This is the BEST way to cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot! It is so easy and they turn out so well, I almost never take the time to thaw chicken before cooking it. Add seasonings, sauces, broth, or just water, salt and pepper and the result is always amazing.
If you’re wondering how to cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker, you’re in luck. Because you’ll never be stuck at 5:00 with nothing to make for dinner again!
Cooking frozen chicken has never been quicker, easier, or more delicious! The Instant Pot has definitely saved my butt a time or two (or ten) 😉
If you’ve got pork tenderloin instead of chicken breasts? Check out my Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin from fresh or frozen!
We are back on the Instant Pot bandwagon today with one of my favourites, although, again, I’m not sure this actually qualifies as a “recipe” considering there are two ingredients and one is water or broth. But I promise you, if you learn how to cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot you may never go back!
I will be totally honest and say that I am not utterly obsessed with the Instant Pot like millions of other people. I haven’t moved on to cheesecake and egg bites and other things that make more sense to bake in the oven (though, yes, I will try them yet and see if they’re worth all the hype!).
But there are a few things that I actually prefer to do in the Instant Pot, and chicken breasts is one of those things (these Instant Pot Baked Potatoes and this Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup are two more!)
And if you’re looking for more Instant Pot chicken recipes, try this Instant Pot Whole Chicken from fresh or frozen!).
There really is no match for how well boneless chicken breasts come out of that magic pot — especially straight from the freezer! I will even confess that I rarely take chicken out of the freezer to thaw before cooking, because why?!?
We cook chicken in the Instant Pot for tacos, sandwiches, salads, quesadillas, or just for dinner with some barbecue or other sauce, or a simple seasoning. Any way you want to do it up it turns out fabulously (you should see how crazy I get when I start dumping in random ingredients from the fridge!).
I know they don’t look that special, but they are SO moist, and not overcooked and weird like chicken can get in the slow cooker after a long period of time. This is one thing I definitely prefer to cook in the Instant Pot over the crock pot!
Here are some Tips and Tricks for Cooking Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot:
- The exact cook time will depend on how large the chicken breasts are, although for me 10-12 minutes has always been plenty. This means that when I open up the pot they are well over the safe 165 degrees F. But I’d rather be safe than have to go through the hassle of sealing it back up and letting it build the pressure back up.
- If you’re in a rush, you can simply add water or chicken broth and season with salt and pepper, but feel free to get a little crazy with your seasonings here. Barbecue sauce, soy sauce, honey, different herbs and spices will all be fantastic (I mean, as long as they taste good together 😉 )
- All of my Instant Pot recipes are tested in the 6 quart Instant Pot with Bluetooth. The bluetooth is an unnecessary but handy tool because I can control the pot from my phone while I’m out of the kitchen.
- If you want to jazz up your Instant Pot chicken breasts, try these Creamy Italian Instant Pot Chicken Breasts and serve them with the sauce over pasta — you won’t regret it!
- Looking for an easy side dish to go along with it? Try my Instant Pot Mac and Cheese — so easy and so quick!
How to make Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Breasts:
I’ve just added a new post on my favorite all purpose Instant Pot Shredded Chicken! You can find all my tips on seasoning, ratios, cook time and uses over there 🙂
How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot (pressure cooker)
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 4 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (mine were about 7-8 ounces or 200g each frozen)
- 1 cup water or chicken broth
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in the bottom of the Instant Pot (no need to use the trivet!) — it’s okay if they’re stacked, just make sure none are stuck together.
- Pour in the water or chicken broth (or use another liquid like pineapple juice, apple juice, etc.) and season with salt and pepper.
- Put the lid on and move the valve to sealing. Press Manual pressure and set the timer to 10-12 minutes high pressure (I've found 10 is just right, and at the 12 minute mark they are 180 degrees F or more). The Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure and start counting down from 10.
- When the cook time is up, let pressure release naturally for 5-10 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure. Check that the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees F — mine is always at least or higher.
- Serve as is, chop, or add sauces as desired.
Nutrition Information
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Patrice Archambeault says
I just cooked 3lbs of chicken breast tenders from frozen and added 10 minutes to the recommended 10-12 minute cook time. OMG…….I will NEVER cook chicken any other way ever again. Soooo juicy and delicious. Thank you.
