Juicy and easy Thanksgiving turkey recipe! Instant Pot Turkey Breast with Gravy is made in under an hour with all the holiday flavours everyone loves.
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Juicy turkey is the name of the game this month and this Instant Pot Turkey recipe is the JUICIEST turkey I’ve ever made. It literally had juices dripping down the side while I was slicing it.
Crispy skin and yet the most tender and juicy interior meat. Not only does this recipe produce a turkey with all the traditional herb flavours we love, it also makes a spectacular gravy that my holiday table didn’t know it was missing. Anyone else on team gravy?
This easy Instant Pot recipe is perfect for busy families this holiday season, the lean and juicy meat is perfect to showcase at a family dinner. And here’s the best part … because it’s just the turkey breast, this recipe can be made any time of year. Simply switch up the sides for seasonally appropriate dishes.
Turkey is a staple in our household; I often use ground turkey and have it in my freezer for those days when we need a healthy meat protein. Perfect for fast, family-friendly meals that we lean on mid-week. It’s easy to use turkey as a substitution for other meats that fit into everyday family recipes.
Up in Canada, our Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching (I see you, long weekend ahead!). As such, October rings in Canadian Turkey Month and Canadian Turkey has a bucket of recipes to explore and savour if you’re not packing an Instant Pot.
If you do own an IP, I can’t recommend trying this easy turkey recipe enough. It gets a traditional flavoured turkey on the table in less than an hour with gravy (one less side dish to worry about). And there won’t be a piece of dry turkey in sight.
Why an Instant Pot turkey breast recipe? It’s a great way to get a holiday meal that everyone loves on the table quickly. Turkey breasts are widely available and are perfect for smaller celebrations of 4 to 6 people with a tiny bit of leftovers (just enough for a sandwich or two, not a freezer-full, don’t worry).
Do I still love roasting a whole turkey? You bet I do. BUT, there’s a time and place for extravagant holiday meals and sometimes I want to cozy-down with my immediate family for lots of laughter, some crazy boardgames, and of course, easy but still delicious holiday food.
How to cook turkey breast in an Instant Pot:
I found that browning the turkey breast was the most important step. This resulted in crispy skin (can I get heck yeah), locking in the juices, AND rendering down the very small amount of fat on the turkey breast. Nobody wants to see an extra chewy piece of turkey.
From here, the pressure cooker does the rest of the work for you. Everything gets tossed in and turned to cook for 35 minutes before delivering a mouthwatering Instant Pot turkey breast recipe. PLUS, gravy (just in case anyone forgot ;).
Looking for more Thanksgiving Turkey recipes?
- Braised Turkey Legs with Carrots – stove top method for cooking just turkey legs and thighs with carrots.
- Rosemary and Juniper Roast Turkey – a whole turkey recipe, brined and then cooked with my favourite whole turkey cooking method.
- Slow Cooker Turkey Breast and Lentils – a spin on tradition, this easy turkey recipe uses soy and miso flavours to bring the turkey and lentils together.
- Leftover Turkey Pot Pie – got a bit of leftover turkey meat? This turkey recipe uses up leftovers with a potato topped pot pie (no fussing with pastry here!).
Juicy and easy Thanksgiving turkey recipe! Instant Pot Turkey Breast with Gravy is made in under an hour and has all the holiday flavours everyone loves.
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, such as canola or olive oil
- 3-4 lbs (1.4-1.8 kg) skin-on, bone-in turkey breast
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp poultry seasoning
- 1 medium yellow (cooking) onion, peeled and quarted
- 1 large carrot, roughly chopped
- 3 stalkes (pieces) celery, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
- 5 stems parsely
- 2 stems rosemary
- 5-10 sage leaves
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 2 tsbp cold water
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Season turkey with poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Add oil to IP and set to Sauté for 7-10 minutes or until both sides of the breast are browned. Remove turkey from IP and set aside.
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Turn IP to Off Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley, rosemary, sage, and chicken broth. Place IP trivet (metal rack) on top of herbs and vegetables and place seared turkey breast on top of trivet.
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Place lid on IP with valve turned to Sealed. Set IP to manual Pressure Cook on high for 35 minutes. Once timer is done and has beeped, use the Quick Release Valve to release steam.
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Once pressure is released, carefully open lid (open away from your body). Remove trivet with cooked turkey on it and allow to rest for about 5 minutes.
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Carefully strain liquid from the IP and remove solids. Discard solids and place liquid back into IP. Turn IP to Sauté for 5 minutes.
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Quickly whisk cornstarch with water until smooth. Pour into IP while whisking until well mixed. Bring to a quick boil to thicken and turn IP off.
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Serve gravy alongside turkey breast.
Enjoy! xo
