How Long To Cook Frozen Chicken In An Instant Pot
IP chicken cooking time varies based on the size of your chicken AND Instant Pot.
Why? Because larger size Instant Pot has larger volume for more pressure to build up. Thus, it takes longer to bring pressure down. Therefore, 8 quart pressure cooker keeps cooking chicken while bringing down pressure for 40 minutes vs. 6 quart that takes only 15 minutes.
For 6 quart Instant Pot:
- 3 lbs whole chicken 50 minutes.
- 4 lbs whole chicken 60 minutes.
- 5 lbs whole chicken 70 minutes.
For 8 quart Instant Pot:
- 4 lbs whole chicken 40 minutes.
- 5 lbs whole chicken 50 minutes.
- 6 lbs whole chicken 60 minutes.
For 3 quart Instant Pot: Honest disclosure is that I do not have this IP size. However, in comments below I gave reader Miranda a suggestion to cook the whole bird for 17 minutes/lb with Natural Release and she said it came out perfect!
For 10 quart Instant Pot: I never used one but logically since its capacity is even bigger than 8 quart, I would reduce cook time by 10 mins less for each size of chicken that is listed for 8 quart. Just like the difference between 6 and 8 quart.
Do I Need To Use A Trivet When Roasting A Whole Chicken In An Instant Pot
If you want to be able to carve and serve your chicken rotisserie-style, you will need to use a trivet in your Instant Pot.
Essentially, you are ensuring that your chicken isnt sitting in the broth, other-wise it will fall completely apart and you risk having it stick to the bottom of your Instant Pot.
Below is an example of how I set my whole chicken on the trivet to cook.
Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore
Traditionally, this dish takes hours to cook in the oven. Our Instant Pot version is ready in a fraction of the time and is made entirely in the pot hello, easy clean-up! The chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender and the tomato sauce has the perfect smoky kick, thanks to the bacon.
Get the Recipe: Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore
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Ingredients In Pressure Cooker Whole Chicken
This recipe is very easy to customize. Feel free to get creative and use your favorite herbs and seasonings! Try out a dry rub if you want to reduce calories. Keep scrolling for the full recipe and ingredient amounts.
For this recipe youll need:
- Whole chicken I used a 3 lb chicken and used some twine to tie the ends of the legs together.
- Butter I always use unsalted butter to have more control over the amount of sodium in my chicken.
- Herbs Use fresh herbs if possible! They make a wonderful difference. I used thyme and rosemary. If you use dried herbs, cut the amounts called for in half.
- Garlic I love to use lots of garlic! You can use as much or as little as you like.
- Lemon zest I have a microplane to get perfect and tiny lemon zest. It really brightens up the flavors.
- Salt & pepper Season as per your own preference.
- Chicken broth We need liquid to build up pressure. You can use any broth you have handy or even water.
Ingredients For Instant Pot Whole Chicken:
Whole Body Chicken: The star of the show! Pick up a whole chicken from the grocery store that is between 3.5 and 4.5 pounds. Youll need to pressure cook the chicken on high heat for 6 minutes per pound. Be sure the chicken is completely thawed before adding it to the pressure cooker for the best results and to ensure the chicken cooks through.
Apples :Because Im a fan of the combination of chicken and apples, I added some chopped apples to the pressure cooker this time around. They become very tender and flavorful and pair nicely with a bite of that crazy tender chicken.
If you arent into apples, feel free to skip them! You could do onion if youd like or just keep it simple and add nothing.
Apple Cider or Chicken Broth: Youll need two cups of liquid for the pressure cooker to do its job. I used apple cider for the liquid, but you can easily use chicken broth, beef broth or even just water if you dont have any juice or broth on hand.
Seasonings: Sea salt, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, and dried parsley. This combination is so simple yet so flavorful! If you have onion powder on hand, feel free to use that as well. You can use any seasonings or rubs you like.
Lets make it!
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More Whole Chicken Recipes
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- Total Time:1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield:4-6 servings
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Can You Cook A Frozen Whole Chicken In The Instant Pot
It depends!
Yes, you can cook a whole frozen chicken in the Instant Pot only if the innards/gizzards have been already removed and there are no plastic ties around the feet. I say that because it is quite hard to remove them from a frozen chicken. The reason why is you cant put a frozen chicken with either of those items into your pressure cooker for obvious reasons the high pressure will melt the plastic ties.
