Have you tried a pressure cooker turkey yet in your Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi yet? Itโs easier than you think and frees up your oven on Thanksgiving Day! Take a look.
Time to understand how to cook a turkey in a pressure cooker! I am serious, it is possible to cook a turkey in Instant Pot and it comes out so moist and full of flavor in less than an hour! 101+ easy Instant Pot recipes here on The Typical Mom blog you can enjoy too. (affiliate links present)
Instant Pot Turkey
It doesnโt matter what brand you have at home. You can use a Mealthy, Crockpot Express or make it as an easy Ninja foodi recipe. The latter offers you more because then you can air fry the skin at the end.
from frozen
No more bags to use to keep in the moisture when cooking a turkey in the oven. Just pop it in for a 45 minute cook time with some broth and vegetables and you can walk away. It will come out perfect every time. Forgetful? You can make Instant Pot Frozen Turkey Breast this way too in about the same cook time!
This is probably going to blow your mind. I have other ways of cooking this same bird below to choose from in case you end up with a bunch of guests but for a smaller group like 4-5 of you this is great. You donโt need a huge bird yโall unless you want a ton of leftovers.
What size turkey will fit in an Instant Pot?
- An 8 lb. turkey fit in our 8 qt. pot. I wouldnโt buy one larger than that.
- You need the lid to shut and a bit of space in between the meat and the top too to cook properly.
If you follow my blog at all you know I am all about easy recipes, especially during the holidays when you have multiple dishes to cook. I started by cooking this Instant Pot ham and was amazed at how easy it was and just how juicy it came out!
Now why would you even bother doing this anyway?? I mean for years you made it in your oven so why should you consider doing it this way instead?
- It frees up your oven during the holidays
- Great idea for those living in small spaces or if youโre celebrating Thanksgiving in an RV
- Cooks much faster than in an oven
- Allows you to cook turkey more often because it takes less than an hour
- Pressure cooker turkey comes out moist without having to put it in a bag
Ingredient Notes
You will want to fill the pot with cut up vegetables like carrots, celery and onions. For the liquid needed to steam everything I prefer vegetable broth. Of course you could use water instead but I use broth every chance I can because it has so much more flavor. You also have the ability to add more or less depending on how large your bird is. Beyond that it is just the turkey itself and seasonings. 8 pounds will fit in an 8 qt. pot
If you want bold flavors you can use this mixture we made for our turkey dry rub. You can also just use salt, pepper, and garlic. That part is totally up to you. If you crisp the skin after itโs cooked youโll want to add a bit of additional seasonings before you do that so it really sticks.
Equipment
- 8 qt. Instant Pot- 6 qt. would work for just a pressure cooker turkey breast.
- Some pressure cookers have 10 qt. sizes so you could fit a larger bird in that
- Trivet โ the one that comes with your Instant Pot works great, you can get a replacement online if you lost yours
- Internal meat temperature chart and thermometer
Iโm sure youโve learned by now, but cooking in a pressure cooker makes everything so moist without a bag needed (yay). This is the only way I make Instant Pot whole chicken now, it just turns out fall off the bone delicious in 1/3 of the time it would in the oven and is so tender.
How to make the gravy
I think everyone has their own turkey gravy recipe handed down from years ago but in case you donโt you can follow this pressure cooker gravy. Remember that you can use the saute function to make your gravy instead of dirtying another pan and making it on the stove. That is up up to you. Put it on saute using the drippings already inside your pot. Remove vegetables, and add thickener like cornstarch, bubble to thicken. Pour some generously over your moist white meat and dark meat and enjoy a wonderful meal.
The general rule for cooking a turkey in your Instant Pot is to cook it for about 6 minutes per pound so this one was set for 48 minutes, 45 probably wouldโve been fine too.
Tips
When choosing the bird at the store keep in mind itโs size. For an 8 quart pot you will only be able to fit an 8 pound bird that is thawed and pliable. That is about the general rule, 1 pound per quart size, so 6 qt. would fit a small 6 pound turkey. In that case you might opt for our Butterball Turkey Breast recipe instead.
You will want to keep the meat elevated which is where the trivet comes into play. Under high pressure in your electric pressure cooker you want the hot steam to be able to rotate around the whole thing evenly.
A key to keeping it moist is to allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes before letting out remaining pressure. Always allow it to sit, covered, for 25 minutes to 30 minutes or so before carving it too to keep the moisture in as well. When doing this only cut what youโll eat, leave the rest whole to save in the fridge and make our Leftover Turkey Recipe later.
How do you get the turkey skin crispy?
Letโs start by saying that if you LOVE crisp turkey skin you may want to smoke it or roast it in the oven to begin with. You can get it crispier than when you pull it out of your pot, but it will be a bit different than oven roasted.
- Spray skin with olive oil, this will be necessary for crisping
- Sprinkle seasonings over the top and all around to give it additional flavor
You can crisp the skin at the end using the CrispLid for Instant Pot. Rotating the bird would be necessary for this. It is not going to brown it evenly because it needs to be facing neck up in order to fit. The best option is to transfer it to a large pan and throw it under your broiler for a sheet pan turkey look. If you have a Ninja Foodi just set to air crisp at 400 degrees for a few minutes until itโs browned as much as you like. OR make a.
Pressure Cooker Turkey
Equipment
- 1 pressure cooker
- 1 trivet
Ingredients
- 8 lb turkey, must be thawed, this size fits into an 8 quart pressure cooker
- 1 c vegetable broth
- 3 stalks celery, cut into large chunks
- 3 carrots, cut into large chunks
- 1 onion, sliced, large pcs.
