In less than 30 minutes, you can have an entire meal with tender chicken breasts, creamy risotto-like rice, and sweet carrots thanks to the Instant Pot.
How many times have you reminded yourself to take the chicken out of the freezer only to discover that, after you started doing 10 other things, you totally forgot? For me, more often than I’d like to admit.
I have written about cooking chicken from frozen in a post aptly named How to Cook Chicken Breasts from Frozen and one for Chicken Parmesan Using Frozen Chicken Breasts. Both of these recipes use the oven. The cooking times are based upon information from the USDA. Basically, it says you need to add about 50 percent more cooking time.
So, when I’m crunched for time and need to get a meal on the table in less than 30 minutes, I turn to frozen chicken breasts. And to make it even quicker, I put those frozen chicken breasts into the Instant Pot!
Making Chicken With Rice And Carrots In The Instant Pot
If you want to just cook plain frozen chicken breasts, head over here for the info. This is ideal for meal prep or for when you want plain chicken quickly.
If you want a full meal that starts with frozen chicken breasts, then turn to the recipe below. It uses frozen chicken breasts, uncooked rice, and uncooked carrots. That all goes into the Instant Pot and then blammo, you have a delicious one-pot dinner.
There is no fussing with multiple settings. All of the ingredients go in at the same time, you lock the lid in place, turn the vent to seal, and set the time. In the time it takes to round up the kids and set them to the task of setting the table, dinner is ready to be served. Supper saved!
Please read the notes in the recipe card, as some people have struggled with this recipe and others rave about it.
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
More Chicken Dinner Recipes
Instant Pot or not, I turn to chicken for quick weeknight dinners all.the.time. I’m linking to some of my favorite easy chicken dinners below, but be sure to also have a browse through all of my chicken recipes here (there are over 100 of them!).
- Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
- One-Dish Italian Chicken and Cauliflower
- Chicken Pasta Bake With Creamy Alfredo Sauce
- Salsa Chicken
- Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas
Podcast Episode About Making Instant Pot Chicken Breasts From Frozen
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this chicken dinner, along with some other great tips, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
PrintInstant Pot Meal – Chicken Breasts from Frozen with Rice & Carrots
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
IMPORTANT: This recipe has VERY mixed reviews in the comment section below. For that reason, I took the recipe down and retested it twice. It worked perfectly both times. While the recipe was down, I got the following in an email, “Hi there, I used a recipe off of your website last week in my new instant pot. I saved the link because my family liked it so much! However, I went back to make it tonight and the link no longer works. :-( Can you tell me where I can find a post of your “Frozen Chicken breast, rice and carrots” instant pot recipe?”
I do not doubt the negative reviews that this recipe has received at all. But given my own success with this recipe, and that email, and some other positive feedback, I have decided to republish the recipe. I’ll also tell you more about how I made it:
- My instant pot is an 8 quart one, this one.
- I used chicken breasts that were 6-8 ounces each. Larger chicken breasts might throw off the recipe. I’ve updated the recipe to reflect this.
- My chicken breasts are individually frozen, meaning that they were not frozen in a big clump. I either buy them already individually frozen or I bring fresh chicken breasts home and freeze them in a single non-touching layer on a cookie sheet before transferring them to a freezer bag. I’ve updated the recipe to reflect this.
- I have now tried this recipe both with rinsed and non-rinsed rice. This doesn’t seem to affect burning or sticking. There was a little bit of sticking with both versions. The latter resulted in a wetter finished rice. Either way, the rice was creamy and soft, like risotto almost. I’ve left the rice unrinsed in the recipe.
- Note that many commenters have said that they used an extra 1/2 cup of chicken broth (so 2 and 1/2 cups instead of 2 cups). I haven’t yet tried this but the comments seem to be positive.
I’m truly sorry to those of you for whom this recipe has failed. I’m afraid to recommend that anyone else try it at this point. But if you’re brave and do, please leave a comment below letting us all know how it went. Good luck!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/4 cups long grain white rice
- 2 cups unsalted chicken broth
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 4 (6-8 oz. each) individually-frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tsp. Italian herb blend, or your favorite dried herb blend
- 5 –6 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-in. pieces
Instructions
- Measure rice into bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Add chicken broth and salt and pepper, stir to combine.
- Lay the frozen chicken breasts on top of the rice. Season the chicken breasts with the Italian herb blend or your favorite herb blend.
- Lay carrots on top of the rice.
- Cover pot, lock on the lid, and set the steam release valve to Sealing
- Select Pressure Cook and make sure it’s set to high. Set the time to 9 minutes.
- When the cooking cycle has finished, allow the pot to sit for 5 minutes, and then do a quick release by moving the valve to Venting.
Notes
You can make this recipe with fresh chicken breasts as well. Set the cooking time to 7 minutes. Allow the pot to sit for 5 minutes, and then do a quick release by moving the valve to Venting.
This recipe was originally published in July 2018 and was updated in October 2019.
Cheryl says
Hi! I’m trying something like this now – but does it take the instant pot a lot longer to come to pressure with the frozen chicken? I am finding a pretty long pre-heat mode which, of course, is adding to the time it takes to cook. (I’m hoping this works with the NY Times instant pot chicken congee — which includes A LOT of liquid so hopefully the burn warning will not be a problem). thanks!
Darlene Kelsch says
1/27/22- made this. Added additional 1/4 cup water. Cooked up perfectly. Used frozen Chicken tenderloins, so 4-6 oz in size.