If you have a chicken that comes without the gizzards or plastic clamp around the legs, you would need to increase the time by 5 minutes per pound, for a total of 13 minutes per pound of frozen chicken and also let the pressure release naturally.
Instant Pot Whole Chicken Fresh Or Frozen
This recipe is the faster way to cook rotisserie chicken in the pressure cooker. The best thing about this recipe is that in case you forgot to thaw the meat, you dont have to worry, you can still cook a delicious dinner. That is the beauty of the IP, you can cook frozen meat like its no big deal.
Learn here How To Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts In The Pressure Cooker, Frozen Chicken Wings, and Frozen Ground Beef! All these recipes will save you so much time and effort when you are in a hurry to cook dinner.
The pressure cooker rotisserie-style chicken is to die for! The meat is perfectly cooked, juicy, and very tender. To get the skin crispy, just brush the meat with a garlic butter mixture and broil until golden brown. Your family will love this easy, delicious, and budget-friendly meal.
In addition, do you know what makes this recipe the best? We make sure the end result to be flavorful and delicious. Hence, thats why we stuff the bird for extra flavor and also make a buttery mixture used to crisp up the skin.
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Ip Chicken Common Faqs
Do you have to use a trivet?
No but without the trivet the skin on the chicken will be a bit soft. But you can cook IP chicken without a rack.
Why should I do only Natural Release?
Please do not vent pressure by turning valve to Venting and come back and tell me your chicken was raw. Your Instant Pot needs to bring pressure down on its own during which time meat keeps cooking with residual heat. It is like letting a beef roast to rest same idea.Do not do Quick Release . Just in case.:)
Can I cook fresh whole chicken?
Yes. Fresh whole chicken requires twice less cook time than frozen. If your chicken is thawed, then use this Instant Pot whole chicken recipe.
Seasoning Chicken For The Pressure Cooker
You can use any seasoning or mix you want just make sure there are NO thickeners in the mix. I normally use onion soup mix for my pot roast but that has cornstarch in it so avoid using it, or other seasonings like it.
For this recipe I used onion and garlic powder, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. You could add some paprika or all purpose seasoning or any other herbs.
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Browning The Skin Adds More Flavor
Using the highest saute setting , sear the chicken breast-side down. I gently press the bird down for direct contact with the hot surface. Then flip it over using metal tongs or a large wooden spoon inserted in the cavity. If the latter, then use another spoon on the outside or use your free hand to hoist and flip.
Sear each side for about 5 to 6 minutes to enhance the flavor of the skin. You can ultimately skip this step, but pressure cooking will not develop a deep golden hue. Alternatively, after cooking, you can brush oil on the skin then broil until lightly browned.
First Comes The Chicken Next Comes The Broth
You can get even more bang for your buck by turning your leftover chicken bones into a nutritious and delicious broth.
If youre going to make bone broth save the bones by placing them into a freezer-safe container with a lid or a zip-top bag. They can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or placed in the freezer for longer storage.
We almost always go on to make chicken stock right away heres a tutorial and recipe for that but sometimes we dont have the time so we just toss the bones in the bone bag in the freezer. This bag is also a great place to toss the ends of celery, carrots, and onions so that when youre ready to make stock youre pretty much halfway there.
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How Do I Cook Frozen Pork
Preheat the oven and place the frozen tenderloin in an oven-safe pan in the center of the oven. Roast covered or uncovered the tenderloin will cook faster covered. Covered, a 1 1/2-pound tenderloin will be ready in 75 minutes when cooked at 325 F, or 120 minutes if cooked uncovered.
Instant Pot Duo Crisp Whole Chicken Recipe
Start by trussing the chicken. Tie its legs and also tie up the wings and thighs. This makes it more compact and helps it hold together. Need a step-by-step tutorial in trussing a chicken? Check here for how to truss a Chicken.
Mix up a seasoning blend or grab your favorite rub and rub a bit on the chicken. Reserve most of it for later though. My mix here is a mix of Italian Seasoning and various spices.
Give it a good amount of salt and pepper too. I actually used Montreal Steak seasoning in this recipe because it is extra salty. That helps make the skin crispy.
Put the whole chicken in the air fry basket. It might be a bit of a tight fit.
Add a cup and a half of chicken broth to the pot, then put the air fryer basket on its base inside.
Pressure cook for 25 minutes on high pressure followed by 15 minutes of natural release. Then, if needed, drain the liquid. I drained mine, but probably did not have to do so because it was not touching my chicken.
