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It’s been three Thanksgivings since the Instant Pot first made its way into our homes, and honestly the recipes people are putting out for the IP have come a long way in three years! They just keep getting better and better. Last year, our Instant Pot was a workhorse in Thanksgiving meal prep and on the day of Thanksgiving, helping us prepare multiple dishes without having to wait on the turkey to come out of the oven! So much so that this year we will be using two Instant Pots, and we went out of our way to bring the big 8 quart one from home to Grandma’s house. We will also use Grandma’s 3-quart IP as well.
Thanksgiving is just a few days away now and I am so excited to celebrate this day of feasting with my family. From creating fabulous desserts ahead of time to saving a spot or two on my stovetop and in my oven and even to speeding up dishes, I can’t wait to use these Instant Pot Thanksgiving recipes and I know they are going to make the whole Thanksgiving Day process easier from start to finish!
Last year I wasn’t even sure what I could make for Thanksgiving in the Instant Pot. So I did some research. Did you know that nearly every single dish you want for Thanksgiving can be made in the IP? It’s true! This is by no means a comprehensive list, but in this post we have over 100 recipes for an Instant Pot Thanksgiving, from multiple protein choices, to side dishes, and every dessert you could ever want. You can even make a Thanksgiving breakfast in your IP!
Seriously, you might need to get a second or third Instant Pot just for this meal! I’m not even kidding. We have three at home, and if we were at home we would be using every single one of them Wednesday and Thursday.
Turkey Dishes:Instant Pot Thanksgiving Recipes
For most of us, survey says the turkey is the star of the Thanksgiving feast. But, who else hates the stress of cooking turkey in the oven all morning and wondering if it will even be cooked all the way through or (on the opposite spectrum) still edible?
Turns out, we need 22 pounds of meat for our Thanksgiving meal, so using the Instant Pot is not even an option for us, but if you are cooking for a smaller crowd, you are going to be very, very happy trying any one of these IP turkey recipes for fully cooked, hugely flavorful, moist turkey on the big day. And in a fraction of the time too! Which brings me back to the question – do we really need 22 pounds of meat? Well, yes. Yes we do. And that’s okay because my IP will be busy doing all the other things!
Instant Pot Turkey Breast Dinner from Simply Happy Foodie
Instant Pot Turkey, Stuffing and Gravy from Pressure Luck Cooking
Instant Pot Turkey Breasts from Crunchy, Creamy, Sweet
Pressure Cooker Turkey Legs from Pressure Cook Recipes
Instant Pot Whole Turkey from Self Reliant School
Instant Pot Turkey and Gravy from The Novice Chef
Pressure Cooker Turkey Meatballs from Pressure Cook Recipes
Instant Pot Turkey Breast with Gravy from Earth Mamas World
Instant Pot Turkey Breast from Jo Cooks
Moist and Tender Turkey Breast in the Instant Pot from Pressure Cooking Today
The Best Instant Pot Turkeyfrom Awe-Filled Homemaker
Instant Pot Turkey Breast and Gravy from The Pinning Mama
Instant Pot Whole Turkey for Thanksgiving from Bacon is Magic
Ham Recipes: Instant Pot Thanksgiving Recipes
So let’s just be honest, how many people just can’t even stand to have turkey on Thanksgiving or any other time? I know you are out there! Show of hands?
Ham is an awesome, tasty alternative, and guess what? Yes, you can make a ham in the Instant Pot too! Whether you want a few slices of ham or a bone-in ham, you can cook your ham start to finish in the pressure cooker and get it to the table for your big Thanksgiving feast. Sometimes we do one on Thursday and the other meat on Friday just because we can!
Here is a great collection of ham recipes for the Instant Pot.
Bone in Ham in the Instant Pot from Simply Happy Foodie
Pressure Cooker Ham from Eating Richly
Honey Baked Ham in Pressure Cooker from Recipes for Instant Pot
Best Instant Pot Honey Glazed Ham from Dan Avento
Instant Pot Honey Ham from Adventures of a Nurse
Instant Pot Christmas Ham from The Foodie Eats
Instant Pot Sweet Baked Ham Recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Cornbread, Dressing, and Stuffing Recipes for your Instant Pot Thanksgiving
I’m just gonna be honest. This stuffing/dressing thing is not my gig. We do Stove Top stuffing. I’m not even kidding. I mean, I’m a homemade kinda gal, but I also need at least one thing to be easy on Thanksgiving Day and we all like it, and that’s my easy button.
