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How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot
Cooking frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot is one of the easiest meal prep solutions! You don’t need to plan ahead or spend hours thawing your meat. In under an hour, you can go from freezer to fully cooked, recipe-ready chicken. Slice or shred for your favorite recipes or portion for easy meal prep throughout the week.
Recipe Snapshot
PREP + COOK TIME: 45 minutes (including time to pressurize)
METHOD: Instant Pot
OTHER TOOLS: forks, mixer, or knife
TOTAL INGREDIENTS: 6
What’s To Love About This Recipe
- This method is one of the simplest ways to prep a batch of chicken for the week! I use the cooked chicken as an easy weeknight dinner solution for salads, tacos, and quick bowls.
- Frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts are a staple to keep in your freezer, and the Instant Pot makes it easy to prep larger amounts without adjusting oven temperatures or worrying about them drying out.
- Forgot to plan ahead for dinner? The Instant Pot saves you when you have nothing on the menu or forgot to defrost your meat. Just add the frozen breasts to the pot with broth and seasoning for effortless cooking, then shred or slice them for wholesome lunches and dinners.
- Prepping cooked meat for the fridge or freezer is such a convenient way to have protein ready to serve with salads, tacos, nachos, quesadillas, and more.
Ingredients Needed
- Chicken – Use frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast for simple prep that takes only about 15 minutes to cook. This is such a convenient option for when you find chicken breasts on sale at the grocery store or want to keep your freezer stocked with lean protein.
- Chicken broth – Add 1 cup of chicken broth (or water) for every 1 ½ pounds of chicken. This adds enough liquid to bring the pot to full pressure while still keeping the chicken juicy and flavorful.
- Seasoning – There are no limits to how you can season the chicken! Keep it neutral for flexible recipes later, or use your preferred seasoning blend. For an optional mix that delivers savory flavor and pairs well with pretty much anything, use a blend of kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.
How To Make Frozen Chicken Breast In The Instant Pot
- Add chicken broth to the Instant Pot.
- Place the frozen chicken breasts in the pot (they can overlap slightly, but avoid stacking them tightly).
- Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika over the chicken.
- Secure the lid and set the valve to the sealing position.
- Cook on high pressure for 12-15 minutes (or longer for thicker breasts).
- Allow a natural release for 5-10 minutes, then carefully quick-release any remaining pressure.
- Check that the internal temperature has reached 165℉.
- Let the chicken rest for a few minutes, then slice or shred as desired.
Pro Tips
- Although the Instant Pot has a poultry setting for cooking, I recommend setting the time manually so you can adjust it based on the cut size or how many pieces you have. I’ve found that 12 minutes works for smaller pieces, but closer to 15 minutes is safer for larger, thicker ones.
- I don’t usually bother with the Instant Pot trivet since cooking the chicken directly in the liquid keeps it juicier.
- Cooking from frozen works really well, but the size of the chicken breast will matter more than the number of pieces in the Instant Pot. Thicker chicken breasts will need a longer cook time.
- Chicken can turn rubbery pretty quickly if it is overcooked. To prevent this and keep it tender, I like to stick with a short natural release.
- Beware that a full natural release (usually 10-plus minutes) can sometimes overcook chicken, especially with smaller pieces.
- The liquid doesn’t need to fully cover the chicken, but you do need at least 1 cup for the Instant Pot to come to pressure.
- Chicken should always reach an internal temperature of 165℉ to be fully cooked. The best way to ensure accuracy is with a meat thermometer.
- Letting the chicken rest for a few minutes before shredding helps it stay a little juicier.
- Shred with forks or a mixer and incorporate some of the cooking broth to keep the chicken juicy.
Recipe Substitutions and Variations
- This method is best for boneless skinless chicken breasts, since bone-in would require additional time and can sometimes turn out tougher when cooked from frozen. If you want to try cooking boneless skinless chicken thighs from frozen, use this Instant Pot Shredded Chicken method as an alternative.
