These Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings are going to be your new favorite chicken wing recipe! They’re tender on the inside, crispy and golden on the outside, with no frying involved.
Plus, the cheesy garlic flavor is such a delicious and kid-friendly combination. Mmmm.
Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
Can you tell I’m really enjoying trying out new Instant Pot recipes - like my Shredded Mexican Chicken, or this Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken and Spaghetti Squash? I really love how tender and delicious chicken cooks in the IP in such a short amount of time.
Like these Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings! They only require 6 minutes of pressure cooking and the meat is so good!
I like a crispy skin on my wings so I roasted and broiled them in a really hot oven to create that texture and give them some golden color.
I think you’re going to love them!
Let’s get right to it – shall we?
How to make pressure cooker chicken wings:
Get ready to enjoy chicken wings, Instant Pot style! Add drumettes and/or wings to a large mixing bowl, then toss with garlic powder, onion powder, and 1 teaspoon salt.
Place a cup of water in the bottom of the Instant Pot, then place the trivet in the bottom, add the chicken to the Instant Pot, and close the lid.
Pressure cook on high pressure for 6 minutes (the IP will take 15-17 minutes to come to pressure). Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 525 degrees with the oven rack in the middle.
When pressure cooking is complete, do a quick release. It will take 2-3 minutes to release pressure.
Remove wings from the IP and place in a large bowl. Add melted butter, olive oil, minced garlic and salt to a small bowl and mix. Then pour over cooked chicken wings and fold the sauce onto the wings.
Place chicken skin-side down on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 8 minutes. Then switch to broil without removing from the oven for 3 minutes.
Remove and toss with parmesan cheese, salt and parsley while still hot. Serve and enjoy!
I can assure you these garlic parmesan chicken wings will be gone in 60 seconds. They are super tasty and the perfect meaty snacks / appetizers.
You may be wondering if you can cook frozen chicken wings in the Instant Pot… the answer is absolutely!
How to cook frozen chicken wings in the instant pot:
Just like cooking any frozen meat in the IP, it will take a little longer than thawed. Be sure your chicken wings aren’t all frozen together in a big blob, follow the recipe below, and pressure cook them for 12 minutes instead of 6.
Notes on Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings:
- I like using chicken drumettes for this recipe for two reasons… they seem to have a bit more meat on them, and there’s no work involved to cut up the wings.
- If you decide to use whole wings, cut off the tips with sharp kitchen sheers or a knife. The tips take up room and don’t have any meat on them so it’s not necessary to use them. (I do like to save them and make stock out of them later.) Next, separate the drumettes and the flat part of the wing. I find bending them backwards at the joint then using a sharp knife to separate them works well.
- After they cook in the Instant Pot I like to roast my wings in the oven to get golden and crispy. If you wanted to add a different sauce like BBQ or Buffalo Sauce you could toss them in the sauce after they are pressure cooked. Then bake or broil for a few minutes to help the sauce stick.
Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
These Instant Pot Wings are going to be your new favorite chicken wing recipe! They’re tender on the inside, crispy and golden on the outside, and there’s no frying involved.
Ingredients
To Toss Before Pressure Cooking:
- 3 pounds chicken drumettes/wings (whichever you prefer) *See Note
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup water
To Toss Before Baking:
- 5 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
To Toss Before Serving:
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Add the drumettes to a large mixing bowl and toss with garlic powder, onion powder and 1 teaspoon salt and pepper.
- Place a cup of water in the bottom of the Instant Pot, then place the trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add the chicken wings, seal the lid, and pressure cook on high pressure 6 minutes (the IP will take 15-17 minutes to come to pressure). Meanwhile, move your oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 525 degrees F.
- When pressure cooking is complete, carefully do a Quick Release of the pressure. It normally takes 2-3 minutes to release pressure.
- Remove wings from the IP and place in a large bowl. Add the melted butter, olive oil, minced garlic, and salt to a small bowl and stir together. Pour over cooked chicken wings and toss.
- Place the chicken wings skin-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake for 8 minutes. Then broil 2-3 more minutes without opening the oven.
- Remove the wings from the oven and toss with parmesan cheese, salt and parsley while still hot. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
If you use whole wings and plan to cut off the tips you will have less meat than if you used drumettes. So if using whole wings, purchase 4 pounds, and if you’re only using drumettes, purchase 3 pounds.
Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
4 WingsAmount Per Serving Calories 188Total Fat 15gSaturated Fat 5gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 54mgSodium 495mgCarbohydrates 0.7gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 12g
MORE INSTANT POT RECIPES:
- Shredded Mexican Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Whole Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Thighs with Risotto
- Instant Pot Jalapeño Popper Chicken
- Instant Pot Pot Roast with Veggies & Gravy
Teresa
Can I double this recipe? How would the times change?
holly
Hi Teresa, I'm not totally sure about that. I know when the IP is fuller it takes longer to come to pressure and that would actually cook the wings more and possibly too much.
Cassie
For the Parmesan cheese - do I use shredded or grated? Thanks so much! Looking forward to trying these!
Cassie
Oh and is it fresh parsley or dried?
Bryan
Hi Cassie to answer both questions you should use fresh (flat-leaf Italian) parsley, and grated Parmesan! 🙂
Claire
I’m curious about cooking wings from frozen. Wouldn’t the cook time on the IP stay the same? My understanding is that the ip would take longer to come up to temperature to begin with.
holly
Hi Claire, I know what you're saying. But in my experience they still need a longer cook time to cook through.
