Roast Turkey Breast
11 Comments
Nov 17, 2024
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Roast turkey breast is the perfect choice when you’re not cooking a whole bird for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. This turkey breast is smothered in a delicious garlic herb butter mixture, then roasted in the oven for a few hours until it’s perfectly moist and tender, with flawlessly crispy skin.
My Favorite Roast Turkey Breast — Here’s Why
A whole Thanksgiving turkey (or this spatchcocked turkey) is a classic choice when you’ve got the entire family gathered for the holidays. But if you’re hosting Friendsgiving or planning a more intimate Thanksgiving dinner, you can still entertain the idea of a festive main with this delicious oven-roasted turkey breast. It’s the perfect portion size for fewer people, and it presents beautifully on a platter with sprigs of fresh herbs! Here’s what I especially love about this recipe:
- It needs less cooking time. With a quicker cooking time than a whole turkey, this roast turkey breast frees you up to focus on your favorite Thanksgiving sides and enjoy a glass of eggnog, red sangria or a pomegranate margarita with friends and family between appetizers and the main meal.
- You can customize the flavor. Since it’s a smaller cut, it’s easy to infuse the turkey with different flavors using just a few ingredients. While I’m sharing a simple herbed-butter turkey breast today, you can try a citrus herb flavor or honey mustard flavor — you’ll find more ideas below!
Roasted Turkey Breast Ingredients
- Turkey Breast: You’ll need a frozen, bone-in turkey breast. Bone-in is preferred as it’s usually more juicy and flavorful. Just remember to allow plenty of time for thawing — about 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey.
- Garlic Herb Butter Seasoning: Similar to my large roast turkey recipe, I’m using a blend of unsalted butter, freshly minced garlic, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, salt, and black pepper. But again, feel free to add your own twist to this!
Pro Tip: You can pre-season your turkey the night before and bake it the next day to save some time. Just store it in the fridge uncovered and remember to let it come to room temperature before roasting!
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
Equipment You’ll Need
- Baking Dish: Luckily, you won’t need a large roasting tray for this. A 9×13-inch baking dish will suffice! I love this Staub baking dish set.
- Thermometer: Although you can use a probe thermometer (that you leave in the turkey), this instant-read thermometer is what I use most often.
- Knife: You can use a carving knife and fork set or your best chef’s knife.
How to Roast Turkey Breast
Make the herbed butter. In a small bowl, stir together the softened butter, garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, and black pepper.
Season the turkey breast. With your fingers, gently loosen the skin from both halves of the turkey breast. Spread half of the butter mixture under the skin, then smooth the skin and spread the remaining mixture evenly on top of the skin. Once that’s done, place the turkey breast in your baking dish.
Roast the turkey breast uncovered for 1 ½ to 2 hours at 325°F (160°C), until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer reaches 160°F (71°C) when inserted into the thickest part of the breast. Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest, covered with foil, for 15 minutes to allow the temperature to rise to 165°F (74°C). This is called carry-over cooking!
Slice and serve. Slice the turkey away from the breast bone, then slice it crosswise on a cutting board. You can see how I do this in the video below! Then, arrange your slices on a medium-sized platter with additional fresh herbs on top. It’s now ready to serve!
How Long to Cook Your Turkey Breast
All turkey breasts can vary in size, so here’s a quick cooking chart to help guide you on how long your turkey should be in the oven for. But always remember to check with your thermometer!
- 3 to 5 pound turkey breast: 1 to 1 ½ hours
- 5 to 7 pound turkey breast: 1 ½ to 2 hours
- 7 to 8 pound turkey breast: 2 to 3 hours
Turkey Breast Variations
- Citrus and Herb: Mix the butter with orange and lemon zest, fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage for a citrusy, aromatic flavor. This is probably one of my personal favorites!
- Honey Mustard: Mix the butter with honey, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, and a touch of smoked paprika for a sweet and savory mix.
- Truffle Butter: If you can get your hands on truffle butter or truffle oil, it’ll definitely elevate this turkey breast. Mix the butter with minced shallots and fresh thyme for a herby, umami blend.
