Learn how to cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi pressure cooker and easily solve the dinnertime dilemma of frozen chicken!
Knowing how to cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot is a dinnertime game-changer!
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Have you ever experienced the age-old mealtime dilemma? You know the one. It’s time to start making dinner, but -GASP- the chicken breasts you were planning on using are still frozen!!
I’m a big fan of meal planning, which can help eliminate this problem. BUT, sometimes life happens, and it’s 5pm but you forgot to thaw out the chicken.
Sure, you could throw the frozen chicken in the microwave, but I’ve always felt like that alters the texture of the meat in a not-so-tasty way.
And, you’re really only thawing the meat that way, so you still have to cook it another way.
Which doesn’t really simplify life for us, does it?
Enter: the Instant Pot. AKA the dinnertime-saver.
Can You Cook Frozen Chicken?
Here’s some good news for us busy moms–you can cook frozen chicken in your pressure cooker!
I know, it seems too good to be true…but it works!
You just set it and forget it, so the Instant Pot does the work for you while you move on with your life, which is what every busy family needs.
I’ve successfully used this method with frozen chicken breasts multiple times, and I’ve read that you can even cook a whole frozen chicken in the Instant Pot!
Cooking Frozen Chicken in the Instant Pot
If you’ve been around this blog for 2.7 seconds, you know that I LOVE my Instant Pot. Truly.
I use it all.the.time.
Let’s look at how to cook frozen chicken breasts in the pressure cooker–this is such a great way to simplify mealtime!
How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker:
The process couldn’t be easier. That’s one of the reasons why this recipe is included on my list of the best Instant Pot recipes for beginners!
You simply place your frozen breasts in the Instant Pot, along with one cup of water (or broth). Lock the lid and place the vent in the “sealed” position.
Use the Manual/Pressure Cook setting and select a 10-minute cook time.
(Note: If you are using very large chicken breasts, like the ones that are nearly a pound each, you will likely need to increase cook time to 12-13 minutes).
While the chicken is cooking, you can prep any other ingredients you need for your meal.
After the cook time is finished, allow a natural pressure release. Natural releases help the meat have better texture.
When the pressure has released and the valve has dropped, voila! Your chicken is ready!
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 I’ve outlined.
For the Power Pressure XL, since there is not a Manual/Pressure Cook button, you’ll have to use a preset button.
In this case, you can use the Soup/Stew button, which defaults to a 10 minute cook time (good for smaller to medium-sized chicken breasts), 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.
How Long Do You Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot
For medium-sized chicken breasts, I’ve found 10 minutes to be adequate.
However, for large to extra-large chicken breasts, especially the ones that are almost one pound each, a longer cook time of 12-13 minutes works better.
What Can You Make with Instant Pot Frozen Chicken?
The resulting chicken is tender and not dry at all, and it is ready for you to prepare your meal.
You can shred or slice it and add it to soups, casseroles, pasta, pizza, or salad greens. You can dice it and make chicken salad.
There are so many different options–so you can use it for whatever your heart desires. 🙂
5 Different Ways to Use Frozen Chicken Cooked in the Instant Pot
If you want to add some seasonings to the chicken during the cooking process, you certainly can!
You can use chicken broth instead of water for a little extra flavor, and add some salt and pepper, garlic powder, taco seasoning, or whatever seasonings you desire.
For instance, you can use the ingredients and seasonings from any of the recipes listed below, and enjoy a flavorful meal simply by using the increased cook time needed for frozen chicken:
- Instant Pot Greek Chicken
- Instant Pot Taco Chicken
- Instant Pot Ranch Chicken
- Instant Pot Mississippi Chicken
- Instant Pot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken
You can also make regular Instant Pot BBQ chicken by simply adding a bottle of BBQ sauce and 1/2 cup of water.
By knowing this simple kitchen hack of how to cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot, you can simplify your meal prep and eliminate the mealtime blues!
