Easy Roasted Turkey Breast with Perfect-Every-Time Gravy.
This easy roasted turkey breast can be the star of the show on Thanksgiving. It’s also simple enough to make any night of the week! Slathered with a spiced butter rub, it’s roasted to perfection and served with the best gravy ever.
It’s the official howsweeteats Thanksgiving kickoff!!
This is my favorite month of the year. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I pride myself on being ridiculously prepared! We’re talking great tried and true recipes, a beautiful table set up, little favors for guests, desserts and more. The whole shebang!
I love eating the meal and preparing the meal. I don’t even mind cleaning up from the meal.
Because I’ve been doing this for so long, I don’t find Thanksgiving to be stressful. It’s an incredible added bonus of my job this time of year. There have been many days where I’ve made and photographed 15 recipes at one time (hello, cookbook shoots!). So making a Thanksgiving dinner for loved ones is enjoyable for me – I find it relaxing and fun. Plus, I know most of the recipes by heart.
When I make Thanksgiving dinner for my family, I rarely stray from the traditional meal. That is what we all want and crave: classic, traditional dishes. Over the years I’ve shared a slew of recipes that have modern twists, and this year I’ll do the same. I like to look at these as my “friendsgiving” dishes. I make them if we’re going to a special friendsgiving, or if I really want to introduce everyone to one dish. Just one!
The thing that almost always remains the same is my turkey. You just can’t beat the butter and herb roasted turkey (originally based on Martha Stewart’s recipe) – crispy skin, juicy, tender turkey and meat that is flavorful and never dry.
However! Turkey is not my favorite part of the meal. For me, it’s all about the side dishes. The incredible potatoes, vegetables, breads and more – the things that we really only get to enjoy once a year.
P.S. why do we do that?! I always say I’ll make stuffing more often, and I never do.
Because of this, I don’t always need a whole turkey. If I don’t have a big crowd that year, I don’t need to roast or grill or smoke a whole turkey – and I’ll just do a turkey breast.
My mom makes a turkey breast a few times a year – and she always has. I think it’s mostly because she loves to make hot turkey sandwiches smothered in gravy, but it’s also a great, easy way to get turkey on Thanksgiving.
To make this roasted turkey breast, I mix spiced with softened butter and then rub it all over the turkey.
Next, I set it on a wire rack on a baking sheet and bake it for around 90 minutes or so, if it’s a three to four pound turkey.
I strain the drippings from the turkey and my homemade stock to make my mom’s foolproof turkey gravy. Which I then pour all over the turkey and the best stuffing ever.
It’s EASY. It’s simple – it doesn’t take all day. The bird won’t take 72 crazy hours to thaw, it will actually fit in your fridge, and you won’t waste a ton of turkey come a few days later.
It’s the perfect start to the most famous meal of the year!
Easy Roasted Turkey Breast with Perfect-Every-Time Gravy
Roasted Turkey Breast
Ingredients
- 1 (3 to 4 pound) bone-in turkey breast
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- fresh herbs, for serving
gravy
- drippings from the turkey - anywhere from ¼ cup to ⅔ cup
- 16 ounces chicken or turkey stock
- 3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet or inside a roasting pan.
- Let the turkey sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. In a bowl, mixture together the butter, brown sugar, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, oregano and garlic. You want it to be totally combined and like a spreadable paste.
- Place the turkey breast on the rack. Rub the butter mixture all over the turkey breast, lifting some of the skin (gently!) and getting it underneath if you can.
- Roast the turkey breast for about 90 minutes, rotating the pan once during cook time. You want the internal temperature to read 165 degrees F. Remove the turkey and let it rest for 30 minutes before slicing. I often use the rest time to make the gravy.
- To make the gravy, pour the drippings from the turkey through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. I like to strain out any of the larger bits before whisking them into the gravy.
- Heat the drippings in a saucepan over medium heat. In a shaker cup, shake the stock and flour together for at least 30 seconds to make a slurry, until it is fully combined.
- Pour the slurry into the drippings in the pan, whisking the entire time. Continue to whisk to avoid any lumps and stir until the gravy has thickened, anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. Make sure you are scraping the bottom of the pan! Stirring is key - I have stood and stirred gravy for 20 to 30 minutes at a time!
- Taste the gravy and season it with salt and pepper to your liking. Salt and pepper make all the difference here. The drippings and stock add flavor, but the salt is what brings the flavor out.
- Keep the gravy over low heat, stirring often, for serving.I store extra gravy in the fridge for about a week. To reheat it,I place it in a saucepan (it will look rather gross) and add a touch of water or stock. I heat it over low heat, stirring occasionally, until it’s back to its original consistency. Like soups and sauces, it often tastes better the next day!
