Foolproof Instant Pot Turkey Tenderloin
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November 1, 2018
Leftover Turkey and Spinach Enchiladas
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This Instant Pot turkey tenderloin recipe is so simple and flavorful, and it basically cooks itself!
I LOVE turkey. I never really understood the people who say they don’t like it. And I LOVE Thanksgiving. It’s by far my favorite holiday. Every year my whole extended family gathers in Macon, Georgia for three or four days. Since we are spread out all over the Southeast, we spend every moment together, and there’s plenty of cooking, eating, and cleaning. We have the traditional turkey and cornbread dressing and giblet gravy, accompanied by (usually) collard AND turnip greens, creamed corn, butter beans, pineapple-cheese casserole, cornbread, pumpkin pie, and pecan pie. My Mammie was a fabulous cook and Thanksgiving dinner is the meal I look forward to all year, not just because of the food, but because of the people with whom I get to share it.
So I’ve always loved turkey. BUT then I had other people’s turkey. When overcooked it turns out really dry. I always think about Christmas Vacation when cousin Catherine overcooks the turkey and they’re all gnawing on it like jerky. BAD NEWS! And the problem is that most of us only cook turkey once or twice a year, and it’s always at a high-pressure meal where it really needs to turn out good.
Well, whether it’s your first time hosting Thanksgiving or your hundredth, if you’ve got turkey anxiety, I’ve got a solution for you. Instant Pot Turkey Tenderloin. When I say you can’t mess this up, I mean you really can’t mess it up. It will turn out nice and juicy. This method is also perfect for a smaller crowd when a whole bird isn’t necessary.
Check out my favorite way to use up leftover turkey, and make these Turkey and Spinach Enchiladas!
Instant Pot Turkey Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 24 ounces turkey breast tenderloin
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
Instructions
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Combine parsley flakes, olive oil, salt, pepper, and mustard in a small bowl. Rub evenly over turkey. Place turkey in a 6-quart Instant Pot, and add chicken broth.
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Cover Instant Pot, and, using manual setting, set to 18 minutes on high pressure, making sure the pressure valve is sealed. When done, let the pressure slowly release.
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Let stand at least 5 minutes before slicing.
What’s your favorite Thanksgiving memory? I remember one time when my Mammie and I were cooking, using literally every dish in the whole kitchen before we washed anything. They were seriously piled up on the countertops, and that’s when the blender, full of hot celery-onion-broth mixture exploded all over the floor, ceiling, counters, and all the dishes. It was such a mess, but we just laughed and laughed. And then at the meal, my dad ALWAYS tells the story about when he was 23 and living out of town for his first job, and he drove home for Thanksgiving, the whole way thinking about turnip greens. But when the bowl got around to him that night the greens were all gone. Now he always gets the first serving of turnip greens.
92 Comments
This was my first time using the instant pot and it was the prefect recipe to start on. This is delicious! I am not a turkey lover mainly because of the dryness and lack of flavor, but this recipe produced nice moist yummy turkey tenderloin. Every family member enjoyed it. It is being added to the rotation.
SO glad your family enjoyed it!
Sooooo Good! I’m new to Instapot and wanted to make turkey tenderloin for sandwich meat instead of buying it from the deli. I saw other recipes that said to marinate for a little while, but I didn’t have the time and wanted to see how it turned out without. I added 1/2 tsp of garlic powder just because I love garlic and I’m glad I did. It was perfect! I had about 30oz in my batch and did 20 minutes on the manual (pressure cook) setting as suggested, not the poultry setting. I will be doing this recipe again and again and staying away from additives in deli meat! Yay! Thank you so much for the guidance!
So glad you liked it!
[…] Turkey Tenderloin from Jessica Ivey […]
Way way too salty. Are you sure that should not be a teaspoon of salt? Turned out not good.
Sorry you had problems with it, Lorenzo. Check the recipe again please. It is 1 teaspoon salt. Hope you get a chance to try it again!
This is excellent! It’s a little peppery for me, and I will cut back on that next time…and there WILL be a next time! Thank you for a fantastic recipe 😊
So glad you liked it!
My turkey loin was frozen and I cooked HP for 24 min with NR. Worked out well and was tasty.
Are you supposed to use a trivet or just place in bottom in broth?
I made it just as instructed and it was delicious. Thank you for the recipe!
So glad you liked it!
