Can you bake a frozen turkey breast

With lots of flavorful herbs, a quick-cooking Instant Pot turkey breast is always juicy, tender, and perfectly done. And the bonus? There’s no need to thaw it first!

Recipe Overview

Why you’ll love it: A turkey breast is much easier and quicker to prepare than a whole turkey.

How long it takes: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: Instant Pot/pressure multi cooker
Servings: 8

Turkey time! Dreading the ordeal of making a turkey? I bet most of us secretly hope that someone else will volunteer to do the turkey this year. It’s just kind of a hassle, isn’t it? Thawing that frozen bird, digging out those little packets of innards, rinsing, brining, rinsing again, getting up at dawn to get the bird in the oven, etc., etc., etc. 

Or maybe you are enjoying a smaller Thanksgiving celebration this year and don’t really need a big ol’ turkey with all the fixings. If that’s the case, maybe you’d like to try either this Instant Pot turkey breast or a sheet pan Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, dressing & more).

Some of us just don’t care for dark meat and wish that a turkey didn’t come with legs, thighs, and wings. (Sorry, Mr. Gobbler, we’re not trying to be critical about your body parts!)

Your Instant Pot pressure cooker comes to the rescue! Cook a perfectly done boneless turkey breast in less than two hours. And it’s so delicious: juicy, succulent white meat, flavored with sage, rosemary, and thyme. Here’s a really big bonus: you don’t even have to thaw it first! 

Think about this: using your Instant Pot for the turkey frees up valuable oven space. Now you’ll have plenty of room in the oven to bake all the yummy trimmings that go along with turkey.

I almost think the trimmings are the best part. You can bake healthy sweet potato casserole (I love this dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free recipe), and green bean casserole (with no canned soup!). And don’t forget baked mac and cheese or cheesy Brussels sprouts au gratin. 

Like turkey with stuffing? Kind of a dumb question, isn’t it? I always make this slow cooker stuffing recipe. It’s the best! And don’t forget the warm rolls and mashed potatoes with gravy. I love this make ahead turkey gravy.

About this Recipe

You’ll find directions here for cooking either a frozen turkey breast or a fresh/thawed one. 

A boneless turkey breast is usually held together with mesh. For best results, leave the mesh on while you cook the turkey breast. The mesh is actually holding the meat together. If you’re uncomfortable with using the mesh, cut it off and truss the turkey breast yourself.

Note that there may also be plastic netting that’s on the outside of the wrapping that should definitely be removed before roasting!

I’ll run through the recipe here with extra tips and information. Keep reading to the end of the post for the printable recipe card with complete instructions and nutrition information.

What You’ll Need

• Boneless, Skin-on Turkey Breast — either frozen or thawed, about 2-3 pounds.
• Butter: Use unsalted if you have it. If you use salted butter, decrease the amount of salt used.
• Olive Oil
• Garlic: Adds wonderful flavor.
• Fresh Herbs: Sage, rosemary, and thyme

Mix together herb butter with garlic and fresh herbs and slather it all over the turkey breast. Using the rack, add a little water to the bottom of the pot, place the breast in, and seal it up. That’s it! Isn’t that so easy? Ten minutes and the turkey’s ready to cook. 

The cooking time will vary, depending on whether the turkey breast is frozen or thawed. You’ll need approximately 65 minutes to pressure cook a frozen breast, and 35 minutes for a thawed breast. Remember to allow an extra 15-20 minutes for the pressure cooker to reach full pressure. 

After cooking, allow the turkey to rest five or ten minutes. Now’s a perfect time to get the rest of your dinner on the table. Remove the cooking net from the turkey, slice, and serve!  

Make It Your Own

This is a pretty simple recipe. You can vary the seasonings as you prefer. Maybe you don’t care for garlic? No problem, just leave it out. Only have dried herbs? You can substitute dried herbs for fresh. You’ll need less dried herbs because they’re a little more potent. The rule of thumb is 1:3, dried to fresh.

Go less traditional and try a spice blend, from Cajun to southwest to Asian. A turkey breast is a pretty blank slate so you can enliven it whichever way you choose. 

Have a bone-in turkey breast? Try this herb roasted turkey breast in the oven. It’s delicious! I’d like to try this honey-soy glazed turkey breast in the slow cooker by Diethood, too.

Rather have chicken? A whole roasted chicken is a good alternative to turkey or try roasted bone-in chicken breasts.

How long does it take per pound to cook a turkey breast?

This is is a hard question to give one answer to because the time varies depending on cooking method, whether the turkey breast is boneless or bone-in, whether it’s frozen or thawed, and how large the turkey breast is.
In this Instant Pot recipe, a frozen 2-3 pound boneless turkey breast will be cooked in approximately 65 minutes, plus time to come to pressure, an additional 15-20 minutes. A thawed turkey breast of the same size will be cooked in 25 minutes.
Use an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the turkey. It should be 165°F.

How long does it take to cook a 7 pound turkey breast?

Unless you have a 10-quart Instant Pot, I wouldn’t recommend cooking a 7 pound turkey breast in it. Since I haven’t tested it, I won’t venture a guess. However, if you’d like to cook a larger breast (7 pounds) in the oven, try Herb Roasted Turkey Breast. It’s delicious and takes two and a half to three hours.

Leftover turkey can be wrapped well and refrigerated for three to four days, or frozen for up to three months. Reheat gently in the microwave or wrap in foil and heat in the oven. 

A Turkey Tip

Are you a meal prepper? It doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving to enjoy turkey! Turkey is usually on sale around Thanksgiving so stock up and fill your freezer with this economical and healthy source of protein.

Cook a frozen turkey breast for meals all week. Use it for sandwiches or a pan of yummy turkey sliders if you’re having a crowd. Turkey breast can be substituted for chicken breasts in any recipe. You can put cooked, sliced meat in freezer bags to enjoy later. 

More Instant Pot shortcuts

If you don’t already have an Instant Pot, take advantage of Black Friday deals, or watch for other sales. I use mine all the time and I’m sure you will too. Here’s a few of my favorites or check all my Instant Pot recipes.

• Instant Pot Mac and Cheese with Broccoli
• Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi Pasta
• Instant Pot Pinto Beans — no soaking!
• Instant Pot Honey Sriracha Chicken
• Instant Pot Bolognese Recipe
• Instant Pot Risotto Recipe
• Instant Pot Pork Loin Roast
• Instant Pot Pulled Pork
• Instant Pot Pot Roast Recipe

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!