Instant Pot Turkey Breast (Bone-in or Boneless)

This Instant Pot Turkey Breast recipe is the perfect way to make turkey and gravy in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. Whether it’s bone-in or boneless, you can have a moist and delicious turkey breast in a fraction of the time.

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Full Recipe Ingredients/Instructions are available in the 
recipe card at the bottom of the post. 
You can find important tips/tricks in the
blog post.

I know people generally go crazy over turkey around Thanksgiving but I can honestly eat turkey year-round. I love it fried for breakfast, sliced on a sandwich covered in mayo and tomato, or served with a side of stuffing. That being said, who has time to spend a few hours baking a turkey? Not I, not I at all. 

So this Instant Pot method of making turkey breast is right up my ally. 

Although most turkey breast is sold frozen, I thaw my breast first before cooking. Here's the proper protocol for defrosting a turkey.

If you want to cook from frozen, this recipe shows how to cook a turkey breast from frozen in the Instant Pot.

Why cook turkey in an Instant Pot?

As the turkey is cooked using the high pressure setting on the Instant Pot it cooks in half the time, and the results are great with turkey breast that is always tender and juicy. Also it saves valuable oven space, particularly during busy holiday celebrations where our ovens are often overloaded.

However, feel free to try my other methods, like my air fryer turkey breast or my slow cooker turkey breast.

How to make Bone-in Instant Pot Turkey Breast

First, make sure your turkey is clean and dried and has the inner gravy packets and giblets removed. Then rub mayonnaise all over your turkey. Then season your turkey breast with poultry seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Make sure to rub the mayonnaise and seasoning all over the breast and under the skin. 

Place a chopped onion and a chopped celery stick into the cavity of the turkey breast. 

This next part will depend on the size of the breast and the size of the Instant Pot:

For a 6 quart Instant Pot, a bone-in turkey breast that’s under 5 pounds will likely fit in the Pot on a trivet. If it does, use the trivet when cooking. For a bone-in breast over 5 pounds, I place the breast in the Instant Pot without the trivet so it fits. 

Pour 1 cup of chicken broth into your Instant Pot. Add turkey breast into the pot, skin side facing down.

Cover and cook on high pressure. The amount of time needed to cook will depend on the size of your breast. The general guideline is 6 minutes per pound. So for my 7-pound bird, I cooked a total of 42 minutes since 6x7=42.  

After the time is done, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for 15 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure. Open the lid and remove the turkey breast.

To brown the breast, broil in the oven for about 5 minutes. 

How to make turkey gravy

In order to make the gravy, you will remove the large pieces of onion and celery that remain in the pot. Place the Instant Pot on saute. Once the liquid starts to boil, make a thickening slurry with ¼ cup flour and 6 tablespoon water. Whisk in a bowl and then whisk it into the bubbling gravy. Stir until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste.

How to make a Boneless Instant Pot Turkey Breast

Boneless breasts are great in the Instant Pot as well. For a thawed Boneless breast, I use the trivet but use the same seasonings as a bone-in breast, just cut in half.

The 6lb per ounce rule has to be slightly adjusted for a typical boneless breast that is cooked with the netting on. For a 3 lb breast, I cook on high pressure for 23 minutes, then naturally release any remaining pressure. Since these breasts are rolled up tightly, they need a little more time to ensure that the center gets cooked. 

Pour 1 cup of chicken broth into the Instant Pot and place a 3lb breast onto the trivet. Cover and cook on high pressure for 23 minutes.

Once your breast is cooked, you can remove it and place under a broiler to brown it or you can use the awesome Mealthly Crisp Lid to get it nice and brown. 

If you purchase the Mealthy Crisp Lid through my link, use the coupon code MYFORKINGLIFE to get $10's off.

For the Crisp Lid, I place it on the turkey on 500 degrees for about 5 minutes to brown the outside. I have a full and detailed review of the Mealthy Crisp Lid as well.

And there you have it, delicious Instant Pot Turkey Breast (Bone-in or boneless) made in less time. 

Save the oven this Holiday season for baking pies and use the Instant Pot to get tender delicious turkey. 

Expert tips

Here are my top tips for ensuring the best instant pot turkey breast every time.