However, that does not mean I do not appreciate the ease of throwing your stuffing ingredients into the IP and dipping up delicious homemade dressing within minutes. So here you go. Stuffing Recipes for the Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Sausage Stuffing from Sweet and Savory by Shinee
Instant Pot Cornbread Stuffing from Simply Happy Foodie
Cranberry Orange Cornbread from Garam Masala Kitchen
Stuffing in the Instant Pot from Pressure Cooking Today
Spiced Pumpkin Cornbread in the Instant Pot from Garam Masala Cooking
Delicious Instant Pot Stuffing from Awe-Filled Homemaker
Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread in the Instant Pot by Ministry of Curry
Sweet Cornbread in the Instant Pot from Pressure Cooker Diaries
Instant Pot Cornbread Dressing from The Foodie Eats
Instant Pot Thanksgiving Recipes forSweet Potatoes and Yams
Sweet potato mash is one of my favorite side dishes that we don’t enjoy nearly as often as we should considering how many awesome vitamins are found in this root vegetable. It’s really simple to make too – you’ll find the directions in the next section because it’s exactly like making mashed potatoes in the IP and I didn’t think you’d want to read it twice. We have lots of great recipe options here for you though, from traditional candied yams to yummy pecan topped deliciousness, so give one of these a whirl.
Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes from Encouraging Moms at Home
Instant Pot Sweet Potato Recipe from Add a Pinch
Instant Pot Clean Eating Candied Yams from Instant Loss
Candied Yams in the Instant Pot from Simply Happy Foodie
Instant Pot Sweet Potato Mash from Paleo Pot
Pressure Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole from This Old Gal
Easy Instant Pot Yams from Awe-Filled Homemaker
Instant Pot Sweet Potato Recipe with Brown Sugar Pecans from Blue Bowl Recipe (with Instant Pot directions in addition to oven)
Instant Pot Sweet Potato from Pressure Cook Recipes
Pressure Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole from Pressure Cooking Today
Mashed Potatoes:Instant Pot Thanksgiving Recipes
Mashed potatoes is one of our everyday uses for this electric pressure cooker. If you use redskin potatoes, you don’t even have to wash them ahead of time because the steam from the IP washes them better than the sink does! We just dump an entire bag of redskin potatoes in the pot, no piercing required, and cook on manual (high pressure) for 25 minutes. Then we quick release the pressure, but leave the lid on until we are almost ready to serve the meal. This keeps the potatoes hot!
When almost everything else is on the table, we use a potato masher to mash up the potatoes first, adding cream and butter. Then for the final mash we very briefly use the hand mixer and mix in salt and pepper and more cream as needed. That’s it!
If you want something different, you can check out any one of these recipes. That same basic method also works for fabulous sweet potato mash too, btw. The one thing you need to know — if you use russets or sweet potatoes, (instead of classic reds) you will need to wash them first since the pressure cooker steam won’t clean off the caked on dirt you often find on those varieties.
Instant Pot Loaded Mashed Potatoes from Awe-Filled Homemaker
Garlic and Rosemary Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes from Adventures of a Nurse
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes from Pressure Cook Recipes
Easy Pressure Cooker Creamy Mashed Potatoes from Frieda Loves Cooking
Homemade Cranberry Sauce:Instant Pot Thanksgiving Recipes
I’ll admit to being partial to Alton Brown’s cranberry dipping sauce, which my husband makes on the stove top for us each year, but if you want a very traditional cranberry jelly sauce, you’ve got a whole bunch of yummy homemade recipes listed here and you absolutely do not need to resort to dumping your cranberry sauce out of a can! Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce is going to show you exactly why so many people love this famous dish. Everything is better homemade – and it doesn’t have to be hard either. Plus, this dish can be made ahead and put into a fancy mold for that extra wow factor on your holiday table.
Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce from Real Food Real Deals
Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce from Pressure Cook Recipes
Homemade Cranberry Jello from Barbara Bakes
Whole Thirty Cranberry Sauce in the Instant Pot from 40 Aprons
Pressure Cooking Cranberry Jelly from Pressure Cooking Today
Homemade Cranberry Sauce in the Instant Pot from Stay Snatched
Cranberry Sauce in the Instant Pot from Garam Masala Cooking
Quick and Easy Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce from Awe-filled Homemaker
Instant Pot ThanksgivingSide Dishes
Everyone has a favorite Thanksgiving side dish, and you’ve got a lot of choices when it comes to making them in the pressure cooker. There is almost no side dish that your Instant Pot cannot make. What’cha looking for? If you do not see it here, drop me a note in the comments and I’ll either find it or figure it out for you.
These are Instant Pot Thanksgiving Side Dishes and they are fabulous. I don’t think you can go wrong using sides from this list.
One of my favorite holiday memories fromgrowing up involved a recipe a lot like this Pressure Cooker Cheesy Broccoli Casserole from Happy Belly Foodie.
Instant Pot Mac and Cheese from the Salty Marshmallow – apparently ranked #6 in popularity for Thanksgiving sides, homemade mac and cheese is everyday fare for us now that we make it in our IP! This one is a great recipe.
Instant Pot Honey Cinnamon Glazed Carrots from Five Heart Home
Cauliflower Au Gratin in the Instant Pot from This Pilgrim Life
Corn casserole used to be one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishesgrowing up, so I was thrilled to see this recipe for Instant Pot Corn Casserole from Temecula Blogs
Moroccan Spiced Potatoes from The Primal Desire
If you don’t want mashed potatoes, these Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes might be a big hit.
