Ultimate Thanksgiving dinner on a small scale, cooked entirely in an Instant Pot in one go! Magic? Nah, just Instant Pot doing its thing!!!
So this’s what we have on our Thanksgiving menu:Thanksgiving Turkey Breast with stuffing and mashed potatoes. Plus, gravy!!
OMG, this’s totally happening!!
Today, we’re cooking an entire holiday dinner in an Instant Pot!!
This’s a perfect solution if you’re having a quiet Thanksgiving with your close family and you don’t want to spend hours (or days) preparing food with tons of leftovers!! And trust me, this meal did leave us with leftovers after feeding a family of 4.
So, not only are we cooking a perfectly juicy and tender bone-in turkey Breast in an Instant Pot, but we’re also cooking 2 side dishes along with it! Deliciously creamy mashed potatoes and flavorful stuffing.
This’s truly the best part, because who wants extra dirty dishes, right?! I can’t wait for you to try this Thanksgiving meal. So much flavor, yet so little effort and dishes!!
7 TIPS TO COOK A PERFECT TURKEY BREAST IN AN INSTANT POT:
Forgot to thaw your turkey breast? Absolutely not a problem! Bring it out on the counter couple of hours prior to cooking, which will give it enough time to thaw out the top layer.
Make sure to dry the turkey breast thoroughly with paper towel. The herb butter won’t stick to the skin if it’s wet!
Place the buttered turkey breast on a rack skin-side down, so that the cavity of the breast is facing up. It’s easier to stuff it that way!
Throw in the potato chunks after you place the turkey breast in the pot, because if you’re using 6qt Instant Pot, like me, you won’t have much room.
Make sure to let the Instant Pot release its pressure naturally for at least 20 minutes after pressure cooking. This means don’t touch/turn the pressure valve to release the pressure. Just let the Instant Pot rest for at least 20 minutes. You can unplug it if you’d like. Whenever you’re cooking meat in Instant Pot, always do a natural pressure release (in short, NPR) to prevent dry meat!
Carefully check the internal temperature of the turkey breast at its thickest part and make sure it’d reached at least 165°F.
Don’t worry if the turkey breast doesn’t look appetizing after you take it out of the Instant Pot. Broiling it for a few minutes will add nice color and crispy skin!!
WHAT IF TURKEY BREAST IS NOT COOKED ENOUGH?
If the turkey breast hasn’t reached 165°F internal temperature, add up to 1 cup of water, if needed. Then cover the lid, set vent valve on “sealing” and cook for another 5-7 minutes on high, followed by 10 minute NPR.
HOW LONG SHOULD I COOK TURKEY BREAST IN AN INSTANT POT?
There’s a simple formula to determine the proper time to cook turkey breast in an Instant Pot. Hooray!
For frozen turkey breast (bone-in and boneless): 10 minutes per pound with full natural pressure release (NPR), or at least 20 minutes NPR.
For thawed turkey breast (bone-in and boneless): 6 minutes per pound with full natural pressure release (NPR), or at least 20 minutes NPR.
Got boneless turkey breast? Try this Instant Pot turkey breast recipe instead.
That’s it. Hope you’ll give this fabulous meal a try and be sure to leave us your feedback, if you do!
Instant Pot Turkey Breast
Ultimate Thanksgiving dinner on a small scale, cooked entirely in an Instant Pot in one go! Magic? Nah, just Instant Pot doing its thing!!!
So this’s what we have on our Thanksgiving menu:Thanksgiving turkey breast with stuffing and mashed potatoes. Plus, gravy!!
serves: 4-6 servings
Prep: 30 minutesminutes
Cook: 1 hourhour
Total : 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Note: I test all my recipes with both measurements for the most precise and accurate result!
Instructions
To prepare stuffing, follow the package directions. Cool slightly.
To prepare the turkey breast, dry the turkey breast thoroughly with a paper towel. Carefully run your hand under the breast skin to create a pocket. Smear the herb butter evenly all over the turkey and under the breast skin. (If the skin is wet, butter won’t stick. So make sure to dry the skin with paper towel well.)
Cut the potatoes into chunks.
Place a trivet in inner pot of your Instant Pot. And place the turkey breast, skin-side down, so that the breast cavity is on top.
Stuff the breast cavity with the prepared stuffing. (Note: You may have some leftover, which is fine. Save it for later.)
Add the potato chunks around the turkey breast.
Pour chicken stock, salt and garlic powder.
Cover the lid and make sure the valve is set to “sealing”.
To pressure cook, set the Instant Pot to Manual/Pressure Cook for 30 minutes (or 10 minutes per lb) on High. (NOTE: It took about 21-25 minutes for my IP to come to pressure.)
Once the time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 20 minutes, and then carefully turn the valve to venting. Once the pin drops, carefully open the lid.
Check the internal temperature of the turkey breast and make sure it reached at least 165°F.
To broil the turkey breast, transfer the stuffing into a 9×13 (or similar) baking dish and using a pair of kitchen tongs, carefully place the turkey breast over the stuffing. Broil for 3-5 minutes at 500°F to brown the skin. Keep a close eye on it to prevent burning! If one side is browning too quickly, place a sheet of foil over that area and continue to broil until the breast is nice and evenly browned.
To make the mashed potatoes, add milk and butter into the potatoes. (No need to drain the liquid.) Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes into a smooth texture. Transfer onto a serving platter and keep warm.
Clean the inner pot.
To make the gravy, hit “cancel” button and set the Instant Pot to Sauté.
When the display reads “HOT”, add butter (or bacon fat) and melt it. Once the butter is fully melted add flour and roast the flour, whisking constantly, until golden brown with nutty aroma, about 2 minutes.
Slowly pour in chicken stock, while whisking constantly. Once all the stock is added, bring it to a boil, whisking occasionally. Then turn off the Instant Pot and let the gravy simmer for another 5 minute or so. And serve! (Alternatively, you can make the gravy on stovetop in a saucepan, and keep the mashed potatoes in the Instant Pot on “keep warm” setting until ready to serve.)
Tips & Notes:
Note 1: I used semi-frozen 5.5lbs Butterball whole turkey breast, which means I didn’t thaw the turkey breast in advance. I just took it out on the counter couple hours before cooking and let it thaw a little while I prepared other things. It was thawed enough for me to detach the skin and butter it. So the cooking time in this recipe is for frozen turkey breast, which is about 10 minutes per pound. So, for example, if your turkey breast is 5lbs, set your Instant Pot for 50 minutes! If you have thawed turkey breast, set it to 6 minutes per pound. Note 2: You can use any kind of herb butter here. My go-to herb butter for turkey is 4 tablespoons salted butter, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, ½ teaspoon ground dried rosemary, ½ teaspoon rubbed dried sage, ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves. Another way to prepare herb butter is to mix together softened butter with some chimichurri sauce! Note 3: I used Kraft’s Stovetop Stuffing Mix (Savory Herb) and prepared exactly per package directions. This recipe has been tested in my favorite Instant Pot DUO 6qt. Everything fit pretty tight in my 6qt Instant Pot without much room for anything else. But if you have 8qt Instant Pot, you may add more potatoes or use bigger turkey breast.
