Cooking a frozen whole chicken in the instant pot in under an hour is one of my absolute favourite instant pot uses!
“What’s your dinner plan tonight?” the husbands texts from work, mid-afternoon.
“Dinner plan!” I think, with panic. “I’m in charge of that again?!” (Yes, Beth, every single weeknight. Welcome back to reality, scatterbrain.)
“Ummm, I’m doing a whole chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans and gravy,” I text back.
And just like that: I’m totally on the ball and winning at weeknight dinner. I mean, it’s 2:53pm and the chicken is still frozen solid in the deep freeze downstairs, but no sweat – I got it handled like a boss thanks to my Instant Pot BFF. Let’s just all pretend like I had planned this all along, ‘kay?
A whole chicken dinner a family favourite meal, and until I acquired an Instant Pot, it required at least 48 hours of forethought: take the whole chicken out of the freezer to defrost in the fridge for a couple of days, and then make sure to start roasting it in the oven by early afternoon to ensure it was cooked through in time.
Now, with the Instant Pot, I can cook a whole chicken that’s frozen solid in about 35 minutes. It’s a dadgum miracle, I tell you. And since I typically make a whole chicken once weekly to ensure I have enough homemade bone broth on hand, this “recipe” (if we can call it that) has come in handy more times than I can count!
Now, the results won’t be *exactly* the same as a perfectly golden roast chicken from the oven. The IP version is slightly less crispy or golden on top, so if that’s super important to you, try this method when you’re not serving it to guests so you can judge for yourself whether you like it.
But honestly – the Instant Pot version majorly impressed me with the end result. It gets lightly browned on top and the meat is tender and moist. Unless I’m staging a magazine photo shoot (which hasn’t happened as of yet in my kitchen), I now go for the Instant Pot every time.
And these days – I actually do include this in my menu planning. Because I’m a genius like that, and because why complicate life when it can so deliciously simple?
Here’s how to do it:
How to Cook a Frozen Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot
Instant Pot Whole Chicken (from frozen)
Your whole chicken can go from your freezer to your dining table in less than an hour thanks to the Instant Pot - how awesome is that?!
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, frozen
- salt & pepper
- herbs and spices of your choice dried or fresh
Instructions
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My rule of thumb with frozen whole chicken in the instant pot is 10 minutes per pound, so I'd cook a 3-pound chicken for 30 minutes, a 4-pounder for 40 minutes, and so on. (For a fresh chicken, I'd do 6-7 minutes per pound.)
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Place frozen whole chicken in the instant pot on the trivet. (You don't need to bother cooking the meat in the liquid, as I typically do in the oven, because the Instant Pot makes perfectly moist chicken every time.)
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Add salt and pepper, seasonings of choice.
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Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup water (depending on the size of your chicken. Minimum half a cup is important in order for the instant pot to function correctly.).
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Set timer to appropriate time on manual mode (see first instruction above). Allow pressure to NPR (natural pressure release), and serve.
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Use the remaining liquid for gravy.
Recipe Notes
Reminder: always use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature before eating.
We typically add the bones back to the Instant Pot after dinner (our family typically eats most of the meat from a smallish whole chicken in one meal) and add water to make bone broth while we clean the kitchen and put the kids to bed.
Don't forget to account for pressurization and de-pressurization time in your planning. An Instant Pot with a frozen whole chicken takes longer to come up to pressure than most other recipes. I'd say it averages 25-30 minutes, and that's before your timer starts the countdown.
Beth
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Love this simple recipe! 6 lb frozen chicken in 60 minutes manual…came out so tender and juicy. Thank you!
Hurray! Glad it worked for you. Gotta love the Instant Pot!
Cooked my frozen 4.75lb chicken for fifty minutes. It wasn’t quite done so I put it back for twenty minutes longer. It was amazing! After eating I took the rest of the chicken off the plate and there was a little puddle of blood. Is that normal? No one is sick.
Hi Debbie! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe! To answer your question, as long as your temps were good, you’re good! I’m guessing the puddle wasn’t blood but a watery red liquid which actually comes from the meat’s myoglobin. If you let the meat rest for about 10 minutes after coming out of the Instant Pot, you’re less likely to see an unsightly puddle as the moisture will get reabsorbed into the meat and make it even juicier. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much! My husband loved the chicken. That was my first time using a pressure cooker. I’m hooked!
I did your recipe tonight and couldn’t believe how much flavour there was to a frozen chicken that wasn’t seasoned until ready for the Instant Pot. I did use other spices and garlic and since my chicken was small, I used the trivet. I just wanted to offer an additional step. Put the chicken on a foil-lined or parchment lined baking sheet and put it in the oven under the broiler for 3 minutes or so (mine started to sizzle). That makes the skin a little crispy and better tasting.
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Sue! Thanks for the comment. 🙂
I have a chicken that is just under 6 pounds. Is that to big for the smaller Instant Pot (I think my is a 7 quart)?
Hmm. It might be. A 4-5 pound chicken is usually recommended. You could always leave the packaging on and check it. If it won’t fit, the store should exchange it for another.
I know this post is old, but in case someone else is needing the same info, there’s no 7 quart Instant Pot. There’s a 6 and 8. Someone just posted on another site she did a turkey that was a little over 7 lbs. in her 6 qt.
UPDATE to my previous post. I bought a 7+ lb. turkey because I heard it could be done in an IP. Not only wouldn’t it fit in the IP, but wouldn’t fit in my slow cooker either. I was so disappointed. Asked for help from both my IP and slow cooker communities and ended up doing a spatchcock (looks like it’s been run over, lol) method in the oven. It turned out fantastic. When I posted about the size problem, I had someone reply who cooked a 6.5 lb turkey breast in a 6 qt. IP without a problem. That’s what I’ll try next.
What about the giblets? They are usually in a bag inside, how do you get them out if the chicken is frozen?
There are several brands that don’t come with giblets. It should say right on the packaging.
Turned out perfect, with all giblets inside, it was falling off & so tender, moist. Love this machine!
Wonderful! 😀