(Clockwise from top left) Acorn Squash with Shallots & Grapes, Sausage and Sage Stuffing, Tender Turkey from Instant Pot Holiday Cookbook – 100 Festive Recipes to Celebrate the Season; Wolf and Instapot Multicookers; Presto pressure cooker.

You’ve roasted a turkey all day, tried basting, no basting, brining, rubs. Maybe you have deep-fried the big bird, too. Now that you may have a smaller gathering, it’s time to try cooking the bird in a multicooker!

Multicookers like Instant Pot, Ninja, Wolf and pressure cookers like those from Presto, can save the day. Yup, that’s right, you can cram a small, six to seven-pound turkey into a multicooker and cook the bird in record time leaving you more time to relax and enjoy hour guests.

The result is, perhaps, “the juiciest, most tender turkey your guests have ever had,” according to Heather Schulueter, author of Instant Pot Holiday Cookbook – 100 Festive Recipes to Celebrate the Season. “To give the turkey a beautiful golden-brown finish, pop it under the broiler for about five minutes.”

Wow, you can even try this with a whole seven-pound chicken. The best part? A tender turkey in under one hour with minimal cleanup.

Ready to save time this Thanksgiving? Try these recipes:

Tender Turkey. Photo: Bill Milne; Copyright owned by Sterling Publishing under a work-for-hire contract

Tender Turkey for a Small Gathering

Makes 6 Servings

HANDS-ON TIME: 10 Minutes
COOKING TIME: 30 Minutes
TOTAL TIME: 50 Minutes
BUTTONS TO USE: Pressure Cook
RELEASE TYPE: Natural Release

1 (6–7-pounds) young turkey or a 7-pound whole chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon pepper
1 lime, quartered
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
1 cup chicken broth
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Rinse the turkey and remove the giblets from the cavity. Pat the bird dry, and then rub the olive oil underneath the breast skin.

Sprinkle the entire turkey with the seasoned salt, paprika, and pepper. Fill the cavity of the turkey with the lime and half of the onion.

Pour the chicken broth into the Instant Pot inner pot. Place the turkey into the pot, breast side up. Place the remaining onion, rosemary, and thyme on top of and around the turkey.

Secure the lid, ensuring the valve is turned to the Sealing position. Press the Pressure Cook button and set the time to 30 minutes.

When cooking is complete, let the pot sit for another 20 minutes, and then turn the valve to the Venting position to release any remaining pressure. Turn on the oven broiler.

Remove the lid and carefully transfer the turkey from the pot to a broiling pan, breast side up. Lightly pat the turkey dry with paper towels. Spread the softened butter over the turkey and place it under the broiler, breast up, and approximately 5 inches below the heat source.

Leave the turkey under the broiler for approximately 5 minutes, and check it, occasionally, to make sure that the skin does not burn. Remove the turkey when skin has turned a deep golden-brown color.

Let the turkey rest 5–10 minutes before carving.

TIP: When you are browning the turkey under the broiler, rotate it frequently to ensure even browning.

Other Traditional Recipes Made Easy in the Instant Pot®

If you are in the camp of baking your stuffing outside the bird, you might try Schuleuter’s Sausage and Sage Stuffing made with the Instant Pot®.

The recipe calls for bread cubes seasoned with sage, salt, and pepper, chicken broth, celery, onion, and butter combined with ground sausage. Eggs bind the stuffing. Much of the work is done by the Instant Pot save for the oven broiler used to bring the stuffing to a lovely golden color. Total time? 45 minutes.

Sausage and Sage Stuffing. Photo: Bill Milne; Copyright owned by Sterling Publishing under a work-for-hire contract

Sausage & Sage Stuffing

Makes 6 servings

HANDS-ON TIME: 15 Minutes
COOKING TIME: 20 Minutes
TOTAL TIME: 45 Minutes
BUTTONS TO USE: Sauté and Pressure Cook
RELEASE TYPE: Quick Release

Every traditional holiday flavor comes through in this delicious herby stuffing, but be warned: it’s so good, you probably won’t have any leftovers. To make the stuffing, you will need a 7-inch springform pan or a 1-quart ovenproof baking dish that fits your Instant Pot.

