This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my full Disclosure Policy for details.
Make a batch of Crockpot Express Chicken Breast and get meal prep done for the week all at once! Instructions for cooking frozen chicken breasts included!
Our family eats chicken at least three times a week. It’s lean, cheaper than most meats and so versatile. It’s also quick if you’re working with boneless/skinless cuts, which is great for busy weeknights. Now, with Crockpot Express Chicken Breast, my meal prep time has been cut down even more! I’m adding this to my list of favorite Crockpot Express Recipes!
I make chicken breast like this and then use the chicken for several different meals. This Creamy Chicken Salad or a leafy Chicken Antipasto Salad are great for lunches. Creamy Chicken Taquitos are another great way to use up cooked chicken.
If you cook several breasts at once, you can cut some up into chunks and then shred others, depending on what you need it for. Just try to keep the breast pieces similar in size, so the cooking will be even. If you get one of those Costco-chicken-on-steroids breasts, you may need to cut it in half. 🙂 I am cooking in a 6 quart Crockpot Express like this one, so if you’re using a larger pressure cooker, you can fit more meat but may need to adjust the timing just a bit.
Crockpot Express Chicken Breast
Instructions
- Pour chicken broth into the cooking pot. Place chicken breasts in the broth. Try to keep the pieces equal in size for even cooking.
- Close the lid, turn the steam release valve to closed and press "Steam."
- For frozen (or large/thick) chicken breasts, set the time to 10 minutes. For fresh, small breasts, cook for 6-8 minutes, depending on how thick the pieces are. Press Start/Stop
- After the cooking cycle has completed, allow a full natural pressure release (about 10 minutes)
- Remove chicken and cut into pieces or shred. Store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze for future meals.
Nutrition
Using the Crockpot Express for cooking meat is a great way to save time in the kitchen. I just created a cheat sheet for commonly used meats like pork, beef and chicken. You can get the free Crockpot Express Cooking Times printable here and then hang it up inside your cupboard for easy access when cooking!
- Chocolate Orange Cookies - November 2, 2024
- Nutella Banana Bread - October 14, 2024
- Bacon Onion Dip - September 13, 2024
brent says
Boneless breasts come in all shapes and sizes. And the difference between frozen and fresh is two minutes at the long end. Too many variables for me! i have a breast that is medium-ish, frozen…and I think the usda rec of 165 is too high to be tender so I’m going to undershoot. I have never got bone-in or boneless chicken right yet but I love this pot for anything else.
OK here goes! I am hungry. Swami says 9 minutes with 10 npr. Wish me luck I will be back!
Nicole Burkholder says
You do whatever you want, but I’ll never recommend under 165 for chicken-salmonella is no joke. However, chicken will continue to cook as it rests, so it’s smart to stop things early and let it continue while resting. That keeps it juicy as well. You’re right about the variables. That’s why there’s no real hard answer to how long to cook them. Once you get more experienced with it, you can make a pretty good judgement call based on the size of the breast you’re using. I will also filet or butterfly a very thick breast so the cooking is more even. That’s just cook practice no matter how you are opting to cook chicken breast. Good luck!
brent says
actually 9 minutes with 10 npr for this particular frozen breast came out tough as leather and around 197 degrees on my thermo. I could cut it very thin and enjoy half of it. my worry about size was correct. I did not reason this out well enough. Or, truth be told, maybe over-reasoned it?
butterflying is brilliant too. but I’ve only overcooked fresh…this was my first frozen overcook.
so many variables. but I’m getting better at this after a couple years believe it or not.
difference between fresh and frozen may be even a minute I am thinking or they may overlap. The reason this matters so much to me (budget) is my grocer had 6 of these breasts marked down for a couple bucks. That’s a meal every couple days. I got 5 left. They are uniform in that ‘medium-ish’ size…so I’m going 6-7 minutes frozen next time..plus the npr. I do love that it’s an adventure. It’s summer in the southwest so wife forbids the hot oven in the house for several months:)
thanks again Nicole, your site is invaluable. I’m finding a huge difference sometimes in time with instanstpot recipes vs cpe. so its good that you are here. thank you!
Nicole Burkholder says
For best results, always start with thawed meat. It’s easier to judge and cooks more evenly. I usually plan on using chicken breast shredded and “sauced” in some manner when I have to pressure cook it frozen. It lends itself toward shredding when it’s cooked longer than you might normally prefer-and saucing it keeps it from being dry. But like you mentioned, there are really so many variables! You will be a pro in no time!
brent says
followup: 5 stars. My lucky number was bean setting @ 6 minutes + 10npr. that is frozen breast straight to CPE, no trivet, liquid up to 3/4s of the breast. came out about 157 degrees and oh.so.juicy and tender and tasty. I’m sure there was carryover coking after 157 to creep it up to usda.
perfect.
now if I could ever figure out bone-in pieces I will never waste chicken again:). Nicole do you bone-in CPE recipes? I thought I read them all.
Thanks again.
