Instant Pot Bone-in Turkey Breast–Making a turkey breast in the Instant Pot couldn’t be easier! This recipe has just 3 main ingredients and can be cooked from start to finish in less than an hour. Plus you can make gravy with the drippings.
Get the SLOW COOKER turkey breast recipe here
Instant Pot Bone-in Turkey Breast (Video)
If you want to make a turkey breast in your Instant Pot don’t be intimidated! It is so easy. The biggest issue is picking out a turkey that will actually fit in your pot. I have a 6 quart pot and I was able to fit a 5 pound bone-in turkey breast in it. If you have an 8 quart pot you’ll be able to fit a larger turkey inside. Plan on about 1 to 1.25 pounds of turkey per person. My 5 pound turkey could have fed about 5 people.
The turkey breast should be thawed. I have not tried this with a frozen turkey breast and honestly am not sure how it would turn out (I have cooked a whole frozen chicken though). Using kitchen shears, cut off any excess skin, but leave the skin on the breast. It will give it some flavor. Rub the onion soup mix all over the turkey breast and underneath the skin. I like to use these disposable gloves* when I do jobs like this!
You’ll place the turkey on a trivet with broth in the bottom of the pot. If you’re cooking a smaller turkey you can cook for 20 minutes of pressure cooking time. If you’re cooking closer to a 6 pound turkey then you’ll want to set the pressure cook button to closer to 30 minutes.
Recommendations
To check for doneness, use a thermometer*. Make sure the middle of the turkey breast reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. I like to tent my turkey with foil and let it rest for about 10 minutes. While the turkey is resting I use the drippings in the bottom of the pot to make gravy. Make sure to add in salt and pepper to taste to your gravy as well as a little thyme.
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What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Bone-in Turkey Breast I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
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Instant Pot Bone-in Turkey Breast
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 27 minutes
- Total Time: 37 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
Description
Making a turkey breast in the Instant Pot couldn’t be easier! This recipe has just 3 main ingredients and can be cooked from start to finish in less than an hour. Plus you can make gravy with the drippings.
Ingredients
- 1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1 (5 pound) bone-in turkey breast, thawed
- 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
- 3 Tbsp Butter
- Cornstarch
- Salt and pepper, thyme, sage (optional)
Instructions
- Pour the chicken broth into the Instant Pot. Add the butter into pot.
- Place your trivet* in the pot.
- Use kitchen shears* to cut off any excess skin, but leave the skin covering the breast.
- Rub onion soup mix all over outside of the turkey and under the skin. Place the turkey into the Instant Pot.
- Cover and secure the pot. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook time to 25 minutes for 3-4 pound turkeys and 27 for 4-5 pound turkeys and 30 minutes for 6+ pound turkeys. When the time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Check the turkey for doneness. Insert thermometer* into the thickest part of the breast. It should be at least 165° F. Remove the turkey and place on a platter.
- Use foil to loosely tent the turkey and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
- While it is sitting use the drippings in the Instant Pot to make gravy. Pour the juices in the bottom of the Instant Pot through a mesh strainer and into a bowl. Pour the drippings back into the Instant Pot. Turn the Instant Pot to the saute function.
- In a small bowl mix together 2-3 Tbsp of cornstarch and the same amount of cold water until smooth. Add the cornstarch mixture into the Instant Pot. Whisk until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste. Add in a pinch of thyme and a pinch of sage.
- Slice the turkey breast and serve with gravy.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
To make gluten free: Most onion soup mixes are not gluten free. Kroger brand, however, does not contain gluten although it is not labeled as gluten free. Try this homemade recipe and keep it on hand: 1-1/2 cups dried minced onion, 1/4 cup GF beef bouillon powder, 2-1/2 TBS onion powder, 1/2 tsp crushed celery seed, 1/2 teaspoon sugar. 5 Tablespoons of this is about equal to a packet. Double check broth to be sure it does not contain gluten.
- Category: Turkey
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: instant pot, turkey
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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I have a question as I approach cooking a bone-in turkey breast this year. Cooking with Instant Pot has been a great experience. However, I wanted to use convection oven this year.
However, the convection oven feature on microwave is limited to cooking for only up to 60 minutes. I was thinking that if I needed to add time to cooking the turkey breast, maybe I could just transfer to Instant Pot.
