This juicy and tender Roast Turkey Breast with crispy skin coated in garlic, herbs, and butter. This turkey recipe is perfect for Thanksgiving or whenever you’re craving a delicious turkey dinner.
We are sharing step by step how to roast a turkey breast so you’ll look like a pro this holiday season! You can also use the same buttery herb mixture on whole turkey and whole chicken.
Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Bone-in Turkey Breast – This is a great way to make sure everyone gets the white meat. You can also use the leftover bones to make turkey stock.
- Butter – To make this dairy free we use country crock plant butter.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic is always delicious, but you could also use granulated garlic in a pinch.
- Fresh Herbs and spices – Our herbs of choice are thyme, sage, rosemary, paprika, salt, and pepper. You can use 1 teaspoon of dried herbs for every tablespoon of fresh herbs.
How to make Roast Turkey Breast
For the full ingredient amount and full instructions on how to make a roasted turkey with the bone in see the recipe card below.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Then in a small bowl combine the butter with the herbs, spices, salt, and pepper.
Place the turkey breast in a roasting pan with a rack or large baking dish. Pat the turkey dry with a paper towel and then rub the buttery herb mixture onto the turkey breast. You can also rub the butter mixture under the skin of the turkey directly on the breast.
Next, reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake the turkey breast for 20 minutes per pound of the turkey breast. If your turkey is browning too quickly you can loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
The turkey breast is done cooking when the thickest part of the breast meat reaches a safe temperature. Fully cooked turkey breast should reach 165 degrees F.
Before slicing, allow the turkey breast to cool for 10-15 minutes.
Recipe tips and variations
- Check turkey around at the end of the cooking time. If the temperature is 165 degrees F, it’s ready. You don’t want the turkey breast to dry out.
- Pan drippings can be used to make a delicious gravy. If you’d like to use the drippings to make a gravy, you’ll want to strain the drippings to remove any solids. Then take the remaining broth and add it to a small saucepan. Then add a little of the broth to a small bowl. Add in 1 tablespoon of flour and mix until there are no lumps. Add back to the sauce and stir with a whisk. Add in 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.
- Always allow meat and poultry to rest for at least 10-15 minutes before slicing. Slicing while it’s too hot will cause all the juices to pour out and result in dry turkey.
- We love serving sliced turkey breast on a platter, but you can also serve the whole turkey breast and slice it at the table.
Storage and reheating tips
- Refrigerate: Store any turkey breast leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days.
- Freeze: To freeze leftover turkey you can place it in an airtight freezer safe container and freeze for 3 months.
- Reheat: To reheat turkey breast we like to place it in a skillet with a bit of broth or water and heat on medium heat until the turkey is warm throughout. You can also warm up in a bit of gravy.
How to serve
We love serving our roasted turkey breast with dinner rolls, mashed potatoes, slow cooker stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean almondine, or green bean casserole.
Frequently asked questions
We go for 1lb per person when serving turkey breast with the bone-in. We always like leftover turkey too so sometimes we’ll do 2lbs per person.
We keep turkey breast uncovered when roasting. This allows the skin to become crispy and gives the turkey breast a beautiful golden brown color. If the turkey is browning too much you can loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
You should cook a turkey breast for 20 minutes per pound of the turkey breast. A 5lb turkey breast should cook for about 1 hour and 40 minutes.
You should always check the internal temperature of a turkey breast with a meat thermometer. The turkey breast is done cooking when the thickest part of the breast meat measures 165 degrees F.
what to serve with roast turkey breast
Roast Turkey Breast
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Print Pin RecipeIngredients
- 5-6 lb bone-in turkey breast
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature (we use 1 tablespoon per lb or turkey breast)
- 4 cloves garlic minced, or 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. (Preheat to 350 degrees F if your roasting cannot go to this high of a temperature)
- In a small bowl combine the butter with the ingredients aside from the turkey to make a butter spread.
- Place the turkey breast into a roasting pan with a rack or large baking dish. Pat the turkey dry with a paper towel. Rub the butter mixture onto the turkey breast, you can also loosen the skin on the breast and rub some of the butter mixture under the skin.
- Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake the turkey breast for 20 minutes per pound of the turkey breast. A 5lb turkey breast should cook for about 1 hour and 40 minutes. If the turkey is browning too much you can loosely cover with aluminum foil.
- The turkey breast is done cooking when the thickest part of the breast meat measures 165 degrees F.
- Allow the turkey breast to cool at room temperature covered with foil out of the oven for at least 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Nutrition
The nutritional information is automatically calculated and can vary based ingredients and products used. If the nutrition numbers are important for you we recommend calculating them yourself.
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