Did you make this recipe?
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28 Comments on “Easy Roasted Turkey Breast with Perfect-Every-Time Gravy.”
Love a turkey breast for smaller gatherings and even just a random Sunday night dinner.
We’re planning to smoke a turkey breast this year and I would love any recipes/suggestions on how to make a gravy without drippings.
The last few years I’ve used butter, chicken stock, flour but please let me know if there’s another way to consider
I hope there is a recipe for that carrot side dish coming our way soon!
I’m with Meg. Our Turkey is being grilled. What would be the substitution for the drippings. I’m in charge of gravy.
Do I have to use a bone in turkey breast?
Excellent! First time making any part of a turkey and it turned out great. Highly recommend.
Looking forward to trying this.
The paste would not stick to the turkey, so I melted it in the microwave and brushed it on. Turkey had a good taste. The 9 lb breast I bought took a lot longer, so I had to cover it with foil about halfway through because it was getting too dark. I should have basted it frequently. Good first attempt.
Do you cook this covered or uncovered
I made this turkey breast and the gravy a couple days ago. It is everything the author claims it to be!
The rub was fantastic and different and the turkey gravy was so EASY to make and SO delicious! I have a new turkey and gravy recipe that I really love, thank you so much for sharing this!
Roasted turkey breast with spiced butter rub? Yes, please! I love that this recipe keeps things simple but still delivers a show-stopping centerpiece for Thanksgiving—or even a cozy weeknight dinner. The key to a juicy turkey breast, I’ve found, is letting that spiced butter really soak into the skin before roasting. I like to make small slits under the skin and massage the butter directly onto the meat for extra flavor throughout. And let’s not forget the gravy! Making gravy from the pan drippings is a game changer. It’s so rich and savory, especially if you deglaze the pan with a little bit of wine or broth. Definitely a recipe that’s hard to mess up but tastes like you’ve put in hours of work! Have you tried adding a bit of sage or thyme to the butter rub? It brings out that perfect fall flavor. Jessica from Make a Calendar
You can season your butter with Poultry seasoning, which contains sage and thyme. Get it in the spice aisle oof your grocery store. The perfect herb flavors.
looks great! any idea how long I should cook 2 8lbs turkey breasts in the same oven?
I generally cook my bone in turkey breast for 12-15 minutes per pound.
This was truly easy and the best turkey recipe I have tried. I was surprised how good the gravy turned out with just using a piece of a full roast. I’d recommend using this recipe over doing a whole turkey (usually turns out dry) to anyone who wants to keep Thanksgiving simple and more delicious.
Great recipe…good and easy..but will use Marth’s recipe for crispy skin….it’s the best. Cheesecloth soaked in melted butter and wine covering the turkey. She does know how to do a turkey !
Great long dissertation with no mention of the oven “TEMP.” ????
the oven temp is written in the recipe.
I’m thinking of cooking our turkey breast the day before Thanksgiving and reheating. What would be the best way to reheat and hopefully keep it moist.
I’m wondering the same!
How will the directions change for a 7 lb. turkey breast?
Is this using a frozen breast or no?
I am encouraged to try this with your instructions. I have cooked 68 turkeys in my life, l love cooking for my family and Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. The carcus of a large turkey, waiting to be de-boned and dealt with, after making all side dishes and eating a wonderful dinner, is the downfall. All the prime rib or tri tip roast is all gone and no one touches most of the turkey, except the turkey breast. My sons always ask how big a bird is cooking, Mom? Like its a measure of how good Thanksgiving will be, This year I only bought turkey breast and the beef. I am inwardly celebrating. Will give my comments after Thanksgiving.
This was my first time making a turkey breast and this recipe saved me! Turned out flavorful and juicy, and the gravy was really yummy. Cooked my 4.65 pound turkey at 350 for exactly 90 minutes and it was a perfect 165 when it came out of the oven.
Nice product, but my 8 lb breast took about 2.5 hours to come to temperature. Good thing I started early, and ignored the comment about taking an hour!
OMG
What a joke of a recipe. For that “rub” you should be ashamed of yourself. I guarantee you have not made this worthless gloppy mess that you call a rub that only sticks to one’s hands and doesn’t cover the turkey — whether the turkey is moist of patted dry. Shame, Shame, Shame on you. You are just a greedy “glick” ad person who doesn’t know how to cook.
this looks delicious, I’m using your recipe for our Christmas dinner. thank you & Merry Christmas. Take Care,JoAnne Fink.
so much protein amazing for my 6 month old emma! they love turkey!
Very good flavor, although I accidently omitted the brown sugar. I’m looking forward to using this recipe again. The drippings made a great gravy! Thanks for sharing.