Can You Cook Frozen Chicken In Instant Pot

Ways To Serve Instant Pot Chicken

How To Cook Frozen Chicken In An Instant Pot (Instapot)

Now that you have a quick and easy method of cooking frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot, you can make your meal prep even easier. Having big batches of chicken already prepared will cut down on the amount of time it takes you to make any meal.

You can easily add protein to your lunch dish.

Keep chicken cooked and ready for any of these meal ideas:

Salads
Chili

Placing The Frozen Chicken In The Instant Pot

Ive seen some recipes for pressure cooking chicken where you put the chicken directly into the liquid on the bottom of the pot.

But I think the chicken is better when its cooked on the rack above the liquid. The seasoning sticks to the chicken and isnt washed away by the liquid. It looks more like roasted chicken when done, instead of being super white and bland looking.

What Size Of Instant Pot Can I Use

Any 3 quart, 5 quart, 6 quart or 8 quart.

Same recipe. Same cooking time. Same water amount.

Just make sure chicken breasts fit in a single layer. If your Instant Pot is small and you want to cook large amount of breasts, do so in a few batches. Piling up chicken in a few layers will result in undercooked chicken.

Also note that larger pressure cooker take longer to come to pressure about 8-10 minutes.

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Do Not Throw Away Golden Liquid At The Bottom

Make soup!

Combine broth, bones and water: Keep that flavorful broth at the bottom of the pot, throw back the bones and add desired amount of water. And even some leftover chicken meat.

Pressure cook on High for 1-2 hours.
Then add frozen vegetables and sprinkle pasta .
Close the lid, dont press anything and let soup cook for 5 minutes or so.

Season to taste with spices and fresh herbs.

Do it at your pace throughout the day. This is basically how I cook Instant Pot chicken noodle soup.

Can You Cook Chicken Thighs That Were Frozen In A Marinade

How to Cook a Whole Chicken in an Instant Pot

I dont recommend freezing chicken thighs in a marinade. Head over here to find out why. Basically, it results in the thighs being in the marinade for too long. This tends to toughen the meat.

Instead, I recommend adding flavor ingredients to the Instant Pot during cooking. The pressure forces the flavors into the meat and the result is delicious. Good additions are a sliced onion, sliced lemon, any herbs or seasonings you like, and/or whole garlic cloves.

There you have it! A new way to get dinner on the table super-quickly. If you try cooking chicken thighs from frozen, let me know how it goes in the comments below. Thanks and have a great day!

Christine

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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.

Make it with a marginal amount of seasoning, so I can easily add it to soups and casseroles.

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.

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.

Make BBQ Chicken by adding a bottle of BBQ sauce over the top of the chicken. Usually theres 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.

Cook it in soups, and then once its done, remove the chicken and shred. Add back in.

Use any spice mixture you like on your chicken, just make sure theres enough liquid to come to pressure. Youll need at least a half cup of some kind of liquid with frozen chicken breasts. It will create a lot of its own liquid as its cooking.

Supplies Needed For Cooking Frozen Chicken In The Instant Pot

Obviously for an Instant Pot Chicken recipe youll need an Instant Pot. I also recommend using a trivet at the bottom , plus a meat thermometer to check the final temp. The USDA recommends meat thats cooked to 165 degrees.

Heres what I recommend:

I absolutely love my 8 quart for our family of 6.

I love this meat thermometer, and use it several times a week! The probe can go into the oven with the meat, while the display sits outside of the oven and beeps at your target temp.

Bottom line? Cooking frozen chicken in the Instant Pot is totally doable and totally delicious!

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Should I Add Seasoning To My Chicken

Chicken breasts in the instant pot can be customized to whatever dish you are planning to put them in. Mexican food? Sprinkle with taco seasoning. Italian dish? Add some Italian seasoning or garlic.

For simple, versatile, chicken breast that can be used in meal prep, salad, etc, just add some salt and pepper along with your chicken broth or water. You can also use different juices for your liquid for some added sweetness to the chicken.

How To Cook Frozen Food In Your Instant Pot

Can You Cook Frozen Meat in the Instant Pot? — Frozen Pot Roast, Pork Chops & Chicken

These dos and donts will get your dinner from the freezer to the table stat!

Food Network Kitchens Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Breasts, as seen on Food Network.

