Delicious Ninja Foodi or Instant pot smothered turkey wings recipe, so easy and Holidays ready. The gravy is so thick and flavorful it will be hard to stop yourself from eating it. This is a one pot dish that means less dishes for you to wash in the end!
This turkey wings are made all from scratch and are a true Southern favorite. Pressure cooker like Instant pot or Ninja Foodi speeds up the cooking process and guarantees amazing results. And you can sear them and reheat in the same pot!
How to make Pressure cooker smothered turkey wings
Browning and sautéing
Pat dry turkey with paper towels and place into greased and hot pressure cooker inner pot. Brown wings for about 5 minutes each. Watch for splashing oil.
Finely chop onion and add to the pot along with garlic and a piece of butter. Keep sauteing turkey, stirring ingredients in the pot until everything is well browned and very fragrant. It will take you about another 5 minutes or so. Don't burn garlic! If you cant constantly stir it just add garlic in the end because burned garlic is not a good garlic.
Once you kitchen is filled with magnificent aroma its time to make the smell even more crazy. Season your turkey wings with paprika, salt, pepper and cumin. Proportions are given to you in the recipe card below but you can always add spices to your taste. Because everybody's taste is different!
Picture above shows how its suppose to look like before we will add water. Water is needed in pressure cooker turkey wings recipe because you need liquid to bring it to pressure. I just used plain clear water, broth is acceptable but not necessary. Turkey juices are going to be so rich, you don't need to add even more flavor to it.
Pressure cook it
Close and lock the lid and pressure cook for 20 minutes. That's enough time for wings to perfectly cook though and don't fall apart yet. Quick release the pressure and carefully open the lid. Pull wings out of the pot and place them on the separate plate. Now we are going to make a gravy (or sauce, whatever you want to call it).
Mix cornstarch with cold water in equal proportions in a cup and pour it into the pot with turkey juices in it. Turn on SAUTE and keep stirring for a few minutes until it will mix well and start thickening. Turn pressure cooker off and stir in cream. Return turkey wings inside the pot. Stir them around a little bit and voila, they are ready to be served!
Ninja foodi turkey wings directions
Follow all same directions until turkey wings are ready. Since Ninja foodi has an amazing build in AIRCRISP function, you can broil the skin!
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The skin will be very wet and soaked in sauce so there is no way you can make it crispy. But you can brown it to the way you like it. Close the air fryer lid and turn on BROIL button. Cook for about 3-5 minutes until skin will get evenly browned and deliciously looking. That's a benefit of cooking smothered turkey wings in Ninja foodi compare to Instant pot.
Instant pot turkey wings
Follow the recipe exactly how it says in the recipe card. No adjustments needed. For the amount of wings listed i used an 8 qt Instant pot. If you have a 6qt the recipe will remain the same. Enjoy cooking!
Can you make it ahead of time
Yes you do. You can even leave it right in the pot and cover it with a plastic wrap or foil or just a large flat plate. Keep in the fridge until needed and than just place the inner pot back into the pressure cooker. Turn on SAUTE button and heat it up and stir until gravy is liquid again. Don't let it saute for too long though or gravy parts may stick to the bottom if you don't stir enough.
Can i make it with other parts of turkey
Absolutely! Instead of wings you can use turkey thighs or legs. It will take the same time to cook under pressure. Just to make sure they are cooked though check the internal temperature with an instant meat thermometer. It should be at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Serving suggestion
I love to serve it over a steamy bowl of white rice. Gravy soaks into the rice and makes it extra special. Or serve wings on top of creamy mashed potatoes. That must be everybody's favorite!
Leftovers
Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Recipe tips and tricks
- Don’t add too much butter to the pot. You can even cook without it completely because turkey wings are already very fatty. Butter will add some creaminess but to save on calories (if it’s something you care about of course) I recommend leaving it out.
- Hot sauce. Add your favorite hot sauce to the pot right after browning. I love a good spice kick in my pressure cooker turkey wings! Didn’t include it in the recipe card because my kids will not eat spicy.
- Trying the recipe with chicken wings instead? Chicken wings are much smaller and will take twice less time to cook. Probably about 10 minutes with get them to a fall of the bone point. Please let me know in the comments if you tried it with chicken.
- You can use whole wings if you prefer it that way. Ours were cut in pieces by a butcher in the store.
- Try marinating turkey wings overnight with spices. The meat will absorb it and will be extra flavorful the next day.
More turkey recipes
- Instant pot turkey thighs
- Instant pot turkey legs
- Air fryer cajun turkey wings
- Oven baked turkey wings
- Air fryer turkey thighs
- Baked turkey tenderloin
Ninja foodi recipes to try
- Ninja foodi butternut squash soup
- Ninja foodi broccoli cheese soup
- Ninja Foodi cornish hen
- Ninja Foodi steamed broccoli
Best pressure cooker turkey wings recipe
Delicious Ninja Foodi or Instant pot smothered turkey wings
recipe, so easy and Holidays ready. The gravy is so thick and flavorful you will not be able to stop eating it. This is a one pot dish that means less dishes for you to wash in the end!
