Skip to Content

Frozen Chicken Legs Instant Pot Recipe

Frozen Chicken Legs Instant Pot recipe instructions are here! How to make frozen drumsticks tender in your pressure cooker is really easy!

instant pot frozen Chicken Legs

Ever wonder how to cook frozen chicken legs in Instant Pot? Well sometimes we all have forgetful moments and forget to defrost our meat. We are here to help y’all! Just one of many quick Instant Pot recipes on our site.

I have been busy figuring out how to cook frozen food in Instant Pot lately. Why?? Because I have my moments, days, where I’m a bit overwhelmed and I personally need the info. SO I do and share it with y’all too.

One that has been really popular is our frozen roast in Instant Pot instructions. Wow is that amazing and so tender.

FIRST – You should sign up for my free newsletter so you get new posts emailed to you twice a week and never miss out on anything! Now let’s start with a few basic tips:

For reference, this is the pressure cooker I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.

star wars instant pot

Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Legs

Now it was time to figure out chicken drumsticks, because my kids love them. You can buy them so cheap too and take them right out of the bag and throw them in for dinner.

Whether you need a Crockpot Express or Ninja Foodi recipe it doesn’t matter. The timing and instructions will work with any brand you have. If you HAVE defrosted them, you can follow our Instant Pot chicken legs time.

How long do you cook frozen chicken drumsticks?

That depends on what cooking method you are using. It takes a whopping hour and 20 minutes in the oven at 375 F, but in a pressure cooker you only need 13 minutes!!

A few minutes on natural release is best when done but wow is that a huge difference!

Frozen Chicken Legs

Is it ok to put frozen chicken in Instant Pot?

Of course, we have been cooking frozen meat several different ways with different parts of the bird for years. Here are a few resources if you want to cook breasts, thighs, and now legs down below:

So long as you allow the pot to naturally release some of it’s steam at the end, it will come out tender. Of course follow the cook time listed on the recipe you’d like to use but I wouldn’t share anything that didn’t work great.

If you have a Foodi or Cosori you can also cook air fryer frozen chicken which is great.

ninja foodi frozen chicken legs

Ninja Foodi Frozen Chicken Legs

As for the seasonings (I say this on all my recipes) use what you normally would. I mean I give you suggestions below as to what was used on this round but if you are a huge garlic salt lover, then add that too.

I personally like to add some during the cook time but re-season when they are done. I’d rather under-season and adjust at the end vs. regret adding too much because you can’t remove the salt. Plus my husband has high blood pressure so I like to err on the side of less that in our home….

How do you cook drumsticks in Instant Pot?

We will show you how below. Keep in mind that pressure cooking will not get crispy chicken skin. You’d need to use our air fryer fried chicken recipe for that. OR use this and then throw them in there for just a few minutes.

  • If you don’t have both devices shame on you…just kidding, kinda’….you can just brush on bbq sauce and under the broiler too to crisp.
pressure cooker Chicken Legs

You can see how we did just that here. The oven is just fine for this step if you aren’t a huge small kitchen gadget lover like I am. I love our oven baked teriyaki chicken drumsticks made this way. Use whatever sauce you like for this.

How long to cook frozen chicken legs in Instant Pot

To get going on this you will need the following ingredients:

  1. Frozen chicken drumsticks
  2. Water
  3. Seasonings are up to you but this is what we used
    1. If they aren’t sticking you can splash water on them or spray with some olive oil and then sprinkle this on.
      1. Paprika
      2. Onion powder
      3. Salt and pepper

Then once they’re done, line a baking sheet with some parchment or foil (less messy), brush with your favorite sauce and broil until crispy.

instant pot frozen chicken drumsticks

Frozen Chicken Legs in Pressure Cooker

You’d have to add more time for chicken leg quarters. I’m not sure exactly but I’d guess it would take another 5 minutes or so depending on how many you added. Always check meat internal temperature before consuming.

Time needed: 13 minutes

Frozen Chicken Legs Instant Pot

  1. Prepare

    Spray lightly the outside of the legs with olive oil, sprinkle on some seasonings like paprika, onion powder and a bit of salt and pepper.

    Place a trivet inside the pressure cooker, add 1 cup of water. Place legs on top. Close the lid and steam valve.

  2. Cook

    Set to high pressure for 13 minutes, naturally release steam for 5 minutes. Then quick release rest of steam after that.