Renee Comet

Weve all been there: after a long day of work and other responsibilities, you race to get dinner on the table and quickly realize that you didnt pull the meat out of the freezer. Instead of picking up the phone and ordering take-out, grab your Instant Pot! Theres a lot to love about the beloved gadget, but one of the best features is its ability to cook straight from frozen, no defrosting required, thanks to its sauté and pressure cooker functions. Talk about a weeknight win! Here are our Instant Pot Dos and Donts to keep in mind the next time you want to cook a well-balanced meal straight from your freezer!

Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Breasts

For a few years, you all have been asking us for a recipe on how to cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot, and we resisted it. Generally speaking, its never a good idea to cook meat from frozen. A rapid change in temperature can make the meat tough, and nobody wants to eat a tough chicken breast, right? However, after so many requests came in, we caved and started working on the recipe. To say WE LOVED this method of cooking frozen chicken is an understatement.

Something magical happens when the frozen chicken breast is cooked in the Instant Pot because it comes out as the most tender, juicy, and flavorful chicken weve ever had. And now that we know that, there is no going back. Were walking you through all you need to know about cooking frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot, as well as our not-so-secret sauce to serve with it.

Why Do You Rinse Chicken

I rinse frozen chicken so oil and then spices will stick to it. Otherwise, good luck burning your fingers on a layer of frost and losing all spices.

If you carefully rinse raw meat in the sink, then wash your hands with soap and wash sink with dish soap and cloth, it is safe. It is absolutely OK.

There is a lot of misinformation on the web right now aka fake news. Everyone with a phone is a professor.

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Is It Safe To Cook Frozen Chicken In The Instant Pot

Yes, as long as you do it correctly.

If you use the pressure cooking function not slow cooker and ensure that the chicken reaches the minimum safe internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, it should be safe, Yule says.

Frozen chicken naturally takes longer to cook, because it first has to thaw out before the actual cooking process starts. Thats why the FDA warns against putting frozen chicken in a slow cooker, because it keeps the chicken in the bacterial danger zone for too long.

Pressure cooking, however, takes approximately 30 percent less time than traditional methods because it traps the moisture that would normally evaporate while cooking on the stovetop or in the oven.

This speeds up the chemical processes that happen during cooking, so your food reaches safe temperatures faster.

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How To Pressure Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts

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Im sure many of you are like me and when dinner time rolls around, I find myself wondering what to cook for dinner. Thats why I almost always have a big bag of frozen Costco chicken breasts in the freezer.

Chicken cooked from frozen is excellent in recipes that call for cooked chicken, to add protein to your salads, or just to freeze in ready-to-use portions.

In my cookbook, The Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook, I give lots of tips about pressure cooking meats from frozen. I prefer not to cook large cuts of meat, like roasts, from frozen. Frozen meat doesnt brown well, doesnt cook as evenly, and doesnt absorb marinades.

However, this doesnt mean you have to scrap cooking and order takeout if youve forgotten to thaw your chicken in advance! Chicken is easy to cook from frozen, and youll get great results. Here are my go-to methods for getting tender, moist chicken cooked from frozen chicken breasts.

How To Cook Frozen Chicken In The Instant Pot

You can literally place a frozen chicken breast, frozen chicken thigh meat is fine too, directly into your instant pot, along with butter, garlic, seasoning and chicken stock and you are good to go!

Now, will this become the main way I cook chicken? No. But when youre in a pinch and dont have the time, this is a great recipe to try! Also, the chicken came out juicy but did need more seasoning so I love this method for chicken you can easily use for a cobb salad, chicken tacos or taquitos, a chicken sandwich, pasta, basically anytime you need cooked chicken breast, you should try this Instant Pot recipe.

2cupschicken stockplus more if needed

1tablespoonlow sodium soy sauce or Worcestershire Sauce

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How To Make It Crispy:

Pressure cook: First, follow the instructions above and pressure cook the meat.

Discard the liquid: After that, when the cooking time ends, set the cooked chicken aside on a plate and cover it with foil. Discard the liquid from the pot.

Saute: Click on saute and add the olive oil, once hot, add the chicken, sprinkle with the seasoning, and sear it in batches until golden-brown.

Serve: Baste it with the liquid from the pot, garnish with fresh herbs and serve.

Can I Defrost Chicken In Instant Pot

How to cook frozen chicken in the Instant Pot–Instant Pot Tips

Yes, you can, and I do this frequently. Especially, if I want to use my frozen chicken in a slow cooker recipe and its still frozen.