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so glad it worked out well for you!
cheryl says
is there a way to make chicken broth ??
Ashley Fehr says
You can definitely save the cooking liquid to use in soup! It won’t have a very strong chicken flavor (I prefer making homemade broth with a whole chicken carcass) but it will still add great flavor!
emily russell says
This worked perfect for me. I had two huge frozen chicken breasts, that were not really the same size, so I cut them, 1 in half and 1 in thirds so that they were about the same size chunks. I added 1 cup of water and a chicken bullion cube and pressure cooked for 11 minutes with 5 minute natural release. When it was done, the chicken was really easy to shred so I shredded it up, drained most of the liquid, added a packet of taco seasoning and sauted it until most of the liquid was gone. My kids loved it and I loved it. It was easy! I’m really bad at remembering to defrost things, so I can definitely see myself using my instant pot for A LOT of chicken in the future!
Ashley Fehr says
We use it a lot too! Thanks Emily!
KAJ says
Great instructions, comes out pefect every time—- I double recipe in a 8qt., break breasts apart and season I place on the tray and re-stack breasts. Comes out perfect, Thank you!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for leaving a comment!
Joan says
I add extra water anf some better than bouillon garlic and now my chicken is cooked and I put the broth I freezer for later use
Ashley Fehr says
That’s a great tip!
Debbie says
I would like to double the number of frozen chickken breast to 8. How much longer do you need to cook it?
Ashley Fehr says
You won’t need to increase the cook time unless they are frozen together. If they are individual breasts, the cook time will be the same. If they are frozen into a lump I would try to break them apart, as it’s difficult to say how much longer you would need.
Judy says
Is the water ratio the same ifim using an 8 quart?
Ashley Fehr says
I believe the 8 quart recommends a 1 1/2 cup minimum liquid but I don’t have any experience with it unfortunately.
Cassie Johnson says
Instant Pot recommends at least 2 cups of water or other liquid for the 8 qt machine.
K.Buchanan says
I just tried this. Put to small to medium chicken breast from Frozen in the instant pot with some chicken stock and salsa to make chicken tacos. After 12 minutes and a full natrual release they were only at 116°F trying an additional 5 minutes, next time I’ll thaw the chicken and cook what the instant pot instructions say. Was really hoping this would work. I’m not even in a high altitude area just DFW Texas
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so sorry to hear that! Can you tell me if they were stuck together at all? If they are frozen together than can make a difference in cook time for sure. Other than that I’ve never had any issues with a 10-12 minute cook time for average sized chicken breasts.
Bill says
Same here. Full 10 minutes and 5 minute release and the single breast I had in the instant pot was still frozen in the middle.
Ashley Fehr says
I’m sorry to hear that! That surprises me, to be honest, but you may have had very large chicken breasts to begin with. I would recommend leaving them for the full natural release next time as they do continue cooking in that time.
Angela Hernandez says
We took 4 large breasts and 2 were stuck together we actually used 1 cup of bone broth, butter, Worcester sauce, soy sauce a dash of teriyaki sauce and seasoning and went 11 mins. The were shred worthy! Turned out perfect ! Only went 3 mins on release time also? Not sure why some are not getting the results? Was beautiful and ours were medium size /large breast
Ashley Fehr says
Love those flavor additions Angela!
Jennifer Baker says
My insta pot just took 30 min to build pressure and now is cooking the 10 min for the chicken! Does anyone else’s do this???! This is NOT a time saver if it always takes this long. HELP
Kris S. says
The amount of time it takes to come up to pressure is because you’re starting with a frozen product. I don’t know where you live but in my house it takes a lot longer than 40 minutes to go from frozen solid to fully cooked if I’m not using my instant pot. If you’re looking for for something closer to “instant” start with fresh chicken instead of frozen.
Ashley Fehr says
I agree with Kris here — mine doesn’t usually take 30 minutes to build pressure but if it’s very full then it definitely can take that long! If I am only doing 4 then I can usually go from frozen to cooked and released in 30 minutes which saves me a ton of time if I figure to thaw the meat in advance.
Michelle says
Sauté them .. it shaved a ton of time off the pressure building
Mark says
I get great results by sautéed meat in Insta Pot. Looking forward to frozen attempt. Not sure sautéing frozen is a good combo, but will try.
