This year, I’m doing Thanksgiving easy-style. While I have over 30 recipes for Thanksgiving that I’ve created over the years, This year, I want to spend more time out of the kitchen with my family and less time prepping and cooking. (Enter supporting dishes like candied ham skewers and roasted honeynut squash.) To top it all off? This dish. A roast turkey breast that will be the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinner.
A boneless turkey breast is a great option for a smaller gathering—you don’t have to mess with carving around joints, you don’t have to mess with clean-up. It will save you so much time on Thanksgiving. You can brine the turkey if you want to, but I rarely do. Because a turkey breast is small, it takes on flavor a lo!.t faster. It also cooks faster and cools down faster, meaning it won’t have as much time to dry out.
Watch the video
To make sure you have the technique down, check out the video—it’s a really quick one!
How much turkey breast to buy to serve 8 people?
A general rule of thumb is a half pound per person, which would be around 4 pounds of turkey breast for 8 people. Depending on the number of sides and how hungry everyone is, you will likely end up with some leftovers (which is what you want!)
Cutting Board | Knife | Dish Towel
Prep a turkey breast for Thanksgiving
This is a deboned turkey breast that I asked my butcher to it for roasting. Leave the tie on and rub avocado oil on the top (skin side), flip it over, and add more oil to the bottom. I’m using my special seasoning blend, which has salt, pepper, some ground sage, garlic powder, and onion powder. Make sure there’s an even sprinkling across the top.
Take out a roasting sheet with a cooling rack in it. That keeps the turkey breast elevated off the bottom and lets the dry heat encircle the bird so it cooks evenly. Let the turkey breast sit on the rack at room temperature for an hour before you roast it. If it’s too cold, the meat can seize up and become tough.
The key to avoiding a dry turkey is to use a thermometer to check the temperature. I’m using my Meater Plus thermometer that can go into the oven. The thermometer goes it into the thickest part of the turkey breast.
How to properly cook a turkey breast
The roasting pan with the turkey goes into a 375-degree oven. When the roast turkey breast reaches 161-162 degrees internal temperature, I’ll take it out of the oven. That can take around 60-90 minutes. I set a timer for 30 minutes in, so I can check the exterior to see if it’s golden brown. Once you see that nice crust developing on the top, you can grab a large piece of aluminum foil and loosely fold it over the top to reflect the direct heat.
I don’t have to worry about it—I get to go hang out with my family instead of basting or rotating anything. The carry-over temperature will continue to rise. Let the roasted turkey breast rest until the temperature reduces at most to 130 degrees before you slice it. That retains the all-important moisture—no dry birds here! I leave the foil over loosely to cover it (not tight enough that it’s going to steam).
Once it’s rested and still warm, I slice thick slices of turkey with a sharp knife and fan the slices out on a festive platter.
Why this is the best turkey breast for Thanksgiving
Serving Platter | Serving Fork (similar) | Dish Towel
This roasted turkey breast has all the flavor of Thanksgiving and very little prep. No brine. No basting. It’s just a good, fall seasoning, the right oven temperature, and a proper rest time. There are just too many Thanksgiving recipes out there that are the “ultimate” this or that. You don’t have to over-complicate things! If you want to make your life easier this holiday season, this recipe delivers incredible flavor and texture for a no-fuss holiday turkey. It’s incredibly delicious, and I think your guests are going to love it.
Roast Turkey Breast for Thanksgiving
Ingredients:
- 1 boneless turkey breast roast, tied
- avocado oil
For the spice blend
- 1 tbsp kosher or sea salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp ground sage
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp allspice powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Mix together all of the spice ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Rub the outside of the turkey breast roast with a thin layer of avocado oil, then season with the spice mix. You won’t need all of the spice mix, but just use enough to coat the entire outside evenly. Let the turkey breast sit at room temperature for an hour.
- Place the roast on a baking sheet with a wire rack and insert a probe thermometer with a wire lead (or a wireless thermometer) into the thickest part of the turkey. Place it in the oven and roast for 60-90 minutes on the convection setting, until the thermometer reads 160. About 30 minutes into cooking, check to make sure it is not browning too quickly. If so, loosely place a sheet of aluminum foil over top.
- Remove from the oven and let rest until the thermometer comes back down between 130 and 140 degrees. Slice and serve warm.
Will the spice blend make enough for a 9lb roast? I went up in size on the breast. I was able to ask the butcher to debone the breast too, but forgot to ask him to tie it. Will tying it be a make or break move? I can Google how probably lol
Tying helps get a more even cook so I’d definitely suggest it. There should be plenty of seasoning – the recipe accounts for having extra.
Can I use olive oil instead of avocado?
You can, I just wouldn’t go over 375 degrees for the cooking temp. If you use a super fresh olive oil, even at that temp you run the risk of scorching the oil and making it taste a little funny, and causing a lot of smoke. Just things to consider.
Oh my goodness this was absolutely delicious! Perfectly cooked. The balance of flavors from the from the simple, yet sophisticated, spice blend was everything we needed for Thanksgiving. Will be on repeat next year!
Cook same if I am doing (two) bone-in turkey breasts?
Mostly, though it will take longer to cook, so you may want to reduce the temperature 25 degrees and plan on a longer cooking time.
What if you don’t have a convection setting? Can you convert to oven temp and timing?
Typically you can expect it to be 25% longer roasting time without convection, so the turkey breast will take between an hour & 15 minutes to an hour & 50 minutes to cook. Just make sure to check on the internal temperature.