A lemon garlic herb marinade coats this tender and perfectly juicy Oven Roasted Turkey Breast that’s extremely simple to prepare. No fancy baster or injector is needed and this turkey breast can be roasted in under 2 hours.
Why This Recipe Works
I personally love turkey but don’t love secluding it to only the Thanksgiving holidays. I’d much prefer to enjoy it year-round, which is why turkey breast comes in handy. It’s easy enough to prepare without all the fuss and you get the same taste, minus the added mess and time to cook it. If you’re like me and like to enjoy turkey year-round then this is a great recipe to use.
Perhaps your family is more of a white mean than dark meat family, then you might want to consider making turkey breast for Thanksgiving instead of a whole turkey. This way everyone is happy, although there may be fights over who gets the last piece.
Practice makes perfect or progress, but practicing on an entire turkey can be daunting and leave you with way more leftovers than you’d like. Using a turkey breast to work on your skills before the holidays is a great option.
If you’re entertaining for a smaller group sometimes a whole turkey is too much, even with sending everyone home with leftovers. Preparing a turkey breast instead helps to alleviate the excess of leftovers.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Ingredient Notes
There aren’t many ingredients in this recipe, which is why I suggest using higher quality ones such as in the case of the olive oil. Below are some more notes on the ingredients.
- Fresh Herbs: in this recipe, the fresh herbs really make a difference. When you chop them up it brings on the flavor, which is more intense than if you use dried herbs. Either will work, but I do recommend fresh.
- Garlic: I prefer to purchase minced garlic for recipes that call for a good amount, and this one you’ll need a little more than 1 tablespoon.
- White Wine: you can use either white wine or chicken broth, which will be poured in the bottom of your roasting pan.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prepare the herb mixture. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, dry mustard, fresh rosemary, fresh sage, thyme, salt, and pepper until it forms a paste-like consistency.
- Cover the turkey. Rub the herb mixture over the entire turkey breast as well as under the loose skin.
- Arrange the turkey. Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on a rack placed inside a roasting pan. Pour the white wine (or chicken stock) in the bottom of the roasting pan.
- Roast. Place the turkey in the oven to roast at 325ºF for 1½ to 1¾ hours, until the skin turns a golden brown and the thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 165ºF.
- Rest. When the turkey is fully cooked, remove it from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes to rest before slicing into it.
Helpful Equipment
- Roasting Pan
- Small Mixing Bowl
- Herb Stripper
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Instant Read Thermometer
- Carving Knife Set
Storage Information
Leftovers are one of the best features of turkey so if you plan on making this oven-roasted turkey breast then I recommend getting one a tad larger than you need. This way you’ll have plenty of leftovers for turkey sandwiches or soup.
- Store. Slice any remaining turkey breast if you haven’t already and place the leftovers in an air-tight container and keep it in the fridge. It will last for 3 to 4 days.
- Freeze. To freeze any leftover turkey let it cool to room temperature before wrapping it in freezer-safe plastic wrap and then covering it in foil, or place it in a freezer-safe container. It will last for 3 months in the freezer.
Recipe Notes and Tips:
- Place the turkey skin-side up in the roasting pan so the skin turns a nice golden brown and has a crispy texture.
- If the turkey skin begins to brown too much during the cooking process you can loosely place a piece of aluminum foil on top of the turkey.
- Don’t have a roasting pan? No need to panic, you can use a large baking dish to roast the turkey. The wine will then be poured directly into the bottom of the pan.
- Save the drippings! You can use the drippings in the bottom of your pan to make a delicious turkey gravy.
FAQs
Yes, and if you plan on preparing this turkey for a Thanksgiving dinner I recommend using bone-in versus boneless. It will have more skin on it to make it closer to a full turkey.
Nope, not at all, but if you’d like to you can easily. I recommend a wet brine since this is turkey breast, which will result in an extra juicy turkey.
Aim to have about ½ to ¾ lbs of turkey per guest. A 6 to 7 lb turkey breast will easily feed 6 to 8 people. If you’re entertaining more than 8 people you may want to consider cooking 2 turkey breasts or doing an entire turkey.
Related Thanksgiving Recipes
If you made this Oven-Roasted Turkey Breast I want to hear all about it! Share a photo and tag me on Instagram using @AimeeMarsLiving and #AimeeMars so I can see your beautiful work. Enjoy!
Oven Roasted Turkey Breast
Equipment
- Roasting Pan
- Small Mixing Bowl
- Herb Stripper
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Instant Read Thermometer
- Carving Knife
Ingredients
- 1 whole Bone In Turkey Breast boneless will also work
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1½ tablespoons Garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
- 2 teaspoons Dry Mustard
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Rosemary chopped
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Sage chopped
- 2 teaspoons Fresh Thyme chopped
- 2 teaspoons Coarse Salt
- ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- ¾ cup Dry White Wine or chicken stock
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and arrange the turkey breast, skin side up, on a rack placed inside a roasting pan.
- In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, dry mustard, fresh rosemary, fresh sage, thyme, salt, and pepper until it forms a paste-like consistency.
- Rub the herb mixture over the entire turkey breast as well as under the loose skin.
- Pour the white wine (or chicken stock) in the bottom of the roasting pan.
- Place the turkey in the oven to roast for 1½ to 1¾ hours, until the skin turns a golden brown and the thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 165ºF.
- When the turkey is fully cooked, remove it from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes to rest before slicing into it.
Notes
- Place the turkey skin-side up in the roasting pan so the skin turns a nice golden brown and has a crispy texture.
- If the turkey skin begins to brown too much during the cooking process you can loosely place a piece of aluminum foil on top of the turkey.
- Don’t have a roasting pan? No need to panic, you can use a large baking dish to roast the turkey. The wine will then be poured directly into the bottom of the pan.
- Save the drippings! You can use the drippings in the bottom of your pan to make delicious turkey gravy.
Storage Information
- Store. Slice any remaining turkey breast if you haven’t already and place the leftovers in an air-tight container and keep it in the fridge. It will last for 3 to 4 days.
- Freeze. To freeze any leftover turkey let it cool to room temperature before wrapping it in freezer-safe plastic wrap and then covering it in foil, or place it in a freezer-safe container. It will last for 3 months in the freezer.
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