Ingredients
- 4 turkey wings sections
- 1 onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 Tablespoon cream
- 3 Tablespoon butter
- 4 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup cold water
- 1 cup water
- 3 cloves garlic
Instructions
- Add half of the butter in to the pressure cooker inner pot. Turn on SAUTE button. Add rinsed and dried turkey wings and brown them for about 5 minutes in each side.
- Add chopped onion and minced garlic with the leftover butter. Saute for another 5 minutes stirring.
- Add water and spices and lock the lid. Cook on High Pressure for 20 minutes. Quick release the pressure in the end.
- Carefully open the lid and take wings out to the separate plate. Push SAUTE button. Mix cold water and cornstarch in a small bowl and pour it in to the inner pot. Stir it with turkey juices and let it simmer, mixing for couple minutes. Add cream and stir.
- Turn SAUTE button off and place turkey wings back into the pot. Cover them with sauce (gravy). Serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 541Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 178mgSodium: 717mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 52g
One serving is one section of the wing and ¼ part of a gravy.
Claudia Lamascolo
The flavors all from scratch was just what I was looking for and these didn't disappoint they are tender and delicious!
SamNYC
I like my skin crispy so I don't smother them. The spices are first put on the wings as a rub. Then I raise the wings on a trivet so that they steam instead of boil. They'll cook just as fast because steam is the same temperature as the liquid, but the skin remains intact and dryer.
Afterwards, I spritz a little oil on the wings and either air fry them using the the same pot with my Instant Pot Duo Crisp lid, or better yet, put in my large oven size air fryer. The advantage of an air fryer is that the powerful fan dries the skin even more as it air fries. And if I use the air fryer oven, unlike the Foodi and Duo Crisp, I won't even have to flip the wings because there are heating elements above and below.
If I want the wings really crispy, however, nothing beats a food torch (about $7-$10). I aim the 2000°F-3000°F flame directly on the skin and within seconds, the skin crisps up.
Natalie
That's one delicious-looking dish. Lovely flavors and use of spices. I will definitely try this.
Gail Montero
Love that you added cumin and paprika both for color and flavor! This would be gone instantly in our house!
Jamie
I love the flavors in these turkey wings!
SamNYC
It's untrue that only the Foodi can pressure cook then broil/airfry. The Instant Pot Duo Crisp pressure cooker also has an airfryer lid that can broil as well as airfry. I actually prefer my 8 qt Duo Crisp to the Foodi because it has a very accurate Sous Vide mode (which can also be used to make yogurt and ferment things). I am currently using it to sous vide about 20 lbs of chuck steaks for 24 hrs. They were on sale for $2.99/lb, which is very rare for beef in NYC in this time of COVID inflation.
For those who don't have the Foodi or Duo Crisp, you can also get a generic airfryer lid for about $39-$59, e.g. the Moosoo, Womanizer, or Puduouloolahjo. You simply replace your pressure cooker's lid with the airfryer lid after you've done pressure cooking. The advantage of these lids is the ability to place the lid over any pot that fits. For example, you can place it over a stock pot to airfry.
SamNYC
Oops, I had first mistakenly written this as a reply to Claudia. Please delete that post. Here it is again:
I like my skin crispy so I don’t smother them. The spices are first put on the wings as a rub. Then I raise the wings on a trivet so that they steam instead of boil. They’ll cook just as fast because steam is the same temperature as the liquid, but the skin remains intact and dryer.
Afterwards, I spritz a little oil on the wings and either air fry them using the the same pot with my Instant Pot Duo Crisp lid, or better yet, put in my large oven size air fryer. The advantage of an air fryer is that the powerful fan dries the skin even more as it air fries. And if I use the air fryer oven, unlike the Foodi and Duo Crisp, I won’t even have to flip the wings because there are heating elements above and below.
If I want the wings really crispy, however, nothing beats a food torch (about $7-$10). I aim the 2000°F-3000°F flame directly on the skin and within seconds, the skin crisps up.
I make the gravy on the side so that prior who want their wings smothered can add gravy while those who want it dry can eat theirs as it.
Stacia A Garner
Just came across your recipe and so excited about trying it very, very soon. But the 1 tablespoon cream got me to scratching my head. What kind of cream? Or like milk? Might sound crazy but I am confused. Thanks in advance.
Tanya
It can be half and half or heavy cream. You can definitely use milk, just the sauce will not be that creamy
Ivory
So is it a gravy or cream sauce?
Joe Lee
The recipe was both packing in salt and cook time. A half tsp more salt, a tsp of pepper and 15 or so more minutes in the instant pot would do wonders for this recipe. I like touch of cumin