You simply load the chicken into the instant pot like you normally would, then set the cook time to 1 minute or to 6 minutes for a frozen whole chicken.

And now that you know that you CAN cook frozen chicken in the instant pot, grab your frozen chicken and make something delicious!

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How To Cook Chicken From Frozen

The process for making frozen chicken in the Instant Pot is the same as making it from thawed, you just need to add a little bit of extra time to make sure the chicken gets up to the correct internal temperature. Following these easy steps.

Pour one cup of chicken broth into the inner pot.

Place the frozen chicken breasts in the liquid.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper or any other desired seasonings.

Lock the lid and turn the vent to sealing.

Press the pressure cook button and cook on high pressure for 12 minutes .

When done, verify that the internal temp of the chicken is at least 165 degrees.

Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

This Instant Pot chicken noodle soup is the best chicken noodle soup Ive ever made. Seriously, it really is that good. What makes it even better is that its made in the Instant Pot which means it cooks in no time! Its packed with big chunks of moist chicken, veggies, egg noodles, and a rich and robust broth.

Ive been sick for over two days and craving some home made chicken noodle soup. Yesterday I drug myself to take my daughter to Barnes and Noble so she could use a gift card she got from her grandmother. Even though I was sick, I couldnt resist helping her buy a book.

Across the street from the book store is a Whole Foods grocery so I had a great idea to buy some chicken noodle soup for dinner from its food bar. We got there and the soups of the day just didnt appeal to me so we walked out with frozen pot stickers, an extra large chocolate cupcake with three buttercream flowers on top, and 2 overpriced salted caramel macarons.

Needless to say when the next day rolled around I still had a hankering for some chicken noodle soup, I wasnt surprised: Instant Pot to the rescue. I havent made much in my Instant Pot yet, but thought it should be able to make a great batch of Instant Pot chicken noodle soup. And, I knew it could cook frozen chicken in minutes.

It didnt disappoint.

I was able to make an amazing pot of Instant Pot chicken noodle soup with frozen chicken for lunch.

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Is Pressure Cooked Chicken Healthy

The point is, science shows that pressure cooking is healthy because it can contain more heat-sensitive nutrients than any other cooking method because of its shorter cooking times. The point is that the difference in boiling point of water is well within the range of a normal difference on this planet.

Why Instant Pot Frozen Chicken

You wont believe how perfectly moist and delicious frozen chicken turns out when you cook it in your Instant Pot!

When you know how to cook frozen chicken in an Instant Pot, you can stock up on chicken breasts when they are on sale and freeze them for later. When youre ready, you can cook the chicken from frozen, without defrosting it first. It is so quick and easy!

Instant Pot chicken breasts are one of my favorite foods to meal prep for the week. I cook a batch of chicken breasts in my Instant Pot to use for quick lunches and dinners throughout the week. This way I can put together healthy meals when Im short on time.

Ive rounded up 28 Instant Pot Chicken Recipes to give you even more ideas of what to cook for dinner!

You might also like to try these easy recipes that are perfect for make ahead food prep: Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs, Instant Pot Black Beans and Instant Pot Quinoa.

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Can I Refrigerate Chicken After Cooking

Allow the chicken to completely cool and store in airtight containers or freezer bags free from air. Make sure to use it up within two days to be safe and to maintain the best flavor and texture.

I hope we answered the question: Can you put frozen meat in an Instant Pot for you here!!

The answer is a resounding YES!!
You can even cook Instant Pot frozen ground beef if youve forgotten to defrost it beforehand.

To be completely honest, it is BEST to use thawed fresh meats but these tips are great when youre in a bind.

If youre making something like a soup or our VERY well known Instant Pot chili you probably wouldnt know the difference. Fresh or defrosted hamburger using this method work great. Frozen ground sausage works too with this technique.

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

I hope this helps you make a lot more new InstaPot recipes.

A Note On Removing Frozen Chicken From Packages

It must be said that actually removing the frozen chicken from packaging can be tricky for this recipe. You want to avoid adding pieces of chicken that have been frozen solid together directly inside of the Instant Pot, as the chicken wont cook evenly. The chicken needs to be in individual pieces. We have found that gently submerging chicken packaging in water allows the chicken to slightly defrost just enough around the edges to remove the chicken.

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