Juicy Turkey Breast Recipe (How to Cook Turkey Breast)– a classic, tried-and-true roasted turkey breast that is always a crowd-pleaser (and so easy to make)! Learn how to cook a turkey breast that is juicy, moist and has perfectly crispy skin – perfect for your Thanksgiving or Holiday table, especially if you have a smaller group!
Juicy Turkey Breast Recipe
Perfect for your smaller gatherings if you don’t need to roast or smoke a whole turkey! If you are in need of a simple, classic roast turkey breast recipe that is tender, delicious and packed with flavor – this is for you! Also try our Smoked Turkey Breast!
Got leftover turkey – try our Leftover Turkey Salad!
Wondering how much to make – check out our post on How Much Turkey Breast Per Person!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Less Turkey: Sometimes you don’t have a big crowd for Thanksgiving and you don’t need an entire turkey … that is where a turkey breast would be perfect!
- Less Cook Time: No need to slave over the oven all day with this one! In just a little over 2 hours your turkey breast will be ready to go!
- Buttery Goodness: Is there a better combo than turkey, melted butter and salt and pepper? It all melds together beautifully!
What You Will Need
- bone-in turkey breast: we used a 7-8 pound turkey breast in the photos. If you are starting with a frozen turkey breast check out our tutorial on How to Thaw a Turkey!
- butter (or ghee or olive oil): this adds moisture and makes the skin brown and beautiful!
- salt and pepper: I prefer to stick with these simple seasonings, but feel free to add some sage or rosemary in there!
- stuffing (optional): I prefer using orange, onion, garlic and fresh rosemary or thyme.
How Long to Cook a Turkey Breast
First, preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Then place your turkey breast on the middle rack in the oven to cook for 13-16 minutes per pound or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. and the pan juices run clear.
How to Cook a Boneless Turkey Breast
Typically, it will take about 30 minutes per pound to fully cook a boneless turkey breast. So if you have a 3 pound boneless turkey breast, it will probably bake for about 1.5 hours or 90 minutes. To determine that the turkey breast is done you will need to insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the meat to make sure it is 165 degrees F.
How Much Turkey do You Need
You will need approximately 1 pound of turkey per person if you aren’t worried about leftovers. If you really want those leftovers then aim for 1 1/2 pounds of turkey per person. For a full breakdown, you should definitely checkout our post on How Much Turkey Breast You Need Per Person!
Turkey Breast Side Dish Ideas
- Homemade Turkey Gravy
- Wild Rice Stuffing
- Cranberry Sauce
- Ultimate Yukon Mashed Potatoes
- Green Bean Casserole
- Sweet Potatoes
How to Cook a Turkey Breast
Remove the whole turkey breast from the original packaging and pat dry with clean paper towels.
Rub down the outside of the turkey with softened butter or herb butter.
Mix the kosher salt and pepper in a small bowl and generously sprinkle on your bird.
Place on roasting pan and bake on the middle oven rack at 325 degrees F. The turkey cooks for approximately 14-16 minutes per pound.
Use a basting brush to baste it every 30 minutes with additional melted butter.
Remove from the oven when internal temperature reaches 165 F at the thickest part. Cover with foil and let rest. Place turkey breast on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to carve and slice.
How To Carve A Turkey Breast
At first it might feel a bit intimidating to carve a turkey breast, but we are here to reassure you that it is actually quite simple. Grab a carving knife or large kitchen knife, a large cutting board, take a deep breath, and get to work! We have a complete tutorial on how to carve a turkey if you need more information.
Serve and enjoy!
Turkey Recipes For Leftovers
We highly recommend estimating high on the size of turkey breast that you need for your dinner! That way you will have plenty of turkey meat for making the most delicious leftover recipes. Our favorites are Turkey Wild Rice Soup, Turkey Cranberry Wraps, & Turkey Noodle Soup.
Recipe FAQs + Tips
- Additional butter: You may need an additional 1/4 cup of butter if you want to go heavy on the basting, or you can use juices from the pan – personal preference!
- Stuffing: The turkey breast pictured was stuffed with some cut up yellow onion, orange chunks, head of garlic and some fresh rosemary and herbs. Stuffing the turkey will increase the cook time by a little bit. Stuffing is completely optional!