I made this tonight and altered it slightly to add more pepper, use fresh parsley (because I had it on hand) and use Harry and David honey mustard instead of the dry mustard and it was great. I just saw that I wasn’t supposed to use the trivet, which I did, but it was still tasty and moist. Question. I am only cooking for myself, and now I have 3 more dinners to eat this reheated How would I reheat this in the pressure cooker so it doesn’t dry out?
Hi Cindy, I’m glad you liked the recipe! I have not tried this but have heard of using the steam function to reheat food. I will try pouring one cup of water into the bottom of the instant pot and then using the trivet. Put the portion to reheat in a glass bowl and cover it with foil. Set the bowl on the trivet, seal the instant pot, and steam 3 minutes. If you have leftover chicken broth, I might pour a little over the turkey to help keep it moist before reheating. Hope that works well!
Are you supposed to use a trivet or just place in bottom in broth?
Either works! I’d use the trivet if you have it though.
So yummy! Bookmarking. Thanks
[…] Turkey Tenderloin from Jessica Ivey […]
I’m cooking 2 tenderloins that total 24 oz. Should I lessen the cook time?
Hi Ginger – I’m sorry I am just seeing this. You should be good to go with 24 total oz turkey breast tenderloin!
I am so glad I found your recipe. I had been trying to find one for turkey tenderloins and before I gave up and put them in the oven I found your recipe and it turned out great! Thank you.
Hi Jessica! Sorry if this is silly question but (I’m new to Instant Pot), should I place the tenderloin on the trivet or go without it? Thank you and I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Hi Greg! Yes, place the turkey on the trivet. I hope you enjoy!
This recipe is great because the turkey tenders at LIDL are in 24 ounce packages!!!
So good!! Thank you for this recipe!
I have turkey tenderloin pieces can I use them for this recipe?? Thank you!
Hi Radhika- I’m sure you can, the cook time will just be less, depending on the size of the pieces.
I just wanted to tell you, after reading alot of the comments, I just wanted to let you know I am really impressed… So impressed that I promise on anything & everything, THIS is the FIRST/ONLY time I have ever bothered to add a comment on a recipe site! …Oh yeah, and it’s not because this is the best recipe ever, because honestly, I have no clue yet because I just put it in the instant pot lol. I visit several different recipes a few times a week. I very seldom end up using 1 recipe. I guess because I often will have to “make do” without a certain ingredient or make a substitution, or alot of times I choose to add/substitute something simply because I need/want to get a potential ingredient used before it goes bad. Instead of just cooking whatever the meal is, like I often KNOW how, I instead end up pulling up a couple recipes that sound good & somewhat similar, then I mash up the ingredients and the instructions, to whatever fits my needs…ANYHOW, I noticed how quickly & nicely you STILL respond to peoples questions/comments, though this was posted a few years ago. Most don’t after awhile, and theres also very few that will give someone special instructions other than for the exact recipe/method. I just wanted to let you know your kindness & nice demeanor is noticed. I’ll be on your site often for recipes now You have my utmost respect..
Gabrielle, thank you for the kind and encouraging words! I so hope that you and your family enjoyed the recipe!
Hi! I just finished dinner! The Turkey Loin was excellent! Thank you! Have a blessed day. ( 4 time using the instant pot)
Jeanette Lee
So glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve made this several times now using dijon mustard and we love it. I’m wondering if i double the recipe do I need to cook it longer?
Glad you like the recipe! As long as you’re using two 24-ounce turkey tenderloins you shouldn’t have to cook it any longer. Enjoy!
I made the turkey breast tenderloin tonight and it was awesome! I personally, would add more pepper, but I fixed that with the gravy I made from the juice. Plated with mashed potatoes and sweet kernel corn and bread. Yummy and thumbs up from my boyfriend!
Tried the Turkey Tenderloin this evening. It was amazing!!! I made gravy for mashed potatoes from the liquid after cooking.
My husband loved it!!
Thanks!
Thank you so much for letting me know, Lorraine! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I have Turkey breast tenderloins. Does it need to be thawed or frozen?
just a little confused
Hi Julia, the cooking time given in this recipe is for thawed turkey tenderloins. If you plan to cook your turkey from frozen the cook time will need to be increased.
I have a frozen turkey breast…about how long do you think I should increase the cooking time?
Hi Molly, For a whole bone-in turkey breast, try 60 minutes.
I made this tonight. Delicious! When it’s just two of us for Thanksgiving, this will be our dinner!