- 4 cloves garlic
Instructions
- Add your vegetable broth (could use water), celery, carrots, onion and garlic cloves into your pressure cooker pot.
- Put a trivet on top of your vegetables and broth so it is flat.
- Rinse your turkey and remove all items from inside cavity.
- Rub any spices youโd like on the outside skin of your whole turkey if you desire, or leave plain.
- Set turkey on your trivet with neck facing up as shown in top photo of post.
- Close your lid and steam valve and set on high pressure for 6 minutes per pound so at 8 pounds (pretty close to as large as an 8 quart could really handle) youโll set it for 48 minutes (think 45 minutes is better, comes out a bit more moist).
- Do a natural release for 10 minutes, then release rest of pressure.
- Serve or if you'd like the skin to crisp up a bit put your pressure cooker turkey on a baking sheet. Spray top with olive oil, sprinkle with seasonings and put under your broiler for about 4 minutes until skin crisps to your liking.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
For a smaller option, you can follow our Instant Pot turkey tenderloin recipe too. If you donโt have a pressure cook this is how to roast a turkey with just salt and pepper in no time in the oven!
What does NPR mean for Instant Pot?
Side dishes
- Instant Pot stuffing comes out really good
- Sweet Instant Pot cranberry sauce is WAY better than canned and takes NO time at all
- Side dish of Instant Pot bacon ranch potatoes
- Our pressure cooker mashed potatoes are always a hit
Whatever you serve it with I guarantee this will turn out fall apart tender and delicious for everyone. You may never cook a turkey in your oven ever again!
- Just this, allowing steam to naturally release.
- That means do NOT touch the steam valve for 10 minutes once timer beeps.
- After that, then flip it so the rest bellows out to release remaining pressure
- Allow meat to sit before carving.
I bought 2 turkeys because I wanted to make sure it came out great before Thanksgiving. I could only find 12 1/2 lb. ones. I have an Elite and an IP 10 qt. pressure cooker and will cook it in which ever one it will fit in. (I am thawing one of them now). 6 min. per pound comes out to 72 min. for 12 lbs. so I will try that one on the turkey I am experimenting on and will freeze the meat for soup, etc. If anyone has used this type turkey already I would appreciate any hints you might have. Thank you.
I cooked a 12.64 pound turkey in my 8 quart instant pot for 75/80 minutes. It was a snug fit but worked just fine. Rubbed it down with poultry seasoning, thyme, paprika, garlic powder, rosemary and and sage before putting it in pot. Threw some seasoning in the cavity also. Turned out AMAZING!!! This is the 3rd year I cooked the turkey in the instantpot for Thanksgiving and I will never cook it any other way! Falls off the bone and so moist!!! My family loves it!
I have a 10 quart Instant Pot, can you tell me what is the recommended size of a whole Turkey? How much liquid? How many mins. a lb in the 10 quart? Trying it for Thanksgiving!! ๐
Thanks!
I donโt know how large that one will fit. I have only done the size listed so if you follow the directions I have here it would be the same timing for yours.
I have an 8 quart Duo Instant Pot, with 8.34 pound bone in turkey breast. Could you please advise how much liquid to use, cook time and natural release time?
Thank you so very much!
I have an 11 lb turkey and 8 qt pressure cooker.. will this work and can i cook it frozen? I guess maybe not for frozen since it has the giblets etc in the cavity..but is it possible?
Iโve never used my IP for this, but Iโm definitely trying it this year!! Iโve always used my roasted and lathered my turkey in butter and wrapped in a cheese cloth. Is none of that necessary, to help make the turkey moist while using the IP?
I am yet to try this. What would happen if I donโt use a trivet and just nestle the turkey in the veggies and water?
That would probably be fine as long as itโs lifted off bottom
Did you get the answer to that
I just cooked a 14.75 turkey in my 13 quart Nuwave electric pressure cooker using some of your instructions. I like how you put it in breast down so thatโs what I did. I also skinned most of the bird because we donโt eat skin. I left skin on the breast to keep it moister. But I didnโt use the trivet instead I put about 4 cups of water in the bottom and put the turkey in a Crock Pot liner so I could lift it out. My turkey was a tiny bit frozen so I cooked it for 90 + 10 extra minutes. I let it slow release at least 30 minutes. I lifted out the oven bag with turkey then drained the liquid in a large container in the sink and saved it. I do have a 6 quart IP so I saved all the bones, neck, gizzard and heart and put them back in my IP with that broth another 120 minutes on stew with 20 minute slow release and strained them. I have never had a gizzard that could be torn apart with my fingers before. It wasnโt tough at all. The turkey was tender and delicious and falling off the bones. Iโve also never had bone broth that was so thick and gelatinized when cooled.
So glad it came out great
You shouldnโt have to add much time if it was a little frozen. The time doesnโt start counting down until the pot reaches pressure, and it normally couldnโt reach pressure until it has thawed as the liquid boils. When you make soup on the stovetop, for example, the soup wonโt boil until any frozen ingredients have thawed.
Hello, thank you for this recipe! However, I have a 6 lb turkey. Should I keep the time the same?
If it is smaller I might adjust to 40 min? Havenโt done it but is an educated guess.
I made our 11 pound turkey this way for Thanksgiving and it was not dry in the slightest! I canโt wait to try a whole chicken. Thank you for the recipe!
Yay glad it was a hit during the holidays for yโall.
What size pressure cooker did you use for 11 lbs?
I cooked a 10 pound turkey in an 8 quart Instant Pot. I cooked it 6 minutes for every pound โ 60 minutes, but it was a little over cooked (even without putting it in the broiler). However, it was still moist and so tender it literally fell apart when I removed it. I donโt think Iโll ever cook a small turkey any other way.