Name: Frozen Chicken Legs Instant Pot
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 13 min
Ingredients: 8-10 chicken legs (frozen); 1 c water; 1 tsp paprika; 1 tsp onion powder; salt and pepper (to taste); bbq sauce (optional)

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

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.

Let’s start with a few basic tips:

Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
Then LIKE our IP Facebook page for new ideas daily.
- This is a great InstaPot cookbook and set of wooden utensils are great to grab too.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot. It is easier to clean and will avoid the burn message too.

For reference, this is the pressure cooker I have and use for all recipe creations.

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!

Is it ok to put frozen chicken in Instant Pot?

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

This is how long to cook Instant Pot frozen chicken thighs perfectly.
If you want know how to cook frozen chicken in the Instant Pot using chicken breasts right out of the bag, we have that too.

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

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.

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:

Frozen chicken drumsticks
Water
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.

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

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

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:

Instant Pot corn is super cheap and kids always love it with butter and salt.
You can make a mix of pressure cooker vegetables.
My kids’ favorite duo would be these and some Instant Pot cornbread or some air fryer bread. Baking is sometimes fun to do together as an activity.

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.

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.

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