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    You are here: Home / Recipes / Turkey

    Oven Roasted Turkey Breast

    Published: Nov 2, 2020 · Modified: Nov 1, 2021 by Susie Weinrich · This post may contain affiliate links. Leave a Comment

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    herb butter roasted turkey breast with pinterest text
    Roasted turkey breast pin image with text

    Oven Roasted Turkey Breast is the centerpiece of many holiday tables! This recipe is made with a bone in turkey breast that is basted in butter with sage, rosemary and parsley. White wine, garlic and onions baste the turkey from the baking dish.

    oven roasted turkey breast on a plate with herbs

    It is a flavorful and juicy turkey recipe with crispy skin. You also get to make a tasty gravy from the cooking liquid in the pan!

    Pair this turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and brussels sprouts for a great dinner or holiday meal!

    Table of Contents hide
    1 Thawing a Frozen Turkey Breast
    2 How to Prep Your Turkey Breast for the Oven
    3 Amount Per Person
    4 Carving
    5 Wine
    6 Recipes for Leftover Turkey
    7 More Holiday Dinner Recipes
    8 Did you make this recipe?!
    9 Oven Roasted Turkey Breast

    Thawing a Frozen Turkey Breast

    Even though your bone in turkey breast is way smaller than the average whole turkey, it will still take a couple days to thaw your turkey breast in the fridge! Plan 2-3 days to defrost it in the fridge.

    You can also do a quick defrost by soaking your WRAPPED frozen turkey breast in a bath of cold water. Add enough cold water to cover the turkey completely. Change the water every 30 minutes. Plan on about 30 minutes per pound.

    How to Prep Your Turkey Breast for the Oven

    Here is step by step how to prep your thawed turkey breast to be roasted to golden perfection:

    • Make the butter and herb mixture. Set aside
    • Place the bird in a roasting pan that has chopped onion and crushed garlic. Pat the turkey breast dry with a couple paper towels. Gently pull the breast skin from the bird by running your fingers between the skin and meat.
    • If there is an excess of neck skin, trim a little with kitchen shears.
    • Pat the meat dry with a paper towel. Then rub ¼ of the butter mixture over the meat. Pull the skin back in place over the butter and meat.
    • Turn the bird over and rub ¼ of the butter mixture on the underside.
    • Cover the top of the turkey breast skin with the remaining butter/herb mixture.
    • Pour 1 cup white wine into the bottom of the pan.
    • Ready to cook! Follow cooking instructions in the recipe card.
    first four steps of prepping a turkey breast for the oven
    final four steps to prep a turkey breast for the oven

    Amount Per Person

    When you are cooking for a crowd you want to plan about ½ lb of turkey per person.

    Carving

    Carving a turkey breast is going to be a lot less complicated than carving a whole turkey! You have two options. The first can be brought to the table off the bone already carved. The second option can be brought the table and carved:

    1. First find the chest bone between the two breasts. Carve the two breasts from the bones by running your knife between the breast and the chest bone. Slice each breast into individual slices, similar to cutting a chicken breast.

    It is going to be similar to carving a rotisserie chicken (except you won’t have legs, thighs or wings), like in this video:

    2. Or you can slice the breast while it is still on the bone, like they show in this carving video from Butterball.

    Wine

    If you do not normally have wine in the house you can sub chicken stock for the bottom of the pan. However you can also purchase just a small carton of wine which will be almost 2 cups. Black Box makes a great one!

    If you don’t want to drink the rest you can freeze your wine (but only if you plan to cook with it!!!). Pop the wine carton in a freezer baggie and freeze for up to 3 months until you are ready to use it in another recipe. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

    This instant pot mushroom risotto recipe would be a great recipe to use up the rest of the wine.

    Recipes for Leftover Turkey

    This is going to a much smaller amount of turkey than if you cooked a whole turkey. However if only a couple people are eating you may have some leftovers. Here are a couple recipes that would be amazing for your leftover turkey.

    • Turkey Pot Pie
    • Turkey Tetrazzini
    • Enchilada Casserole (swap turkey for the beef)
    • White Chicken Chili (swap turkey for the chicken)
    • Creamy Chicken and Noodles (swap turkey for the chicken)

    More Holiday Dinner Recipes

    • Homemade Stuffing
    • Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes
    • Easy Jiffy Corn Casserole
    • Creamy & Flavorful Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
    • Super Flavorful Gravy Without Drippings
    • Canned Cranberry Sauce Recipe
    • Broccoli Bacon Salad
    • Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Cranberries

    Susie Weinrich washing produce

    Did you make this recipe?!

