sautéed veggies in the instant pot while pressure cooking but it didn’t impact the final product at all. I also left out the maple syrup simply because I didn’t have any but I didnt feel the chili was lacking sweetness in the end. t I’ll definitely make this again!
Made this today, it was yum! I added a shredded zucchini and a chopped bell pepper with all the sautéed veggies, just so there were more veggies, we loved it.
Forgot to mention, I don’t have an instant pot so I made this on the stove stop.
Added 1 TBS Ancho Chili, 2 tsp cumin and 1 1/4 cups Frank Sauce. A bit more heat but lacks a bit of depth of other white Chilis. I do like that I can have comfort food like chili that is healthier than most.
Like the other comment here, I also followed all of the instructions and the Instant Pot kept saying “food burn” for the chicken step! The crushed tomatoes were very charred on the bottom. I moved everything over to a pot on the stove and just cooked the chicken with some water in the Instant Pot. It turned out great! The recipe itself is AMAZING – packed with flavor! Just wondering why it was burning, because I even used the trivet. Any tips would be awesome!
I too was concerned about crushed tomatoes on the bottom. I made sure to scrape the bottom of the pot well after sautéing the vegetables and before adding the tomatoes. There wasn’t much to scrape, but that way I could judge the recipe as written. I had plump breasts so I cooked for 10 minutes and 5 minutes of natural release so I knew they’d be cooked through. Stirred some bleu cheese crumbles into the yogurt at the end and was very pleased with my dinner! I’ll add rice next time. This is a great recipe, thanks for posting it.
Couldn’t get the instant pot to not burn
That is very odd as the chicken is submerged in liquid. We’ve made this a handful of times and never had that problem! You can always try adding the trivet to see if that helps.