Pressure Cooker Turkey Breast

Learn how to cook turkey breast and brown gravy in an Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi pressure cooker. This pressure cooker turkey breast is so moist and tender. The meat is seasoned perfectly with herbs and so juicy!

This Instant Pot Turkey Breast recipe is absolutely delicious and incredibly easy to make.  No brining and no basting needed!  

Today, I am going to share this wonderful turkey recipe. This pressure cooker turkey breast is the ultimate recipe for your stress-free Thanksgiving.

This Instant Pot Turkey Breast will save you time and energy, without sacrificing the taste! This is the easiest way to cook turkey breast on a busy Thanksgiving day!

This pressure cooker turkey breast is cooked with Ninja® Foodi™ Deluxe Pressure Cooker but also works with any other pressure cooker you may have in your kitchen, such as Instant Pot.

A great pressure cooker to speed up your meal making, slow cook to multi-task, sear, and sauté ingredients to build flavor, and create endless recipes.

Now, let's talk about the ingredients and how to cook the turkey breast on a pressure cooker.

Instant Pot Turkey Breast Ingredients:

• Turkey breast, boneless and skin on
• Garlic
• Ground mustard
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Thyme
• Paprika
• Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper

For turkey gravy, you will need the following ingredients:

• Onion
• Dry white wine
• Broth
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Sage
• Butter
• All-purpose flour

Turkey

In this recipe, I used a small boneless turkey breast. It only weighs in at about 3 pounds.

Turkey breast is a perfect choice if your family prefers to eat white meat. This part of the turkey cooks faster than dark meat. In addition, turkey breast makes perfect leftovers for your lunch sandwiches or soup. 

A three-pound turkey breast should be enough to feed up to 4 people (2 adults and 2 kids).  I used a boneless turkey breast because that's the only option available in my area when looking to feed a family of my size, but feel free to use a turkey breast with bone-in as an alternative. 

Serve The Turkey Breast With:

• EASY DINNER ROLLS WITH HERB BUTTER
• GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE RECIPE FROM SCRATCH
• HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE WITH ORANGE JUICE
• ROASTED SWEET POTATOES
• INSTANT POT MASHED SWEET POTATOES
• ROASTED YELLOW SQUASH WITH PARMESAN CHEESE AND HERBS
• INSTANT POT COLCANNON – IRISH MASHED POTATOES
• ROASTED BABY POTATOES WITH ROSEMARY AND GARLIC
• MOROCCAN COUSCOUS WITH CURRANTS AND PINE NUTS
• ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH PANCETTA AND APPLE
• HASSELBACK BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH BROWN BUTTER SAGE
• CAULIFLOWER STUFFING (LOW CARB AND HERBY)
• BUTTERNUT SQUASH GRATIN

How Long Does It Take To Cook Turkey Breast in an Instant Pot:

Generally, a 3-pound turkey breast that is boneless will take approximately 1-¾ hours to 2 hours cooking time in the oven at 325°F.

Cooking it in a pressure cooker, however, will only require about 6-9 minutes per pound depending on the thickness! In this case, I ended up cooking this turkey breast for 20 minutes at high pressure and 15 minutes of natural release.

Safe Minimum Cooking Temperature for Turkey:

Always stay safe, per USDA recommended: A food thermometer should be used to ensure a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F has been reached to destroy bacteria and prevent foodborne illness.

Prepping a Turkey Breast for Pressure Cooking: 

As part of the preparations, I thawed the turkey breast in the fridge for about 1 day. Generally, after thawed, turkey breast can be kept in the refrigerator for 1-2 days before cooking.

The Perfect Seasoning for Turkey:

To add fall flavor to the turkey breast, I used a generous amount of herbs to season the meat and especially the turkey skin.

I also used fresh vegetables like onion and garlic to make the brown gravy, which also helped when steaming during high-pressure cooking.  The steam will help release moisture, which will add flavor and aroma to your turkey.

Herbs: 

I used a combination of sage, thyme, rosemary, and paprika. I also used a small amount of dried mustard. 

Cooking Turkey Breast in a Pressure Cooker:

Cooking turkey breast in a pressure cooker is beyond amazing!.  It's a big timesaver that helped me create a holiday dish at a fraction of the time. It makes cooking easier than ever and is the perfect appliance for the holiday season (where many a turkey will be cooked!). 

So here are some steps to follow:

Step 1. Thaw the turkey breast.

Step 2. Season the turkey breast with a homemade rub.

Step 3. Cook the gravy base.

Step 4. Cook the turkey breast at high pressure for 20 minutes.

Step 5. Crisp the turkey skin in the oven or using an "air-crisp" mode on select pressure cooker models.

Step 6. Make turkey gravy from drippings.

Check out these delicious side dish recipes:

• SUMMER SQUASH CASSEROLE – CHEESY AND HEALTHY
• ELOTES MEXICANOS – MEXICAN CORN SALAD
• EASY KETO CREAMED SPINACH – SO CHEESY!
• SKILLET FRIED CORN – BUTTERY!

This pressure cooker does it all! The final result? We enjoyed this juicy and moist turkey breast with a perfectly browned and crispy skin outside. It was fantastic, my husband actually called his parents right away to tell them they had to try it out for themselves. 

📖 Recipe