Instant Pot Turkey in 30 Minutes – the WHOLE turkey! Not only will you save time cooking, you’ll also save time carving this bird! What are you going to do with all your extra time?
When I was planning this out last week, I wasn’t sure at the time how long it would actually take to cook a full 9+ pound turkey in an Instant Pot.
Last year, I thought I would have to do all the butchering, but found out that the butcher might hack it up to save even more time! This year I but it up myself, and here’s a video to walk you through that process:
[mv_video doNotAutoplayNorOptimizePlacement=”false” doNotOptimizePlacement=”true” jsonLd=”true” key=”p23jud7zlrmtffolhe6y” ratio=”16:9″ thumbnail=”https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/v1607896347/etywqwvtj20mcvmblgvd.jpg” title=”How to Cut a Turkey for Cooking in the Instant Pot” volume=”70″]Here’s the deal: by cutting the white and dark meat off the carcass, you’ll be able to fit the whole thing into an Instant Pot!
Why is Pressure Cooking a Turkey Awesome?
Time (obviously), moist meat (yeah- I said it), easy carving, easy gravy, a cooler kitchen since your oven won’t be on all day, and… the amazement and adoration from your friends and family.
Obviously, cooking in an Instant Pot will not result in crispy brown skin, but never fear! We’ve got that figured out.
The result? Turkey cook time of under half an hour!
PLUS carving is a cinch! You don’t have to fight with the whole turkey when it’s burning hot while avoiding spilling all the drippings while transferring it to the cutting board.
Win-win!
How much time did I just save you? And what are you going to do with it? Share this recipe with the world? Go post it in the Instant Pot Facebook group right now!
Oh, and here are a few more recipes to make with your Instant Pot Turkey in 30 Minutes:

Instant Pot Turkey in 30 Minutes – WHOLE Turkey
- Total Time: 30 min
- Yield: 1 turkey 1x
Ingredients
- 4–6.5 kg (9–15 lbs) turkey (you may be able to get a few more lbs into the 6 Qt Instant Pot, but you’d be pushing it. The 8 Qt however…) ***Get your butcher to break down your turkey to safe you a ton of time and effort. Even better if they’ll remove the bones from the breasts!
- 1–1.5 cups mix of chicken/Turkey Broth and/or liquid from canned mushrooms
- 2–4 springs of each fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage
- 2–3 Tbsp Ghee/butter or even better, Maitre D’Hotel Butter
- salt to taste
Instructions
- If your butcher deboned the breasts, you’ve got time for extra drinks. If not, remove the bones using a sharp knife and following as close to the bones as possible. You can feel where they are with your hands. **We will only be using the breasts, thighs, and legs in this recipe (use the rest in the Instant Pot Turkey Bone Broth recipe. If you roast the rest of the pieces now, you can use these drippings in your gravy as well).
- With the trivet in the pot, pour in broth/mushroom liquid.
- Massage the breasts (turkey breasts, you perv!), thighs, and legs with 1.5-2 Tbsp ghee or butter. Salt well.
- Arrange the turkey in the Instant Pot with as much space between them as possible to allow faster cooking, and insert the herbs amongst them.
- If your turkey is around 4 kg (9 lbs) set the Instant Pot electric pressure cooker to Manual High setting for 20 minutes. 6.5 kg (15 lbs) will need closer to 25 minutes. I used 23 minutes for a 5.5 kg (12 lb) turkey.
- Natural pressure release (NPR) over 10 minutes.
- Turn on oven broiler on High.
- Place turkey pieces skin-side up in a baking dish. Coat top with remaining butter/ghee/Maitre D’ Butter.
- Broil until skin is crispy and golden brown (under 5 minutes). DO NOT forget about it! Burning it now would be tragic!
- Carve and serve. And, whoa! How much easier is carving this than dealing with the whole bird?!
Notes
This is the gravy that we made:
Put the drippings from any pans (if you roasted the carcass for soup, use that juice) and the liquid from the Instant Pot in a pot or sauce pan. Add mushrooms from can. Add a sprig of rosemary, sage, and thyme. Simmer for a few minutes.
Mix some tapioca or arrowroot powder with ¼ cup cold water. Whisk into drippings to thicken. Continue to simmer and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: holiday
30-minute turkey:
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