25+ Best Instant Pot Thanksgiving Recipes to make your holiday cooking hands-off and stress-free. Cooking for a crowd has never been so easy!
How did my mom and grandmas ever make Thanksgiving dinner for dozens of people before the invention of the electric pressure cooker?
Four burners, one oven, and a whole lot of stress, that's how!
The pile of dishes my sisters and I got strapped to every year was insane.
Well, the Instant Pot is here for you guys and will make Thanksgiving cooking so much easier.
We're going to cover all the essentials (click the links to skip to each section):
- Instant Pot Thanksgiving Appetizers and Salads
- Instant Pot Thanksgiving Bread Toppings
- Instant Pot Thanksgiving Meat
- Instant Pot Thanksgiving Side Dishes
- Instant Pot Thanksgiving Bread
- Instant Pot Thanksgiving Desserts
- Thanksgiving Leftovers Ideas
Note about the KD (Kid-Friendly) recipes: I feel like they could all be KF (my daughter adores tofu), but I tried to pick the ones that an especially picky kid would be happy with at a Thanksgiving table.
These recipes are several of my personal favorites for you to peruse, print, and plan for the big day! Enjoy!
1) Instant Pot Healthy Fruit Dip: I prefer to put out a fruit platter with dip instead of crackers and dip. It makes me feel good to see my kids eating fruit before they stuff their faces with pie.
Total Recipe Time: 10 min / Kid-Friendly
2) Instant Pot Apple Fig Compote: This makes the yummiest appetizer you've ever met. Cook up some mini phyllo cups, add brie, throw it under the broiler to soften the cheese, and top it with a pile of the compote. One bite wonder right here.
Total Recipe Time: 20 min / Kid-Friendly
3)Â Instant Pot Poached Pear Salad:Â I'm always grateful to see a salad amidst a heavy Thanksgiving dinner spread, and these poached pears are the building blocks of a phenomenal salad.
Total Recipe Time: 20 min
4) Pumpkin Pie Hummus (not pictured): Serve with apple slices or graham crackers. It'll feel like you're eating dessert before dinner even gets started (but it's good for you!)
Total Recipe Time: 20 min / Kid-Friendly
1) Instant Pot Pumpkin Butter: So good I eat it by the spoonful. Serve it warm with rolls and you'll be a hero. It's like having your pumpkin pie before the dessert course ever arrives!
Total Recipe Time: 30 min / Kid-Friendly
2) Instant Pot Cinnamon Cream Syrup: This reminds me a bit of the runny honey butter my mom would buy when I was a kid. It's amazing on hot rolls!
Total Recipe Time: 20 min / Kid-Friendly
3)Â Instant Pot Infused Honey:Â Why serve regular honey when you can dazzle your guests with your very own homemade flavored honeys!
Total Recipe Time: 45 min / Kid-Friendly
1) Instant Pot Turkey Breast: To some, the turkey is the star of the show and with this butter-herb flavored version, I now understand why. Talk about saving space in the oven!
Total Recipe Time: 1 hour / Kid-Friendly
2) Instant Pot Ham: For those who like to serve turkey and ham, this is by far my favorite ham recipe of all time. We've been making it for years in my family in a smoker, but have recently discovered we like it even better in the pressure cooker.
Total Recipe Time: 1 hour / Kid-Friendly
3)Â Instant Pot Tofu:Â This crispy tofu is an excellent protein option if you have any guests requesting vegetarian options.
Total Recipe Time: 20 min
1) Instant Pot Honey Glazed Carrots: Easiest side dish you will ever make and people will be eating them up like they're dessert! These babies are delicious!
Total Recipe Time: 15 min / Kid-Friendly
2)  Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes – the healthy version: When you want amazing mashed potatoes, but want them healthy, this is the one for you. If I'm being honest, I actually prefer their taste to the more indulgent version.
Total Recipe Time: 30 min / Kid-Friendly
3) Instant Pot Cranberry Apple Sauce: The addition of apples helps to sweeten the tartness of cranberries without needing a lot of added sweetener. This is a must for the turkey above!
Total Recipe Time: 15 min / Kid-Friendly
4)  Instant Pot Indulgent Mashed Potatoes: These are the classic, buttery, creamy mashed potatoes of your youth! It can't be Thanksgiving without them!
Total Recipe Time: 50 min / Kid-Friendly
5) Instant Pot Sweet Potato Casserole: My favorite Thanksgiving sweet potato dish of all time and my favorite thing to eat on Thanksgiving Day. This one is healthy, perfectly sweet, and has an oat crumble topping that'll have you saying, “TURKEY WHO?!”
