How To Cook Frozen Chicken Instant Pot

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How To Use A Mixer To Shred Chicken

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

Once your chicken is cooked and cool enough to handle, you can dice it up or shred it for use in your recipe.

  • For easy shredding, you can place the chicken in a bowl and use a hand mixer like this one to shred the chicken. If you have a hand mixer or stand mixer, you need to try this trick!
  • You can also shred the chicken with two forks by hand.

Heres what the above looks like as a quick step-by-step.

How To Make Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Breasts

  • Season the chicken breasts on both sides with all-purpose seasoning or salt and pepper.
  • Place the trivet in Instant Pot, then pour in the chicken broth. Place the chicken breasts on the trivet, then close the lid. Turn the vent to sealed.
  • Cook on Manual High Pressure for 10-15 minutes. After the time is up, let naturally release 5 minutes then Quick Release remaining pressure.
  • Serve as is or use in a recipe that calls for cooked chicken.
  • Apply The Settings And Start

    Apply 10 minutes on the poultry setting and begin cooking on high.

    Test Kitchen tip: Cooking time does depend on the size of the chicken breasts. If they are on the larger side, or if youre cooking them as a frozen chunk, we recommend adding 10 extra minutes to the cooking time to ensure theyre fully cooked.

    Got questions about all the buttons on your Instant Pot? We decode them all.

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    Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Tenders

    Instant pot frozen chicken tenders cook up lickety-split and I know will become a recipe you use time and time again for salads, casseroles, soups, and other meal favorites.

    Start by pouring 1 cup of chicken broth into the bottom of the instant pot or pressure cooker. You wont need to insert your rack for this recipe.

    If I was using fresh chicken Id add a little more liquid, but since these are frozen you only need 1 cup of broth.

    Definitely do not use less than 1 cup of broth since thats the minimum needed to allow your pressure cooker to create the steam and pressure needed to properly cook the chicken.

    Add the frozen chicken tenders to your Instant Pot or pressure cooker, I love to use long-handled rubber tip tongs for the job.

    You might also hear these called chicken tenderloin and those terms can be used interchangeably.

    Turn your Instant Pot to Manual or Pressure cook .

    Close and tighten the pressure cooker lid and cook the chicken for 6 minutes on high.

    Once the cooking time is done, do a natural release for 5 minutes and then remove the lid.

    Remove the chicken tenders from the Instant Pot and let it cool slightly before slicing or shredding the chicken.

    How To Cook Fresh Or Frozen Chicken Breast In The Instant Pot:

    How to Cook Frozen Chicken in the Instant Pot
    • Place inner pot into the instant pot and place the trivet in the bottom.
    • Add 1 cup of liquid to the instant pot .
    • Place chicken breasts on top of the trivet in a single layer.
    • Add salt and pepper or desired seasonings.
    • Secure lid and make sure the vent is set to “sealed”. Pressure cook on high for 8-10 minutes for fresh chicken breast, and 10-12 minutes for frozen chicken . Cook time stays the same no matter how much chicken you add to the pot the pot will just take longer to come to pressure.
    • Allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes, then turn the valve to “venting” to release any remaining steam.

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    How Long Does It Take To Cook Drumsticks In The Instant Pot

    Chicken drumsticks cook in the Instant Pot for 10 minutes on high pressure with a quick release for fresh and 12 minutes with a quick release for frozen chicken.

    I made some yesterday that I had thawed out for about a day and were still semi-frozen. I did them for 11 minutes and they turned out perfectly. A quick release doesnt dry these out, in my experience.

    Storing And Reheating The Chicken

    Instant Pot frozen chicken breast will last in the refrigerator for five days after it is cooked.

    This means that you can use this short cut idea for meal prep. Cook 4-5 days worth of chicken for lunches and dinners, and that will eliminate the need to cook a protein every evening.

    You can reheat cooked chicken breast in the microwave or oven just be sure to sprinkle a little bit of water overtop before reheating to avoid that leftover chicken taste. If you add the chicken to a soup, it can heat in the soup. You can also pan fry it with additional seasonings to match the meal you plan to serve it with, such as chili powder for tacos.

    Just remember that you should only reheat cooked chicken once.

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    Can You Cook Frozen Chicken In A Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker Or Power Pressure Xl

    Yes! Both the Ninja Foodi and Power Pressure XL are electric pressure cookers, so they work similarly to the Instant Pot.

    For the Ninja Foodi, you can simply follow the Instant Pot instructions Ive outlined.

    For the Power Pressure XL, since there is not a Manual/Pressure Cook button, youll have to use a preset button.

    In this case, you can use the Soup/Stew button, which defaults to a 10 minute cook time , and if you want to adjust the time to 12 or 13 minutes for larger chicken breasts, use the Adjust button to add minutes to the cook time.

    If the breasts are very large, you could also use the Meat/Chicken button, which defaults to a 15 minute cook time.

