Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Tenderloins are a fast and easy way to prepare chicken that is juicy and cooked perfectly in a flash.
Many of us don’t plan ahead enough to defrost chicken in time to prepare it for dinner. It’s so much easier not to do the defrosting part at all. That’s not a problem with the Instant Pot. Not only does it cook chicken very quickly, it can be done from frozen and it turns out really good.
I rarely thaw chicken before cooking anymore, since it’s really unnecessary when cooking in the Instant Pot. It takes just a few minutes longer than cooking thawed chicken and it turns out just as juicy and tender.
I realize this isn’t our typical recipe, as there are only 2 ingredients, but I also guarantee it’ll be the one you come back to again and again, when you forget how many minutes to cook it for. That’s because chicken is one of those easy dinner ideas that can be used in just about any recipe.
Chicken tacos anyone?
Why You’ll Love It
- No Thawing Required: You can cook frozen chicken tenderloins directly in the Instant Pot without the hassle of thawing them first, saving you time and effort.
- Quick Cooking: The Instant Pot cooks frozen chicken tenderloins much faster than traditional methods, so you can have a tasty meal ready in a flash.
- Flexible Use: You can use Instant Pot frozen chicken tenderloins in various dishes, from salads to sandwiches, making them a versatile and convenient option for any meal.
Liz says: 
Such an easy way to cook chicken tenders for so many dishes! I made a chicken casserole most recently!
Pam R. says: I’ve used my Instant Pot for years, but wasn’t convinced frozen chicken tenderloins would turn out well. Boy, was I wrong!! This simple recipe is not only a huge time saver, but the chicken tenderloins turned out incredibly juicy and tender! I added a couple TBS of butter prior to cooking, but that’s the only alteration to this wonderful recipe. Very glad I gave this a try!
» You might like Instant Pot Olive Garden Chicken Pasta.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken tenderloins – These tender little strips of chicken are found on either side of the breastbone under the breast.
- Chicken broth – You can use any kind of broth or just water.
- If you don’t want to use chicken broth or don’t happen to have any on hand, that’s not a problem. You can just use water. It won’t give as much of a rich seasoned flavor, but it’s still very good.
- Salt & pepper – To taste
Equipment Needed
- Instant Pot – I use a 6-quart Instant Pot Duo Plus to make all of my recipes, but you can use any size or brand of electric pressure cooker. If you’re using an 8-quart pot, you will need to adjust the amount of liquid accordingly, as it requires more water to build steam.
Helpful Tips
- No matter what flavor combo you want to try, you still need at least 1 cup of water in your pot. So keep that in mind when you add sauces, they are in addition to the water. This will mean that your sauce will turn out a bit watery and will have to be cooked down or thickened with corn starch.
- You can cook as many chicken tenderloins in the Instant Pot at once as you need to. It takes the same amount of chicken broth to cook 4 pieces as it does for 30 pieces. Just don’t go past the fill line.
- The process for making frozen chicken tenderloins in the Instant Pot is the same as making it from thawed, you just need to add a little bit of extra time to make sure the chicken gets up to the correct internal temperature.
How to Cook Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Tenderloins
Step 1: Add liquid, chicken & seasoning
Pour one cup of chicken broth into the inner pot.
Place the frozen chicken tenders in the liquid. Sprinkle with salt and pepper or any other desired seasonings.
Step 2: Pressure cook
Lock the lid and turn the vent to sealing. Press the “pressure cook” button and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes (8 minutes for more than 15 tenderloins).
When done, verify that the internal temp of the chicken is at least 165° F(75°C).
What to Use Chicken Tenderloins For
One of the best things about chicken tenderloins is that they can be used for so many different dishes. Once you’ve got this method down, you’ll be making them all the time. When they come out of the Instant Pot, you can serve them whole with a dipping sauce, or add sauce and seasoning so them.
This gives you the most versatility because you can cook a lot of plain chicken in one go and then use it for many different meals throughout the week.
Use chicken tenderloins to make:
- Chicken Tacos
- BBQ chicken sandwiches
- Chicken salad (or sandwiches)
- Cajun chicken pasta
- Chicken Caesar salads
Those are just a few ideas. I’m sure you can come up with hundreds more. You can also add seasonings and sauces directly to the inner pot to flavor your chicken. You might try adding BBQ sauce directly to the pot, or add Italian dressing for a zesty chicken.
Additions & Variations
You can add any manner of different spices as well. Try:
- Italian seasoning
- Cajun seasoning
- Lemon Pepper
- Hickory salt
- Taco seasoning
How to Store and Reheat
Allow the chicken to cool completely then transfer to either an airtight container or a zip top bag for storage. You can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. This way, you’ll have the extra chicken readily available when you need to whip up a speedy meal.
Reheat in the oven at 350° F(175°C) for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through. You can also pop them into the microwave.
What To Serve On The Side
You can serve this dish with any side dish you like. That’s the best part – they go with everything.
