Instant Pot Frozen Whole Chicken

This tutorial on How to Cook Frozen Whole Chicken in Instant Pot will change your dinner routine forever! You will learn how to make rotisserie style chicken without thawing it and with only 5 minutes of prep, in your electric pressure cooker. It comes out super juicy!

If you have fresh chicken, check out this Instant Pot whole chicken or slow cooker whole chicken recipes.

So, can you cook frozen whole chicken in Instant Pot? Absolutely! Out of all Instant Pot recipes on iFoodReal, pressure cooking frozen chicken is the most popular one in our house!

We also cook frozen chicken breasts in Instant Pot because truth is we often forget to thaw the meat.

It is my husband’s favorite Instant Pot recipe to make because it is “embarrassingly” easy! It is definitely one of the best Instant Pot recipes for beginners to master!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s easy: Takes just 5 minutes of prep. Not to mention it’s made with all staple ingredients.
• Much healthier than store-bought: I don’t know about you but where I live organic rotisserie chicken is hard to come by or costs a lot. Also by using simple spices we skip on MSG and loads of sodium.
• It’s so darn convenient: My freezer is always stocked with 2-4 organic whole chickens from Costco. Rotisserie chicken guaranteed any time you feel like one. Imagine putting whole frozen chicken in Instant Pot and having tasty chicken in an hour-ish?!
• It’s delish: Even chicken breast cooked in Instant Pot comes out juicy, tender and flavorful, and you can crisp up the skin, yes!

Ingredients for Instant Pot Frozen Whole Chicken

• Chicken: Frozen whole chicken, about 3 – 6 pounds or more, depending on the size of pressure cooker you have.
• Oil: Any mild tasting oil like olive oil, avocado oil or grapeseed oil.
• Smoked paprika: Gives lots of flavor and “roasted” look.
• Garlic powder: Dried powder will stick to frozen chicken better than fresh grated garlic.
• Dried oregano: Any dried herb like basil, crushed rosemary, or Italian seasoning blend can be substituted.
• Salt and pepper: To bring out flavors in all ingredients.

How to Cook Whole Frozen Chicken in Instant Pot

Here is how to pressure cook frozen chicken step-by-step with photos. Full recipe card is located below.

Rinse chicken: Place whole chicken in a sink, rinse with cold water and pat dry with paper towel. Keep the twine on the legs to prevent chicken from falling apart. It will be hard to remove anyways.

You need to rinse the chicken, so oil and spices stick to it.

Rub chicken with oil: Place chicken on a plate or right inside the Instant Pot and rub evenly with oil. Your fingers will get cold quickly, washing with warm soapy water immediately helps.

Sprinkle chicken with spices: Place bird chicken breast side down and sprinkle with spices in the following order – salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika and oregano. It helps more ground spices stick first.

Transfer chicken onto a plate.

Add frozen chicken to Instant Pot: Add trivet and 1 cup cold water to your Instant Pot. Place frozen chicken in Instant Pot breasts side up, close the lid and set valve to Sealing position.

Cook: Cook chicken on High pressure as per cooking times chart below. It largely depends on the size of your chicken.

Let pressure release naturally: Super important step is to allow the pressure to come down on its own until the pin drops because chicken keeps cooking with residual heat. Learn more about Natural Pressure Release.

How Long to Cook Frozen Whole Chicken in Instant Pot?

Time varies based on the size of your chicken AND Instant Pot.

Why? Because larger size Instant Pot has larger volume (area) for more pressure to build up. Thus, it takes longer to bring pressure down. Therefore, 8 quart pressure cooker keeps cooking chicken while bringing down pressure for 40 minutes vs. 6 quart pressure cooker that takes only 15 minutes.

For 6 quart Instant Pot:

• 3 pounds whole chicken – 50 minutes.
• 4 pounds whole chicken – 60 minutes.
• 5 pounds whole chicken – 70 minutes.

For 8 quart Instant Pot:

• 4 pounds whole chicken – 40 minutes.
• 5 pounds whole chicken – 50 minutes.
• 6 pounds whole chicken – 60 minutes.

For 3 quart Instant Pot: Honest disclosure is that I do not have this Instant Pot size. However, in comments below I gave reader Miranda a suggestion to cook the whole bird for 17 minutes per pound with Natural Release and she said it came out perfect! 

For 10 quart Instant Pot: I never used one but logically since its capacity is even bigger than 8 quart, I would reduce cook time by 10 minutes less for each size of chicken that is listed for 8 quart. Just like the difference between 6 and 8 quart.

Tips for Best Results

• If your chicken has giblets: You can cook frozen chicken with giblets inside and remove them after cooking. Most giblets are in a paper bag (I haven’t seen them in plastic bag for a while). If you buy fresh whole chicken, you can remove giblets before freezing. If you find out after cooking giblets were in the plastic, it is best to discard the chicken. That’s why, I recommend to use familiar to you brand of chicken for this recipe.
• Leave Keep Warm on before cooking: By default, every Instant Pot has Keep Warm function on at all times unless you press Cancel before selecting cook time. It is indicated by L0:00 display. What it means is that, for example in the photo above, my chicken has finished cooking 56 minutes ago. It is super helpful info since we do not sit and watch pressure cooker cooking and Natural release is a must with this recipe!
• Don’t do quick Release: Please do not vent pressure by turning valve to Venting and come back and tell me your chicken was raw. Your Instant Pot needs to bring pressure down on its own during which time meat keeps cooking with residual heat. Do not follow the Quick Release, turning Sealing valve to Venting position if pressure pin is still up.
• To get crispy skin: Carefully transfer cooked chicken in Instant Pot onto baking sheet and broil for a few minutes to crisp up the skin. If you have an air fryer lid, just pop it on top – even easier!

What to Do With Chicken Broth at the Bottom?

After pressure cooking the chicken, you will end up with delicious juices at the bottom of the pot. It’s golden liquid! Make any soup recipe with it or try it in a borscht recipe! Refrigerate chicken broth until ready to cook.

You can also save the bones and make more Instant Pot chicken broth with it, possibly combining with raw chicken, leftover cooking liquid and more water. This is basically how I cook Instant Pot chicken noodle soup. Keep flavorful broth at the bottom of the pot, throw back in the bones and leftover chicken meat, then add desired amount of water. Pressure cook on High for 1-2 hours.

Then add frozen vegetables and pasta, close the lid and let soup cook with residual heat another 5-10 minutes. Season to taste.

Serving Ideas

To serve Instant Pot frozen whole chicken, treat it like a rotisserie chicken. Here are a few ideas:

• Mashed potatoes: Serve however you would serve a rotisserie chicken with healthy mashed potatoes or cauliflower mashed potatoes.
• Rice: After making chicken, make Instant Pot white rice or Instant Pot brown rice.
• Salad: This time I served chicken with southwest quinoa salad. Jennifer Aniston salad would be great too!
• Bread: We also like to buy a whole grain baguette for a side and serve with Ukrainian cucumber and tomato salad. Quick, healthy and easy!

How to Store

For meal prep, transform chicken into Instant Pot shredded chicken and use throughout the week. Make healthy chicken salad or chicken tostadas. Perfect for busy weeknights!

To store leftovers, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

To freeze: Fully cook, cool completely and freeze in an airtight container or resealable freezer bags for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

FAQs

More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes to Try

• Instant Pot stir fry
• Instant Pot chicken and rice
• Instant Pot white chicken chili
• Instant Pot chicken stew
• Instant Pot chicken and potatoes
• Instant Pot butter chicken

Looking for more dinner ideas? Check out my most popular collection of 45 healthy Instant Pot recipes.