I’ve seen recipes where turkey is taken from Instant Pot and cooked an additional 10 minutes or so in the broiler. Would placing in convection oven instead of broiler provide the same effect?
Or, should I cook in convection oven for 60 minutes and then finish cooking turkey in Instant Pot?
Thanks in advance for any guidance at this late hour!
I think the convection oven would circulate hot air around the turkey well and brown it up. I would give it a shot!
Hi Karen! ☺
Thanks so much for doing what you do!
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!
Do the same amount of liquid as recipe states and I would try 35 minutes with a 10-15 minutes natural pressure release. Good luck!
How would I do a 1.6 lb boneless turkey breast? Can I do it frozen?
Hi Kim, if it is frozen I would follow the directions here. It should be similar cooking time if frozen.
So I did this and was so excited about it but when I went to cut it up the meat on the inside of the Breast is very mushy. Disintegrated and kinda like it was ground up??? I’m so confused by this and don’t know if something is wrong with the bird. It had no smell really, certainly not rotten or sour smelling. Help, can we eat it still?
Weird! Not sure what that is all about. What did you end up doing?
Turned out great! Next time I think I’ll broil after cooking, to give it a crisp skin.
★★★★
Good idea!
5lb bone-in breast with 27 minute high pressure and 10 minute natural release before quick release came out drier than we like. Internal temp was 202 degrees. Could it be that the cooking time should be much less in an 8 qt IP?
★★
That is definitely a possibility!
Karen, Can I do this in a 3 qt. Mini? Do they have bone-in (or boneless) small enough? Same time? Love your recipes when I can adapt them to my Mini! Thanks.
I think I’d have a hard time finding a small enough turkey breast.
Bought a 6 qt Instant Pot Ultra on Black Friday and tried it out for the first time using your recipe. The 8.5 lbs bone-in turkey breast was a tight fit for a 6 qt size Instant Pot but it worked. Based on suggested cooking times for turkey from other resources, I used a 6 minute per lbs which came to a 51 minute cook time. Turkey came out great. Thanks for posting this.
★★★★★
So great to hear! Merry Christmas to you!
Hello all. Happy Holidays to all of you :). I loved this recipe, I could find a thawed 6 lb turkey, so I did find a frozen one. I put it in for 30 minutes with 10 with pressure low. It came out perfect, I highly recommend this recipe to a family that would like a hearty meal quick, it was delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipt’s
★★★★★
Wow this is so great to know that you can cook a frozen turkey in the Instant Pot. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I wasn’t able to find a 6-7 pound turkey breast. But did get 2 that at both 3.75 lb, do you think can I cook them together in my 8 quart instant pot or should I do them separately. I have an 8 quart and a 6 quart. Just wondering if I do separately now long for each since they are smaller than 6-7 lb. Thanks for the help.
I’m sure I’m too late to answer this but if they fit you could do them together. You can keep the cooking time the same either way you!
What should I do if the temperature isn’t up to 165 at the end of cooking? Finish in over? I’ve nevet had to reset the pressure cooker once I’ve released pressure. Thanks in advance!
Did this happen to you or are you just nervous it might?
I would finish in the oven. That would work well.
What pressure setting do you use to cook the turkey? I have low medium & high pressure on my insta pot duo.
Thanks for your great recipes!
I used high pressure!
This may be a silly question, but could you use a boneless turkey breast? If so how long do you cook it for? I am soooo thankful for your recipes!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!
★★★★★
Happy Thanksgiving to you! I totally think a boneless breast would work. I would cut the pressure cooking time down by 4-5 minutes. Make sure to check with a thermometer.
I have not tried this recipe yet, but you can rest assured we will on Thanksgiving. Every other recipe from you that we have tried is awesome, so I have no doubts about this one. 30 minutes or less for a turkey?? Who wouldn’t love this?
I know! it’s so awesome!
Karen, I appreciate your recipe, but I can’t help thinking that the skin will remain soft. Any suggestions for ending up with a crispy skin?
Thanks.
★★★★★
Yep it’s for sure soggy skin that I just sort of discarded. You can crisp it up under the broiler in your oven if you prefer.