Instant Pot Shredded Buffalo Chicken Bowls
These Instant Pot Shredded Buffalo Chicken Bowls are super easy to make, so delicious and addictive! Spicy, tangy, and salty incorporated into a healthy bowl with a bit of freshness from the cabbage and vegetables. You can also serve the leftover shredded buffalo chicken in wraps, on slider buns, tacos and more!
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. chicken -boneless skinless, thighs or breasts
- 4 oz light cream cheese 1/3 less fat, cut into chunks
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- olive oil spray
- 1/2-3/4 c. Frank's Red Hot Sauce see notes at bottom of recipe
- 1/4 c. chicken broth or water see notes at bottom of recipe
- 1/4 t. cayenne pepper
- 1 t. smoked paprika
- 2 T. unsalted butter
- 1 c. cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 c. carrots chopped
- 1 rib of celery chopped
- 1 bunch green onions chopped
- 8-10 c. cabbage - red napa or mixed, chopped
- few tablespoons of blue cheese crumbles optional, points/calories not included
Instructions
- Trim off visible fat from chicken thighs. Don't worry if you don't get it all, just the easy stuff.
- Spray Instant Pot with olive oil spray. Press, "Sauté." When hot, add chopped onions and garlic. Sauté for a few minutes until onions are soft and starting to brown.
- Add the Frank's Red Hot Sauce, broth or water if using it (make sure you have at least 3/4 c. liquid total in Instant Pot), cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, chicken and butter. Stir well and try to get the chicken down into the liquid.
- Press, "Manual or Pressure," and cook on high for 9 minutes with the seal on. Allow to natural release for at least 5 minutes.
- Remove chicken with slotted spoon and shred pieces with 2 forks.
- To the sauce, add shredded cheese, and cream cheese chunks. Stir until melted. If it doesn't melt completely, turn Instant Pot back on, "Sauté," and heat until melted. Add chicken back into sauce.
- Prepare the bowls. For each bowl add: 1 c. shredded cabbage, 3/4 c. buffalo chicken with some sauce, 1/4 c. shredded carrots, celery, green onions, and blue cheese if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
This recipe is high in sodium because of the Frank's Red Hot Sauce. If you're trying to cut back on sodium, use 3/4 c. chicken broth and a few tablespoons of Frank's Red Hot Sauce.
My preferred way of making this dish is to use 3/4 c. Frank's Red Hot Sauce (instead of 1/2 c. Frank's plus 1/4 c. broth) but it does increase the sodium. If you don't have a problem with sodium then I recommend you make it this way.