How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot

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How to melt frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot: This is the all-time way to cook frozen craven! Read on for all of the tips and tricks y'all need to brand perfectly juicy craven breasts in your pressure cooker, every time.

Chicken cooked from frozen in an Instant Pot

Fifty-fifty the most organized person can forget to plan ahead. If you lot need to get dinner on the table fast but forgot to take your chicken out of the freezer, your Instant Pot is going to be your all-time friend.

You tin safely cook frozen meat in an Instant Pot because pressure cooking cooks foods quickly. Unlike a slow cooker, in which frozen nutrient may stay in a unsafe temperature range for also long, the Instant Pot can quickly bring frozen food to a safe temperature.

Before getting started, read my Instant Pot Guide for my tips on how to utilize an Instant Pot.

Why Instant Pot Frozen Chicken?

You won't believe how perfectly moist and delicious frozen chicken turns out when y'all 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 you're ready, yous tin cook the craven from frozen, without defrosting it first. It is so quick and easy!

Instant Pot craven breasts are 1 of my favorite foods to repast prep for the week. I cook a batch of chicken breasts in my Instant Pot to employ for quick lunches and dinners throughout the week. This way I can put together good for you meals when I'grand curt on time.

I've rounded upward 28 Instant Pot Chicken Recipes to give you lot even more ideas of what to cook for dinner!

Y'all might also like to try these easy recipes that are perfect for brand alee food prep: Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs, Instant Pot Black Beans and Instant Pot Quinoa.

How to Serve Instant Pot Chicken Breasts

  • Slice cooked craven breasts and serve them with rice or potatoes and vegetables.
  • Cooked chicken chest is too a great fashion to add lean protein to salads.
  • Shred cooked craven and use information technology to make tacos, enchiladas, chicken salad and more. See my Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipe.

Frozen chicken in an Instant Pot.

How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot

  1. Make certain that your chicken breasts are not frozen together in one large mass. If they are, they volition not cook evenly and you volition finish up with overcooked craven on the edges and raw chicken in the center. To divide chicken breasts that are frozen together, identify them in absurd water until the craven is thawed plenty to divide the individual breasts. I ever try to freeze my chicken apartment in a zip-meridian bag so that the breasts practice not stick together as they freeze.
  2. Place the frozen craven breasts in the bottom of the Instant Pot inner pot.
  3. Pour in i loving cup of chicken broth. You can use water, simply using craven goop produces more flavorful cooked chicken.
  4. Season the craven as desired. Table salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, dried oregano and paprika are all good choices for seasoning. Sprinkle the seasoning over the acme of the chicken.
  5. Place the hat on the Instant Pot and close it. Plough the steam release valve to the "sealing" position.
  6. Press the "Manual" or "Pressure level Cook" button and melt at high pressure. Employ the +/- buttons to set the cook time. See below for my guide on how long to melt frozen chicken in the Instant Pot. The cook time will vary based on the size of the individual pieces of craven.
  7. Subsequently x seconds the Instant Pot will start automatically. Information technology will take almost x minutes to reach force per unit area and and then the cook fourth dimension volition begin counting down.
  8. When the cook time is finished, the Instant Pot volition beep a few times. Let the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, past leaving the Instant Pot alone. When the brandish reads L0:ten it has been ten minutes since the cook wheel concluded. Carefully plough the steam release valve to the venting position to release any remaining steam and pressure level. Check that the float valve (pin) has dropped downwardly and then carefully open the Instant Pot lid.
  9. Use an instant read thermometer to check that the internal temperature of the chicken is at least 165 degrees F. If it is not, run across the department below: What to do if chicken is not cooked.
  10. Let the chicken rest for v minutes before slicing or shredding. The residual fourth dimension allows the juices to redistribute throughout the chicken so that your craven is moist.

Size Matters with Pressure Cooking

People often want to know if you accept to double the cook time when you lot double a recipe in the Instant Pot. The reply is no.

However, the size of each individual craven breast does matter. Larger chicken breasts will require a longer cook fourth dimension than smaller craven breasts because the thicker pieces take longer to cook through.

You can use a kitchen scale to find out the weight of your chicken breasts. Or, accept the total weight of your package of chicken and divide information technology by the number of chicken breasts. For example, if your parcel of chicken weighs 1.five pounds (24 ounces) and contains three similarly sized chicken breasts, each breast weighs about 8 ounces.

How Long to Melt Frozen Craven in the Instant Pot

The melt time for boneless, skinless chicken breasts depends on the weight and thickness of the chicken breasts. Bone-in chicken will accept longer to cook. Always melt chicken at high pressure.

The Instant Pot will take longer to accomplish pressure when you are cooking frozen foods every bit compared to non-frozen foods. When the contents of the pot are cold (as they are with frozen chicken) it takes longer to heat upward and pressurize. So frozen chicken gets a few extra minutes of melt time while the pot comes to pressure.