Leftover Turkey Breast Storage Tips
- To store: Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- For reheating: If frozen, thaw in the fridge overnight. Then reheat in a 325°F (165°C) oven with a splash of broth in a pan covered with aluminum foil for 15 to 20 minutes. You can also reheat it in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes until warmed through.
- Get creative with leftovers: Dice it up and add it to your favorite fall salad (like this turkey cobb salad or creamy turkey salad), stuff it into sandwiches or toss it into a turkey casserole. This is just the tip of the iceberg though, so here are more ideas for turkey leftovers.
More Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas
- Best Prime Rib: With the most delicious garlic herb crust.
- Honey Baked Ham: This beats the store-bought version any day.
- Beef Tenderloin: Tastes amazing with horseradish sauce.
- Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin: The honey garlic sauce is delish.
- Turkey Meatballs: The maple mustard sauce is everything!
- Or browse through my Thanksgiving Menu for more ways to round out the table with sides, appetizers, and desserts!
If you make this roast turkey breast recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re hungry for more healthy food inspiration (and exclusive content), join my free newsletter.
Roast Turkey Breast (Herbed Garlic Butter)
Description
Video
Equipment
- Staub Baking Dish One of my favorite baking dishes, and it's the one I'm using in the video above.
- Instant Read Thermometer The thermometer I use most often for cooking meats like this.
- Zwilling Chef's Knife My favorite chef's knife!
Ingredients
- 1 (6 ½ pound) whole bone-in turkey breast
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Make the herb butter. Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). In a small bowl, stir together the softened butter, garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper.
- Coat the turkey breast. With your fingers, gently loosen the skin from both halves of the turkey breast. Spread half of the butter mixture under the skin, all over the turkey breast, then smooth the skin and spread the remaining mixture evenly on top of the skin. Place the turkey breast in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Roast. Roast the turkey breast uncovered for 1 ½ to 2 hours, until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer reaches 160°F (71°C) when inserted into the thickest part of the breast. Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest, covered with foil, for 15 minutes (the temperature will rise to 165°F (74°C).
- Slice. Slice the turkey away from the breast bone, then slice it crosswise on a cutting board.
- Serve. Serve the turkey breast with your favorite sides. See a bunch of delicious ideas in the post above!
Lisa’s Tips
- Serving size: About 6 ounces (170g) turkey meat.
- If buying frozen turkey breast, remember to allow plenty of time for thawing — about 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey.
- There’s no need to brine the turkey beforehand or baste the turkey while roasting (though of course you can if you’d like), as the herb butter mixture keeps the turkey breast moist as it cooks in the oven.
- Make-ahead tip: You can pre-season your turkey breast the night before and bake it the next day to save some time.
Nutrition
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Cooked my turkey breast using your herbed garlic butter, and cooking method, and it turned out delicious, and very flavorful and most of all stayed moist! Will definitely use this again.
Hi Vickie – thanks so much, I’m happy you loved it!
Hi, what happened when the instant thermometer shows 160F but the skin in not golden brown. Thanks!
Hi Betty – you can always turn on the top broiler for a minute or two to make that skin extra golden. Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Lisa!
I have a boneless skinless turkey roast and 2 thighs with skin. I was thinking of taking the skin off one of the thighs and covering the roast with it. And then using your butter and herb recipe to cover the meat and skin. Do you think this would work? Or do you have any other suggestions for this hodgepodge of turkey meat?
Lisa…
Looking forward to making several turkey breasts next week! I love the idea of not using a traditional roasting pan but wanted your thoughts on the ability to use the drippings to make gravy. Is that possible with this recipe?
Hi Anna – yes, absolutely! You can still save the drippings from this recipe. Although you’ll have less than a full turkey, it will still add extra flavor to my turkey gravy recipe. Enjoy!
My daughter is dairy-free, so butter doesn’t work for her. Any thoughts on what I can substitute— olive oil?? Thanks!
Hi Monica – yes, you can use olive oil! Just mix the herbs in a couple tablespoons of olive oil and then spread that all over the turkey breast. Enjoy!
What would be a good substitute for rosemary?
Hi Leslie – you could swap in fresh oregano or marjoram. Sage also works, though I find it a bit too strong, personally. Enjoy!