    If you make this recipe I would love to hear your review. Pop down to the comment section and connect with me.

    Then sign up for our Weekly Newsletter so you never miss a new recipe!

    Rate This Recipe
    bone in turkey breast with herbs

    Oven Roasted Turkey Breast

    A delicious and juicy turkey breast with golden skin and flavorful herbs. Plus a savory gravy from the pan drippings. Perfect for dinner or your holiday table.
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    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 50 minutes
    Resting Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
    Servings: 6 people
    Author: Susie Weinrich

    Ingredients

    • 4-6 lb bone in skin on turkey breast Note the weight you will need that for cooking time!
    • 6 tablespoon butter, softened
    • 2 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
    • 2 tablespoon sage, chopped
    • 2 tablespoon parsley, chopped
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper
    • 6 garlic cloves, smashed
    • 1 large onion, cut into 8 large pieces
    • 1 cup white wine something crisp and dry like chardonnay or pinot grigio. Could sub chicken broth if you don't want to use wine.

    Gravy

    • Drippings strained from the turkey pan
    • 2 cups chicken or turkey stock
    • 2 tablespoon corn starch
    • 3 tablespoon cool water
    Prevent your screen from going dark while you are cooking!

    Instructions

    • Start by preheating your oven to 350 °.
    • Prep your baking dish by adding in the cut onion and smashed garlic cloves.
    • With plenty of paper towels pat your turkey breast dry on all sides. This step will be very important so the butter spreads well.
      Trim any excess neck skin.
    • Place the turkey breast over the onions in the baking dish. set aside.
    • In a small bowl smash together the butter, salt, pepper, sage, rosemary and parsley.
    • Lightly pull up on the turkey skin and start to push your fingers between the skin and the meat, lightly pulling the skin away from the meat, try not to tear the skin. If you can slip a paper towel under there to pat some of the moisture it will help the butter spread in the next step.
      Once it is all loosened grab ¼ of the butter mixture with your fingers and rub it between the skin and meat. See photo for reference. Position the skin back so that it covers the turkey.
    • Now turn the breast over and rub ¼ of the butter mixture on the underside.
    • Place the turkey back in the pan, breast side up, and rub the skin with the remaining butter mixture.
    • Pour 1 cup of white wine into the bottom of the baking dish.
    • Place the turkey in the oven and roast for about 18- 20 MINUTES PER POUND.
      Example – I have a 4 lb turkey so I will roast it for 72-80 minutes. I will start checking the temp with a meat thermometer around 72 minutes and leave in the oven if it hasn't reached at least 160°.
    • Make sure that the turkey has reached 160° in the thickest part.
    • Remove from the oven and very loosely tent with foil and let rest for about 15-20 minutes before carving.
      Make the gravy while the turkey rests…

    Gravy

    • Strain the liquid from the bottom of the turkey baking dish into a skillet with high sides.
    • Over medium, add the 2 cups stock, and bring to a hard simmer.
    • Combine the cornstarch and water and slowly whisk it into the simmering liquid. It should thicken immediately.
    • Taste for seasonings. Serve over sliced turkey and mashed potatoes.

    Notes:

    Thawing
    Quick Thaw: Place the frozen turkey in its original wrapper in a bath of cool water (enough to cover the turkey completely), change the water every 30 minutes. Plan on 30 minutes per pound for thawing.
    Fridge Thaw: Place your frozen turkey breast in its original wrapper on a rimmed baking sheet or a casserole pan (to catch condensation and any leakage). Place in the fridge for 2-3 days for a full thaw. 
    Amount to Purchase
    When you are buying turkey, plan on purchasing ½ lb per person.
    Did you try this recipe? Connect with me & let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
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    If nutrition facts are provided they are calculated as an estimate to the best of our knowledge.

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    About Susie Weinrich

    Susie Weinrich is the recipe developer, food photographer, and content creator behind Mom's Dinner. She has over 20 years experience in the food industry. Currently, Susie shares all her recipes and food knowledge on Mom's Dinner. You will find her recipes are easy to follow and full of tips and tricks to make sure the recipe you are making turns out perfect!

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