Recommended Equipment:
- Instant Pot Pressure Cooker (I have the DUO60 model, which I love) or another electric pressure cooker
More Pressure Cooker Chicken Recipes You’ll Love:
- Pressure Cooker Chicken Fettucine Alfredo
- Healthy Chicken Cacciatore Made Simple in the Instant Pot
- The Best Pressure Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
- Creamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot
Learn how to cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot pressure cooker and easily solve the dinnertime dilemma of frozen chicken!
Ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken breast(s)
- 1 cup water
- Optional: Additional seasonings as desired (salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc.)
Instructions
- Place chicken breast(s) in Instant Pot and add water. If using additional seasonings, sprinkle over chicken breasts.
- Close lid and set vent to "sealed."
- Use the Manual/Pressure Cook setting and select a 10 minute cook time. (Note: For very large chicken breasts, I'd recommend increasing cook time to 13 minutes).
- After cook time, allow pressure to release naturally.
- Once valve has dropped and pressure has released, carefully open lid and remove chicken breasts. Slice, shred, or chop if desired.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
1Serving Size:
1 chicken breastAmount Per Serving: Calories: 282Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 125mgSodium: 132mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 41g
Nutritional data is automatically calculated and is included for informational purposes only. It is not guaranteed for accuracy.
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A friend of mine buys chicken kotlets from a Persian store in LA area and she says they are amazing. Will share your recipe with her. Although your recipe is with turkey, I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to be able to make it herself. Thanks for the recipe
I hope she enjoys it if she gives it a try! 🙂
This was so easy and wonderful! I used about a pound and a half of chicken, but I used chicken broth instead of water. A little salt and pepper, too. I’m making chicken salad sandwiches with the chicken. So easy! Thanks for this post!
Thank you, I’m so glad it worked well for you! That’s a great idea to use chicken broth and salt/pepper for added flavor–I’ll have to give that a try next time! 🙂
I do the same, cooking it in chicken broth. Then I use the chicken broth as the liquid to cook my rice.
That’s a great idea, Diana!
I don’t have a poultry setting on my instant pot, so does the meat setting do the same thing?
Hi Kathy! You can just use the “Manual” setting (I think on some of the newer Instant Pot models, the manual setting might be called a “pressure cook” setting) on high pressure for the same amount of time.
I followed this exactly with 2 frozen, large breasts–Costco kind– and while it worked, they are a little “chewy” and “rubbery”. I live in Colorado so I am wondering if I need to cook it a little longer for altitude? I was able to cut it up and shred it a little but not as tender as I had hoped. I will try again but might stick with my crock pot!
Hi Julie! I’m sorry they didn’t turn out well! I’ve never used the Costco chicken breasts, but I’ve heard they’re pretty thick–that could be part of the problem. Perhaps a 15 minute cook time would work better in that case–if you give it a try, let me know if that helps!!
Thanks for posting this! Do you have to put the setting on “pressure” as well as “poultry”? I just put it on “poultry” as in the directions for 10 minutes but when I cut the chicken in half it was still very pink. Valve was sealed closed and I let pressure release naturally so I wasn’t sure why it’s not working. Please help! 🙂 Thank you!
Hi Sarah! For the Instant Pot, you shouldn’t have to use “pressure” and “poultry.” If the chicken breasts are really large (you know, like the gigantic ones that are almost a pound each), it may take a couple more minutes. For those very large pieces, I would start with 12 or 13 minutes. Or, you can start with 10 and if they aren’t cooked through, put them back in for 2-3 more minutes (it shouldn’t take long to come back to pressure the second time around since the contents are still hot). In general, I’ve found that 10 minutes is long enough for average/medium size chicken breasts. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much for your help! I’m a newbie and still finding my way around the Instant Pot. Thank you!