- Meat thermometer: I highly recommend getting a internal meat thermometer to help ensure the bird has reached a 165 degree internal temp at the thickest part of the breast.
- Seasoning: Feel free to add additional seasoning in with the salt and pepper – I love using ground sage.
- Drippings: make sure you hold on to those drippings at the bottom of the roasting pan, they are perfect for making the BEST turkey gravy you have ever tasted!
- Turkey Cook Times: I always find this cook-time breakdown from the FDA helpful!
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Made this recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
Other Thanksgiving Recipes You Might Like:
Turkey Breast Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: Approx. 7-8 servings
- Category: Thanksgiving
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Juicy Turkey Breast Recipe– a classic, tried-and-true roasted turkey breast that is always a crowd-pleaser (and so easy to make)!
Ingredients
- 7–8 pound turkey breast (bone-in)
- 1/2 cup butter (or ghee), softened and divided
- kosher salt and ground black pepper (approx. 1/2 – 1 tablespoon of each)
- stuffing (optional): orange, onion, garlic and fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Ensure turkey breast is fully thawed. Remove from package (ensure to remove any gravy packet from cavity) and place on a large plate.
- Pat dry with a clean paper towel and place on a roasting pan with a roasting rack.
- Take 1/4 cup of softened butter and rub all over the turkey breast, in every nook and cranny, including under the skin.
- Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- Add any stuffing you desire (note: this may increase the cook time a little).
- Place in the oven (middle rack, uncovered).
- Melt the remaining 1/4 cup of butter and use to it to baste the turkey breast every 30 minutes.
- Roast for 13-16 minutes per pound or until the internal temp is 165 degrees F. Continue cooking for 10-15 minute increments until the internal temp reaches 165 degrees F. If you notice that any part of the skin is getting too dark you can loosely tent with foil towards the end, if needed.
- Remove from oven, cover with foil and let rest 15-20 minutes.
- Carve and serve immediately.
Notes
- Additional butter: You may need an additional 1/4 cup of butter if you want to go heavy on the basting, or you can use juices from the pan – personal preference!
- Chicken/ Turkey Broth: Feel free to add in 1/2-1 cup of either turkey or chicken broth in the bottom the roasting pan if you want to have enough juices to make turkey gravy. Chicken stock works too.
- Stuffing: The turkey breast pictured was stuffing with some cut up yellow onion, orange chunks, head of garlic and some fresh rosemary. Stuffing the turkey will increase the cook time by a little bit. Stuffing is completely optional!
- Meat thermometer: I highly recommend getting a internal meat thermometer to help ensure the bird had reached 165 degrees F. internal temp.
- Drippings: use any pan drippings to make homemade turkey gravy!
- Seasoning: Feel free to add additional seasoning in with the salt and pepper – I love using ground sage.
- Roasting Pan Liquid: feel free to add some chicken broth and a splash of white wine to the bottom of the roasting pan along with some chopped yellow onion or fresh herbs. Any leftover liquid (combined with drippings) can be used to make gravy!
- Storage: any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6oz
- Calories: 557
- Sugar: 0.2 g
- Sodium: 452.5 mg
- Fat: 17.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 0.8 g
- Protein: 94.6 g
- Cholesterol: 257.9 mg
Keywords: roast turkey breast
Julie says
I’m making this Sunday and wanted to ask, if I leave it uncovered won’t it get dry? And if I don’t have a rack can I use rolled up foil?
Thank you 💕
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Julie! I have never had an issue with it drying out (you baste it quite a bit during the process), but if you want to you certainly can – I would leave it uncovered for maybe the last 30 minutes or so just to help the skin get a little brown and crispy. If you don’t have a roasting rack then I would maybe use like a couple whole carrots or something to help get it off the bottom of the pan! Enjoy!
Julie says
Thank you! I will be sure to baste it like you say 💕 I’m excited to try this. Happy Easter 🐇
★★★★★
Erin says
Of course! Happy Easter to you!
Lauren says
I made this with the stuffing and roasted it in a roasting pan with turkey bone broth. I added poultry seasoning and bacon ends to the skin (to keep it moist and rotated the bird halfway through baking). It was a hit, delicious, done but not dry. Would definitely recommend and would make again.
★★★★★
Erin says
So happy to hear that, Lauren! And thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review – I appreciate it!