Try serving them with these sides that you can also make in the Instant Pot:
Questions About the Recipe
How long to cook frozen chicken tenderloins?
Cooking frozen chicken tenderloins in the Instant Pot will take about 5 minutes at high pressure. You have to take into account the time it takes for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure. It will take at least 10 minutes to pressurize and then 5 minutes for natural pressure release. All together it will take about 20 minutes to cook frozen tenderloins.
Is it ok to pressure cook frozen chicken?
Absolutely! This is one of the main reasons that we love the Instant Pot. Fresh or frozen it cooks everything wonderfully.
Why is my frozen chicken rubbery in the Instant Pot?
Chicken can turn out rubbery if they are undercooked or overcooked. Make sure that you are just cooking them until 165° F(75°C). Allow them to rest before cutting into them or shredding to allow the juices to redistribute. This will help keep them tender and juicy.
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Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Tenders
Note: Made in a 6-qt Instant Pot
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound (340 g) chicken tenders
- 1 cup (237 ml) chicken broth
- Salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Pour the broth into the inner pot. Place the chicken in the water and season with salt and pepper.
- Close and lock the lid. Set the vent to sealing.
- Press the pressure cook button and set to 6 minutes. It will take about 5 minutes to come up to pressure.
- After cooking, allow a natural pressure release.
- Serve chicken tenders whole or shred for shredded chicken.
Notes
- No matter what flavor combo you want to try, you still need at least 1 cup of water in your pot. So keep that in mind when you add sauces, they are in addition to the water. This will mean that your sauce will turn out a bit watery and will have to be cooked down or thickened with corn starch.
- You can cook as many chicken tenderloins in the Instant Pot at once as you need to. It takes the same amount of chicken broth to cook 4 pieces as it does for 30 pieces. Just don’t go past the fill line.
- The process for making frozen chicken tenderloins in the Instant Pot is the same as making it from thawed, you just need to add a little bit of extra time to make sure the chicken gets up to the correct internal temperature.
Nutrition
Laura is a passionate home cook and the owner of A Pressure Cooker Kitchen. She is dedicated to helping people create delicious Instant Pot meals with ease. Laura is an expert at developing recipes that can be prepared quickly and easily using a pressure cooker.
I’ve used my Instant Pot for years, but wasn’t convinced frozen chicken tenderloins would turn out well. Boy, was I wrong!! This simple recipe is not only a huge time saver, but the chicken tenderloins turned out incredibly juicy and tender! I added a couple TBS of butter prior to cooking, but that’s the only alteration to this wonderful recipe. Very glad I gave this a try!
Fantastic! I’m glad you tried it, too. It’s really the only way I make chicken anymore.
Can’t wait to try your method! Last week I used timing for regular size frozen chicken breasts and my poor little tenderloins turned to rubber, now my jaw hurts from chewing so much all week, lol. One question: How long do you allow for natural release? Do you wait til the little metal thingy drops, or for a certain amount of time? I don’t want to make rubber chicken again, haha. Thanks!
Hi Jillian. I do a natural pressure release, which means letting the metal pin drop. However, it only really needs a 5-10 minute release, so you can let the rest out yourself if you’re in a hurry.
How do you deal with the tender running through the chicken tenderloin? Are you able to remove it after cooking?
You can remove it carefully with a knife (even from frozen) before cooking, but I usually will just remove it after cooking, if it’s bothersome. Sometimes you don’t notice it.
Maybe this should be obvious, but this recipe only works for chicken tenders that come frozen in a bag. If you buy chicken tenders at the grocery store (more cost-effective) and then freeze them, they will be clumped together and the recipe won’t work. The inner ones won’t cook, and the outer ones will. I had to add like 8 minutes onto the recipe, and some are overcooked now unfortunately.
The ones I used in this recipe were a block of frozen tenderloins that were clumped together. You can see them in the images. They turned out well for me, all cooked through and none were overcooked.
Same thing happened to me with a hunk of frozen together tenderloins— they were mostly cooked but the inner ones when I broke the hunk open after completed cooking time were still raw. So it must depend on how thick of a frozen chunk you have.
It does matter if you have a large chunk or small one. The best thing would be to defrost the chicken first before putting in the IP. Or do an initial cook in the IP, break them up, and cook again.
I love this recipe for meal prep. I make up a ton of cooked and shredded chicken and then freeze it into 2 cup ziplock bags.
I love the Instant Pot for meal prep. What a great idea!
This recipe is a hassle-free way to cook chicken for all kinds of things.
We agree!
Do I need to put the chicken on a trivet?
You don’t have to put it on the trivet.
I’m new to using the Instant Pot, and I’m wondering if the cooking time for frozen chicken tenderloins differs from fresh ones?
It does differ, but just slightly. You might need to add only 1 more minute for frozen.
So easy! Thanks for sharing.
Such an easy way to cook chicken tenders for so many dishes! I made a chicken casserole most recently!
It really is a time saver isn’t it?
Thank you for this great recipe
Glad you liked it Connie.