Ashley Fehr says
I don’t think you can really saute frozen meat but I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Diana says
I’ve done this several times in a 6qt with 5 frozen thin breasts & they come out great every time. I use the Perdue, 5 pack of individually wrapped breasts. My pot started taking a long time to come to pressure & it was because of the release valve. I guess it got gunked up from cooking so once I specifically cleaned that really well, it went back to normal, about 10 mins. Hopefully that helps!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Diana!
Holly Ann says
WOW! Nice! I just got my Instant Pot 7 in 1 last week. I had no time to cook yesterday and this was awesome! My frozen chicken was ..well..frozen. I put that in with chicken broth and a little salt and pepper. When finished I shredded it with my favorite bbq sauce. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! Pinned! Thank you!
Jenn says
So to clarify, put the bbq sauce on after done??
Ashley Fehr says
Yes, you don’t want to add any thick or creamy sauces until after it’s done pressure cooking.
Julia says
You mentioned honey in your article, would that be put in before or after cooking?
Ashley Fehr says
Any thick sauces you want to add after cooking
Brittany says
Thanks! I have a sick dog who’s on chicken and rice for the next few days, you just made the chicken part super easy with this!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so happy to hear that! I hope your dog feels better soon!
Cheryl Shaw says
So excited to read this (not the sick dog part, hope she/he is better soon)!! I make homemade dog food for my pack, using chicken breasts, and the IP is going to be a game changer! I bought one for my hubby for Christmas, but guess who will use it the most after reading this? Happy IP’ing everyone!
Noel Blosser says
I was thinking this morning of using my pot I just got for my dog who has colitis. It is chicken and rice every night for his dinner. This will eliminate the boiling of chicken. Any additional suggestions for cooking time or anything else/ Your input is appreciated. I haven’t used it yet and and been on fence of really returning it. .
Rick says
I make chicken for my dogs and for taco meat for the family. I can take several Frozen breasts all stick together and be om a plate in less than an hour. I used to boil or crock pot it. The Instant pot is soooooo much faster. I have an 8 qt and can do a lot of chicken at a tine. Don’t manually vent!!
Ashley Fehr says
Yes, it is so great for that!
bill smith says
I’ll be cooking most of my Thanksgiving dishes the traditional way but this year I’ll be cooking the chicken breasts in the Instant Pot to shred and put in my cornbread dressing. Not having to thaw is a real time saver.
Ashley Fehr says
It is my favorite way to cook chicken breasts for sure!
Nikki B says
I used 3 7.45 oz frozen breasts. Added 1 cup chicken broth and seasoned with season salt & Cajun powder and cooked for 15 minutes. Perfectly tended and well sauced! Perfect recipe
Ashley Fehr says
So glad! Love the addition of the cajun powder!
Carol Dubien says
Ashley, I just did this recipe with small frozen tukey breasts. They were the size of chicken breasts, so I googled chicken instead of turkey. Used water and pepper, no salt and 10 min. Well, gotta say so simple and such a winner. The breasts would have fallen off th bone, had there been one. Would never be able to do that with any type of oven. They were unbelievably good. BTW I did do a cheesecake in the I Pot, and it’s worth the extra effort. No cracks and perfect, even if I accidentally put anextra 8 oz of cream cheese, accidentally. LOL
You made my supper awesome…Thank You
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Carol! I’m so happy to hear that it went well! I definitely need to add cheesecake to my list — I’ve never made any dessert!
Leslie says
So I just tried this with 3 frozen breasts, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and a carton of fresh sliced mushrooms. The flavor was great! However, the chicken wasn’t tender. 🙁 My pot doesn’t have a manual setting so I chose “poultry” for 10 minutes then let it natural release for 10 min. Thoughts?
Ashley Fehr says
You know, I have actually only ever used the manual or “pressure cook” setting. I believe on the new Instant Pots manual has been renamed “pressure cook” so that is the setting I would use. If your breasts were very large, a couple of extra minutes probably wouldn’t hurt, but I’ve always had good luck with this method! I hope you give it another shot 🙂
Mairaed says
There is no manual setting on the newer versions, so I tried to poultry option too and adjusted the time to what you suggested. It is cooking now. Let’s see how it goes!
