Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Legs

Ever wonder how to cook frozen chicken legs in Instant Pot? Well sometimes we all have forgetful moments and forget to defrost our meat. We are here to help y’all! Just one of many quick Instant Pot recipes on our site.

I have been busy figuring out how to cook frozen food in Instant Pot lately. Why?? Because I have my moments, days, where I’m a bit overwhelmed and I personally need the info. SO I do and share it with y’all too.

One that has been really popular is our frozen roast in Instant Pot instructions. Wow is that amazing and so tender. No need to defrost ahead of time, you can now throw meat from your freezer into your pot and cook perfectly.

Ingredient Notes

You are going to add Frozen chicken drumsticks right out of the freezer with no thawing required. There is one thing to remember to be successful though, they should be separated from one another or they won’t cook evenly. If you cannot pull them apart, run cool water over the top and pull to separate.

Add some Water into the pot to create steam in order to cook them, broth works too if you prefer.

The seasonings you add are up to you but this is what we used; paprika, onion powder, salt and some pepper. If they aren’t sticking you can splash water on them or spray with some olive oil and then sprinkle this on.

If you wanted to add flavor and/or a sauce like our teriyaki chicken drumsticks I would brush sauce on at the end so it sticks nicely and doesn’t sluff off in the cooking process.

How Long to Cook Frozen Chicken Legs in Instant Pot

Believe it or not the cook time is dramatic taking it from a whopping hour or so in the oven vs. you only need 13 minutes in a pressure cooker on high!! A few minutes on natural release is best when done but wow is that a huge difference!

If you HAVE defrosted them, you can follow our Instant Pot chicken legs time. Now it was time to figure out chicken drumsticks, because my kids love them. You can buy them so cheap too and take them right out of the bag and throw them in for dinner.

Is it ok to put frozen chicken in Instant Pot?

Of course, we have been cooking frozen meat several different ways with different parts of the bird for years. Here are a few resources if you want to cook breasts, thighs, and now legs down below:

• This is how long to cook Instant Pot frozen chicken thighs perfectly.
• If you want know how to cook frozen chicken in the Instant Potusing chicken breasts right out of the bag, we have that too.
• Frozen chicken tenders Instant Pot style are easy too.

So long as you allow the pot to naturally release some of it’s steam at the end, it will come out tender. Of course follow the cook time listed on the recipe you’d like to use but I wouldn’t share anything that didn’t work great.

How do you know when they are done?

If you follow our instructions when the lid if listed they should all be to the point where the meat is pulling away from the bone. This means that the meat is nice and tender when this happens and in the thickest portion it will have reached a safe 165F.

Tips for Success

I personally like to add some during the cook time but re-season when they are done. I’d rather under-season and adjust at the end vs. regret adding too much because you can’t remove the salt. Plus my husband has high blood pressure so I like to err on the side of less that in our home….

We will show you how below. Keep in mind that pressure cooking will not get crispy chicken skin. You’d need to use our air fryer fried chicken recipe for that. OR use this and then throw them in there for just a few minutes. If you don’t have both devices shame on you…just kidding, kinda’….you can just brush on bbq sauce and under the broiler too to crisp.

As for the seasonings (I say this on all my recipes) use what you normally would. I mean I give you suggestions below as to what was used on this round but if you are a huge garlic salt lover, then add that too.

Always check meat internal temperature before consuming. Then once they’re done, line a baking sheet with some parchment or foil (less messy), brush with your favorite sauce and broil until crispy.

Ninja Foodi Frozen Chicken Legs

Whether you need a Crockpot Express or Ninja Foodi recipe it doesn’t matter. The timing and instructions will work with any brand you have except for the latter machine. For that all you need to remember is that the lid that is not attached will be used to pressure cook, the lid that is attached will crisp if desired.

You’d have to add more time for Instant Pot chicken leg quarters. I’m not sure exactly but I’d guess it would take another 5 minutes or so depending on how many you added.

Keep in mind that the time it will take to come to pressure, cook, naturally release a bit and crisp will take 25 minutes to 30 minutes total. It is a great quick and easy chicken recipe you can make really quickly.

Other chicken leg recipes you’ll love

Our easy Slow cooker chicken legs can be prepped super fast in the morning, starting from right out of the freezer too. And this is how to make pan fried chicken legs on the stove to super crispy.

You can find a lot of other cheap Instant Pot recipes to make next. I mean who doesn’t love to find a new one pot meal that feeds all of you for under 20 bucks??!!

Can you reheat cooked chicken legs?

Of course. I suggest you throw them into your air fryer for a few minutes at 380 degrees F. If you don’t have that you can microwave for about 45 seconds – 1 minute. You can also just remove the meat right out of the fridge and throw it into something like our Instant Pot chicken and rice dish.

Feel free to print out the instructions below or just come back when you need them again. We love “seeing you” over and over again for sure.