- Feel free to use different variations of chicken or vegetable broth to flavor the chicken. Some options are bone broth (for added protein) or herbal or lemon-flavored broth blends for a more specific flavor.
- One of the best parts of easily making a batch of chicken this way is that you can season it however you like, depending on how you will serve it. The seasoning won’t fully penetrate when cooking from frozen, so I usually shred the chicken and then mix it back into the juices for more flavor. I incorporate additional seasoning as I use the chicken in other recipes.
- Here are some popular seasoning options for a variety of chicken recipes:
- Taco seasoning (for Instant Pot Chicken Tacos made with thighs or breasts)
- Cajun Seasoning
- Homemade Fajita Seasoning
- Greek Seasoning
- Lemon Pepper
- Garlic and herb seasoning
- You can also flavor the chicken with a convenient premade sauce or dressing. Try Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken or Instant Pot BBQ Chicken for super-simple ingredient additions!
How to Cook Thawed Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot
- Add chicken broth to the Instant Pot.
- Place thawed chicken breasts in a single layer and season.
- Secure the lid and set the valve to the sealing position.
- Cook on high pressure for 6-8 minutes, depending on thickness.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then quick-release the remaining pressure.
- Ensure that the chicken reaches 165℉, then let it rest for a few minutes before slicing or shredding.
How To Serve Chicken Breast
Having cooked chicken breast prepped and ready for meals opens up so many options from ingredients right in your fridge! This method is not the most flavorful way to cook chicken to serve on its own, but it’s a great option to use as a base for other meals.
Once you make a batch of chicken, you can divide it up for meals throughout your week for plenty of variety. Use it in simple, packable lunches as an Easy Buffalo Chicken Wrap Recipe or in Shredded Chicken Salad. Most chicken salad recipes include chicken chunks, but I actually enjoy adding shredded chicken for better integration and texture.
Add the cooked meat to Chicken Fajita Quesadillas or top off Quick & Easy Loaded Tater Tots with extra protein. You can also add the chicken to soups, sandwiches, bowls, or rice dishes with veggies and your favorite sauces.
Storing and Reheating
How To Best Store Leftovers
Fridge
Store leftover cooked chicken in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezer
Portion cooked chicken into single servings or recipe-specific portions, then freeze for up to 3 months. Let frozen cooked chicken thaw in the fridge before reheating.
How To Best Reheat Leftovers
Reheat leftover cooked chicken in the microwave or by your preferred method, according to the recipe.
How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot
Cooking frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot is one of the easiest meal prep solutions! You don’t need to plan ahead or spend hours thawing your meat. In under an hour, you can go from freezer to fully cooked, recipe-ready chicken. Slice or shred for your favorite recipes or portion for easy meal prep throughout the week.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds frozen boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 cup chicken broth or water
Optional (or any preferred seasoning blend):
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Add chicken broth to Instant Pot
- Place frozen chicken breasts in the pot (slight overlap is fine, but avoid stacking them tightly
- Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika over chicken
- Secure lid and set valve to seal
- Cook on high pressure for 12-15 minutes (or longer for thicker breasts)
- Allow a natural release for 5-10 minutes, then carefully quick-release any remaining pressure
- Check that internal temperature has reached 165℉.
- Let chicken rest for a few minutes, then slice or shred as desired
Notes
- Store leftover cooked chicken in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze in smaller portions for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen chicken in the fridge before reheating.
- Reheat in the microwave or your preferred method until warmed through.
- Manually set the cook time instead of using the poultry setting, so you can adjust it to the chicken’s size and thickness.
- Smaller chicken breasts usually need about 12 minutes, while thicker pieces may need closer to 15 minutes.
- Cook the chicken directly in the broth rather than on a trivet for juicier results.
- Use a short natural release to help prevent the chicken from becoming rubbery or overcooked.
- Use at least 1 cup of liquid so the Instant Pot can reach pressure.
- Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165℉.
- Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before slicing or shredding to help keep it juicy.