Total Recipe Time: 75 min / Kid-Friendly
6) Instant Pot Creamy Vegetable Medley: This perhaps isn't the most traditional Thanksgiving dish, but if I'm cooking, it's on the menu. I adore these creamy, cheesy, veggies!
Total Recipe Time: 10 min / Kid-Friendly
7) Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes (not pictured): If you prefer to go savory with sweet potatoes, this recipe is for you! The sweet and spicy pecan topping is amazing!
Total Recipe Time: 45 min / Kid-Friendly
1) Crusty, No-Knead Whole Grain Bread: This is a fancy alternative to bread and if you happen to have leftovers, it makes great paninis. This Cranberry Pecan or this Rosemary Asiago version would both be great alternatives.
Total Recipe Time: 5 hours / Kid-Friendly
2)Â Instant Pot Cornbread Muffins:Â I love to have a cornbread option at Thanksgiving Dinner and these little honey cornbread muffins are fantastic!
Total Recipe Time: 20 min / Kid-Friendly
3)Â Instant Pot Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread:Â This is another cornbread option to add a little pizazz to your table!
Total Recipe Time: 55 min
(all these are Kid-Friendly 🙂 )
1) Instant Pot Caramel Apple Cheesecake: Forget plain ol' apple pie! This cheesecake is a combination of apple pie and cheesecake and it gets rave reviews every time I serve it. I dare say no one will even miss the traditional apple pie.
Total Recipe Time: 90 min / Kid-Friendly
2)Â Instant Pot Banana Cream Pie Cheesecake:Â Another spin on a classic, this one is a combination of banana cream pie and vanilla cheesecake and has been proclaimed by my daughter and mom to be the best cheesecake I've ever made.
Total Recipe Time: 6 hours / Kid-Friendly
3) Instant Pot German Chocolate Cheesecake: From my experience, amidst a million pies, everyone is still looking for some chocolate. This rich, decadent cheesecake can cause a serious raucous.
Total Recipe Time: 70 min / Kid-Friendly
4) Instant Pot White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake: This one's as delicious as it is pretty! Serve it as a cheesecake or see the post to learn how to make the cutest little cheesecake balls you've ever seen!
Total Recipe Time: 70 min / Kid-Friendly
5) Instant Pot Caramel Apple Pie: This pie is quite possibly my favorite dessert on the entire blog. Sweetened only with dates, this pie filling can be whipped up and served in under 10 minutes. The whole wheat/coconut oil crust is my favorite crust ever!
Total Recipe Time: 30 min / Kid-Friendly
6) Instant Pot Hasselback Apples: For those who want dessert, but want it healthy, these Hasselback Apples are little rockstars. Sure to please any guests who appreciate a more wholesome, naturally sweetened approach to dessert.
Total Recipe Time: 25 min / Kid-Friendly
7) Instant Pot Double Layer Pumplin Pie Cheesecake (not pictured): It's like a pumpkin pie and a cheesecake all in one topped with dreamy maple glaze. You'll never settle for regular pumpkin pie again!
Total Recipe Time:Â 45 min / Kid-Friendly
1) Instant Pot Turkey Meatballs: Serve these yummy little meatballs with a side of jalapeno cranberry sauce, fried sage, and some leftover mashed potatoes. I hoard leftovers just to eat this all weekend!
Total Recipe Time: 25 min / Kid-Friendly
2) Instant Pot Tamales: Whenever I see leftover meat of any kind, I immediately think TAMALES! Thanksgiving leftovers wrapped up into a tamale? I'm doin' it! Don't feel like rollin' tamales? Make a Tamale Pie instead.
Total Recipe Time: 75 min / Kid-Friendly
3) Instant Pot Chipotle Ranch Chicken Panini: If you haven't enjoyed this one yet, you need to!!! Leftover turkey will swap out for the chicken seamlessly!
Total Recipe Time: 20 min
There you have it! All my faves on one page!
Now tell me, do you prefer a very traditional Thanksgiving Dinner or do you like to mix things up?
I like a mix of both, just don't mess with the stuffing.
Let me know if you try any of the above! I love to hear your feedback!
MORE INSTANT POT HOLIDAY RECIPE ROUNDUPS:
- 25+ Best Instant Pot Christmas Recipes
- All our Instant Pot Christmas Recipes
- 25+ Best Instant Pot Easter Recipes
- Instant Pot Valentine's Day Recipes (to fall in love with)
Wow! Thank you very much for this recipe and for the real photos of the prepared dish. Instant Pot Banana Cream Pie Cheesecake this cheesecake is a blend of banana cream pie and vanilla cheesecake and has been declared the finest cheesecake I’ve ever cooked by my daughter and mother.
Unabis, I’m so excited to hear that! It’s one of our favorites too!