Cook frozen chicken tenderloins in just 10 minutes in your instant pot. No need to freeze chicken tenderloins individually, you can cook them from frozen even if they stacked together!
This recipe not only saves time but creates juicy and flavorful chicken tenderloins that can be shredded for recipes or served as is. Our favorite way to serve this instant pot recipe is chicken tacos – makes for a quick and easy dinner meal any night of the week. Simply add the cooked tenderloins to corn or flour tortillas and top with any taco toppings to create a meal the whole family will love!
For more family friendly dinner recipes, check our Homemade Chicken Nuggets with Ground Turkey, Baked Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole, and Cajun Shrimp and Rice Foil Packs.
If you are on the hunt for simple meal prepping ideas, this is a recipe for you. The tenderloins, seasoned or unseasoned, can be prepped at the beginning of the week then used as desired. From shredding to make BBQ chicken sandwiches or dicing to create homemade chicken salad, there are so many delicious ways to use these chicken tenderloins.
Table of Contents
Equipment and Ingredients
- instant pot with wire rack insert
- 1.5 pounds frozen chicken tenderloins
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning can replace with salt and pepper
- 1 cup water
Related: How To Use An Instant Pot: A Beginners Guide
How To Make
Grab your instant pot and ingredients to get started then follow the step-by-step instructions.
Prep instant pot and add water
Add the wire rack that came with the instant pot into the bottom. Then, add the 1 cup water to the instant pot. Whether you are making this recipe, Instant Pot Frozen Ground Beef or Instant Pot Red Potatoes, make sure there is at least 1 cup of liquid in the bottom to prevent the “burn” message.
Place frozen chicken tenderloins onto the rack
Next, place the chicken onto the rack – there is no need to pull apart tenderloins if frozen together as it is possible to cook stacked or individually frozen. Sprinkle with our Chicken Taco Seasoning Mix or your favorite seasoning combination.
Place lid on and cook
Place the lid onto the instant pot and seal. Cook on manual HIGH for 8 minutes if individually frozen or 10 minutes if frozen into a block. Once finished cooking, do a quick release and check that the internal temperature is 165°F. Place tenderloins into a bowl and gently stir.
Pro Tip: Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to the bowl to help disperse the taco seasoning
Use as desired
Use chicken tenderloins as they are, add to tortillas for chicken tacos, or shred and use in your favorite recipes!
Chicken Tenderloin Recipes
- Chicken Skewers
- Lemon Pepper Chicken Tenderloins
- Bacon Chicken Tenderloins
- Grilled Buffalo Chicken Tenderloins
- Thai Grilled Chicken Tenderloins
Frequently Asked Questions
Cook for 8 minutes if individually frozen or 15 minutes if added to the instant pot stacked together. Check that the internal temperature is 165°F before serving.
Cook for 6 minutes if fresh then do a quick release and check that the internal temperature is 165°F.
Learn How To Shred Chicken In Kitchenaid for a quick and easy method to shredding chicken. This guide especially comes in handy if meal prepping or making a double recipe.
The cooked chicken can be stored as tenders or shredded prior to storing. Once cooled, place in an air-tight container or ziplock bag to store in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. The extra chicken can then be used throughout the week or whenever you need to throw together a quick meal.
More Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
- How To Poach Frozen Chicken Breasts in Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Wings
- Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Thighs
- Frozen Chicken Instant Pot Roundup
CKC Features both Gluten-Free Guidance and Kids Cooking Instructions: If you’re new to eating gluten-free we understand it’s overwhelming trying to figure out which foods may contain gluten and which ones don’t. All of our gluten-free recipes marked with this symbol ✅ represent foods that need to be checked for gluten or cross-contamination.
The ⭐️ symbol in the recipe below denotes the steps in which kid cooks may need a helper (depending on age). If there is no ⭐️ symbol, that step (or recipe) doesn’t require a helper.
Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Tenderloins
Equipment
- instant pot with wire rack insert
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds frozen chicken tenderloins ✅
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (can replace with salt and pepper) ✅
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Prep instant pot and add water. Add the wire rack that came with the instant pot into the bottom. Add water.
- Place frozen chicken tenderloins onto the rack. Place chicken onto the rack and sprinkle with taco seasoning. They will cook faster if the chicken was individually frozen, but it's ok if they are frozen together.1.5 pounds frozen chicken tenderloins, 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (can replace with salt and pepper), 1 cup water
- ⭐️Place lid on and cook. Place the lid onto the instant pot and set to sealing. Cook for 8 minutes if individually frozen, 15 minutes if frozen into a block. Do a quick release and check that the internal temperature is 165°F. Place tenderloins into a bowl and gently stir to disperse the taco seasoning. Add a little olive oil if desired.
- Use as desired. Use chicken tenderloins as they are, add to tortillas for chicken tacos, or shred and use them in your favorite recipes.
Notes
Nutrition
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Kate says
Seriously, cooking chicken from frozen is life changing!
Peggy says
If you follow this recipe, you have to cook to a temperature, which you can’t measure until after you open the pressure cooker. So if the chicken isn’t at that temperature, what do you do? Start all over?
Jodi Danen, RDN says
Great question Peggy! You don’t need to start all over, just put the cover back on, set it to seal, then add 3-5 minutes. The instant pot comes to temperature much quicker due to the heat already in the pot.
Melissa says
I cooked these from almost frozen, having put the block of tenderloins from the freezer to the fridge for a couple hours before cooking. It took about twice the time noted in the recipe to cook through. After the first ten minutes the interior was basically still raw with only a thin exterior cooked. The flavor was good for tacos (used my homemade spice mix) but I would definitely thaw and saute briefly before pressure cooking next time– for better texture. Even so, It was very useful to be able to cook from frozen today with a time crunch….
Jodi Danen, RDN says
Thank you for the feedback Melissa! As you can see in the post my time was based on using frozen tenderloins that were not in a block but rather frozen straight from the packaging. I’ll update the post to reflect the added cooking time for those cooking the chicken from the block form. Thanks so much!!