Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Breasts

😍 What Makes This Method So Good

We’ve all been there. Dinnertime rolls around, stomachs start growling. Suddenly, it hits you. You forgot to thaw the chicken for dinner. Don’t worry! You can take those frozen chicken breasts right out of the freezer and pop them straight into the Instant Pot with virtually zero prep, and definitely zero defrosting. Instant Pot frozen chicken breasts (or frozen chicken thighs, if you’ve got those on hand) are fast and easy, and the chicken comes out perfectly cooked. Tender, moist, and juicy, not dry or tough or chewy. AND, because we’re pressure cooking, cooking perfect chicken only takes 10-15 minutes. The usefulness of this method doesn’t stop at mealtime emergencies. I like to intentionally use it for weekly meal prep (it just makes life so EASY) and for recipes that call for already-cooked chicken. Basically, anytime I need or want to eliminate the whole “defrost the chicken in the fridge overnight” step, I just break out my trusty Instant Pot.

👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Tips

You’ll want to use an Instant Pot trivet here so the frozen chicken breasts sit up and out of the broth. Essentially they’ll be steamed, rather than boiled. I have a trivet with feet and handles, but a trivet with just legs will work fine, too! Honestly, the trivet is probably my most-used Instant Pot accessory, so if you don’t already have one, I highly recommend getting one! The cooking time will vary a little depending on the size of the chicken breasts you’re cooking. We’ve included a quick list of timing recommendations in the recipe card notes below. If you’re still unsure about the exact cooking time you need to use, set the timer for a minute or two less than recommended. You can put the chicken back in for another minute if needed, but you can’t walk back overcooked chicken. We tested and perfected our Instant Pot frozen chicken breasts method using a 6-quart Instant Pot. If you’re using a larger pressure cooker, you may need to increase the amount of liquid used by ½-1 cup to prevent a burn notice. If your Instant Pot is large enough that you can cook more 4 chicken breasts, you don’t need to adjust the cook time beyond what’s listed below. It’ll just take a little longer to fully pressurize before the cook time begins.

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