Frozen Chicken Thighs Instant Pot Recipe

Frozen chicken thighs in Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi are so easy to make! From rock hard to tender fall off the bone in your pressure cooker in just minutes. Instructions on how to cook frozen chicken to tender is a game changer! 

I know I can’t be the only one who forgets to defrost dinner in time. But now cooking chicken has never been easier! Now you can make a variety of quick chicken thigh recipes even if they start off rock solid.

Ninja Foodi Frozen Chicken Thighs

Earlier I shared how to cook frozen chicken in the Instant Pot, but boneless and skinless chicken breasts were used that time. You can use the same timing if you have a Ninja Foodi or Crockpot Express too. Those pots work the same.

Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Thighs

We’re talking all about cooking frozen chicken thighs this time! Ours were skinless bone-in style but if you love chicken skin leave those babies on.

We have also shared frozen chicken thighs in air fryer timing. If you have that machine too you’ll have 2 methods to choose from.

Let’s say you planned on cooking sheet pan chicken thighs but realized at 4pm that your meat was still in the freezer. Yep, I’ve done that too. Don’t fret.

Here are a few questions you might have to start with:

Can you cook chicken from frozen?

Absolutely. Of course it is better if you have time to defrost it but life happens. You can even cook Instant Pot frozen turkey breast from rock hard to tender and tastes amazing.

Air fryer frozen chicken and pressure cooking frozen meat is the way to go. OR make Instant Pot frozen chicken legs this way.

• NOW you can just use these instructions + our yummy Instant Pot steamed vegetables, or for a bit of crunch follow our air fryer vegetables recipe.

Frozen Bone In Chicken Thighs Instant Pot

Many times if there is a great sale at the grocery store I will stock up! I have bought meat in bulk before too and portioned it out into gallon bags. Freeze, pull out when ready and cook. Saves money and drive time.

How long does it take to bake frozen chicken thighs?

If you’re using an oven you’re looking at almost an hour! NO bueno in this house. Just to give you an idea, this is what you’d need to do:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F
2. Lay frozen chicken thighs on a lined baking pan, parchment paper is best.
3. Coat chicken with things like a bit of butter, thyme and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Bake in an oven at 375 for 50 to 60 minutes.

Frozen chicken thigh Recipe

This is the easiest and most tender way to make them quick!!

1. Chicken – we used bone in skinless style
   1. cheapest is bone in chicken thighs with the skin on
   2. if using boneless chicken thighs I would take 1 minute off the cook time
2. Chicken broth
3. Italian seasonings
4. Salt and pepper
5. Lemon
6. Cornstarch if you want to thicken sauce at the end
7. Onion is optional but I add some to just about every recipe I make

How long do thighs take to cook?

Using this method it is only about 20 minutes including the time the pot will take to come to pressure.

Frozen BBQ Chicken Thighs Instant Pot

Here are the steps you should follow, printable directions with nutritional information is below too:

• You will start by pouring some broth or water into your pressure cooker. Then mix in all spices and onion. Put frozen chicken inside pot with the bone side facing down.
• Close lid and steam valve and set to high pressure for 15 minutes.
• Allow for a 3 minute natural pressure release, then do a quick release. Carefully remove chicken. Then select saute function.
• In a small bowl whisk together some of the hot liquid from the pot and your cornstarch until it is smooth.
• Once boiling add this mixture to thicken the sauce. Serve chicken with some of this sauce on top…..or air fry your thighs to crisp skin and then pour sauce on top.
  • To crisp skin in air fryer set to 400 F.
  • Spray basket with non stick spray, put thighs in and spray top with olive oil spray or brush teriyaki or bbq sauce on top.
• Cook for about 4 minutes or until crisp as you want on top.

Total time from start to finish including prep is about 30 minutes when pressure cooking. Always check internal temperature before consuming.

How long does it take to thaw frozen chicken thighs?

It will take about 24 hours to thaw one pound of frozen boneless chicken breasts or other chicken pieces.

If you’re thawing a whole frozen chicken, it will take bout 4 to 6 hours per pound of chicken being thawed. BUT if you forget, this is handy to have.

Want to crisp the skins at the end? Use your air fryer or Ninja Foodi at 400 F for about 4 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Spray basket and top of meat with olive oil spray.

How do you store cooked chicken thighs?

First make sure they reach room temperature first. If you aren’t going to eat them all place inside airtight containers or freezer bags. Seal closed without air and store in fridge. They’ll stay good for 3-4 days.

Can I reheat cooked chicken thighs?

Of course. You could put them into an air fryer at 380 F for 4-6 minutes flipping halfway through. Spray with olive oil on the top at the beginning and when turning over.

In a microwave reheat in 45 second increments flipping every time you add additional heat.

• If they aren’t frozen you can follow our:
  • Air fryer chicken thighs recipe 
  • Spicy teriyaki chicken thighs with a homemade sauce are to die for
    • Our Instant Pot lemon garlic chicken thighs are great
  • Instant Pot chicken thighs bone in with a cream cheese sauce are great too
  • Smoked chicken thighs recipe

This Ninja Foodi chicken breast recipe works great every time too. The nice thing about this machine is you can pressure cook and air fry right in the same basket.

Printable recipe is posted below with all ingredients necessary. Print it out and keep it handy or just come back time after time so we can “see you”.

Ninja Foodi Frozen Chicken Thighs