Nicole Burkholder says
I have a recipe for whole chicken and chicken wings. There’s a recipe for Salsa Verde Chicken Thighs (bone in) in my ebook, but I don’t think I have any other bone in recipes for chicken on the site. I guess maybe I should put that recipe online now, too! 🙂 Oh, the Slow Cooker Paprika Chicken also has instructions for cooking in the CPE. That’s bone in as well 🙂 Just use the website search bar and type the recipe name or “chicken” and it should bring it up!
Eloise Stevens says
I want to know how to fry chicken in the crock pot express crock multi cooker. Could you send me the recipe.
Thank you.
Nicole Burkholder says
This pot isn’t designed for deep frying. You could *try* to fill the inner pot with oil and use one of the lid off settings like brown/saute or sear, but it’s likely that the oil will not get hot enough for frying. There’s no good way to control the temperature of the oil. And it’s definitely NOT something you’d do with any of the pressure settings.
Valerie P says
Easiest way to get consistent, perfectly cooked chicken. I use this chicken in potpies, chicken salad, and all recipes requiring cooked or shredded chicken. Freezable after cooking so I make plenty for future quick meal assembly. This is a go-to, must-have recipe.
Sydney says
Can I add rice, soups, etc to this chicken recipe and if so, would I need to add any time or change the settings?
Nicole Burkholder says
You can cook things together in the pot, yes, but this “recipe” is more of a how-to for cooking chicken breast. For example, if you wanted to add rice, you’d need to add much more water or broth because the rice will soak it all up. If you add thick soups like cream of mushroom or something, you’d need to thin it out a bit with broth. For the pot to reach pressure, it has to have thin liquid to turn into steam.
A while ago I had some health issues and had to really limit my diet to bland foods. I basically lived on white rice and chicken breast. I would add 1/2 cup of white rice to the pot, 1 cup of water and then put a chicken breast on top of it. Then I just hit the “rice” button and let it cook for the default time, plus a full natural pressure release.
Lizanne says
Hi, this maybe an obvious question but how much liquid/chicken broth do you need?
Nicole Burkholder says
You made me do a double take! It’s listed there in the recipe card 🙂 You need one cup of liquid, whether that’s chicken broth or water. But to be honest, when cooking chicken you CAN cheat a little and get away with 1/2 cup because chicken releases so much liquid while cooking. For starting out, go with one cup of thin liquid always (for pressure cooking)
Hope says
I may be staring at the answer, but high or low pressure?
Nicole Burkholder says
Steam defaults to high pressure, so that’s what it would be. Most recipes are done on high pressure, and low pressure is saved for more delicate foods like fish and rice.
Kathy says
is frozen chicken tenders the same cook time
Nicole Burkholder says
Because tenders are smaller than whole breasts, the cook time would be less.
Karen Freiert says
I made shredded chicken, 8 min 5 min npr. I may have had tough chicken breasts today. I thought that when I made Fiesta Chicken the breasts were more tender. That was 15 minutes at high pressure and 15 minutes natural pressure release. It was the same amount of chicken. I followed the recipe exactly and thought that these chicken breasts were more tough. Do you think it was the natural pressure release. The time difference in cooking is substantial.
Nicole Burkholder says
I think cooking the chicken with other ingredients will also make a difference. For the fiesta chicken, the heat/pressure is also working on the beans, corn, etc. It’s best to always do a full NPR for chicken and other meats if possible. But the most likely culprit is the actual chicken breast. The size/thickness makes all the difference. I have some that are done in under 10 minutes, but then other batches are much thicker in the middle and if I don’t pound them out, they take closer to 20! For the most even cooking, trying cutting into equal pieces first.
Freddy says
My chicken came out different than when I cooked it on the stove I liked the stove better can’t explain how it came out on the express cooker it also lost its chipotle flavor I’m guessing cause of the water
Should I of just put some cooking oil?
Nicole Burkholder says
Pressure cooking is different than stove top for sure. It takes a little bit of practicing and tweaking to get things the way you want them to taste. You’ll get the hang of it, so don’t give up! I would suggest using broth rather than water for more flavor, and go heavy on the seasoning. You can use as little as 1/2 cup of liquid with chicken breast because it’s so juicy and releases lots of liquid as it cooks. Good luck!
Freddy says
Won’t chicken broth make the chipotle chicken loose it’s flavor
Nicole Burkholder says
It may dilute the chipotle flavor a bit, yes. If you have a sauce or rub that you like to use, you can always put that on the chicken, then put the chicken up on the trivet and cook it up out of liquid that way instead.
Angel says
I’m new to this if I’m cooking up two chicken breast fresh how long do I cook them for what buttons so I use
Nicole Burkholder says
The settings and cook times will be the same for one or two chicken breasts. Just follow the recipe here on this page. 🙂
etta says
just had the same question, thanks for clearing that up. will it burn it to leave it on 15 min? this is my first time using it.
Nicole Burkholder says
Food won’t burn in the CPE (using the pressure cooker functions) but it may be get dry and tough if over cooked.
Wendy says
Hi it seems the lowest I can go is 15 minutes. Is there a way to override this?
Nicole Burkholder says
If you need to go lower, you can choose Beans/Chili which goes down to 5 minutes, or Steam, which goes down to 3. All the pressure cook buttons work the same, they just default to different cooking times. 🙂