Creamy Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Soup

Instant Pot buffalo chicken soup serves up bold flavors, pressure cooker style. A hearty meal cooked in just minutes. Use fresh or as a leftover chicken recipe tonight.

Ninja Foodi Buffalo Chicken Soup

You can totally make this as an easy Ninja Foodi recipe, in your Crockpot Express or any brand of pressure cooker. High pressure is the main function needed and they all have that so you’re good.

Cold where you are (it is here) and looking for a bowl of comfort food? I have a great Instant Pot soup recipe your whole family will love. Using fresh breasts, thighs, or even as a leftover chicken breast recipe, this is a great one to try out this week.

Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Soup with Frozen Chicken

It’s best to use fresh or thawed meat but if you only have Instant Pot frozen chicken follow these instructions first, then proceed to below steps. This way will get you tender shredded meat in about 12 minutes with a bit of liquid you can just drain off before beginning the directions below.

Here are a few questions you might have before you get started on this:

We first made this Instant Pot buffalo chicken dip as an appetizer. It was so popular I thought there must be a way to make this as more of a meal than just a starter dish.

Will chicken get more tender the longer you boil it?

Yes, it will begin to fall apart. Boiled chicken worked great if you want shredded chicken for your meal. Of course you can use diced chicken breasts or thighs to make this. I find the latter is cheaper and more tender overall. I just buy what is on sale typically, or I have in my freezer that can be defrosted.

You can really load up on the vegetables too. Love carrots but not so keen on celery, just double up on what you prefer. Everything will get really tender so likelihood is that your non veggie loving kids might change their minds with this.

You do not have to add that ingredient if you don’t want to. It does make it creamy though and tones down the heat so if you don’t it will be quite intense. Sour cream could be an alternative or greek yogurt.

Ingredients

1. Chicken cut into large bite size pieces, breasts or thighs work
2. Carrots and celery will be cut into chunks and a nice add in
3. Chicken Broth is better than water for flavors
4. Butter will add a creaminess
5. Onions are optional but diced are a nice add-in
6. Hot sauce will bring the heat, add less or more to your liking
7. Cream cheese makes it rich, you could opt for plain Greek yogurt instead
8. Flour to thicken if desired

Use ranch dressing mix to tone down the spiciness and add additional flavors. I do like some heat compared to our “regular” soups. If you wanted to make it thicker like our baked buffalo chicken dip then add less liquids.

Can You Make This Dairy Free?

If you need a lactose free option you can find cream cheese without it at the store now. Other option would be to use a can of coconut milk. Remember that you can totally control how spicy this turns out. 2 ways: put less hot sauce in it, and adding dry ranch dressing mix. It can be thinned out easily too with more broth, or thicker with less.

Turn pot to saute and add butter. Once melted add onions, celery and carrots. Cook until softened. Then add garlic powder, thyme and red pepper flakes.

How to Make Buffalo Chicken Soup No Cream Cheese

• Add cubed chicken, buffalo sauce and chicken broth. Stir and allow to begin to bubble. Turn pot off.
• Stir contents, allow to sit and cool for about 2 minutes. Then close lid and steam valve.
• Then high pressure cook for 7 minutes of cook time, allow to naturally release steam for 5 minutes when done.
  Quick release rest of pressure.
• Remove lid and add cream cheese (chunks at room temperature). Turn pot to saute again. Allow to bubble and melt.
• In a small bowl whisk together flour and half and half until smooth. Add that in and stir. Taste, if you want it milder, add ranch dressing dry mix and stir to tone down heat.

When it is perfect turn your pot off and unplug it (or it will stay on warm and continue to cook). Serve with bread or with a side of rice or something.

What to do with leftovers

Once you get the heat to perfection I assure you it will become a regular on your meal plan rotation. If you have leftovers, store in airtight containers in the fridge.

When reheating just add 1/2 cup (less or more) of broth to thin it out a bit if you want. If you were serving a large crowd you could make it, and transfer to a Crock pot on warm so it could be enjoyed all day long. It is one of our favorite meals with a WOLLOP of flavor I tell you.

What side dishes go well with soup?

I usually serve either easy dinner rolls or our refrigerated biscuit pull apart bread with this. If you need a gluten free option you could use your own homemade recipe and make air fryer bread too.

• Mixed vegetables of course go with everything. Even though there are some in this you can never have too many.
• Crackers always work if you’re in a hurry.

Looking for other easy Instant Pot recipes like this one? You could make a batch of Instant Pot buffalo wings that are high in protein and flamin. Another to try during the cooler season? Try our Instant Pot potato corn chowder first and we have a few others below too.

Instant Pot split pea soup takes just 17 minutes using dry peas in a bag. Add leftover ham for a really hearty and cheap meal after the holidays.

You can enjoy a ton of other easy Instant Pot chicken recipes here on our site too. From healthy to pure comfort food on a fork, we have a variety to choose from for everyone.

• Our Instant Pot crack chicken pasta is probably on the top of our list of favorites. When we have guests they’re blown away by this creation of ours.