Can I used turkey breast tenderloins 1.25 total pounds?
Hi Kim – Yes, absolutely! Should work just great.
My husband was away on a hunting trip for Thanksgiving and I was sick with a horrible cold so I made this tonight for our post Thanksgiving dinner and it was absolutely amazing and will be our new tradition. So moist and tasty.
I’m so glad that y’all enjoyed it!
This was a delicious way to make turkey tenderloin but I actually had my first “food burn” error, right as it was almost done with preheat. I actually used a full cup of broth, vs 1/2 cup, because of what the instructions say, and had my 2 tenderloins totalling 25 oz on a trivet. Ended up adding 2 emergency mason jars of water – bottom was scorched (so another 16 oz of water). Wondering if it’s becausei have the higher wattage duo evo plus but scared the bejesus out of me. Tastiest scare I ever had – put it back for another 7 min after adding the extra water. Sadly liquid too scorched for gravy but so good otherwise!
Well I’m glad it turned out okay for you! I’m not sure why it scorched. Mine was fine with 1/2 cup broth, but because of comments from several people, I’m going to bump it up to 1 cup broth for this recipe. I don’t have any experience with the Due Evo Plus, but maybe it was the higher wattage? Anyway, glad you liked it!
Thank you so much! I made this recipe yesterday after procrastinating for several days, as I’m fairly new to Instant Pot usage. I don’t think I’ve had turkey better than this, ever!! I mistakenly put in a Tablespoon of black pepper instead of a teaspoon, but it was still fantastic, moist, and delicious! I used the Sauté function to reduce the broth to gravy and made some rice to go with it… Bliss! I’ll be keeping this in mind for Thanksgiving, as well!
*Btw… other changes to the recipe: I mixed a couple of shakes of sage into the rub, put a few small pats of butter on top of the rub, and used 1 cup of broth instead of 1/2 cup, because I wanted more gravy. I think maybe next time I may use lemon pepper instead of black pepper.
I’m so glad that you liked the recipe! Your addition of sage sounds delicious, and I’m sure lemon pepper would work great too.
Oh, mercy! I think this was the best turkey I’ve ever had! My roast was a bit larger than 24 ounces, so I ramped up the cook time to 25 minutes. I added a bit of sage to the rub and a bit of butter on top of the rub before cooking. I used 1 cup of water instead of 1/2. It was absolutely wonderful! After a natural pressure release, I took out the turkey and used the Sauté setting to reduce the gravy. Bliss!
[…] Check out some of my other Instant Pot recipes, including my most popular post ever, Foolproof Instant Pot Turkey Tenderloin. […]
Made this recipe this evening. Two pieces of turkey tenderloin in package, 24 oz total. Set them on the trivet, poured seasonings over then put 5 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes on top. Poured in a can of reduced sodium chicken broth. Set Instant pot for 12 min and when time was up I let it reduce pressure on it’s own for 5 minutes. Turkey tested in the 170s, but was still very, very tender. Removed turkey and taters to a foil covered plate then whisked some Wondra flour into liquid in Instant Pot and let bubble a bit. for gravy. Yum! Great recipe!
Wow, your variation sounds amazing! Glad you enjoyed it.
BEST Turkey ever!, thank you so much for sharing! I did use extra broth so I could make some great gravy with drippings.
I only have a 1 pound Turkey Tenderloin. I’m just getting used to my new 6 QT Instant Pot, and it’s great. I know that’s a small amount for my Instant Pot, but is it too small? How could I use my Instant Pot for this small portion?
Hi Kevin! Sorry I’ve just now seen your question! I think you will be fine cooking the 1 lb. turkey tenderloin in your Instant Pot. Maybe increase the liquid by a little bit.
I would like to cook two 30oz pre-marinated turkey tenderloins at the same time for meal prepping, would I still stick to the 18min cook time?
Hi Jennifer – I would try 22 minutes or so at high pressure since your tenderloins are 30 ounces each. Remember to check the temperature to be sure it’s done. Hope you enjoy!
What would you estimate the entire time to be? Coming to pressure, cooking, slow release? Trying to time with other things. Thanks!
Hi Diane – I would plan on 40 minutes start to finish (about 10 minutes to get to pressure, 18 minutes to cook, and 10 for the pressure to naturally release). If the pressure releases quicker than that your pot will automatically switch to “warm” and you should be fine to finish up your sides! Hope that helps.
Thanks so much for your quick an thorough answer!
