We love everything about this dish. Easy. Scrumptious. And Classic.

If you’re looking to downsize your holiday table this year, this roast turkey is the answer. You still get that amazing turkey taste and texture, but on a smaller scale. Serve with dressing, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole for the perfect feast.

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Table of Contents

How To Roast a Turkey Breast

We start off with a whole, bone-in turkey breast that’s about 5 to 7 pounds.

Another bonus of a turkey breast is that white meat (turkey breast) is healthier than the dark meat from a whole turkey. But back to turkey talk.

Be sure to decide in advance if you want to brine the bird or not. We love to brine our turkey breast.

To Brine or Not to Brine

Brining is not 100% necessary, plenty of folks think it doesn’t make that much of a difference. Well, we’re not those folks.

We’ve tested numerous times, and for some reason, especially with a turkey breast, we find that brining produces a much more juicy and flavorful bird.

EXPERT TIPS:

You will start the brining process by simmering a couple of cups of apple cider with salt, allspice, and bay leaves.
You’ll then combine it with 6 cups of apple cider and 8 cups of water.
Make sure both of these liquids are cold so it will immediately cool the hot simmered mixture. (You don’t want to pour hot liquid on the uncooked turkey breast).

To create the herb paste, you’ll simply need to combine a mixture of fresh herbs (such as sage, rosemary, and thyme) with ground mustard, olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

Use your fingers to pull the skin away from the top portion of the breast.

Gently rub a good amount of the paste under the skin. Smear the rest over the top.

How Long to Roast a Turkey Breast

A 5 to 7-pound turkey breast will typically take between 2 and 2½ hours to reach 165°F.

Be sure to use an instant-read thermometer to ensure the roast is cooked correctly.

Once the skin starts to brown on top, add patches of foil until you need to cover the entire breast. We like to baste the amazing sauce over the bird, too.

How To Carve and Serve

We find that a whole turkey breast is so much easier to carve than a whole turkey.

Simply use a large knife (preferably a carving one) and a large fork, and begin slicing layers of each side of the breast. The meat should easily fall right off.

The sauce is an amazing accompaniment to the roast turkey breast and can be served as is right from the pan.

Arrange slices on a platter and nestle fresh herbs and sliced lemon around the meat for a beautiful presentation.

If you’re in the mood for a whole turkey, here are two of our favorite ways to prepare them:

The Perfect Roasted Turkey Spatchcock TurkeyTurkey Gravy

And what about those sides? Here are our favorites:

Best Mashed PotatoesMom’s Thanksgiving DressingGourmet Green Bean CasseroleCandied YamsCorn CasseroleStrawberry Pretzel SaladHomemade Cornbread

Folks, this is a feast to remember.

And with the au jus sauce that you get in the pan is truly spectacular.

No need to make gravy with this incredible sauce.

EXPERT TIP: Add more stock through the cooking process to maintain the same amount of liquid. You can also add a little more after you remove the turkey. No need to season the sauce, it’s deeply flavorful as is.