by Taylor Stinson
This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission
Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe Print Recipe
Learn how to cook frozen chicken breasts in your Instant Pot – just add the chicken and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like canola oil.
- Frozen chicken breasts – you’ll need boneless skinless breasts to easily shred the chicken.
- Paprika – cayenne would also be good and has a bit more kick.
- Onion powder – finely diced onion would work too.
- Garlic powder – use minced garlic or garlic paste instead.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
How to cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot
Step 1: Prep your ingredients.
Step 2: Add everything to the Instant Pot.
Add the olive oil, water, frozen chicken, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper to the pot in order.
Step 3: Cook on high pressure.
Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes, then do a natural release of the pressure.
Step 4: Shred then serve!
Remove the chicken from the pot and shred with a fork and knife. Serve and enjoy!
Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Tips & Tricks
Here are some top tips for making the best frozen chicken in the Instant Pot:
- Try out different seasonings like my homemade fajita seasoning, jerk seasoning or Cajun seasoning.
- If your chicken breasts are bigger than 1lb, you’ll need to a couple minutes on to the cooking time.
- Feel free to double this recipe as long as you don’t go over the maximum line in the Instant Pot.
- Use this recipe to make wraps, tacos, pasta, enchiladas, soup and more!
- Make sure you do a natural pressure release – this ensures your chicken will come out nice and tender.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I cook a frozen chicken breast for in the Instant Pot?
Frozen chicken breasts will need to cook in the Instant Pot for 20 minutes at high pressure. Keep in mind it will take the Instant Pot about 10-15 minutes to preheat, so your total cooking time is about 30 minutes.
Why is it rubbery?
If you find that your chicken is tough or rubbery after cooking, you likely didn’t cook it for long enough. Make sure you’re cooking the chicken for the required amount of time and that you haven’t overloaded the Instant Pot. Doing a natural pressure release will also help make the chicken super moist.
Do you need to put the chicken on top of a trivet?
While some recipes call for using a trivet, you can just put the chicken right in the pot on top of the olive oil and water.
What can you make with the chicken?
Now that you have a quick and easy method of cooking frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot, your weekly meal prep will be even easier. Having big batches of chicken already prepared will cut down on the amount of time it takes to make any meal and there are so many things you can do with shredded chicken like wraps, tacos, pasta, enchiladas, soup and more!
Should you use the poultry setting on the Instant Pot?
I wouldn’t recommend using the poultry setting, as it doesn’t know how big the chicken you’re cooking is and might under or overcook the chicken. I’d recommend sticking to manual cooking at high pressure for 20 minutes.
What do you do if the chicken isn’t cooked?
If your frozen chicken isn’t cooked after the natural pressure release, cook it on high pressure for another 1-2 minutes.
Storing and reheating
This chicken breast will last in the fridge for up to 5 days and is great for meal prep. You can cook a week’s worth of chicken for lunches and dinners, which eliminates the need to make protein every evening!
You can reheat cooked chicken breast in the microwave or oven – just be sure to sprinkle a little bit of water over top before reheating to avoid that leftover chicken taste. If you add the chicken to a soup, there’s no need to reheat it beforehand. You can also pan fry it with additional seasonings to compliment the meal you plan to serve it with, such as chili powder for tacos.
Just remember that you should only reheat cooked chicken once. After it’s been reheated, you shouldn’t refrigerate and cook it again.
Freezing this recipe
You can freeze fresh chicken breast, but I wouldn’t recommend refreezing your chicken after it’s already been frozen and cooked.
More Instant Pot chicken recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Breasts 3 Ways
- Instant Pot Shredded Chicken 3 Ways
- Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab someglass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning thischicken into your weekly lunches.
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Get a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is cooked through.
Easiest Ever Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Breasts
Learn how to cook frozen chicken breasts in your Instant Pot – just add the chicken and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes!
3.87 from 389 votes
Print Pin
Course: Chicken, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken breasts, frozen chicken, instant pot
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Pressure release time: 15 minutes minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 172kcal
Author: Taylor Stinson
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups water
- 1 lb frozen chicken breasts
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
Add all ingredients to Instant Pot in the order in which they are listed. Press the pressure cook button and select the high setting, then set to cook for 20 minutes.
Instant Pot will take about 10-15 minutes to preheat then the 20 minutes to pressure cook.
Let the pressure naturally release once chicken has finished cooking (should take 15-20 min), then open lid when safe to do so.
Remove chicken from Instant Pot, discard water, then slice each breast with a fork and knife if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
If you plan on slicing instead of shredding the chicken, do a quick release of the pressure instead of a natural release.
Use this recipe to make wraps, tacos, pasta, enchiladas or soup.
Double or even triple this recipe – just make sure your Instant Pot is never 2/3 of the way full or it won’t cook properly.
Store any leftover in the chicken for 4-5 days. Sprinkle some water over top then reheat in the microwave or the oven.
Nutrition
Calories: 172kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 728mg | Potassium: 470mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 527IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg
