Oven-Roasted Turkey Breast
What do you do when you don’t need to cook the whole bird for Thanksgiving dinner or holiday dinners? For smaller gatherings, even a party of two, use this simple recipe for a bone-in turkey breast instead.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Additional Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 2-3 servings
Preparation Level: Beginner +
If you’re not having a large crowd coming for the holidays this year, or you want to make another main dish and prefer to keep your turkey small, this is the way to go!
You’ll still end up with juicy meat, fresh herbs, and crispy skin on the turkey breast.
This whole turkey breast provides plenty of white meat. You will have enough for two, but you might even have some leftover turkey from this recipe for sandwiches the next day.
Ingredients for Oven-Roasted Turkey Breast
- Turkey breast, skin-on, bone-in
- Salted butter, softened
- Dried rosemary
- Dried thyme
- Dried sage
- Ground pepper
- Kosher salt
- Fresh rosemary for garnish
Full recipe with measurements and instructions listed at the bottom of the post in the recipe card. The recipe is printable, as well.
How to Make Oven-Roasted Turkey Breast for Two
These step-by-step instructions will help you get the best results for your turkey breast dinner.
Start by gathering your ingredients. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
While you wait for the oven to warm up, you can mix the butter with the dried rosemary, thyme, sage, ground black pepper, and salt in your small bowl. Mix with a hand mixer.
Carefully lift the skin up from your bone-in turkey breast. It helps to use the back of a spoon, but you really want to be careful here so as not to tear the skin. Take your paper towels and pat the turkey dry.
This is an important step because you want the butter to stick to the turkey and it needs to be dry in order for that to happen.
Then, spread the seasoned butter mixture in a thick layer between the turkey meat and the skin.
Try to reserve a couple tablespoons of the butter which you’ll use later. Once you have the butter slathered all over, you’ll pull the turkey skin back over your buttered turkey, being careful not to rip it.
Put your turkey breast into a roasting pan, skin side up, and bake for 90 minutes in the center of the wire rack in your oven.
When finished cooking, the internal temperature should be 174 degrees, which you can check with an instant-read meat thermometer to ensure that it’s cooked through.
Take your turkey out of the oven and add the rest of the seasoned butter mixture to the top of your turkey while it’s hot, letting it melt all the way down. It’s so nice and golden brown on top!
Let the turkey breast rest in the roasting dish for 20 minutes before slicing it on a cutting board and serving it with your favorite sides.
Recipe Tips for the Best Juicy Turkey
- There’s no need to baste this roast turkey breast because of the seasoned butter mixture under the skin. This will make the skin very crispy and give you a juicy turkey.
- When checking the temperature, be sure to check in the thickest part of the breast so you will know if the entire turkey is done cooking.
- It’s important to keep the skin of the turkey intact for this recipe. It’s what keeps the butter mixture in place. Equally as important, you need to pat that turkey breast dry with paper towels. This allows the butter to stick to the meat better. If the skin is damp, it won’t stick quite as well.
- Also, you should know that this turkey will smell absolutely heavenly. While you’ll want to just gobble it up, pardon the pun, you need to let it rest fully for 20 minutes. Cutting the turkey too soon results in the juices escaping, leaving you with a dry turkey.
- This recipe does not turn out good gravy. For a whole bird, the pan drippings, or pan juices, at the bottom are always ideal for turkey gravy. However, due to the sheer amount of butter here, you’ll only wind up with a gravy that separates. If you want gravy, you should prepare it ahead of time to enjoy with your turkey and mashed potatoes. This is a great gravy recipe without drippings from Joyous Apron.
How to Store Roast Turkey Breast
Roast turkey breast can be stored in an airtight container in your fridge or wrapped up really well with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. It should be kept for about four days, and the leftovers will reward you with lots of turkey sandwiches for the next day.
If you’d prefer, you can freeze your turkey, even the entire turkey breast. Put it in an airtight container and label it so you’ll remember to use it within three months. When you’re ready to enjoy it again, put it in the fridge the night before to thaw. You can then warm it up in the oven at 300 degrees when you want to serve it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I buy bone-in or boneless turkey breast?
Bone-in turkey breast usually has more flavor, but boneless is easier to slice. The choice depends on personal preference.
Can I cook turkey breast in a slow cooker or Instant Pot?
Yes, both methods can produce juicy results. You will need to adjust the cooking time and method accordingly.
How should I carve the turkey breast?
If bone-in, first remove the bone. Then, slice against the grain for the most tender results. If boneless, you will also slice against the grain.
The Perfect Side Dishes
- Mashed potatoes – potatoes are always a great option for a side dish.
- Homemade canned cranberry sauce – as a general rule, people love fresh cranberry sauce, but you won’t believe how good this tastes.
- Green bean casserole – this is a traditional and classic favorite that is always a good recipe to serve with turkey.
- Easy rolls – these are one of those easy recipes that everyone loves.
- Copycat Ruth’s Chris sweet potato casserole – we can’t possibly go without this side dish for any holiday. I love to make it throughout the year.
- Baked corn casserole with cheese – this is an easy and delicious recipe that is a hit at the holidays.
- Jiffy corn pudding is a popular recipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas (or anytime in between). It’s super easy to make and tastes fantastic.
The Best Way To Cook Oven-Roasted Turkey Breast
Ingredients
- 1 to 1.5 pound turkey breast skin on, bone in
- 1 cup of salted butter softened
- 2 tablespoons dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried sage
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh rosemary for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish.
- In a small mixing bowl, add the butter, dried rosemary, dried thyme, dried sage, ground black pepper, and salt.
- Next, using the back of a spoon, carefully lift the skin from the turkey while trying to keep the skin intact.
- Dry the turkey with a paper towel.
- Spread the herb butter mixture between the meat and the skin. Reserve about two tablespoons of the butter mixture for using after the turkey cooks.
- Gently pull the turkey skin back over the buttered area and place the turkey into the casserole dish.
- Bake for about 90 minutes or until a digital thermometer reads 174 degrees in the thickest part of the breast.
- Remove the turkey from the oven and add the remaining two tablespoons of butter to the top of the turkey and allow it to melt.
- Let the turkey rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- There’s no need to baste this roast turkey breast because of the seasoned butter mixture under the skin. This results in making the skin very crispy while giving you a juicy turkey.
- When checking the temperature, be sure to check in the thickest part of the breast so you will know if the entire turkey is done cooking.
- It’s essential to keep the skin of the turkey intact for this recipe. It’s what keeps the butter mixture in place. Equally as important, you need to pat that turkey breast dry with paper towels. This allows the butter to stick to the meat better. If the skin is damp, it won’t adhere quite as well.
- Also, you should know that this turkey is going to smell absolutely heavenly. While you’ll want to just gobble it up, pardon the pun, you need to let it rest fully for 20 minutes. Cutting the turkey too soon results in the juices escaping, leaving you with a dry turkey.
- Not good for gravy. For a whole bird, the pan drippings at the bottom are always ideal for turkey gravy. However, due to the sheer amount of butter here, you’ll only wind up with a gravy that separates. If you want gravy, you should prepare it ahead of time to enjoy with your turkey and mashed potatoes.
