Easy Roasted Turkey Breast
Most delectably moist, flavorful turkey you will ever eat. The skin is buttery and crisp, and the meat is perfectly tender. Plus, prep time is under 20 minutes!
This turkey breast is the most delicious bird ever
You won’t believe how moist the meat is, without basting. The breast is coated with a flavorful butter-herb mixture and baked until tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. And since we put some of the flavorful butter under the skin, the meat stays moist and is infused with herb flavor all the way through.
How big should your turkey breast be?
That’s totally up to you. I used a 5-pound, bone-in, skin-on turkey breast. You could easily do this recipe with a bigger breast, or a half breast. Choose what suits your needs and note that a 5-pound, bone-in breast will feed about 4 people.
If your turkey a size other than 5 pounds, it’s easy to do the math
Roast your turkey breast for 20 minutes per pound, until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast (not touching the bone) reads 165 degrees. And make sure you let your turkey rest for 20 minutes after cooking to allow the juices to redistribute.
Turkey breasts are a great option when serving a smaller crowd
Plus, everyone likes the lighter meat! And have you seen the cost of turkeys this year? Cooking just the breast means you can make and serve just what you need, with no waste. And if you want to double the recipe to serve more people, that works too!
Pro tip: Some turkey breasts come with the neck and ribs and you’ll need to remove those so the breast sits nicely in the pan and cooks evenly. It’s easy to remove the neck and ribs with your sharpest kitchen shears. Save the neck for your next soup stock!
Easy Roasted Turkey Breast
Ingredients
- 5 pound bone-in, skin-on turkey breast, neck/ribs removed if necessary (see note above)
- Olive oil for coating the pan
- 1 lemon, sliced into rounds
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons Italian herb seasoning
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Equipment
Instructions
- Let the turkey stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread a thin layer of oil all over the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking pan. Arrange the lemon slices in the bottom of the pan.
- Pat both sides of the turkey dry with paper towels and place the turkey, breast side up, on top of the lemon slices.
- In a small bowl, combine the butter, salt, Italian herb seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper. Mix well to combine.
- Use your fingers to carefully loosen the skin from the breast meat. Work about 1/3 of the butter under the skin with your fingers. It doesn’t have to be pretty, the butter will melt and spread out. Spread remaining butter mixture over the top of the turkey. Note: The butter mixture spreads more evenly when it’s super soft and the turkey is patted dry.
- Bake for 20 minutes per pound, or until the turkey reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. For a 5-pound turkey breast, this will be approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes, but start checking at about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
- Let the turkey rest for 20 minutes before carving and serving.