How To Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts In The Instant Pot [Video]
Check the easy way of how to cook Frozen Chicken Breasts In The Instant Pot for a quick, easy and very delicious dinner in just about 30 minutes!
Frozen Chicken Breasts In The Instant Pot
When you have an Instant Pot you can make so many delicious recipes in a fraction of the time. One of the best perks of owning a pressure cooker is that you can make many meals without defrosting the meat. With these easy steps on How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts In The Instant Pot, you will see how hassle-free cooking with frozen meat can be.
How many times did it happen to you to plan a tasty dinner, and only to realize that you forgot to thaw the meat?! This is the scenario that usually leads to either eating cereal after work or ordering delivery.
Once you see how easy is to cook frozen meat in the Instant Pot, you won’t have this problem again. In this post, I will tell you How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts In The Instant Pot and I am sharing with you my easy Herbed Chicken. If you are looking how to cook Frozen Ground Beef in the Instant Pot, you should check my recipe, it definitely saves taco night! Also, I put a short video below to show you step by step instructions on how to do this recipe.
Why cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot?
- The best part is that you don’t have to thaw the meat! Which is such a time saver, especially when you are in a rush!
- Cooking time is reduced by a lot in comparison to grilling or baking it in the oven, especially if you still need to wait to defrost it.
- The result is very juicy and flavorful chicken breasts that you can either enjoy right away or store and use as protein on salads. Makes meal prep so much easier.
- Minimum prep work for a great dinner!
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What you will need to cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot?
- Instant Pot or any other Pressure Cooker
- Frozen Chicken Breasts – make sure they are not stuck-frozen to each other. This is important, as it may not cook uniformly.
- Water or Chicken Broth
- White Wine – the white wine can be replaced with either water or chicken broth.
- Minced Garlic
- Butter – optional
How long you should cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot or other Pressure Cooker?
- I like to cook it anywhere between 8-10 minutes. If the chicken breasts are really small, you can see the ones I used in the video, they are on the smaller size, I cook those for 8 minutes with a 10 minute NPR.
- If the chicken breasts are larger and thicker, I cook those for 10 minutes with a 10 minute NPR.
What is Natural Pressure Release (NPR)?
A Natural Pressure Release means that the pressure is released gradually. For a Natural Pressure Release, you click on Keep Warm and wait 10 minutes. After which, you open the valve and let any leftover pressure to release. Another option is to Turn Off/Unplug the pressure cooker, wait 10 minutes and after that open the valve.
A natural release is usually used when cooking soups, meat in a large amount of sauce, pasta or steel cut oats. This method prevents any foam from the dish to shoot out through the valve, which can happen during a Quick Pressure Release.
Can I brown Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot?
Now, that’s a no-no. Do not attempt to brown frozen meat of any type. Another way to make the chicken tastier is after you cook it, quickly rinse the pot, select Sauté and brown it a few minutes.
Herbed Chicken Seasoning:
Chicken doesn’t have to be bland. If you take a few minutes to mix these dried herbs and sauté the chicken, you will end up with a very flavorful and delicious dinner! Also, way quicker than baking the chicken breasts. Here are the herbs that I used:
- Oregano
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Dried Rosemary and Dried Thyme – I also like to add a few fresh thyme sprigs to the pot, they will add great flavor.
- Bay leaves
What do you serve Instant Pot Chicken Breasts with?
Watch recipe step-by-step Video:
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Total time: 30 mins
Ingredients
- 4 frozen chicken breasts (boneless and skinless (about 6-8 ounces each frozen))
- 1 cup water or chicken broth
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon butter (unsalted)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 5 fresh thyme sprigs
- 3 bay leaves
Optional Chicken Seasoning:
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Garnish:
- Fresh thyme
- Chopped parsley
- Lemon slices
Instructions
- Before you add the chicken to the Instant Pot make sure its not stuck together.
- Add frozen chicken breast to the Instant Pot. It is okay if the breasts overlap.
- Add water or chicken broth, white wine, garlic, butter, salt and pepper. Gently stir to combine.
- Add bay leaves and fresh thyme.
- Place the lid and lock it, make sure to point the valve to sealing.
- Press manual and select 8 minutes for small chicken breasts or 10 minutes, for medium-large chicken breasts. It will take the pot about 10 minutes to come to pressure.
- Once the cooking is done and the Instant Pot beeps, do a 10 minute Natural Pressure Release, after that open the valve to release the remaining pressure.
- Check the internal temperature of the chicken, it should be at least 165 degrees F.
- You can chop it and serve it as it is, or you can shred it for chicken tacos. Or follow the instructions below for my Herbed Instant Pot Chicken:
Make Herbed Chicken:
- Remove chicken from the pot and set aside on a plate, cover with aluminum foil.
- Quickly discard the liquid, thyme and bay leaves from the pot. Wash it and dry it with a paper towel.
- Add the pot back to the Instant Pot and select Sauté.
- Once Hot add the olive oil, let the oil heat up for 1 minute. Add the chicken to the pot in one layer, if needed cook it in batches.
- Sprinkle over the seasoning: dried thyme, dried rosemary, dried oregano and red pepper flakes. Brown the chicken on each side without turning it for about 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove chicken from pot and add it to a cutting board. Using a spoon, baste the chicken with the juices from the pot, top it with all the delicious browned herbs.
- Cover with foil and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Slice the chicken and serve.
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