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Herb roasted turkey breast is a delicious and flavorful idea for Thanksgiving dinner. Great for smaller families or people who don’t like dark meat!

This herb roasted turkey breast is a delicious and flavorful idea for Thanksgiving dinner. Great for smaller families or people who don't like dark meat! Get the Recipe on RachelCooks.com!

Overhead of white oval platter containing sliced turkey breast, garnished with fresh herbs, on red and white checked cloth.

I’m going to be honest with you all. The thought of cooking a whole turkey kind of scares me. I don’t know why…I should be okay with it for a number of reasons:

  1. I’m a food blogger.
  2. It’s pretty much like roasting a chicken which is no big deal.
  3. Everyone expects it to be dry so it’s no biggie if you screw it up.

But there’s good news for those of us who shake in our boots at the thought of cooking a turkey:

  1. Pop Up® Disposable Cooking Thermometers (thank you to them for sponsoring this post!) – they take the guesswork out.
  2. This recipe tastes delicious and yields a moist and flavorful turkey breast. It would be great with a whole turkey too.
  3. See #3 above. (But you won’t. Screw it up. It’s practically impossible to miss with this cooking thermometer.)

Photo collage of two photos showing partial image of turkey breast in pan with pop up button, one photo pre-cooked, the other is the finished turkey, with timer button popped out.

About this herb roasted turkey breast

Here’s the thing about this turkey recipe. The hardest part is chopping up all the herbs. And that’s not even hard, it just takes a few minutes and turns your cutting board green.

Once you rub that delicious herb/mustard/olive oil mixture all over this turkey breast, all that’s left to do is pour some Chardonnay in the bottom of the pan, stick the thermometer in and bake it. 

Then you have approximately 3 hours to do other things. Such as drink the rest of the Chardonnay. Or you know, make side dishes. Keep reading for lots of side dish recipes.

This herb roasted turkey breast recipe works wonderfully with a full sized turkey too, or a smaller breast. Adjust the herb mixture according to the size of your turkey or turkey breast. 

And  remember, cooking time is merely a guideline. Internal temperature is the only sure-fire way to know if meat is cooked properly. Take the guesswork out and buy products with the Pop Up®! (Besides, it is kind of fun waiting for it to pop up!)

Partial overhead of oval platter containing sliced turkey breast.

Because the Pop Up® is within +/- 2 degrees of accuracy, it offers consistent results and meat and poultry won’t dry out. Traditional and digital thermometers are only within 5 degrees of accuracy. Which is good if you’re a chicken about turkey. See what I did there?

Close up of turkey breast garnished with fresh herbs.

If you’d like to try a different cooking method, make Instant Pot turkey breast. Yes, you heard right, you can use your pressure cooker to cook turkey breast. In fact, you can cook it even if the turkey breast is frozen! This might save the day for you if you’ve forgotten to thaw your turkey and it turns out great, tender and juicy!

Another of my favorite ways to prepare turkey, and this one is perfect for smaller get-togethers, is a sheet pan Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, dressing, potatoes, and veggies are roasted in one pan in the oven. Doesn’t get much better than that! 

 

Thanksgiving side dishes

You need some side dishes with that turkey, right?!?! And don’t forget the pie. I love cranberry pecan pie! Try:

 

Overhead of sliced turkey breast on white oval platter garnished with fresh herbs.

Herb Roasted Turkey Breast

Yield: 12-14 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 35 minutes

This herb roasted turkey breast is a delicious and flavorful idea for Thanksgiving dinner. Great for smaller families or people who don’t like dark meat!

Ingredients

  • 1 whole bone-in turkey breast, 7 to 7 1/2 pounds
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup dry white wine such as Chardonnay

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. 
  2. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, mustard, rosemary, sage, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper, and olive oil. It will look like a paste. Gently smear half of the paste under the skin of the meat. Rub the rest on top of the skin. Add the wine into the bottom of the roasting pan.
  3. Roast the turkey for 2 1/2 to 3 1/4 hours, until the skin is golden brown. Use a 180° Pop Up® Disposable Cooking Thermometer to check that meat has reached an internal temperature of at least 180° Fahrenheit. The red portion of the sensor will pop up when this happens. If the skin is browning too quickly, place a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the turkey breast.
  4. When it reaches 180°Fahrenheit, cover loosely with aluminum foil at let rest at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving with pan juices or gravy.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 14 Serving Size: about 1/2 pound meat
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 376Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 147mgSodium: 154mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 50g

Did you make this recipe?

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© Rachel Gurk
Cuisine: American / Category: Turkey
You can find Pop Up® Disposable Cooking Thermometers with your favorite turkey brands at grocery stores and butchers nationwide. You can also find Volk Enterprises on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube. Also — if turkey prep is still making you a little nervous, here are videos on how to use the thermometers as well as general turkey prep tips!

**Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Volk Enterprises. All opinions are, as always, my own.