Ashley Fehr says
You’re right! Manual is now called “Pressure Cook”, but it is the same thing so that’s what I would use. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Leah says
Yes, use the “manual pressure” setting, as it has been renamed on the new pot. I have cooked frozen chicken on the poultry setting and it definitely doesn’t turn out the same as the manual setting. I do 13 min and it turns out perfect!
Ashley Fehr says
That’s a great tip! I’ve never used the poultry setting — I always use manual.
Holly Slater says
Just pressure cooked 2 large frozen chicken breasts with bone in and skin on. In 6 qt pot I added 1 cup water, chicken and salt and pepper. High pressure for 13 minutes. Turned pot off and did natural release. Took temperature and each breast went above 165 degrees. For just 2 of us I plan to use one for chicken salad and the other for chicken and rice. Your method was a great help. I’ve bookmarked your site.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Holly for those tips! I hope you find more recipes you enjoy!
Heather W says
I don’t have a pic, but I cooked this up in our rv trailer tonight. One of my picky eaters loved it, as did I. I call that a win! And only 30 minutes from frozen to done?! Amazing. Life changing. Thanks!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks Heather!
Susan says
Hi there! Just used my Instant Pot for the first time today. Your instructions were great and I cooked four perfect frozen chicken breasts. Question: My Instant Pot instructions say never to use less than 18oz of liquid as there won’t be enough to steam the food. Most of the recipes I am looking at call for far less liquid than that. Is using less than 18oz of liquid ok? TYA
Rex says
I have the same question. I tried it with 1 1/2 cup of chicken broth but (before I saw these instructions) I cooked it 20 minutes and then did quick release. I seem to overcook pot roast, chicken. I need help. Instant pot chat said no less than 1 1/2 cup unless was you are cooking will put in the extra liquid very quickly. I’d appreciate some guidance. I’m trying to make life easier for my wife by helping with the cooking. Please make me look good! lol
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Rex! You definitely need to go by the required amount of liquid that your pressure cooker lists. For me, mine is a 6 quart and the required amount is 1 cup. If yours says 1 1/2 cups then do use that amount instead.
Donna says
You probably should use natural release not quick when cooking meats. I learned that when cooking beef roast…..never quick release, it will come out tough every time.
Mary Kay Maples says
What is natural release? I have an 8 or 10 at new IP 7 n 1… it has a chicken button and a pressure cook button. How do I know which one to use when and what’s the difference between the release methods?
Ashley Fehr says
Natural release is when you turn the IP off after cooking and let the pressure release naturally before opening the valve. This usually takes about 10 minutes and is always recommended with meat, especially chicken.
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Susan! I’m so happy they turned out well for you! I am guessing that the 8 quart or other models may call for additional water. Mine is a 6 quart and calls for a minimum of 1 cup. If yours calls for 18oz then I would use that to start.
Patricia Cooney says
I’m curious to know if you ever found out the correct amount of liquid you should be using. I am using my 3 quart instant pot for the first time tonight and it also says to use 18 oz of water. I’m only cooking two chicken breasts. How did yours come out and how long did you cook them from Frozen? Thank you very much
Sara says
Apparently I can’t read, the recipe said to cook the frozen chicken breast for 12 min then do a natural release ….and I did a quick release. So, has anyone done this or had partially raw&cooked chicken- and then started the IP back up again? That is what I am doing I am just concerned about getting sick from eating my “re-do” chicken.
Ashley Fehr says
You can definitely turn it back on! I have done quick release with chicken breasts and haven’t had any issue, but it should work just fine if you need to turn it back on for a few minutes.
Melissa says
Have you ever doubled this recipe? I’m not sure how much time to cook eight chicken breasts. Thanks!
Ashley Fehr says
I don’t usually cook more than 4 at a time because it is lots for us. The main thing will be if the breasts have to sit right on top of each other — the overlapping sections will take significantly longer to cook. You may almost want to cook the original time, and then shuffle them around slightly and turn back on for a few minutes to finish.
Stefani says
I fill my 8 quart instant pot full of tenderloins (around the fill line) and 1 cup of water and I do 14 minutes with slow release. I don’t move anything around. I do a layer and then season. Do a layer then season and continue until full. I use some for my meal, recipe, or chicken tenders with veggies etc and with what’s left I make chicken salad for lunches or just whatever. Perfect every time!
Stefani says
And that’ is filled with frozen tenderloins. Sorry
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks for the tips!