My instant pot started a 15 minute countdown after (I’m assuming) the cooking was finished. Is this countdown part of the natural pressure release? I’m a newbie to the instant pot world if you couldn’t tell 🙂
Hi Daniel! That’s a great question–Once the cook time has completed, the display will show how many minutes have lapsed since the cook time ended. So the natural pressure release is happening during that time, but the timer doesn’t actually relate to the pressure release (you could press “Cancel” and the timer will not display anymore, but the natural pressure release will continue occurring). So the display can be helpful for you to know how much time has passed if you’re timing a natural pressure release, but you don’t have to rely on the display. Hopefully that makes sense! 🙂
I did not have super big chicken breasts but they were packaged two together-frozen tight. I cooked for 15 minutes but they still were not done. Too pinkish for our tastes AND rubbery. Ugh!! Going back in for at least another 5. Yep. It was NPR, too.
Bummer! Yes, the fact that they were frozen tightly together is the culprit. Hopefully the extra 5 minutes took care of it!
This was my first IP “meal,” thanks for the no fuss, no prep, easy method! It took my IP 18 minutes to naturally release. Is that about normal?
Hi Michelle! This sounds about right. The amount of time for a natural release can vary, anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on how much food/liquid is in the pot. But in general, I find the natural release most often takes between 10-20 minutes for the majority of recipes I make. I’m so glad you found it to be an easy method! 🙂
What would th cooling time be if iwanted to do 4 frozen breasts?
Hi! You could do a 13-15 minute cook time if they are larger breasts, or 10 minutes if they’re smaller. Generally speaking, the cook time stays the same, regardless of how many are in there (usually cook time is more so based on how big the pieces of chicken are), but it will take a little longer for your pot to achieve pressure since the inside of the pot will be colder with four frozen breasts in there (as opposed to just one or two), so the overall time will be a little bit longer, but not by much. Hope that helps–enjoy! 🙂
Thank you so much for your help. Sorry for the spelling /texting errors on that. Thanks for figuring out what I meant to say. I used the trivet that came with the cooker and I think I may have cooked them a little too long. If they come out rubbery and chewy do I need to decrease the cooking time next time? Does the using the trivet have anything to do with that? Thanks again for your help.
I’ve used this recipe many times over! It’s my go to for quick meal when I need chicken! Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear this, Barb! Thanks for your comment–I’m glad you have found it useful! 🙂
Could I use Italian dressing to season during cook time? Would i need to add the water/ chicken broth as well? First time user here.
Hi Colette! I think it would be fine to use some Italian dressing during cook time, but depending on how thick or thin the dressing is, you may still need to add a little water/broth to it. You want it to be able to boil easily (the boiling liquid is what creates the pressure in the pot), so some thicker dressings may be too viscous to boil well without scorching. You may only need to add 1-2 tablespoons of water if it’s not too thick to begin with, maybe up to 1/4-1/2 cup if it’s thicker. I hope that helps! 🙂
Do you have any sense of how the time would increase if more chicken breasts were added? If want to cook 4 large breasts how long should I cook it? Curious
Hi Esther! In theory, you shouldn’t have to increase the cooking time, even if you have more chicken breasts in the pot. However, it will take a bit longer to come to pressure if you have more chicken in the pot (because it’s extra cold in there with 4 breasts as opposed to 1 or 2, so it takes longer to heat up). For 4 large breasts, I’d do a cook time of 15 minutes, as long as they are individually frozen and not in one giant block of frozen chicken. I hope that helps! 🙂
What would th cooling time be if iwanted to do 4 frozen breasts?plz reply
Hello! I would use the same cooking time, and try to space the chicken breasts out a bit so they aren’t completely on top of each other. The pot may take a little bit longer to come to pressure with four chicken breasts. Enjoy! 🙂
Thanks for sharing this easy and quick recipe for cooking frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot! I’m always looking for new and easy ways to cook chicken, and this method sounds like it would work perfectly for a weeknight dinner. I’ll have to give it a try and let you know how it turns out!
It’s a time-saver when you forget to thaw out the chicken first! Hope you find it helpful. 🙂