How to Cook Frozen Chicken in the Instant Pot

One of my favorite things in the whole world to cook in my Instant Pot is frozen Chicken breast!  Why?  Because I don’t have to thaw it.  It’s so incredibly simple to set the Instant Pot and totally not have to be hands on during dinner time!  

Can You Put Frozen Meat in the Instant Pot?

Yes, definitely you can!  I do this with all kinds of meat and guess what?  It’s safe!  Why?  Because the Instant Pot warms the meat fast enough so that it doesn’t start to develop bacteria growth on it.  Of course, you’ll want to add cook time if you’re using a regular recipe that doesn’t call for frozen meat.  Typically I add about 5 minutes per pound of meat.  If you’d like to see how you can do this with Frozen Ground Beef, watch this video here.  

How Long Do you Cook Frozen Chicken in the Instant Pot?

For chicken breasts, I typically do about 20 minutes.  When I tried chicken thighs for 20 minutes though, they completely fell apart, so I’m thinking more like 15 minutes for thighs.  

Can You Stack Chicken in the Instant Pot?

Yes, you can definitely stack chicken in the Instant Pot.  The only thing you’ll need to be wary of is to make sure each piece is seasoned well before you stack them on top of one another.  Otherwise, you may have unevenly seasoned chicken.  If you’re planning to just shred the meat anyway, you often can’t tell, but something to keep in mind when cooking frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.  

How Many Different Ways Can I Cook my Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot?

I typically do my chicken breasts in one of many different ways.  

1.  Make it with a marginal amount of seasoning, so I can easily add it to soups and casseroles.  
2. Make it for any and all Mexican food by adding a can of diced tomatoes and green chilies and a packet of taco seasoning to it.  I usually shred this up and use it in tacos or taco salad.  
3. Make it Italian by adding a bottle of Italian dressing to it.  You can even make that a whole meal by adding some potatoes and carrots with it.  
4. Make BBQ Chicken by adding a bottle of BBQ sauce over the top of the chicken.  Usually there’s enough liquid that comes out of chicken to not add any more to come to pressure, but if it makes you feel better, add a half cup of water, strain liquid when done, shred chicken and add more BBQ sauce to it.  
5. Cook it in soups, and then once it’s done, remove the chicken and shred.  Add back in.  
6. Use any spice mixture you like on your chicken, just make sure there’s enough liquid to come to pressure.  You’ll need at least a half cup of some kind of liquid with frozen chicken breasts.  It will create a lot of it’s own liquid as it’s cooking.  

Do you have any recipes for Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot?  

Yes, please check out any of the following recipes….or print and use my basic recipe listed below as well.  

• Instant Pot Salsa Verde Chicken Recipe
• Easy Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas Recipe
• Instant Pot Chicken Soup
• Instant Pot Chicken & Dumplings
• Instant Pot Orange Chicken

Print Pin

How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in Instant Pot

Cooking frozen chicken breasts is so simple. Just toss in a bag of frozen chicken breast, some seasoning and a little bit of liquid.

Course Chicken

Cuisine American

Keyword how to cook frozen chicken breasts in Instant Pot

Prep Time 2 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 8

Calories 200kcal

Author Sarah Robinson

Equipment

• Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

• 3 lbs chicken breasts frozen boneless, skinless
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tbsp garlic salt
• 1 tbsp seasonings (optional, your choice)

Instructions

• Place 3 pound bag of chicken breasts into Instant Pot.
• Pour 1 cup of chicken broth over chicken breasts.
• Sprinkle seasonings evenly over chicken breasts.
• Close lid and valve and cook on manual/Pressure Cook, high pressure for 20 minutes.
• Quick release the steam by moving the valve to unsealing.
• Remove chicken and shred. Store in quart or gallon size freezer bags to easily add to soups, salads and casseroles.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 200kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 1177mg | Potassium: 676mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 80IU | Vitamin C: 4.1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1.4mg

Meet the Robinsons

We have been super busy around here!  My 7 & 10 year old kids were in a Children’s Summer Theater musical, called 101 Dalmatians. My daughter, Avery was a poodle, one of the dogs of London and my son Colton was a Scottie Dog (thus why he’s wearing the scotty man costume, lol), also one of the dogs of London.  He wasn’t too thrilled to have to wear a skirt, but we assured him it’s what one of those costumes that makes sense.  Scottish guys wear these things…or at least they’re known for that at some point in history, lol.  Anyway, they were both cute as ever, as you can see here and the play was amazing!