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.
This recipe will be in heavy rotation at our house. It was simple and easy to follow and the turkey was so tender and juicy. I brought this to Thanksgiving dinner ( we opted for the chicken breast as opposed to a whole bird because it was a smaller gathering than usual) it was a hit. Next year I may try it with a whole bird. Thank you from our zoo to yours.
In all past years my dad made Thanksgiving dinner but this year we stayed home as my husband works with COVID patients each day to keep them safe. I have 3 small kids and it was the first time I made a Thanksgiving dinner ever. I used your turkey breast recipe, candied carrots, bacon Brussels sprouts, sweet potato casserole, southern corn bread stuffing, and cranberry relish recipes. I started at 3:45pm and had everything on the table at 6:30 pm . It was important to me to try and make a special meal for my family this year. Your recipes were easy to follow and everything was delicious. Thank you for helping me get this meal together and make it successful, especially while looking after my 3 little ones.
Thanks so much for your nice comment, I’m glad you all had a great meal!
Made this for Thanksgiving. It was so moist and juicy and smelled incredible baking. Best turkey ever – thank you so much for the recipe!
Thanks for the awesome recipe. Made this for Thanksgiving dinner and it was so juicy and full of flavor. Doubled the recipe for a whole turkey breast. Would not change a thing. It was perfect as is. I had trouble spreading the butter on the skin. I just basted it back on throughout the cooking process. Delicious! My husband said it was the best Thanksgiving dinner he has ever had!
This was great! Used unsalted butter because that’s what i had. I grabbed some fresh parsley, thyme, and rosemary from our garden and some fresh sage i had leftover from another recipe. Didn’t measure anything. Ended up accidentally cooking the turkey to 175-180 and it still turned out moist and delicious. This is a very forgiving recipe and the turkey tasted great. This will be my go to from now on!
Just finished eating the turkey breast, So juicy and delish. My husband loved it.
can I use this recipe with a boneless skinless turkey breast 3 lbs ?
Yes just reduce the cook time!
Hi, I’m roasting a 10 lb Turkey breast and a 5lb duck.
Turkey 450° pre heat..350° for 3 1/2 hrs
Duck 425° pre heat…350° 1 1/2 hr
I only have one oven
How ?
I’d preheat both at 450 and then reduce the cook time of the duck a bit. Ducks contain a lot of fat and the high temperature will help render out some of that fat to make the skin crispy. That all being said, if you’re cooking two large pieces of meat in the oven at the same time, it may possibly take longer because of less air circulation so just be aware of that and use your thermometer to help guide you!
Hi there,
I have a full turkey breast and plan on doubling the butter and herbs. How much should I increase my cooking time by, approximately? I don’t want to be poking my bird too much with the thermometer and letting out all the heat from the oven! Thanks!
How many pounds is your breast?
I made this tonight with a double breast and it is so flavorful and moist! I am now using the bones to make some stock for your gravy recipe! Can’t wait to eat it all tomorrow!
Do you use unsalted butter or salted butter?
Either is fine but I typically do salted!
Hello! I have two 3 pd turkey breasts. Can I place them both in a 9 x 13 baking dish or place in a stainless steel deep pan? Do u suggest baking bags or just follow your recipe with the herb butter? Since u state the herb butter is for 6lb..I should be good, correct? Thank you.
Yes place them side by side, do not stack them. The amount of butter should be enough! I have never used baking bags so I can’t comment on those. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you! Can I marinate the turkey breasts the day before.? Also, does it matter if one side of turkey breast is laying on one side since I’m not going to cut them in half? Us that what you mean by laying them side by side?
Thanks again.
I purchased a 6 pound turkey breast (skin/bone) , would I double the ingedients for this recipe. Looks great and can’t wait to try it
This recipe calls for a 6 pound breast so you’re all good!
Thank you for this recipe – I intend to make it for Thursday. Question: can this be made the day before? Many thanks!
Are you looking to cook the whole thing the day before? You can do that but you need to be careful to reheat it covered in a low oven (325 degrees F) so that it doesn’t dry out.
Should the turkey breast be placed on a rack in the baking dish?
This recipe doesn’t generate tons of liquid so I typically don’t use a rack but you can if you want and it won’t hurt anything!
Do you brine your turkey breast beforehand?
While this recipe works fine without brining, you absolutely can brine for added flavor! Just use half the amount of salt in the butter mixture. Here is my turkey brine recipe you can do a half size batch: https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/turkey-brine-recipe/
I look forward to trying this recipe for Thanksgiving this year! I was wondering if the herbs needed to be fresh or if dried would work? Would there be any adjustments to using dried?
Dried herbs would be 1 teaspoon sage, 1/2 teaspoon rosemary, 1 teaspoon thyme and 2 teaspoons parsley.
Should I leave the turkey uncovered while cooking?
Yes it is uncovered.
Hopefully this hasn’t been asked before and I’m missing it… but will there be enough drippings to make gravy? I’m looking forward to giving this a try! Thank you!
I find that there’s some drippings but not a huge amount since turkey breast is naturally so lean! You can use my recipe here and just add more broth if you don’t have the full amount of drippings: https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/turkey-gravy-recipe/
Have you tried using poultry seasoning for this recipe? If so how much should i use. Thanks
I have not but I’d try about 2-3 teaspoons!
Looks wonderful! How would this recipe be adjusted for Instant Pot?
I have not tested it this way, but in general you can cook a turkey breast in the Instant Pot on manual high pressure for 5 minutes per pound of meat that you have.