How to Cook Frozen Chicken in the Instant Pot

 If you’re wondering How to Cook Frozen Chicken in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker here are the times you need! It is easy to do and a great way to make chicken sliders or shredded chicken meals for dinner. Tender chicken breasts become juicy in less than 15 minutes, you’ll see.

How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breast in Instant Pot

I will talk about all parts of the bird but breasts are the most common. To be quite honest I don’t buy a lot of frozen chicken breasts, but occasionally if I find a large pack on sale I will use a few and freeze the rest. 

If you cook a lot of frozen meat in Instant Pot…because you tend to be forgetful we’re here to help. 😉 If you need easy Ninja Foodi recipes, you can use that pot instead.

Frozen Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot

These pressure cooker cook times are handy when you’ve forgotten to defrost your meat. In pieces it doesn’t take a whole lot longer than if it was fresh really. BUT if you want to cook an Instant Pot frozen whole chicken you can do that too! Comes out fork tender and ready to shred or slice for dinner.

• Yes…all of this is possible y’all!

Can I put frozen chicken in the Instant Pot?

When I first got it I wondered this a lot. YES you can!! Not only can you, but they come every cut comes out tender and delicious when they’re done cooking. From thighs, to legs, to Instant Pot frozen chicken tenders they’re all great.

It took a bit of trial and error at first to get it perfect. I wouldn’t share anything here unless it came out great each and every time I tried it. That wouldn’t be cool.

I started with: How do I cook frozen chicken breast in the Instant Pot? This will be answered here. With just a bit of liquid you can go from rock solid to perfectly shredded chicken in no time.

Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Thighs

These turn out fantastic as well. The cheapest part of the bird usually, I use them often because of their price, how tender they get, the fact they offer tons of flavor and the list goes on….

• If you too want to cook frozen chicken thighs in Instant Pot, I share that info here for you too.
• Use either piece or pieces so you too can make an amazing dinner tonight!!

How do I cook frozen chicken?

Well first you want to ensure that they’re broken apart and not in one solid chunk. That won’t allow each piece to defrost or cook properly all the way to the center.

How do I make frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot

I was curious to see how easy it would be to go from frozen to juicy chicken in my fancy electric pressure cooker. So I did  a little experimenting before making my 3 ingredient Instant Pot shredded chicken this afternoon. It turned out great for that!

• I first cooked these four breasts in the Instant Pot you see here that were bought frozen. I added a bit of chicken broth for 12 minutes and they turned out well.

From there I shredded them. Then, drained the broth and added the ingredients I needed to make my shredded chicken recipe. I put it back on low for 5 minutes just to let it soak in the juices. Done!

• Next I used just 2 frozen chicken breasts that I had bought fresh and then were frozen.

12 minutes was too long and they turned out dry. I tried again for just 10 minutes and that was just right!

InstaPot Frozen Chicken Breasts

How do you defrost chicken in an Instant Pot?

• Well it’s not really defrosting because it’s going to cook, but this is how you do it step by step.

Frozen Instant Pot chicken breasts

Put frozen chicken breasts inside your Instant Pot or pressure cooker. Add liquid, I used chicken broth (you could use water but my preference is using broth for the flavor). If you wanted to add some seasonings and/or diced onions too you certainly could.

1. Lock the lid and set valve to sealing. Set to manual, pressure, high, for 4 frozen chicken breasts = 12 minutes
   • OR if cooking 2 frozen chicken breasts = 10 minutes
     (times will vary slightly depending on the size of your chicken breasts and if they’re boneless or not, mine were boneless)
2. Allow for a 1 minute natural release then do a quick release to cook the chicken. Always ensure internal temperature is 165 degrees after pressure cooking.

Season with salt and pepper, or better yet shred right in the pot and add sauce to make shredded chicken for sliders or atop rice

I will say after making many easy Instant Pot chicken recipes that I like this method of cooking frozen chicken in the Instant Pot when adding sauce or shredding the chicken but not for just eating the breast as is. For me personally I prefer the texture if it’s defrosted and then cooked but that is just me.

Instant Pot frozen chicken wings

This part of the bird is similar to when you cook frozen chicken breasts which means NO meal prep time and done in under 20 minutes flat!

You literally throw them right in with something like barbecue sauce and some water and it is that easy!!

• This is the instructions for making pressure cooker frozen chicken wings that seriously make the best appetizer or meal that is super cheap and so flavorful!

Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Frozen

I don’t make wings really any other way now. If you want them with a little crispiness to them you can just pop them under the broiler. 4 minutes or so is perfect.

Instant Pot frozen chicken wings turn out fall off the bone delicious.

• If you want a crispier skin you can throw them on a cookie sheet under your broiler for like 3 minutes and it will crisp them up well

This is what I did when we made these Instant Pot chicken legs. I also did this when making our pressure cooker beer can chicken.

How to cook frozen chicken in the Instant Pot

These tips are really nice to have. Especially if you’re in a pinch and forgot to defrost dinner!

Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Legs

But wait there is more!! Want to make Instant Pot frozen chicken legs too? The kids usually say this is their favorite part of the bird so why not?

We have a few more ideas for you here though if you want to start meal planning for the week:

• If you’re looking for how to cook Instant Pot frozen salmon, we have done that too!
• Want to cook a frozen roast in Instant Pot too? Seriously this is a game changer too. So tender in very little time.
• Frozen pork loin in Instant Pot instructions are here.

If you just got your device you can read more about how to use an Instant Pot here. Then go to my Instant Pot recipes tab and try a few of my dishes. I only cook easy meals so do not be intimidated.  

The video in this post shows you how we made frozen chicken in the Instant Pot. Then you can follow these instructions to make electric pressure cooker chicken sliders with it after they were done.

Want to cook frozen chicken breast in an air fryer too?

A few quick tips for success:

1. I HIGHLY suggest you get a non stick pot!
2. Allow pot to naturally release steam for 1-2 minutes.
3. Once removed let cooked chicken breasts rest for a few minutes to maintain juicy insides.
4. Shred or cube for best results and enjoy in something like chicken salad or one of our other leftover chicken breast recipes.

You can use your Instant Pot chicken to make soft tacos too! And then let’s try some Crockpot frozen chicken. A great way if you’re batch cooking a lot all at a time.

Can you reheat cooked frozen chicken?

The general rule is only one reheat after cooking. Since you thawed it before cooking doesn’t really matter or count. One you’ve reheated it once, you really shouldn’t reheat it a second time.

• If you don’t follow this rule it could possibly lead to food poisoning and nobody wants that. 

Can I refrigerate chicken after cooking?

Allow the chicken to completely cool and store in airtight containers or freezer bags free from air. Make sure to use it up within two days to be safe and to maintain the best flavor and texture.

I hope we answered the question: Can you put frozen meat in an Instant Pot for you here!!

• The answer is a resounding YES!!
• You can even cook Instant Pot frozen ground beef if you’ve forgotten to defrost it beforehand.

To be completely honest, it is BEST to use thawed fresh meats but these tips are great when you’re in a bind.

• If you’re making something like a soup or our VERY well known Instant Pot chili you probably wouldn’t know the difference. Fresh or defrosted hamburger using this method work great. Frozen ground sausage works too with this technique.

I hope this helps you make a lot more new InstaPot recipes.

Frozen chicken breast in pressure cooker