Next, spray the chicken with some oil. I like to use an avocado oil spray, and then give it a good rub with the seasonings. Put on the air fryer lid and air fry at 400 for about ten minutes. Take the chicken out, flip it over, and repeat for the other side. I had to use oven mitts to pull my chicken out. Next time, I might make a foil sling for it.
Then, remove it from the pot, carve it, and serve!
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Season The Cavity And Surface
You can keep the seasoning simple with just salt and pepper, but feel free to switch it up for variety. If desired, you can add the mixture underneath the skin for an even more savory flavor. I tend to do this for my roast turkey, and it gets rave reviews.
Place fresh sprigs of rosemary, thyme, garlic, and lemon wedges into the cavity to infuse more aromatics. It makes the pan drippings, which well use later, tastier too! I like to tuck the wings back and truss the legs together with butchers twine for a prettier presentation, but you can leave it untied. Mix the olive oil, kosher salt, onion and garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper, then brush it on the surface.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Easy: It takes minutes to prep the chicken before cooking and then just let your pressure cooker do its thing!
- Simple ingredients: Theres nothing fancy you need to cook the most perfect whole chicken, and you will have most of the ingredients to hand.
- Quick: This Instant Pot whole chicken recipe means that you get a cooked chicken in a fraction of the time and it results in the most flavorful and juicy meat.
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Pressure Cooker Whole Chicken
My life has seriously changed since I started using my pressure cooker. Everything cooks up so fast and the flavors are unbeatable! This recipe for pressure cooker whole chicken is something Ive been testing and working on to master. Ive finally figured out the magical formula and am so excited to share this recipe with you all.
I kept this recipe nice and basic with a compound butter massaged and spread under the skin of my chicken. Its the little things that will take your cooking to the next level! This will be a meal you and your family will always look forward to.
Recipe Tips And Tricks:
- If you are cooking a frozen chicken and need to remove the giblets, just run that area under warm-hot water for 5-10 minutes, so you can remove and discard them.
- Weighting the bird is very important, as pressure cooking it for too long will make it explode in the IP. Basically, the cartilage becomes too soft and the end result wont be as pretty but still delicious. Tieing together the drumsticks helps prevent that.
- Also, make sure to use a relevant poultry size, so it fits the IP. If the chicken is larger than your pressure cooker, then it wont work. You could either follow the Oven Baked Recipe or use a larger sized 8 QT Pressure Cooker.
- To make this recipe healthier, replace the butter in the Buttery Mixture with olive oil.
- Keep the carcass and make the best homemade stock.
- For super-crispy skin, brush the chicken with oil after it has been pressure cooked. Then, place it under the broiler for about 2-4 minutes, until the skin becomes golden brown.
Also Check: How To Clean The Instant Pot Lid
How To Cook A Whole Chicken In The Instant Pot:
Prepare Chicken: Separate the skin over the chicken breast using a spoon.
Set up Instant Pot: Place the trivet inside the instant pot and pour in 1 cup chicken broth. Add the chicken breast-side-up and stuff the cavity with garlic cloves and half of the squeezed lemon.
Make Butter Sauce: Combine melted butter with all of the seasonings. Pour half of the mixture under the skin and pour the remaining mixture all over the outside of the chicken.
Pressure Cook Chicken: Cover with the lid, set the lever to sealing position, cook on high pressure for 6 minutes per pound followed by 15-minute natural pressure release before manually releasing remaining pressure.
Broil for Crisp Browned Skin: Transfer chicken to a foiled lined baking sheet, season with more salt, pepper, and paprika and broil in the center of the oven 4-5 minutes or until the desired color is reached.
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28 min whole rotisserie chicken? Yes! The chicken comes out perfectly tender, juicy + packed with flavor. And its SO EASY!
I love a good rotisserie chicken. I mean, I really love a good rotisserie chicken.
Its so versatile, and has so many uses. Its great on its own with a few roasted veggies and its great with pastas and soups as a fill in. But more importantly, they are so perfect with nachos and quesadillas during the wee hours of the night.
Or wait. Am I the only one making leftover rotisserie chicken nachos at 10PM?
I hope not.
But nonetheless, I am now sharing an effortless Instant Pot rotisserie chicken recipe! Its made in the IP completely from start to finish with a quick sear on both sides for that beautiful golden brown color before it sits in that IP for 28 minutes. Boom. Done.
Just let it release naturally as you prep your sides for dinner.
Oh and when I say dinner, I really mean nachos.
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