How to Roast a Turkey Breast

a whole roasted turkey breast on a wooden cutting board. Both breasts are cut away from the bone and one breast is cut into slices

How to Roast a Turkey Breast

A whole bone-in turkey breast with herb butter under the skin, roasted at 20 minutes per pound and pulled at 160°F so it’s juicy by the time you carve. Pan gravy from the drippings in five minutes while it rests.

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword bone in turkey breast, oven roasted turkey breast, split turkey breast recipe, turkey breast cooking time per pound

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 40

Rest Time 15

Total Time 2 10

Servings servings

Calories 701kcal

Author Madeline Tague

Ingredients

Turkey

5 lb bone-in, skin-on turkey breast
8 tbsp salted butter softened (1 stick)
4 cloves garlic finely minced
1½ tbsp fresh sage chopped
1½ tbsp fresh rosemary chopped
1½ tbsp fresh thyme chopped
1½ tsp kosher salt
¾ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp ground ginger

Gravy

4 tbsp salted butter (½ stick)
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 cups turkey broth

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mash the softened butter with the minced garlic, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and ground ginger until evenly combined.
Pat the turkey breast completely dry. Starting at the wide end, loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers or a flat spatula, taking care not to tear it.
Spread about half of the herb butter under the skin, as evenly as you can reach. Rub the remaining half over the outside of the skin.
Set the breast skin-side up on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet.
Roast for 20 minutes per pound, about 1 hour 40 minutes for a 5 lb breast. Begin checking the temperature 15 minutes before that. ** See notes for more timing tips **
Insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the breast, close to but not touching the bone. Remove the turkey at 160°F. If you check both sides of the bread and the readings differ, trust the lower one.
If the skin browns before the center is done, tent loosely with foil and continue roasting.
Rest the breast on the rack for at least 15 minutes. The temperature will climb about 10 degrees as it sits, carrying it past a safe 165°F.
While it rests, pour the pan drippings into a saucepan, scraping up the browned bits. Melt the butter into the drippings over medium-low heat, whisk in the flour, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until it smells nutty. Add the broth gradually, whisking smooth after each addition. Stir in the soy sauce and dijon and simmer gently for about 3 minutes, until it coats the back of a spoon. Taste before adding salt.
Carve each lobe off the breastbone whole, then slice across the grain about ½ inch thick. Arrange on a warm platter and serve with the warm gravy on the side.

Notes

Timing: 20 minutes per pound at 350°F, but start checking 15 minutes early. I tested a 4.85 lb bone-in breast and it reached temperature at exactly 97 minutes. Breasts over 6 lb run slightly faster per pound — see the chart in the post.
Pull at 160°F, not 165. Mine climbed 10 degrees during a 10-minute rest. Most recipes say 165, which puts you near 175 by the time you carve, and that’s a dry breast.
Making a split breast? A split breast is half a whole one, about 3 lb, and feeds three to four. Scale this recipe to 3 servings, roast at the same 350°F and 20 minutes per pound — about an hour — and pull at 160°F. It carries over a little less, so it lands closer to 165 than 170.
Scaling up: use the butter chart in the post rather than the servings adjuster. Butter coats skin, and skin area doesn’t grow as fast as weight does.
Butter: softened, not melted — melted butter slides off instead of staying put. If using unsalted, add another ¼ tsp kosher salt.
Dried herbs: use 1 tsp of each in place of the fresh amounts.
Make ahead: roast a day early, cool completely, refrigerate whole and unsliced. Reheat covered at 325°F with a few spoonfuls of broth until warmed through, about 25 minutes. Carve after reheating, not before.

Nutrition