Great flavor, so simple, kids loved it!
Thank you!
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Darlene! Glad it worked for you.
Robbin Peterson says
I’m definitely in the failed club. Increased the water and got a burn food warning. Added more water and got another burn food.
Finally gave up and poured it into a casserole (less then stuff stuck to the bottom of the pot) and put it in the oven.
Meg says
I loved this recipe! I made it in a 6 quart instant pot and it worked great.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, Meg!
Merritt says
This was great.
I read the other comments and I just do 1 1/4 rice and 2 1/2 cups broth. I always double the liquid no matter whose recipe.
This was really really good.
Marsha says
This recipe was a fail for me. It burned and the rice was mushy. The only departure I made from the recipe was to use a bag of frozen mixed vegetables instead of the carrots,
Lisa Napoleon says
Thank you! This tasted really good, and couldn’t have been easier.
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Lisa!
Shone says
Doubled for my big family, even the kids loved it! Easy and comforting food to feel good about done quickly after working 9 hours. Thanks so much.
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Shone!
Hannah says
My husband got home late from swim lesson and I was in the middle of end-of-term grading so we needed comfort food. We had rice, frozen mixed vegetables, and frozen chicken so this was perfect. We did 2 cups of (low glycemic jasmine rice) to 3 cups of water with bouillon cubes. We used a great Greek Poultry Seasoning for the chicken. We definitely needed a bit more salt and my husband add bbq for his chicken – but this was fast and delicious.
Michele says
It came out perfect. Rice was done just right. I used jasmine rice. I did not rinse it. So easy. Thank for the great recipe
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Michele!
Tracy Matheson says
This recipe is perfect! Recently I have been unable to work (3 mos) and times are quite tough. I have been trying to remember the recipes (more methods that true recipes lol) that my mother used when our family hit upon hard times. So many mouths and a sick parent and a parent that have left work as a nurse to stay home and look after her brood. It’s true that people get tested many times in their lives. Anyway, I digress, I used this beautiful recipe as the backbone for the supper I made tonight. I also used a bit more rice to stretch the meal further. I also used some gluten free mushroom soup and onions and garlic… etc. I used mushroom broth. This recipe is absolutely perfect to personalize. If someone doesn’t have much cooking experience this recipe is simple and perfect as is. It’s also so much more. *just remember that the water is to cook the rice. If you add a heck of a lot more veggies add some extra water or whatever liquid you want. If you use too little liquid in certain other pressure cookers you will get a burn notice because the bottom goes dry quickly and some liquid also escapes before the pressure cooker seals.
Thank you very much Christine! Your recipes are lovely. Not all people who comment are able to figure certain things out or maybe they cooked with anger instead of love. Lol
God love you my dear 😊
Christine Pittman says
Thank you for your kind words, Tracy! Hoping easier times are ahead for you.
Jana says
This turned out really good. My only issue was the chicken was a little tough, but that was my fault. I only had 2 chicken breasts instead of 4, so next time I will make sure I have the right amount!!! The rice and carrots turned out great!!!
Christine Pittman says
Thanks for letting us know, Jana!
Angela says
I used brown rice. 1 1/8 cups of rice, 2 cups of broth, and put it on for 10 mins with what was supposed to be 5 mins but 6 min release. Turned out great. I needed the carrots super soft to feed my 10 month of and they are perfect for us. Rice is creamy and chicken is cooked and able to be pulled into strings.
Christine Pittman says
That’s wonderful, Angela. Thanks for sharing!
Katie says
I made this and it was perfect! My chicken was frozen in clumps so I cut it into 4 breast sized pieces. And it smells amazing! Thanks!
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Katie!
Ashley says
I found this recipe after coming back from vacation and trying to scrounge up a meal with what I had on hand. Used 3 individual frozen Tyson chicken breast, rice, 2 1/4 cups of chicken broth and frozen broccoli. Had some Kinder’s Buttery steakhouse seasoning I picked up at Costco as my seasoning. End result was very creamy, similar to a risotto. Broccoli was very soft like the rice, which might be a turnoff for some, but my 8 year old that has the tooth fairy on speed dial these days loved it! Great for dinner in a pinch. Nothing burnt/stuck to the pot.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks for sharing, Ashley!
Rachel Barksdale says
My family loved it. The carrots were sweet and the chicken was perfect. I added an onion and a little garlic. I also have an 8-qt and the time was perfect. I used the 2.5 cups as noted.
Christine Pittman says
Thank you, Rachel!
Hannah says
I have tried this recipe twice and it has turned out amazing both times in my 6 quart. Though out of necessity I altered the recipe both times (brown rice, chicken legs, and powdered onion soup mix instead of broth for 11 minutes the first time; the second time was ham bullion and water, and pork loin for 9 minutes). This has quickly become a go to recipe for after work.
Christine Pittman says
Thank you for sharing your adjustments, Hannah! I’m glad you have found multiple ways to make this work with what you have.
L W says
This recipe was very easy!! My girls loved it! I used 3 frozen chicken breasts from Costco (individually frozen) instead. If I used 4, I would have needed to stack the 4th on top of the others. I also let it sit for 9 minutes instead of 5 before venting.
Erica l. says
I used ~3/4 cup of rice, 1 1/4 cup of water, and put a frozen chicken filet on the trivet, cooked it with the above settings and did a natural release for 11 mins. It saved me a bunch of time!
Christine Pittman says
Wonderful, Erica! Thanks for sharing.
Calder says
Worked great for me :)