    The Two Most Important Safety Instructions For Your Instant Pot

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

    The Instant Pot manual is filled with safety instructions, but these two are the critical ones to remember:

    First, never put your face near the steam release valve or float valve while the Instant Pot is on. When I toggle the steam release valve, I use a long handled wooden spoon so my hand and arm are not near the valve opening. Any kitchen utensil with a long handle will do. Alternatively, you can use an oven mitt to carefully turn the steam release valve to the venting position when you are ready to release the pressure in your Instant Pot.

    Second, never open the Instant Pot lid until the pressure has been released through the steam release valve. You will know that all the pressure has been released when the float valve drops down.

    Depending on which Instant Pot model you have, the float valve may be red or silver. It may pop up above the level of the lid when the pot is pressurized, or it may pop up to be flush with the level of the lid. In my 6 quart LUX, the silver float valve is below lid level normally and pops up to be flush with the level of the lid when pressurized. You will get to know how your Instant Pot model works.

    These photos show my 8 quart DUO and you see that the float valve is above the lid level in the left photo, which shows a pressurized pot.

    Never attempt to open the lid of your Instant Pot while it is pressurized.

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    Cooking Time As Determined By Weight

    • 14 oz. chicken breast should be cooked at 15 minutes manual high pressure , plus 5 minutes natural pressure release
    • 12-13 oz. chicken breast should be cooked at 14 minutes MHP, plus 5 minutes NPR
    • 11-12 oz. chicken breast should be cooked at 13 minutes MHP, plus 5 minutes NPR
    • 7-9 oz. chicken breast should be cooked at 11 minutes MHP, plus 5 minutes NPR

    As all meat does, the chicken will continue to cook while it is resting, and this is a good thing. After the chicken has finished cooking in the Instant Pot and the pressure has been released, check the temperature. It should ideally be around 160ºF or so. Close the lid, and let the chicken sit for an additional 5 minutes. The temperature will continue to rise as the chicken rests. Double-check one more time that the temperature has risen to 165ºF after it has rested, and remove from the Instant Pot, while you make the pan sauce.

    Quick Tip: If for some reason the chicken is below 155ºF once it has finished cooking, you can close the lid and cook the chicken on manual high pressure for 2 more minutes, with a quick release.

    For sure its a delicate balance when cooking chicken between making sure its fully cooked, but not overcooked!

    How Do You Cook A Frozen Pot Roast In The Instant Pot

    Forgot to defrost your meat? No problem. Thats one of the many great things about an instant pot. You can cook frozen meat in a pinch an no ones the wiser. All you have to do is:

    • Add a little extra cook time.
    • When the time is up, check if its fork tender. I usually start at 70 minutes, and go up to 90 or even 110 minutes.
    • If its not tender, pop the lid back on and add a bit more time. It wont take long to get back up to pressure.

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    Cooking A Frozen Roast In Instant Pot Is Possible You Can Still Get A Tender Flavorful Piece Of Beef Even If It Is Not Thawed Out Beforehand Heres How

    Here we share how to cook a Frozen Roast in Instant Pot here! Yes sometimes I forget to defrost dinner so this is a helpful Instant Pot recipe hack to keep on hand.

    If you need easy Ninja Foodi recipes, you can use that pot instead.

    • If this has never happened to you, bravo.
    • I of course have made a pressure cooker roast before, when I have bought it fresh, but straight out of the freezer requires different directions.
    • You can use the same recipe below if youre using a Crockpot Express or as a easy Ninja Foodi recipe too.

    If youre staring at your rock hard piece of beef right now looking for a little guidance, do not fret!! Dinner will come out perfectly and nobody will know you had a forgetful moment.

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    How To Cook Frozen Chicken In The Instant Pot

    How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot ...

    The Instant Pot continues to amaze! Today, Ill teach you how to cook frozen chicken in the Instant Pot in minutes, compared to hours. You will not believe how simple it is to cook chicken that is moist and fork tender in the Instant Pot in just a few minutes.

    How many recipes do you use regularly that require chicken? The beauty of the Instant Pot is the time saver aspect! I love being able to cook frozen chicken in just a few minutes, and get a fork-tender result.

    Before I owned the Instant Pot, I had to plan ahead to cook chicken for hours if I wanted it to shred easily, now its about a 30 minutes process. All you need is chicken liquid, seasoning and the Instant Pot!

    Experiments with time

    The first few times I cooked frozen chicken in the Instant Pot, I was concerned the chicken would not cook completely, as a result, I overcooked it. Whenever I cook chicken in the oven and start out with frozen chicken, it takes about 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees depending on the thickness of the frozen chicken breast.

    Knowing the Instant Pot usually cooks in a fraction of the time of traditional cooking methods I guessed 20-30 minutes would be the perfect amount of cook time. Wrong! The chicken was almost dried out when cooked for 30 minutes. The next time, I tried 10 minutes.

    Weighty matters

    I used chicken breasts of a medium to thick size, anywhere from 9-12 oz each . I buy chicken at the grocery and also from Costco.

