How to Cook Frozen Chicken in Instant Pot

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

Once your chicken is prepped, just let the magic of the Instant Pot do the rest!

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 chicken, so oil and spices stick to it.

Avocado oil being poured onto whole chicken on a plate.

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.

Person rubbing chicken with oil on a plate.

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.

Whole chicken sprinkled with spices inside pressure cooker pot.

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.

Instant Pot display showing 50 minutes manual cook time.

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

Instant Pot display says cook time finished 56 minutes ago.

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 Chicken in an Instant Pot?

Time for pressure cooking frozen chicken in Instant Pot 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 mins less for each size of chicken that is listed for 8 quart. Just like the difference between 6 and 8 quart.

Cooked frozen chicken in Instant Pot on a trivet.

Tips for Best Results

Here are my top tips for the best Instant Pot frozen chicken recipe 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 frozen chicken in Instant Pot!
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!!!

FAQs

Can you pressure cook frozen chicken?

Yes. You can pressure cook frozen chicken in Instant Pot without thawing. Unlike when you cook whole chicken in slow cooker for hours, pressure cooking happens fast without harmful bacteria getting a chance to grow like with slow cooking method.

Do you have to use a trivet when pressure cooking frozen chicken?

No but without the trivet the skin on the chicken will be a bit soft. But you can cook frozen chicken in Instant Pot without a rack.

Can I cook fresh chicken in Instant Pot?

Yes. Fresh whole chicken requires twice less cook time than frozen. If your chicken is thawed, then use this Instant Pot whole chicken recipe.

Why is my cooked frozen chicken in Instant Pot still looks pink?

The most reliable way to check if your chicken in Instant Pot is ready is to insert an instant read thermometer into its thickest part. If it registers 165 F, your chicken is ready. You can’t use the color of the meat to reliably know the doneness of chicken. Sometimes chicken does look pink, especially chicken thighs, and even possibly with red blood vessels.

Cooked Instant Pot frozen chicken served with quinoa salad.

What To Do With Chicken Broth at the Bottom?

After pressure cooking frozen 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 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. Add frozen vegetables and pasta, close the lid and let soup cook with residual heat another 5-10 minutes. Season to taste.

What Do I Serve Instant Pot Frozen Chicken with?

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

Mashed potatoes: Serve however you would serve a rotisserie chicken with healthy mashed potatoes or cauliflower mashed potatoes.
Salad: This time I served chicken with southwest quinoa salad. Instant Pot potato 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 Instant Pot frozen chicken 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.

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