How to cook a whole frozen chicken in your Instant Pot

How to cook a whole frozen chicken in your Instant Pot–If you love getting those whole rotisserie chickens at your grocery store, you’ll love this recipe for pressure cooker whole seasoned chicken. The chicken is cooked in minutes in your Instant Pot (my chicken was actually totally frozen) and then stuck under the broiler to crisp up the skin. Slice the chicken up to eat plain or use it in any recipes that call for cooked chicken. 

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Don’t have an Instant Pot? How to cook a whole chicken in your SLOW COOKER

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How to cook a whole frozen chicken in your Instant Pot

Let’s get real. Who has time to defrost? Or who actually plans ahead that far in advance? Not me, not me! I am infamous for throwing frozen meats in my pressure cooker or my slow cooker (don’t tell the food police). Even though I’m a food blogger I really don’t have my mealing planning together…at all. Most of the time I just come up with something at 4 pm.

That’s why I was so excited to meet the Instant Pot. It allows me to think of something to make for dinner at 4:00 pm and have it on the table by 5:30…even if it’s a whole frozen chicken. Yes! It’s true. I know that’s hard to believe. But miracles do happen. I threw a 5 lb frozen chicken in the Instant Pot and it set the timer for 50 minutes. It took about 15 minutes to come to pressure and then I let the pressure come down for about 15 minutes before opening the pot. So about an hour and 20 minutes total time. The chicken was perfectly tender and we ate some of it plain that night with a salad and then saved the rest for wraps and sandwiches.

One thing I did notice was that I had to really work to get my 5 lb chicken to fit in my Instant Pot. It was placed on the trivet and I had to maneuver it around a bit. So next time I’ll probably choose a 4 lb chicken, which would actually take a few less minutes to cook, as well as fit better.

If you’re a fan of the crispy skin on a chicken then you’ll probably want to take the extra step of placing the chicken under the broiler after it cooks. I just stuck my chicken on a cookie sheet and put it under a broiler set on high for about 5 minutes. That way my daughter and husband, who live for the skin, can be happy.

Other frozen chicken pressure cooker recipes…

Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Breasts from Frozen from Or Whatever You Do

Pressure Cooker Chicken Taco Filling from Pressure Cooking Today

Instant Pot Chicken Gyros with Frozen Chicken

Ultimate Whole Chicken in Slow Cooker from All Free Slow Cooker Recipes

What Instant Pot Did You Use?

To cook this frozen chicken I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1 for this recipe. I also own the 6 quart Instant Pot IP-LUX60 V3 Programmable Electric Pressure Cooker. They are both great pressure cookers! The first one I mentioned has a yogurt making function but other than that they are fairly similar. The price difference between the two is about $20.

How to cook a whole frozen chicken in your Instant Pot

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★ 1 from 1 reviews

• Prep Time: 30
• Cook Time: 50
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings
• Method: Instant Pot

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Description

If you love getting those whole rotisserie chickens at your grocery store, you’ll love this recipe for pressure cooker whole seasoned chicken. The chicken is cooked in minutes in your Instant Pot (my chicken was actually totally frozen) and then stuck under the broiler to crisp up the skin. Slice the chicken up to eat plain or use it in any recipes that call for cooked chicken. 

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Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (mine was 5 lbs and almost too big to fit in my IP. So I’d recommend a 4 lb chicken)
• 1 cup water
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 Tbsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder

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Instructions

1. Remove packaging from frozen chicken. Run a little hot water over the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. (During this whole process I like to wear disposable gloves.)
2. Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of the Instant Pot and put the bay leaf in there too. Place the trivet in the bottom.
3. In a little bowl combine the butter, rosemary, sage, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Use your fingers to run this mixture all over the chicken. Place the chicken, breast side up, on the trivet.
4. Cover the Instant Pot and set the timer on manual for 50 minutes. Make sure valve is set to “sealing.” When the timer beeps let some of the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes and then switch the valve to “venting” and release the rest of the pressure.
5. Use a thermometer to check the temperature of the meatiest portion of the chicken. It should read 165° F. If it’s not up to temperature then you’ll want to cover the pot and cook on manual setting for 5 more minutes.
6. Optional: Place the chicken on a cookie sheet and put under the broiler for 5 minutes to crisp up the skin.
7. Slice chicken and serve. Season to taste. We like to save the leftovers to use in other recipes or make sandwiches and wraps with it.

Notes

Don’t have an Instant Pot? How to cook a whole chicken in your SLOW COOKER

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