This roasted turkey breast recipe is perfect for a smaller Thanksgiving celebration! It is moist, flavorful, and goes great with any of your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes!
Why Should I Use a Turkey Breast?
Are you looking for a turkey recipe that will feed a smaller group? This herby ranch roasted turkey breast is the perfect alternative to a big bird for those of you who are looking for a small group turkey recipe!
Turkey breast is a great option for a small thanksgiving meal for so many reasons!
- It is still the turkey you know and love, but not so much of it
- Turkey breasts are easy to flavor and prepare
- You don’t have to spend the whole day baking, roasting a turkey breast takes about 1-1.5 hours.
What Kind of Turkey Breast to Buy
There are a few different options at the grocery store when you’re looking for a turkey breast. If it’s not Thanksgiving season, then you will typically find frozen turkey breast, otherwise you can find turkey breast in the meat section at the grocery store.
Boneless Turkey Breast– A boneless turkey breast is the breast portion of the turkey with the bone pieces taken out.
Bone-in Turkey Breast – A bone-in turkey breast is the breast portion of the turkey with the ribs and bone pieces left in.
Turkey Breast Roast– A turkey breast roast is generally different pieces of meat (including the breast) that are bound together by netting.
Young Turkey Breast (with both breasts)– You may see this product in the grocery store, too! Sometimes a young turkey breast comes with two breasts and it looks like a smaller bird. We used this in our sous vide turkey recipe!
We tested this recipe with all the bone-in turkey breast and the turkey breast roast and they worked great. Just be cognizant of the cook time and weight.
roasting tip
We it comes to bake time for a turkey breast we recommend adding 15 minutes per pound to your cook time!
How to Roast a Turkey Breast
Roasting a turkey breast is as easy as 1-2-3. You will have a perfectly roasted turkey breast for you and your family in no time!
- First things, first. Get your turkey breast ready to roast by taking it out of the refrigerator and patting it dry with a paper towel. You want to remove any access moisture from the turkey breast so you get a beautiful golden skin when you roast it!
- Next, you want to add the dry rub to the turkey breast. We use our delicious homemade ranch seasoning to season this turkey breast. Sprinkle the ranch seasoning over the turkey breast and set it aside and let it rest for 15 minutes.
- Add all of your aromatics (onion, herbs, lemon), broth, and wine to the bottom of a baking dish and place the turkey breast on top of the onion.
- Finally, slather the softened butter over the top of the turkey and place your turkey in the oven to bake at 325ºF for 60 minutes!
- DON’T FORGET that it is crucial that you baste the turkey breast every 30 minutes with the liquid at the bottom of the baking dish! It helps to keep the bird moist!
- After the turkey breast has baked for 60 minutes you want to up to temperature to 400ºF and crisp up the turkey skin for 10 minutes!
THEN YOU’RE DONE! Let the turkey rest and serve it with the liquid in the bottom of the baking dish.
Tips + Tricks
How do you keep turkey breast moist when roasting it?
The #1 way to make sure your turkey breast doesn’t dry out is to baste, baste, BASTE!
What do I serve with turkey breast?
We have so many Thanksgiving sides to choose from on FFF! We love Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, and everything in between! Below are our three favorite dishes to serve with turkey breast.
How do I know when turkey breast is done?
You know your turkey is done when the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165ºF.
What do I do with leftover turkey breast?
Our favorite recipe to make with leftover turkey breast is this leftover turkey soup!
Herby Ranch Roasted Turkey Breast
This roasted turkey breast recipe is perfect for a smaller Thanksgiving celebration! It is moist, flavorful, and goes great with any of your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes!
Prep: 30 minutesCook: 60 minutesTotal: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 2–3 lb. boneless turkey breast
- 3 tablespoons homemade ranch seasoning
- 1/2 large white onion, chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- ½ large lemon, sliced
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh sage
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 cup chicken broth (any kind of broth will work)
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and spray an 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Prepare the turkey breast. Discard the gizzard from the turkey breast and remove any excess liquid from the turkey breast by patting it with a paper towel.
- Next, rub the ranch seasoning over the turkey breast making sure that the whole turkey breast is covered with dry rub. Let the turkey sit for at least 15 minutes (for optimal flavor, place the turkey breast in the refrigerator and let it sit in the dry rub for 1-2 hours).
- Place the onion, sliced lemon, thyme, sage, thyme, broth, wine, salt, and pepper on the bottom of your baking dish and then place the turkey breast on top of the onions.
- Carefully slather the softened butter over the top of the turkey.
- Place the turkey in the oven and bake at 325ºF for 30 minutes.
- Remove turkey from oven and baste with the liquid on the bottom of the baking dish. Repeat this step again after baking the turkey for another 30 minutes.
- After the turkey has baked for 60 minutes and it has been basted twice, turn the heat to 400ºF and bake the turkey for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the turkey from the oven when it is golden brown or when the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.
- Let the turkey sit for 10 minutes, basting it with liquid.
- Serve the turkey sliced with the liquid from the bottom of the baking dish.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1/6 Calories: 336 Sugar: 5 Fat: 8 Carbohydrates: 11 Fiber: 4 Protein: 46