  3. Crisp

    If you want crispy skin you can put cooked chicken on a baking sheet. Pour some bbq sauce or thick teriyaki on the top of each one. Cook under your broiler for 3-4 minutes to crisp.

    Or you can put into a single layer in your air fryer at 400 degrees F with a light spray of olive oil. Or brush bbq sauce on top and cook for about 3 minutes until as crispy as you’d like.

    You can follow our Nina Foodi chicken legs recipe too if you have that style. Just dump the water out, put legs inside metal basket, brush with bbq sauce and close air crisp lid. Set to 400 degrees F for about 4 minutes.

Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks

ninja foodi chicken legs recipe

Keep in mind that the time it will take to come to pressure, cook, naturally release a bit and crisp will take 25 minutes to 30 minutes total. It is a great chicken drumsticks recipe you can make really quickly.

Instant Pot side dishes that would go well with this would be:

Can you reheat cooked chicken legs?

Of course. I suggest you throw them into your air fryer for a few minutes at 380 degrees F. If you don’t have that you can microwave for about 45 seconds – 1 minute. You can also just remove the meat right out of the fridge and throw it into something like our Instant Pot chicken and rice dish.

Pressure Cooker Chicken and Rice

You can find a lot of other cheap Instant Pot recipes to make next. I mean who doesn’t love to find a new one pot meal that feeds all of you for under 20 bucks??!! Our air fryer frozen salmon is great too if you have that machine.

Feel free to print out the instructions below or just come back when you need them again. We love “seeing you” over and over again for sure.

Want to see a few of my favorite things that I am totally obsessed with?? Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!

Looking for more easy family recipes and tips? LIKE The Typical Mom Facebook page?

Then sign up for my free newsletter, and follow me on Pinterest! 😉

***** If you LOVED this recipe give it 5 Stars below and let everyone know what you thought about it. 😉

the typical mom
instant pot Chicken Legs
Print Pin
5 from 3 votes

Frozen Chicken Legs Instant Pot

Frozen Chicken Legs Instant Pot recipe instructions are here! How to make frozen drumsticks tender in your pressure cooker is really easy!
Course Entree, Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword chicken drumsticks, chicken legs, frozen, instant pot, pressure cooker
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 13 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 277kcal
Author The Typical Mom

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Spray lightly the outside of the legs, then sprinkle paprika, onion powder and a bit of salt and pepper all over chicken legs.
  • Place a trivet inside the pressure cooker with 1 cup of water too. Place legs on top.
  • Close the lid and steam valve. Set to high pressure for 13 minutes, then naturally release steam for 5 minutes. Let rest of steam out quickly after that.
  • If you want crispy skin you can put them on a baking sheet, pour some bbq sauce on the top of each one and cook under your broiler for 3-4 minutes to crisp.
  • Or you can put into your air fryer at 400 degrees F with a light spray of olive oil, or a brush of bbq sauce on top for about 3 minutes.
  • If you have a Foodi you can just dump the water out, put legs inside metal basket, brush with bbq sauce and close air crisp lid. Set to 400 degrees F for about 4 minutes.

Video

Nutrition Facts
Frozen Chicken Legs Instant Pot
Amount Per Serving (2 oz)
Calories 277 Calories from Fat 189
% Daily Value*
Fat 21g32%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Trans Fat 1g
Cholesterol 120mg40%
Sodium 110mg5%
Potassium 270mg8%
Carbohydrates 1g0%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 21g42%
Vitamin A 242IU5%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 14mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Deanna

Monday 4th of December 2023

Again another thesis before you get to the actual point of the recipe.

Tammy

Sunday 9th of April 2023

I've been looking for this recipe for a while. As a matter of fact, I'm making it now! Smells so good!

The Typical Mom

Monday 10th of April 2023

Oh yay

Jennifer

Thursday 30th of March 2023

How do you prevent the bone marrow blood to seep out when cooking from frozen? Seems like every time I cook drumsticks from frozen it happens

Jeanine

Monday 13th of June 2022

This is the perfect recipe for the mom who always forgets to defrost dinner! Thanks for having my back.

The Typical Mom

Thursday 16th of June 2022

lol I know right

The Typical Mom

Tuesday 14th of June 2022

I'm there with you

Liz

Monday 13th of June 2022

I love finding new ways to use my Instant Pot! My husband loved this one. Thanks for the recipe!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.