I am cooking 2 -24 oz tenderloins. Do I have to double the cooking time? Seemed like a long time.
Hi Kathy- I definitely wouldn’t double the cooking time since it’s two separate pieces. I would go for 20 minutes and check the temperature to be sure it’s done. Hope you enjoy!
This was phenomenal and too easy. I did two tenderloins totaling 30 oz for 18 min on high pressure and they turned out great. Hubby loved it! Healthy too! This recipe is going into the rotation!
Hi Jamie- thanks for sharing! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe.
Do use a trivet for this recipe or place in bottom with chicken broth?
Hi Nikki! I did not use the trivet but just placed the turkey in the bottom with the broth. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
This is the first time I’ve ever written a comment about a recipe. I absolutely hate cooking and cannot wait until my children are grown and I do not feel responsible or obligated to make their meals. I’m only writing because this was the absolute best turkey and the most easiest recipe I’ve ever followed and not screwed up. My boys hate turkey and chicken mostly because I serve it dry. My son said the turkey tenderloin exceeded restaurant quality. You will think I’m crazy, but I made it again the next night because they loved it so much and fought over the last pieceand it was so easy to do. I cooked it in my ninja foodie 🙂 ps.my husband loved it too, but he is so accustomed to my bad cooking that he just eats whatever I make.
So glad your whole family enjoyed it, Christina!
Can you make gravely with the liquid? If so, how?
Hi Becky – I’m not sure, as I haven’t tried it! I would try straining the juices through a fine mesh strainer into a saucepan. Then I’d whisk together some cold water and either cornstarch or flour, and stir that into the juices. Bring it to a simmer and cook 2 minutes or until it thicken. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let me know if you try it!
You don’t need to use another pan. After removing the turkey, switch the IP to Saute and deglaze the pan. Let it come to a boil. Once boiling, reduce for a few minutes and then add 1 tbsp flour dissolved in 2 tbsp water or broth. You can use cornstarch if you prefer. Let this reduce while whisking to break up any lumps. Once thickened, pour through a strainer. This usually needs no additional seasoning.
That’s a great idea!
My family (husband and 2 middle school boys) loved this dinner. I put fresh carrots and green beans on top of the tenderloins to add some veggies. Served with mashed potatoes and gravy. All the flavor of Thanksiving in 40 minutes.
So glad you liked it, Kelly! Love the idea of adding the veggies to make this a one-dish meal.
Line is two pieces totaling 24 oz. How long should I cook it if frozen? Thawed? It is from Lidl.
Hi Dee Dee- Two 12-ounce pieces totally 24 ounces will require less cooking time. Cook the thawed turkey pieces at high pressure for 12 minutes, and then quick release the pressure. If they’re still frozen when you start, allow the pressure to slow release (takes about 10 minutes). Always temp the cooked turkey to make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
I just looked and it is 32 ounces. Would I need to add more cooking time?
Hi Leslie- is your turkey one 32-ounce piece of two smaller pieces totaling 32 ounces?
How long would you cook it from frozen?
Hi Harmony – Cook at high pressure for 25 minutes. Be sure to temp the turkey with a meat thermometer and make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees to be sure it’s done. Hope you enjoy!
Hi. I am cooking 36 ounces total (4 tenderloins). Can you tell me how long to cook?
Hi Tanesha, So your tenderloins are only 9 ounces each?
Can I put carrots on top of turkey, then potatoes in a steamer basket and then cook for the 18 mins?
Hi Maggie- you can add the carrots and potatoes but I would use small red potatoes (leave them whole) and cut large carrots into large 2- to 3- inch chunks so the vegetables don’t turn to mush before the turkey is done. Let me know how it turns out!
I just bought an instant pot. The directions say you must have a minimum of 18 oz of liquid for pressure cooking. Your recipe says 4 oz. I made your recipe but switched up the chicken broth to 18 oz. Was that necessary?
Hi Susan- I make recipes with less than 18 ounces of liquid in my instant pot all the time! I wasn’t aware the directions even said that. I make this recipe all the time with no issues. I hope that helps and that you enjoyed it!
Do you put the turkey on a trivet/rack, or at the bottom of the pot?
Hi Karen – I did not because I have lost mine, but you certainly could! Either way it should turn out moist and delicious! Thanks so much, and hope you enjoy!
I am going to try this in order to have turkey for turkey salad and turkey pot pie, etc. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Cheryl! I hope you enjoy the recipe!