• I like to use fresh or defrosted turkey breast so that the seasoning will stick to the meat.
• My spice blend includes poultry seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and salt. However, if there are other spices you like to add, for example smoked paprika or dried thyme, then feel free to get creative.
• If using boneless breast, take care when removing the netting from around the joint as you don't want the meat stick to the net.
• I recommending using a probe thermometer when checking the turkey is done and cooked through.
• Once cooked, allow the turkey breast to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. This allows the juices to be absorbed back into the turkey, leaving you moist and tender slices of meat.

How to serve turkey breast

Looking for other Pressure Cooker recipes that will go great with this recipe? Try these out:

• Instant Pot Collard Greens
• Buttered Instant Pot Cabbage
• Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

Other yummy additions to this meal:

• Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese
• Corn Souffle
• Southern Style Peach Cobbler Cake

Watch this video tutorial and see how I make this turkey breast from start to finish.

How to store leftover turkey breast

To refrigerate: Keep any leftover turkey breast in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Leftovers make a great addition to salads, soups, pasta dishes and sandwiches the next day.

To freeze: Once cooked and cooled, place the turkey into an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator when you are ready to enjoy.

FAQs:

If you have tried this turkey breast recipe, or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below!

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Instant Pot Turkey Breast

Here’s the perfect way to make turkey and gravy in the Instant Pot Pressure cooker. Whether it’s bone-in or boneless, you can have a moist and delicious turkey breast in a fraction of the time.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword bone-in turkey breast, boneless turkey breast, instant pot turkey breast

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 47 minutes minutes

Total Time 57 minutes minutes

Servings 8 people

Calories 564kcal

Author Tanya

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

Bone-In Turkey Breast

• 7 lb large bone-in turkey breast defrosted, inner giblets and gravy packet removed
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tablespoon Poultry Seasoning
• 2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
• ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 1 celery stalk chopped
• 1 cup chicken broth

For Gravy

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 6 Tablespoon water

Boneless Turkey Breast

• 3 lb large boneless turkey breast defrosted
• 2 Tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 Tablespoon Poultry Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
• ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
• ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 cup chicken broth

Instructions

Bone-In Turkey Breast

• Clean and dry turkey breast. Rub mayonnaise all over breast. Season the outside of the breast with poultry seasoning, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper until fully covered. Stuff the inside of the bird with onion and celery.
• Pour 1 cup of chicken broth inside Instant Pot. Place turkey beast inside Instant Pot, skin side down. Cover and cook on high pressure for 42 minutes.
• After the timer goes off, allow the pressure cooker to naturally release for 15 minutes. Quick-release any remaining pressure.
• Remove cooked turkey breast from the pressure cooker. If you want to brown it, place it in the oven and broil it for about 5 minutes until golden.

For Gravy

• Remove any large chunks of onion or celery that may be left behind in the Instant Pot. Press Sauté on the Instant Pot. Create a flour thickener by pouring flour and water in a bowl. Stir with a fork until the thickener is smooth and has no lumps. Once the liquid in the Instant Pot begins to simmer, whisk in the flour thickener until it’s thoroughly combined. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes until thickened.

Boneless Turkey Breast

• Season outside of turkey breast with mayonnaise, poultry seasoning, kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper.
• Pour 1 cup of chicken broth into Instant Pot. Place the trivet inside the Instant Pot and place turkey breast on top of the trivet. Cover Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 23 minutes. Once Instant Pot is done the cooking, allow the pressure to naturally release for 15 minutes, quick release any remaining pressure.
• Open lid. Brown the breast by placing in a preheated oven set to broil for about 5 minutes or use the Mealthy Crisp Lid and brown the top of turkey breast.
• If making gravy, follow the same directions as indicated for the bone-in breast.

Suggested Tools

6 Qt Pressure Cooker

Mealthy CrispLid

Video

Notes

• Turkey should be cooked to a minimum temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
• I keep the netting on for bone in turkey breast.
• Nutrition information calculated is for the bone-in chicken breast.

Nutrition

Calories: 564kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 79g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 215mg | Sodium: 1453mg | Potassium: 56mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 29IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

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Although myforkinglife.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Under no circumstances will myforkinglife.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information.