Roasted Turkey Breast

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Don’t need a whole turkey? This oven roasted turkey breast recipe creates juicy, impressive results, all in a smaller portion like slow cooker turkey breast! With a beautifully golden, herb-infused crust and tender meat, it’s the perfect centerpiece for your table. And like my other Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes, it’s easy to learn how to roast a turkey breast.

Ingredients & Substitutions

This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for oven roasted turkey breast, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.

• Turkey – I used a 5 pound bone-in turkey breast with skin, but you could use a boneless turkey breast (which usually has a net around it) instead. See below for time differences. It will need to come to room temperature for about 1 hour.
• Butter – Allow the unsalted butter to soften to room temperature before using, to make it easier to spread. You could also use ghee (clarified butter) for a dairy free alternative.
• Garlic – Fresh minced garlic will give you the best flavor, but if you are pressed for time, you can use jarred minced garlic instead.
• Fresh Herbs – For the herb butter, I used a combination of classic fall herbs: Fresh thyme, rosemary, and sage. You could use any other compound butter. If you must, you can substitute 1 teaspoon dried herbs for each tablespoon of fresh.
• Spices – Onion powder, sea salt, and black pepper.

VARIATION: Use a seasoning blend.

If you want to change up the flavor, you can omit the herbs and spices and use 2 tablespoons of one of poultry seasoning, Italian seasoning, or lemon pepper seasoning instead. Omit the added salt if your seasoning is already salted, otherwise add the salt.

How To Roast A Turkey Breast

This section shows how to make a roasted turkey breast, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.

1. Prep the turkey. Remove gravy packet (if any) from turkey, and pat the dry with paper towels.
2. Make the herb butter. In a small bowl, use a fork to mash together the butter, garlic, thyme, rosemary, sage, onion powder, salt, and pepper, until uniform.
3. Separate and season. Use your hands to separate turkey skin from the meat underneath. Spread half of the butter mixture all over the turkey underneath the skin. Spread the other half over the skin. Place turkey breast in a roasting pan with rack, skin side up.

4. Bake. Roast turkey breast in the oven until it reaches 165 degrees F.
5. Rest. Remove from the oven and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Allow it to rest before you slice.

How Long To Roast A Turkey Breast?

A good rule of thumb is to roast turkey breast for approximately 20 minutes per pound for bone-in, or 15 minutes per pound for boneless. For a 5 pound bone-in turkey, this would be 1 hour and 40 minutes.

For different boneless and bone-in weights, use the time chart below for approximate times:

Tips For Roasting Turkey Breast

• Use room temperature ingredients. This includes the turkey. If you don’t, the herb butter will clump on the cold turkey.
• You can adjust butter for boneless breasts. Most boneless turkey breasts still have the skin on, so the amount of butter would stay close to the same regardless of size. You can slightly adjust the butter amount in this roast turkey breast recipe if yours is very small or very large.
• Be careful not to tear the skin. This can cause loss of moisture and flavor.
• Baste the turkey with pan drippings. Do this every 30 minutes to prevent it from drying out.
• Check the turkey breast after 1 hour. If the skin is already golden brown before the inside is done, cover with aluminum foil for the remainder of the cook time.
• Use a meat thermometer. A probe thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast is the best way to get juicy turkey every time. Set it to 165 degrees F and it will beep when it’s ready! If you don’t have one, a regular meat thermometer also works, or you can use the time chart above as a guide.
• Resting is important. This allows the juices to redistribute, for more tender and moist turkey. If you carve right away, it will be more dry.

