Frozen Chicken Thighs Instant Pot Recipe

Frozen chicken thighs in Instant Pot are so easy to make! From rock hard to tender fall off the bone in your pressure cooker in just minutes. Game Changer! 

• I know I can’t be the only one who forgets to defrost dinner in time. 
• Earlier I shared how to cook frozen chicken in the Instant Pot, but boneless and skinless chicken breasts were used then.

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.

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.

• 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.

If you’ve ever wondered: Can you cook frozen chicken thighs from frozen before, here is your answer. 

First off, do not cook frozen chicken in the microwave or in a slow cooker. BUT, chicken can be cooked from a frozen state in a pressure cooker, in the oven, or on the stove. The cooking time may be about 50% longer for the last two methods but in an Instant Pot is fast!

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.
4. Bake in an oven at 375 for 50 to 60 min.

Frozen chicken thighs

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.

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

1. In your electric pressure cooker pour in broth or cup of water – broth is better.
2. Sprinkle in seasonings and diced onions, stir.
3. Lay chicken at the bottom of the pot with frozen bone side facing down.
4. Close lid and steam valve and set to high pressure for 15 minutes.
5. Do a quick release and remove meat, keep warm on a plate.
   1. always check internal temperature when cooking chicken to ensure middle is at 160 degrees
6. Set pot to saute. In a small bowl whisk some hot liquid from your pot and cornstarch together until it is smooth.
7. Pour this in and stir so sauce thickens.
8. Serve Instant Pot chicken thighs with sauce poured over the top with a side of rice and enjoy!

Total time from start to finish including prep is about 30 minutes when pressure cooking.

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.

• 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
  • Ninja Foodi chicken breast recipe