Learn How to Roast a Turkey Breast in the oven with this simple recipe! Use an herbed butter to create crispy skin and juicy meat. This small turkey recipe is perfect for any small gathering!
Making turkey for a larger group? Try this dry brine turkey recipe and pair it with a make ahead turkey gravy to save you time and stress during the holidays.
Quick Look: Oven Roasted Turkey Breast
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 👩🍳 Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- 🕖 Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- 🍗 Servings: 4 servings – can be larger depending on size of turkey breast
- ⚡️ Calories: 599 calories per serving with gravy included (based on nutrition panel)
- 🔥 Cooking Method: Turkey breast is oven roasted and the gravy is cooked on the stovetop
- 🛒 Main Ingredients: bone-in skin-on split turkey breast, butter and fresh herbs
- ⭐️ Difficulty: Medium, much easier than a full turkey, but takes a little extra work to make the herb butter and gravy.
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Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Great for smaller groups – when you need to feed just a few people, but still want something festive, try a turkey breast instead of a full turkey.
- Cooks faster than a full turkey – this split turkey breast is done in under 2 hours making it much easier to make than a full turkey
- Crispy skin + juicy meat – flavor packed herbed butter creates succulent turkey meat and that crispy skin that everyone wants.
Tara left this 5 star review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Used this recipe today and the turkey breast was beautifully browned and the meat was not dried out! Thank you for sharing this.”
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s a quick look at the ingredients you need to make a flavorful oven roasted turkey breast and gravy. For a full list of ingredients and amounts please head to the full recipe.
- Split turkey breast bone-in and skin-on: this recipe is written for a split turkey breast. If you buy a full turkey breast with 2 sides you will need to double the amount of herbed butter and increase the cook time.
- Unsalted butter: juicy turkey starts with lots of flavorful herbed butter. I opt for unsalted so I can control the amount of salt going into the recipe. We will also use salt for the gravy.
- Simple spices: salt, pepper and ground ginger add extra flavor and zing to the herbed butter.
- Fresh garlic: use freshly grated garlic to mix into the softened butter and add lots of robust flavor.
- Fresh herbs like sage, rosemary and thyme: fresh poultry herbs are key for making this turkey breast recipe shine. You can use dried herbs, but use smaller quantities because dried herbs are more potent than fresh.
- Gravy ingredients: use more unsalted butter, all-purpose flour, turkey broth, and some seasonings to make a quick and flavorful gravy from the turkey drippings after you’ve roasted it.
If you want to use similar ingredients, but cook your turkey breast in a crockpot? Try this slow cooker turkey breast recipe for a more hands off cooking method. Looking for a full Thanksgiving dinner menu? Check out this simple Thanksgiving dinner menu.
How to make an Oven Roasted Turkey breast
Step 1: Combine softened butter, minced garlic, salt, pepper, ginger and fresh herbs to make an herbed butter.
Step 2: Pat the turkey dry and rub the butter mixture all over the skin of the breast and under the skin of the breast.
Step 3: Roast the seasoned turkey breast on a wire rack on a baking sheet in the oven to roast at 350F for 20 minutes per pound.
Step 4: Prepare gravy by mixing pan drippings with butter, flour, turkey broth and seasonings.
Mad’s Expert Tips for the Best Oven Roasted Turkey Breast 🍗
- Use fresh herbs and fresh garlic in the herbed butter – it takes a little more effort to prepare the fresh ingredients, but the flavor is so much more vibrant and balanced.
- Pat your turkey breast dry before adding the herbed butter – it can be difficult to get the softened butter to stick to the skin. It is easier to do this if the turkey skin is completely dry.
- Take your time sliding the butter under the skin – slowly spread the butter under the turkey skin taking care not to rip it. If you are having trouble reaching all areas of the turkey, use a small silicone spatula to help you move the butter around.
- Allow the roasted turkey to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing – It is crucial to let the turkey breast rest so that the juices get locked in and the meat stays moist while slicing.
I also use herbed butter for juicy chicken meat in this lemon herb spatchcocked chicken recipe.
Recipe FAQs
Is it better to roast a turkey breast at 325F or 350F?
You will see many recipes recommend roasting at 325F, but I find that it is better to roast at 350F in order to get golden crispy skin.
How long do you cook a turkey breast per pound?
When roasting at 350F, cook the turkey breast for 20 minutes per pound. My split turkey breast was exactly 3 pounds so I cooked it for 1 hour. Use a thermometer to ensure the turkey breast is cooked to exactly 165F.
Should you roast the turkey breast covered or uncovered?
I roast the turkey uncovered to ensure it has golden, crispy skin. If it looks like the top of your breast is getting too browned, lightly cover the top of the breast with a piece of foil towards the end of cooking.
Storage and reheating
Once fully cooled, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes, until warmed through.
This cooked turkey breast is PERFECT for leftover sandwiches!! I even add some of the cranberry sauce. You can also use the leftovers to make this leftover turkey soup.
Delicious Holiday side dishes to serve with Turkey Breast
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
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Recipe
How to Roast a Turkey Breast
Ingredients
Turkey Ingredients
- 1 split turkey breast bone in and skin on mine was 3lbs
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped sage
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped thyme
Gravy ingredients
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 cup turkey broth
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp dried rubbed sage
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and mince the cloves of garlic. In a small bowl mix together butter, minced garlic, salt, pepper, ginger and fresh herbs.
- Pat turkey dry and rub butter mixture all over the skin of the breast and under the skin of the breast. It might take some time to do this but it is important to get some of the butter mixture under the skin.
- Place seasoned turkey breast on a wire rack on a baking sheet. Place in the oven to roast at 350F for 20 minutes per pound. For example, a 3lb breast will roast for 60 minutes.
- After that time check the internal temperature of the breast using an instant read thermometer. If the internal temperature is 165F, remove the breast from the oven to rest. If not, continue cooking for additional 10 minute increments until the internal temperature is 165F in the thickest part of the breast.
- Remove the breast from the oven and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cutting board. Once the breast is cool enough to touch, slice into slices.
- To make the gravy, pour the drippings from the bottom of the baking sheet into a sauce pan. Use a spatula to scrap off any brown bits, those add flavor. Melt butter with the drippings over medium low heat.
- When the butter is fully melted, mix in the flour and mix until you have a thick paste. Slowly pour in the turkey broth in small amounts while mixing. Keep mixing until all of the broth has been slowly incorporated.
- Stir in the salt, pepper, and rubbed sage and increase the heat to medium. Allow mixture to come to a gentle bubble and bubble for about 3 minutes or until it has thickened slightly. Pour gravy through a strainer and serve with turkey slices.
Recipe Notes
- If you do not have fresh herbs for the herbed butter, you can use dried herbs, but only 1 tsp of each because they are much more potent and concentrated when dried.
- Pat turkey breast dry completely before adding herbed butter – dry skin helps the butter spread easily and more evenly.
- If you are having trouble getting the butter under the turkey skin, use a flat spatula to help gently push the butter all over under the skin
- If you have a full turkey breast instead of a split breast, double the amount of herbed butter and increase the cook time by using the calculation that each lb of turkey should cook for 20 minutes at 350F
- You will also want to double the gravy recipe for a larger breast
- If the turkey skin is getting too browned towards the end of cooking, lightly tent the turkey breast with a piece of aluminum foil
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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