Defrost Chicken In Microwave
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Would you like to knowhow to defrost chicken in the microwave? We placed some of our favourite frozen chicken breast fillets into the freezer and the day after used the microwave to thaw the chicken for you.
You will love our quickest way to defrost chicken and it is ideal for when you want chicken for dinner and all you have is a freezer of frozen chicken.

Thaw Chicken In The Microwave
I buy chicken in bulk and have done for many, many years. I remember way back in 2000 when I had just moved in with my chef boyfriend (he is now my husband of 19 years) the deal on chicken we used to see at our local Safeways.
It was £2.99 for a pack of chicken breasts, and they were quality chicken breasts.
I would then buy the offer in bulk and load them into the freezer.
This is something I still do now 22 years later.
Though mainly now its because I have ordered online groceries and have bought in bulk my favourite chicken or because it has been on yellow sticker and there is no way I can use it by the use by date.
Then our routine would always be to get the chicken from the freezer the evening before, allow it to sit in the kitchen until bedtime and then fridge it overnight.
Though sometimes these routines don’t always work out and that is when thaw chicken in the microwave becomes your new cooking best friend.
Can You Defrost Chicken In The Microwave?
Yes, you can. Many people have been thawing chicken in the microwave for years and it is a simple fast way to defrost your chicken.
The microwave when it defrosts the chicken doesn’t cook the chicken, making it perfect for cooking for dinner.
Can You Cook Frozen Chicken?
This depends on the cooking method of your frozen chicken. For example many people ask can you put frozen chicken in the slow cooker, which is an absolute no no.
And that is because the slow cooker doesn’t get hot enough.
However, you can cook frozen chicken in the air fryer, such as air fryer frozen chicken breast and you can also do so in the instant pot, such as instant pot frozen whole chicken.
Though my biggest reason for using thawed chicken is that it’s a quicker cook time. And it makes cook times easier.
How To Defrost Chicken Fast?
The quickest way to defrost chicken is to use the microwave. Its much quicker than the air fryer or the instant pot and so simple too.
You can defrost chicken breasts, chicken thighs, chicken drumsticks, chicken wings, and chicken breast fillets using the microwave.
Though today we will be showing you how to defrost chicken breast fillets in the microwave.
Is It Safe To Defrost Chicken In Microwave?
Yes, it is.
When you defrost chicken its all about the temperature being right and the microwave totally masters this.
Though make sure when you thaw your chicken in the microwave that you are either cooking with it straight away or loading it into the fridge for later.
How Long Is Chicken Good For After Thawing?
Once you have thawed your chicken, I recommend you load it into a Ziploc bag (unless cooking with straight away) and then place it in the fridge for up to 2 days. Then cook your chicken and once cooked it can remain in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Note, if you have bought chicken on its use by date, once you defrost your chicken you must cook it the same day.
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Thaw Chicken In Microwave Essentials

Chicken – I recommend you use either frozen chicken breast or frozen chicken breast fillets for the best results. As these are the easiest to thaw in the microwave. You can use any brand and avoid defrosting too much at once otherwise your microwave will take longer.
Seasoning – I have found that frozen chicken can lose its flavour a bit. I recommend you season it with salt and pepper as you defrost.
Steamer – The best way to defrost chicken in the microwave is to steam it and to use a steamer bowl. This is the one we recommend and use in all our microwave steamed recipes.
Then for the kitchen gadgets that we have used in this how to defrost chicken in microwave guide it has just been our Panasonic Microwave Oven. We have this one and its wonderful for many types of microwave recipes.
How To Defrost Chicken In Microwave?

- Unpackage. Start by removing the packaging, including any packaging that is stuck to the bottom of the frozen chicken. Then separate so that you are not just defrosting a huge lump of chicken.
- Bowl. Next add to your steamer bowl your tablespoon of water and then add in your frozen chicken and season.
- Microwave. Then microwave your frozen chicken for 6 minutes on the defrost setting.
- Turn. When the microwave beeps, turn over your frozen chicken breasts, season with salt and pepper and cook on defrost for a further 8 minutes without the lid.
And I am sure you can see now how easy it is to defrost frozen chicken in microwave.
How To Use Defrost On Microwave?
It’s very easy to use the defrost on the microwave. So easy that Sofia can do it for me!
Simply close your microwave door once you are ready and then click your defrost button or if you have a defrost meat setting, then use that.
Then click twice until it sets its cook time to 6 minutes.
How Long To Defrost Chicken In Microwave?
The time to defrost chicken in the microwave may vary depending on the wattage of your microwave.
We have a 800w microwave so it’s a little slower than the 1200w ones.
We found that in total it took a total of 14 minutes to defrost a whole pack of frozen chicken fillets in our microwave.

Your thaw frozen chicken in microwave instructions are below, note you can print it out with or without photos, adjust servings, or click between metric and imperial depending on where you are in the world.
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Defrost Chicken In Microwave
Ingredients
- 500 g Frozen Chicken Breast
- Salt & Pepper
Kitchen Gadgets
Instructions
- Place 1tbsp of water into the bottom of your steamer bowl.
- Remove your frozen chicken breast or chicken breast fillets from the packaging and place into the steamer bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place the lid on your steamer basket and place into the microwave.
- Microwave for 6 minutes on defrost.
- Then remove the lid, turn over, season with salt and pepper again and place back in the microwave for another 8 minutes on defrost.
- Then either cook straight away or place in the fridge in a Ziploc bag.
Notes
Nutrition
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Great instructions and so detailed in the explanation, just what i needed many thanks Sam.
What can I use if I don’t have a steamer bowl? How do you remove tose white tendons from your chicken strips?
Hi Sandy,
Put the breasts on a plate and cover with clingfilm to create a nice warm seal should be fine, the tendons we would run the knife down the side of them on each side and take them out, or on some you can sometimes grab them and just pull them out 🙂