When the melt time ends, let the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes. The chicken will continue to cook during this time.

Here are the estimated melt times for different sized pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

Instant Pot Cooking Times for Frozen Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

  • small (six-8 ounce) frozen chicken breasts – cook xi-12 minutes at high pressure, plus ten minutes natural release
  • medium (9-10 ounce) frozen chicken breasts – cook xiii-14 minutes at high pressure, plus x minutes natural release
  • large (12 ounce) frozen craven breasts – cook 16 minutes at high pressure, plus 10 minutes natural release

It is always good do to use an instant read thermometer to bank check that the internal temperature of the thickest part of the craven has reached a safe 165 degrees F.

What to do if your Chicken is Not Cooked?

If your chicken is less than 165 degrees F when you check information technology after cooking, cook it for another 1-2 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will come to pressure much more quickly the second time since it is already hot. Call up to close the lid and plough the steam release valve to the sealing position.

How do you cook fresh chicken breasts in the Instant Pot?

If your chicken is not frozen, yous will use the same cook times and method described in a higher place. The but divergence is that you volition practice a quick pressure release instead of a ten infinitesimal natural release. The quick force per unit area release volition stop the cooking procedure faster than a natural release.

To practise a quick pressure release, as soon equally the cook time ends, apply the handle of a long spoon to carefully turn the steam release valve to the venting position. Once steam stops coming out and the float valve drops down, open the Instant Pot lid. Use an instant read thermometer to check that the craven is cooked through to a condom 165 degrees F.

Sliced cooked chicken that was cooked from frozen in an Instant Pot.

Cooking Tips for Instant Pot Frozen Craven

  • Be sure to add the 1 cup of liquid to the Instant Pot. Pressure cooking requires liquid to create steam and pressure in the pot, which cooks your food.
  • If you lot plan to shred your cooked chicken, add some of the cooking liquid and follow my tips for how to shred chicken.
  • It is non recommended that you lot freeze food more than once, so if you melt chicken breasts from frozen you should not re-freeze the cooked chicken.
  • Cooked craven will stay fresh for 3-four days in the refrigerator.
  • Always exist sure to turn the steam release valve to the "sealing" position when pressure cooking in your Instant Pot. Forgetting to exercise this is a common error.

More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes

  • Love Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
  • Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
  • Easy Instant Pot Craven and Rice

How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot

Course Main Form

Cuisine American

Keyword frozen chicken breast instant pot, frozen chicken instant pot, instant pot frozen chicken, instant pot frozen chicken breast

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Fourth dimension 12 mins

Total Time 37 mins

Servings 6 servings

Calories 196 kcal

Forestall your screen from going nighttime

How to cook frozen craven breasts in the Instant Pot: This is the best fashion to cook frozen chicken! Read on for all of the tips and tricks you need to make perfectly juicy chicken breasts in your pressure cooker, every time.

  • 1.5 pounds frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (about three 8-ounce breasts)
  • i cup low sodium chicken broth (or water)
  • common salt and pepper
  • other seasonings (as desired, such as garlic pulverization, dried oregano or paprika)

  • Place the frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot inner pot. Cascade in the broth. Sprinkle chicken with common salt, pepper and seasonings as desired.

  • Close the Instant Pot chapeau. Turn the steam release valve to the "sealing" position.

  • Press the "Manual" or "Force per unit area Cook" button and employ the +/- buttons to gear up the cook time (cook at high pressure): 11-12 minutes for six-8 ounce craven breasts, 13-14 minutes for nine-10 ounce chicken breasts or 16 minutes for 12 ounce chicken breasts.

  • After x seconds the Instant Pot display will say "On" and the pot volition begin to pressurize. Once information technology has reached pressure, information technology will beep once and the cook fourth dimension volition begin counting down.

  • When the melt fourth dimension ends, the Instant Pot will beep a few times. Allow the pressure to release naturally for ten minutes, by leaving the Instant Pot alone. When the display reads L0:10, carefully turn the steam release valve to the "venting" position. Wait for any remaining steam to escape (there may exist none). Check that the float valve (pin) has dropped down and and then advisedly take off the chapeau.

  • Use an instant read thermometer to check that the temperature of the chicken has reached at to the lowest degree 165 degrees. (Read the mail in a higher place for more information.)

  • Permit the chicken residue for v minutes before slicing or shredding.

  • If your chicken breasts are frozen together in a big mass, they volition not cook evenly. Identify them in cool water until yous are able to separate the chicken breasts.
  • To cook fresh (not frozen) chicken breasts, apply the same cook times listed above but do a quick pressure level release instead of a natural release.

Serving: 4 ounces | Calories: 196 kcal | Poly peptide: 35 k | Fat: five g | Saturated Fat: ane one thousand | Cholesterol: 96 mg | Sodium: 87 mg

Nutrition information is an estimate.

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Chicken cooked from frozen in an Instant Pot

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