    Big crowd cooking

    Instant Pot love

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    Tips And Tricks For Making This Instant Pot Whole Chicken:

    • You can absolutely adjust the seasonings to suit your tastes on this one. Dont like garlic? Leave it out. Want a little more spice? Throw in some cayenne . Want to add in fresh herbs from the garden? Perfect!
    • I prefer to cook the chicken with the skin on, but it will not crisp up in the pressure cooker. If you like, you can brush with oil, transfer to the oven and broil until golden, or you can peel it off before cooking if you prefer. Keeping the skin on during the cook time helps to keep the moisture in.
    • If you arent going for beauty, flip the chicken upside down so that the breasts will cook in the juices this will give you the juiciest white chicken meat!
    • If you are going for beauty, I recommend removing the breasts from the chicken, and serving it with remaining pieces on a large serving platter as pictured. It wont hold up in one piece when you remove it , but it will look great on a plate with some of the juices drizzled over.

    How To Store Instant Pot Chicken

    • Leftover cooked, shredded, or diced Instant Pot chicken can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight.
    • Shredded Instant Pot Chicken is IDEAL for meal prep. Make a big batch at the beginning of the week, divide into individual containers, then use it all week long.

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    Inspecting Your Instant Pot Before Each Use

    1. Remove the stainless steel inner pot and look inside the instant pot base. You will see the heating element. The heating element should always be free of debris and dry before you use you the Instant Pot. After washing, I always dry my stainless steel inner pot thoroughly before returning it to the base unit.

    2. Check that the silicone sealing ring is fitted properly onto the lid and is clean and free of tears.

    3. Remove the steam release valve from the Instant Pot lid by gently pulling it straight up. Make sure it is clean and free of debris. Some foods, such as applesauce, pasta and oatmeal may froth and foam when you cook them and can clog the steam release valve. Check the steam release valve each time you use your Instant Pot. If it is dirty clean it under running water and then put it back on the Instant Pot lid.

    4. Check the float valve to ensure it is clean and free of debris. Clean it with warm water as needed. You may place the lid under running water as needed to wash it.

    Making sure that all parts of your Instant Pot are clean and in good working condition can help you to have the best success with pressure cooking. My post about the Instant Pot burn message tells you both how to prevent getting this warning and what to do if you do get a burn message.

    Make These Creamy Italian Chicken Breasts On The Stove Top:

    How to cook frozen chicken in the Instant Pot

    To make this chicken breast recipe on the stove top, add the chicken breasts, broth, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to a large, deep pan. Cover and simmer over medium heat until chicken reaches 165 degrees F.

    Whisk together the cream, red peppers, corn starch and pesto and gradually stir into the broth in the pan. Stir continuously until thickened.

    Pin this recipe to save for later

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    How To Cook Frozen Chicken Breast Instant Pot

    Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. Any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me , but all opinions are my own. You can find our full affiliate disclaimer here.

    Were walking you through how to cook sliceable and shreddable chicken in your Instant Pot, so that dinner is a breeze

    How To Cook Chicken Breasts In A Cosori Instant Pot

    Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Breast is one of the best features of an electric pressure cooker. Easy, healthy and juicy chicken breast in 25 minutes. By cooking frozen chicken breast in Instant Pot, you will never be stuck wondering what is for dinner because you forgot to thaw chicken in the morning! The result is always amazing and can be used for a variety of dishes.

    Every Instant Pot owner needs to have this frozen chicken breast recipe in their back pocket. Got fresh ones? See our Instant Pot fresh chicken breast recipe or if you have a whole frozen chicken, follow the recipe for Instant Pot frozen whole chicken. If you are meal prepping, shredded chicken will be where you need to go!

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    How To Make Frozen Chicken Thighs In The Instant Pot:

  • Place the rack that came with theInstant Pot into the bottom.
  • Place frozen chicken on top of the rack. They will be on an angle if frozen together, thats just fine.
  • Pour broth over chicken.
  • Place the cover on theInstant Potand make sure it is set to sealing.
  • Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes.
  • You can do a natural release or a quick release.
  • For crispy skin, place chicken thighs onto a baking sheet, brush lightly with oil and broil for 3 minutes or until the skin crips and starts to brown. Serve immediately after broiling.
  • This frozen chicken thighs recipe can also be made in the crockpotby following the directions below:

  • Place chicken into the bottom of the crockpot.
  • Use 6 oz. of broth and sprinkle spices on top.
  • Cook on high heat for 4-6 hours or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
  • For crispy skin, place chicken thighs onto a baking sheet, brush lightly with oil and broil for 3 minutes or until the skin crips and starts to brown. Serve immediately after broiling.
  • Start by placing the rack that came with your Instant Pot in the bottom of the pot. Then, add your frozen chicken thighs.

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    PRO TIP: If the chicken thighs are frozen together, set them on an angle in the Instant Pot. They will cook just fine!

    Next, add the broth & spices.

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