Carrie
What about doing it in the air fryer
Bryan
Hi Carrie, we'd recommend a three-step process, and you'll definitely want a meat thermometer. Instead of pressure cooking we'd suggest cooking in the air fryer at 375F for 20-25 minutes, until a thermometer inserted near the bone reads at least 165°F (75°C). Then instead of baking to crisp them up, toss them in the garlic/butter/olive oil/salt, then increase your air fryer heat to 450°F (230°C) and cook until the outside is crispy, about 5 minutes more. Remove them from the air fryer and toss before serving in the Parmesan cheese, salt, and chopped parsley as per the recipe. Please let us know how they turn out! 🙂 - H&B
Briana
My oven doesn’t go up to 525. It only goes up to 500
Bryan
Hi Briana, you should be OK. Just set it to 500 and in step #5 cook them for 10 minutes instead of 8 minutes before you go to broil. They will be fully cooked during the instant pot cooking, so the oven cooking is really to get them crisped up to your liking. Let us know how they turn out! 🙂 -H&B
Julie
I could only find regular sized chicken drums. What do you recommend for that ?
Bryan
Hi Julie, for full-sized drumsticks, we'd suggest you brown them for 2-3 minutes per side on saute mode, and them pressure cook in the IP for 10 minutes, then allow pressure to naturally release for 5 minutes (use a meat thermometer to ensure they reach 165F). Then follow the other steps in this recipe. Please let us know how this turns out! 🙂 - H&B
Jill
Hi! If I wanted to use frozen wings, would I just pressure cook for longer? Thank you!
Bryan
Hi Jill, be sure your frozen chicken wings aren’t all frozen together in a big blob, and then follow the recipe as written, but set the pressure cooker to 12 minutes instead of 6 minutes. Enjoy! 🙂 -H&B
Angela
Hi, can I use fresh wings? (Not frozen)? If so how does that change the instapot time?
Bryan
Hi Angela, the recipe is actually for fresh (not frozen wings)... if you follow the times as written in the recipe card you should be good to go! Enjoy! 🙂 - H&B
Natonya Wallace
OMG!!! These were the bomb!!! Thank you very much for this recipe. I wonder how long would I pressure cook chicken breast?
Bryan
Thanks Natonya! So glad you liked the recipe. We've never tested this recipe with chicken breasts and probably wouldn't recommend it (usually whole chicken breasts will be fully cooked after cooking on high pressure in the IP for 6 minutes, but if you follow the rest of this chicken wing recipe [baking and then broiling the chicken]) then the chicken may end up overcooked). Instead, if you are looking for a great instant pot recipe that uses chicken breasts, we'd recommend this one: https://tasteandsee.com/easy-instant-pot-chicken-and-rice/. Good luck! 🙂 - H&B
Melissa
I would love to use chicken thighs instead of wings. How long would you recommend for frozen chicken thighs?
holly
Hi Melissa, for the thawed chicken thighs I think the pressure cook time would be close to the wings - I would say 7-8 minutes and a quick release. For the frozen thighs (again I have not tried these yet) it seems like everyone has a different opinion on the topic. My best guess is to 15 minutes of pressure cook time and a 5 minute natural release. I recommend you temp the thighs after they're cooked to make sure they reach 165 degrees. Good luck!
alyssa
I have about six normal sized drumsticks. Can i use that instead? What would be the difference in the time to cook them if any?
McDonna
This.was.FANTASTIC. Sooooo easy, and - believe it or not - I found some shortcuts to make it even *easier* (if that's even possible!).
1) Didn't use a trivet. I've cooked wings for years by just putting them in the IP - including frozen wings. They just go in the bottom of the IP and there's never been a problem with them being soggy. Cutting the liquid down just a tad helps, since the wings already have tons of moisture from being thawed.
2) Didn't pre-season them before the IP. Just dumped them in, sprinkled the seasoning blend on top of them, then stirred them around. Eliminated both a step and dirtying a dish by doing that. 😀
3) Drained the liquid off the cooked wings, then just poured the melted butter, etc., on the wings that were still in the IP. Stirred to coat, then they went straight on the baking sheet. There was melted butter juice 😉 left over that was used after pulling the wings out of the oven. Again, another step and dirty dish avoided. Yea!
4) Used foil instead of parchment because that's what I had. Sprayed the foil with coconut oil to minimize sticking.
5) After the wings were finished in the oven, they were loosened from the foil, sprinkled with the parmesan cheese, then the rest of the melted butter & garlic blend was poured over the wings. Lots of garlic...heavenly. I wondered if the butter would affect the crispiness...but it didn't! Again - YEA!
So at the end of your brilliant recipe, the only dish that was dirtied was the IP liner, the bowl used to melt the butter in the microwave, and the foil on the baking sheet...because I can't stand having to clean the kitchen!
This recipe is a keeper! Thank you, thank you! You're amazing!
Bryan
Hi Donna thank you so much for the nice comments and the suggestions to streamline this process. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!! - Holly & Bryan
Lisa Hudson
These were AMAZING! they disappeared very fast. So easy, will def. Make these again.
Bryan
Hi Lisa glad you loved them - they don't last long in our house either. Thanks for the great rating!! - Bryan & Holly
Erin
These look delicious. Can I make this recipe with chicken thighs?
holly
Thanks, Erin! You sure can - I would recommend pressure cooking them for 7 minutes with a natural release of 5 minutes then manually release the rest of the pressure. This is one of our favorite IP recipes. And hopefully soon to be yours - enjoy!