This roasted turkey breast is coated in a savory garlic and herb butter, then baked to golden brown perfection. The perfect quick and easy option for a holiday meal or everyday dinner!
When I’m feeding a crowd for the holidays, I make a whole roasted turkey. When I’m entertaining a smaller group, I opt for a roasted turkey breast instead. This is the best turkey breast I’ve ever had, it’s tender, flavorful and juicy – no dry meat here!
I love a good roasted turkey, especially around the holidays. That being said, sometimes it’s just my family of 5 and we don’t want to cook up a whole huge turkey. This roasted turkey breast is the perfect option – it’s super flavorful, quick cooking, and festive for a holiday meal.
How do you cook a turkey breast?
This recipe starts with a seasoned butter which is made with an assortment of fresh minced herbs, garlic and seasonings. Everything gets mixed together and the butter is rubbed both on top of and underneath the skin of the turkey. The turkey then gets roasted, first at high heat to crisp the skin, then at a lower heat to cook everything thoroughly.
How long does it take to cook a turkey breast?
You can either use a whole or half turkey breast for this recipe. The recipe is written for a half breast, but if you use a whole breast, simply double the amount of herb butter and you’ll be ready to go. Typically a bone-in turkey breast takes about 20 minutes per pound to cook in the oven.
How do you know when the turkey is done?
Your turkey breast is done when a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 165 degrees F. Be careful not to go too far about 165 degrees or you risk your meat being on the dry side. I use an oven safe thermometer probe that stays in the turkey as it cooks so I can continuously monitor the temperature. Also, the turkey will continue to cook after you take it out of the oven. You can pull your turkey out of the oven around 160 degrees F, then cover it with foil for 5-10 minutes or until it comes up to 165 degrees.
Roasted Turkey Breast Variations
- Mexican Turkey Breast: Mix the softened butter with chili powder, garlic powder, cumin and lime zest.
- Cajun Turkey Breast: Mix the softened butter with cajun seasoning.
- Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast: Wrap 6-8 strips of bacon around the turkey breast until completely covered. This works best if you remove the turkey skin first.
- Maple Turkey Breast: Add 2 tablespoons of maple syrup to the butter mixture.
Turkey breast side dishes
I like to serve my roasted turkey breast with classic holiday side dishes. Some of my favorites include
- Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
- Bacon Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Candied Carrots
- Southern Cornbread Dressing
How much turkey per person?
The general rule of thumb is to cook one pound of turkey per person. If you want plenty of turkey for leftovers, aim for 1 1/2 – 2 pounds per person.
This roasted turkey breast is sure to be a huge hit with family and friends. It’s even great for an everyday dinner option on a chilly fall or winter night, comfort food at its finest!
Roasted Turkey Breast with Garlic and Herbs
Ingredients
- 6 lb bone in turkey breast I use a half breast
- 5 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon sage leaves finely minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary leaves finely minced
- 1 tablespoon thyme leaves finely minced
- 2 tablespoons parsley finely minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- rosemary sprigs for garnish optional
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray.
- Place the butter, garlic, sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley and salt and pepper in a bowl. Stir to combine.
- Loosen the skin of the turkey breast. Spread half of the butter underneath the skin of the turkey, and the other half of the butter on top of the turkey breast.
- Place the turkey in the baking dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until skin has just started to brown.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes, basting occasionally with pan juices.
- Check the temperature of the turkey by inserting a thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. The turkey can come out of the oven when the thermometer registers at least 160 degrees.
- Cover the turkey with foil and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, or until thermometer registers at least 165 degrees F.
- Garnish with rosemary and serve.
Notes
- If your turkey breast is larger or smaller than the size indicated in the recipe, you can adjust the cook time accordingly. Turkey breast cooks for approximately 20 minutes per pound.
- This recipe calls for a half turkey breast. If you use a full turkey breast, make double the herb butter mixture.
Deborah Crump says
I made this with turkey breast. I reduced the butter a bit and added herbs as directed. I cooked in my stone cooker and it was the juiciest turkey we have ever eaten. It was delicious!
Nanette says
This is by far the best site for recipes. I come every day and you have never disappointed me. Thank you so much you are making me famous at my zoo.
Cindy says
Best Turkey I’ve ever roasted! This is an amazing recipe. So easy. Followed recipe except I didn’t have fresh sage…..had to use dried. I increased butter a little too. Basted the Turkey every 20 minutes and used a meat thermometer to take out right at 160. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Stephanie says
Looks wonderful!
What do you recommend using in place of butter?
Sara says
You could try using half the amount of olive oil but I haven’t tested it that way so I can’t say for sure how it would come out!
Susan Koslowski says
Delicious su
Kim Quinn says
So excited by this simply easy and flavorf sounding recipe! Have always made whole turkey, 18-20 lbs. A friend gave me a breast half that is just shy of 6 lbs. Making today. I have black garlic that was given to me and I am mashing it into the butter with fresh sage and rose Mary, parsley and thyme. Love the flavor of tellicherry black pepper so grinding plenty in. Thank you so much! With roasted cauli and broccoli, onion and mushrooms; home made stuffing it will be a feast. Apple cranberry crisp for dessert. Thank you again for this recipe I will definitely keep.
Karen says
We didn’t have turkey on Thanksgiving day and I was really craving a traditional meal so I decided to make this for my fiance and I a couple days after Thanksgiving. This was my first time ever cooking turkey myself and it turned out amazing. My breast was only 2.7 lbs but I still followed your recipe and didnt reduce anything and flavor was perfect. A couple things to note was that there was quite a bit of splattering happening in my oven during those first 15 minutes but not sure if that is unavoidable. The skin also didnt crisp up so I would maybe leave it longer on the higher temp but would have to be careful to not dry out. It did have a nice color thought. Other than that, the flavor was on point and will be saving this one for the future, thank you!
Roli says
A friend give me a turkey breast and not having cooked turkey before, I wondered where to begin. So like most, I turned to Google. This was the second recipe I looked at. I chose this recipe because of its simplicity and the fact that the author give options for different flavors. I chose to make the cajun turkey breast. I have NEVER had a juicier turkey. It was so moist and delicious. Other than the seasoning, I followed the recipe as instructed. Thank you so much for sharing your amazing recipe. It’s a keeper 🙂
Rosie says
I tried this recipe with 2 turkey breast doubled the amount of herb seasoning, it came out perfectly! Topped with boysenberry/cranberry sauce I made, delicious! We are only 5 and we ate them all.
Andrea says
I made this yesterday for Thanksgiving and it was SO good! It turned out perfectly moist and flavorful – I basically just ate this and cranberry chutney and I am usually not a big turkey-eater! I was able to stand up the turkey breast in the roasting pan so it wasn’t laying on it’s side, and I used my oven probe to monitor the temperature. It cooked it a little longer at 450 and maybe an hour at 350, but I was watching for it to reach 160. We did make gravy with the drippings and the “gravy starter” that came with the Butterball breast (I had no idea there was such a thing, but it was super easy). I don’t think I will ever go back to a whole turkey again! Great recipe!!