4 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, minced
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground Italian sausage, sweet or hot
4 cups dried bread cubes, either store-bought stuffing cubes or bread, cut into
1-inch pieces and air-dried on a cookie sheet overnight
¼ cup minced fresh sage (or 2 teaspoons dried sage)
1 ½ cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 eggs, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Cooking spray
Chopped parsley for garnish

Press the Sauté button to heat up the Instant Pot inner pot. When the display reads “Hot,” add the butter. As soon as the butter melts, add the onion, celery, and garlic. Sauté the veggies for 3 minutes, and then add the sausage. Break up the sausage into small crumbles with a wooden spoon and continue to brown the sausage until it is no longer pink. Press Cancel to turn off the Sauté function.

In a large bowl, mix together the dried bread cubes, sausage mixture, sage, broth, eggs, and the salt and pepper. Gently mix until the bread is well coated. Let the mixture sit for 2 minutes until the bread has absorbed the liquid.

Spray the springform pan or baking dish with cooking spray.

Scoop the bread and sausage mixture into the springform pan, pressing it down, if necessary, to fit it all in the pan. Cover the pan with foil.

Clean the inner pot, and then place back into the Instant Pot. Put the Instant Pot steam rack into the inner pot and add 1 cup of water. Place the springform pan onto the steam rack. Secure the lid, ensuring the valve is turned to the Sealing position. Press Pressure Cook and set the time to 20 minutes.

When cooking is complete, turn the valve to the Venting position to release the pressure. Remove the lid.

Turn on the oven broiler.

Remove the springform pan from the Instant Pot and remove the foil covering. Place the springform pan under the broiler for about 5 minutes, until the stuffing is lightly golden.

Remove the stuffing from the oven, garnish it with the parsley, and let the pan sit for 5 minutes before serving.

For a creative side, try Acorn Squash with Shallots & Grapes, a dressed-up version of the tender squash loaded with flavorful grapes, shallots and a touch of sage. Total time to prepare is 25 minutes.

Acorn Squash with Shallots. Photo: Bill Milne; Copyright owned by Sterling Publishing under a work-for-hire contract

Acorn Squash with Shallots & Grapes

Makes 4 servings

HANDS-ON TIME: 5 Minutes
COOKING TIME: 4 Minutes
TOTAL TIME: 25 Minutes
BUTTONS TO USE: Pressure Cook
RELEASE TYPE: Natural Release

2 small acorn squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 pound red grapes (approximately 40 grapes)
2 medium shallots, peeled and sliced crosswise into thin slices.
Salt and pepper to taste

Drizzle ½ tablespoon of the olive oil over each half of the acorn squash. Sprinkle the squash with the sage and the salt and pepper. Place about 10 grapes into each of the cavities in the squash, then sprinkle the grapes with the shallot slices.

Position the Instant Pot steam rack in the Instant Pot inner pot and add 1 cup of water. Carefully place each of the squash halves onto the steam rack, with the cavity side up. It’s okay if the squash overlaps slightly to fit in the pot.

Secure the lid, ensuring the valve is turned to the Sealing position. Press the Pressure Cook button and set the time to 4 minutes.

When cooking is complete, let the pot sit undisturbed for 10 minutes, and then turn the valve to the Venting position. When the pressure has released, remove the lid and carefully lift the squash out of the pot, using tongs. Season the squash with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

TIP: If the squash halves are too big to fit side by side in one layer on the steam rack, carefully stand each of the squash halves at a 30-degree angle, and lean them against the sides of the inner pot.

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For a review of multicookers, see the Healthy Aging® Magazine article “A Look Back and A Look Forward at Small Kitchen Appliances.”