Storage Instructions

• Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can also shred the turkey and make turkey cranberry casserole or leftover healthy turkey soup for later.
• Reheat: My favorite way to reheat roasted turkey breast is in the oven at 350 degrees F, with a bit of broth on the bottom of the pan and foil on top, to prevent drying out. You can also microwave at 50% power, but it still turns out more dry than the oven method.
• Freeze: After cooling to room temperature, you can freeze the turkey pieces whole or shred them. Transfer to a zip lock bag and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

What To Serve With Oven Roasted Turkey Breast

I like to serve this turkey breast with classic Thanksgiving sides, but you could pair them with any healthy side dish. Here are some ideas:

• Toppings – Add your favorite gravy or a dollop of tangy sugar-free cranberry sauce for a perfect blend of flavors.
• Appetizers – If you need a quick 5-minute appetizer, a cheese ball with crackers is super simple, or make some savory bacon deviled eggs.
• Veggies – Quick green beans almondine or creamed spinach make the perfect holiday sides. Roasted root vegetables also pair nicely for fall.
• Casseroles – Pair this breast with cheesy casseroles, like loaded cheesy cauliflower casserole or cheesy broccoli casserole for the perfect balance of protein and comfort food.
• Potatoes – You can’t go wrong with classic mashed potatoes or Instant Pot baked potatoes or healthier sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot, but I often make a lighter cauliflower mash.
• Festive Salads – Add a burst of freshness to your plate by serving it with a festive kale salad with sweet cranberries, or any other Thanksgiving salad.
• Desserts – Complete your holiday meal with a crustless pumpkin pie.

More Easy Turkey Recipes

Whether you want a delicious main for the holidays or a weeknight meal, there are lots of ways to make a turkey. Here are some more easy turkey recipes to try:

Air Fryer Turkey Breast

Turkey Drumstick Recipe

Crock Pot Turkey Breast

Spatchcock Turkey

Recipe Card

4.96 from 23 votes

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Roasted Turkey Breast (Bone-In Or Boneless)

Make the perfect oven roasted turkey breast recipe with juicy meat & crispy skin! It's easy to make using an irresistible garlic herb butter.

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 1 hour 40 minutes

Total: 1 hour 50 minutes

Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com

Servings: 10 (adjust to scale recipe)

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Ingredients

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• 1 5 lb Bone-in turkey breast (with skin; boneless turkey breast or other sizes work too) ▢
• 1/4 cup Unsalted butter (softened to room temperature) ▢
• 2 tbsp Garlic (minced) ▢
• 2 tbsp Fresh thyme (finely chopped) ▢
• 1 1/2 tbsp Fresh rosemary (finely chopped) ▢
• 1 1/2 tbsp Fresh sage (finely chopped) ▢
• 2 tsp Onion powder ▢
• 2 tsp Sea salt ▢
• 1 tsp Black pepper ▢

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Bring the turkey breast to room temperature for 30 minutes. Remove the gravy packet from the inside of the turkey breast if it came with it.

2. Pat the turkey breast dry with paper towels.

3. In a small bowl, use a fork to mash together the butter, garlic, thyme, rosemary, sage, onion powder, salt, and pepper, until uniform.

4. Use your hands under the skin of the turkey to separate the skin from the meat underneath. (Be careful not to tear the skin.)

5. Spread half of the butter all over the turkey underneath the skin. Spread the other half over the skin.

6. Place the turkey breast in a roasting pan on a roasting rack with the skin side facing up.

7. Roast turkey breast in the oven for 20 minutes per pound for bone-in, or 15 minutes per pound for boneless, until the internal temperature in the thickest part reaches 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). (For a 5-pound bone-in turkey breast, that’s 1 hour 40 minutes.) Check after 1 hour — if the skin is already golden brown, cover with aluminum foil for the remainder of the cook time. Optional: Baste the turkey breast with pan juices every 30 minutes to prevent it from drying out too much.

8. Remove from the oven and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes before carving. This allows the juices to redistribute, for more tender and moist turkey.

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Recipe Notes

Serving size: 8 ounces

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 277

Fat 8.5g

Protein 49.2g

Total Carbs 1.5g

Net Carbs 1.1g

Fiber 0.4g

Sugar 0.2g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keywords: oven roasted turkey breast, roast turkey breast, roasted turkey breast

Calories: 277 kcal

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