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 something like roasted cornish hen or roasted turkey breast instead. This is the best turkey breast I’ve ever had, it’s tender, flavorful and juicy – no dry meat here! Don’t forget the Instant Pot cranberry sauce and homemade dinner rolls on the side!
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 any holiday meal like Christmas or Thanksgiving.
For other variations on this dish, be sure to check out my smoked turkey breast and Instant Pot turkey breast recipes. If you have any leftovers, check out my favorite leftover turkey recipes like turkey casserole, turkey pasta carbonara, turkey tetrazzini and turkey salad.
Table of Contents
Roasted Turkey Breast Ingredients
To make roasted turkey breast you will need a turkey breast, butter, garlic, sage leaves, rosemary leaves, thyme leaves, parsley, kosher salt, black pepper and herbs for a garnish.
How Do You Cook A Turkey Breast?
To make this roasted turkey breast recipe, first make seasoned butter by mixing minced herbs, garlic and seasonings into softened butter in a small bowl. Rub the butter on the turkey breast coating the whole breast. Place your turkey in a baking dish or roasting pan. Roast the turkey at high heat to crisp the skin, then lower the heat to cook everything thoroughly. Baste the turkey occasionally with pan drippings. When the roast reaches the correct internal temperature, remove it. Let it rest, then serve the turkey breast.
Tips For The Perfect Turkey
- You can use a fresh or frozen turkey for this recipe. Just make sure to thaw the turkey before roasting it.
- Use a meat thermometer to make sure the thickest part of the breast reaches 165 degrees F before serving the meat.
- You can use a half turkey breast or a whole turkey breast for this recipe. However, a whole turkey breast will take longer to cook. You will want to double the butter mixture to coat a whole breast.
- 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.
- Garnish the roasted turkey breast with fresh herbs or even small fruit for a beautiful presentation.
- Bring out the best in your bird with turkey gravy!
Quick Tip
Rub the butter mixture on top of the turkey skin and under the turkey skin.
Recipe FAQs
Typically a bone-in turkey breast takes about 20 minutes per pound to cook in the oven.
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.
The general rule of thumb is to cook one pound of roasted turkey breast per person. If you want plenty of turkey for leftovers, aim for 1 1/2 – 2 pounds per person.
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Flavor Variations
If you’re not in the mood for garlic and herbs, try one of these other options to add some flavor to your roasted turkey breast!
- Mexican: Mix the softened butter with my taco seasoning which includes chili powder, garlic powder, cumin and oregano.
- Cajun: Mix the softened butter with Cajun seasoning.
- Bacon Wrapped: Wrap 6-8 strips of bacon around the turkey breast until completely covered. This works best if you remove the turkey skin first.
- Maple: Add 2 tablespoons of maple syrup to the butter mixture.
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!
Turkey Breast Side Dishes
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
1 hr 50 mins
Candied Carrots
25 mins
Southern Cornbread Dressing
1 hr 15 mins
Roasted Turkey Breast Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
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
- Rub the butter mixture on top of the turkey skin and under the turkey skin.
- You can use a fresh or frozen turkey for this recipe. Just make sure to thaw the turkey before roasting it.
- Use a meat thermometer to make sure the thickest part of the breast reaches 165 degrees F before serving the meat.
How is use the same cook time for 2 3lb turkey breasts?
It should take a total of an hour for that size, make sure to leave room between the two turkey breasts for air to circulate!
Can this be done sous vide, if so, do I vacuum seal the breast after the herbs and butter?
I haven’t tried it this way so unfortunately I can’t tell you if it would work or not!
The Turkey breast needs to brine first for any of these recipes
Is this correct?
You can brine it if you want, but this recipe was designed for a turkey breast that is not brined! If you brine it, just reduce the salt in the recipe.
Looking forward to using this recipe for the holidays! I was curious about the baking dish. Did you put the turkey directly on a ceramic type of baking dish? Or did you using a metal baking pan with a rack? I’m just trying to figure out if the turkey should be elevated or not for this recipe, or if it truly stays within its drippings the whole time. Thanks!
I use a baking dish but a rack is also fine if you prefer that!
I made this and it was excellent. The best I’ve ever had
I’ve made turkey breasts before, but have never seen a bone-in 1/2 breast. Am I missing something?
Can this be done with vegan butter or olive oil? Or is butter fast essential to making this moist. I’m diary free and just wanted to check! Thanks
I think it would be fine with either of those options!
I used 7 pound Turkey breast, only dried parsley, season salt, pepper, and some garlic her mixture I had on hand and it came out perfectly. I’m actually going to use it for my turkey at Thanksgiving, but I’ll be searching these recipes to make it easier for times, hoping she has temp/mins for whole turkey
If I have 2, 12 pound boneless breasts how would I change the recipe?
You’d want to quadruple the recipe, you can adjust the number of servings and the ingredient amounts will automatically recalculate!
I used your recipe on a 6 lbs. roaster chicken. It was absolutely scrumptious! Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi, Just bought 2 bone in turkey breasts that I’m going to roast . I’ve never made turkey breasts til now. I found your recipe and it looks great. I see it calls for fresh herbs, but I only have dried. Will that work? what quantities should I use? Thanks
You would use 1/3 of the amount for dried herbs!
Thanks !
Made it today excellent recipe.
Made this the other day and it was delicious. Thank you!!!
I think it turned out great. Thank you! I must admit I also was confused by the double of two breasts and doubled but my two was total 6. Lbs. so I wish I’d seen the comments before cooking today. Lol. Was very tasty and juicy though and other than my not understanding that, the instructions were well written. I added onions, a bit of poultry seasoning and parsley flakes and white wine to the bottom of pan for drippings (for gravy) and was very happy with how it turned out. Thank you!
I actually made this with a small boneless turkey breast in my crockpot for 8 hours on high, basting occasionally. It was absolutely delicious and tender. I will definitely make this again, thank you for sharing!
You used the same butter mixture in the crockpot?
Hello, I want to try your recipe. Because it sounds really delicious. But I have already bought 2 pounds (1 kg) boneless and un-skinned turkey. What if I roasted it un-skinned? Is that possible?
It’s possible but you’ll want to baste it frequently to keep it from drying out!
You mean to add fried/heated oil, right?
Thank you so much in advance!
Best recipe I have found for turkey. Will make again. Thank you.
Made as directed and it was very good. Used the leftovers for simple turkey noodle soup the next day and the seasoning carried over very well to the soup. Will definitely make this again as it was easy and very flavorful.
The Turkey breast was fantastic! 3lb was about an our until 160 tem p. Basted with maple butter! So juicy!!!
Maple butter must be a hit. I will add honey too!!
Originally made a half turkey breast in April. It was fantastic! I’m making a whole breast tomorrow (now that we’ve gone from 95° to 50°) and doubling butter. Yum!
To clarify, the recipe calls for a 6 lb breast, and you use half; does that mean you’re only cooking 3 lbs? So a 6 lb breast would need to double the butter mix?
My half breast was 6 pounds, a whole breast would be 12 pounds. If you have a 6 lb breast, follow the recipe as directed. If you have 12 pounds, double the butter mix.
Sounds great ⭐️
I can I make gravy from this recipe? If yes, any pointers?
Here is my turkey gravy recipe! https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/turkey-gravy-recipe/