Instant Pot Green Bean Casserole from Adventures of a Nurse (no cream soup in this recipe!)
Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto in the Instant Pot from Encouraging Moms at Home
When you don’t think you are getting enough pumpkin in the dessert round, try this IP Pumpkin Risotto from My Wife Can Cook. I absolutely love risotto in my Instant Pot!
Garlic and Parmesan Instant Pot Asparagus from Adventures of a Nurse
Instant Pot Candied Acorn Squash from Adventures of a Nurse
Instant Pot Maple Glazed Carrots from Pressure Luck Cooking
Instant Pot Fresh, Homemade Creamed Corn from The Spicy Apron
Make your homemade Thanksgiving bread in the Instant Pot with this no-knead recipe from Chatelaine.
Or try these no-knead IP dinner rolls from Imagelicious.
Instant Pot ThanksgivingPumpkin Desserts
It just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving for most people without some form of pumpkin dessert. Pie crust would be a little tricky in the IP, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have your pumpkin and eat it too! One thing our electric pressure cooker excels at is cheesecake. I mean, an IP cheesecake is typically incredible! But why stop there? You can also make all cakes, CremeBrûlée, and even your pie filling. Here are some great examples:
Instant Pot Pumpkin Cake from Encouraging Moms at Home
Instant Pot Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake from Awe-Filled Homemaker
Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake from A Pinch of Healthy
Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Pie from Pressure Cooking Today
Bourbon Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake from This Old Gal
Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Creme Brûlée from Pressure Cooking Today
Instant PotPumpkin Cheesecake from Simply Happy Foodie
Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake for the Instant Pot from Smith Bites
Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Cheesecake from Dad Cooks Dinner
Instant Pot Easy Mini Pumpkin Pies from Awe-Filled Homemaker
Pumpkin Cheesecake Instant Pot Bread from Adventures of a Nurse
Pumpkin Spice Cake from Pressure Cooker Convert
Pumpkin Apple Cake from Temecula Blogs
Pumpkin Caramel Pecan Cheesecake from Pressure Cooking Today
Non-Pumpkin Desserts: Instant Pot Thanksgiving Recipes
Ok – I do love pumpkin spice in a lot of things, but I am not a pumpkin pie fan or a big cheesecake fan. So when I talk Thanksgiving Desserts for the Instant Pot, I’m looking for something a little different. Here’s our second list of Instant Pot Desserts for Thanksgiving, and these are all of the no-pumpkin variety. You’re welcome.
Sweet Potato Cheesecake with Dulce de Leche and Pecans from This Pilgrim Life
Instant Pot Apple Bread with Salted Caramel Icing from Adventures of a Nurse
New York Cheesecake with Toffee Pecan Crust from Pressure Cooking Today
Miniature Bacon Pecan Pies in the IP from Kitschen Cat
Instant Pot Pecan Pie Cheesecake from Sprinkles to Sparkles
Thanksgiving Breakfast Dishes for the Instant Pot
Let’s face it, sometimes desserts count as breakfast – especially on holidays. Am I right? I mean, most of these yummy Thanksgiving Breakfast Dishes for the IP are more dessert than they are eye-opening breakfast fare. But luscious. If you want healthy, go with the pumpkin spice oatmeal. If you want your kids to remember holiday breakfasts with a wistful smile and try to recreate that for their own kids, the bread pudding or French toast options on this list are amazing!
Instant Pot Pumpkin Spice Bread Pudding from Two Sleevers
Pumpkin Breakfast Cake from Tidbits Cami
Delicious Pumpkin Spice Pecan Oatmeal from Encouraging Moms at Home
Pumpkin Cranberry Breakfast Cake from Tidbits Marci
Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Date Brown Rice Pudding from Pressure Cooking Today
Pressure Cooking Pumpkin Spice Latte Oats from Kitschen Cat
Instant Pot Creamy Pumpkin Maple Oatmeal from Meaningful Eats
Maple French Toast Casserole from Instant Pot
Instant Pot Leftover Turkey Recipes
Wanna know why we make a 22-pound turkey? It’s not just because I’m feeding ten people here — it’s because we want at least three pounds of leftovers! Turkey leftovers make soporific meals for days and they save you lots of money since you can often buy turkey for under 50 cents a pound over the holidays. Meat doesn’t get any cheaper than that! Instant Pot Leftover Turkey recipes are not plentiful, so if you have any ideas to add, let me know in the comments.
Instant Pot Turkey Bone Broth from Primal Desire – what a great way to use that turkey carcass!
Day After Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Soup from Dad’s Cooking Dinner
Instant Pot Turkey Casserole from Adventures of a Nurse
Turkey Noodle Soup from Pressure Cooking Today
Instant Pot Tetrazzini from Encouraging Moms at Home. This recipe calls for chicken – but you can easily sub in leftover cooked turkey and still make an amazing meal – it’s one of my favorite ways to use leftover turkey!
Instant Pot Leftover Turkey Pasta from Simply Happy Foodie is a creamy, delicious way to use up that turkey stockpile! And the curry adds an awesome flair, too.
