A turkey breast is a very large, very lean cut of meat that’s easy to dry out if you don’t prepare it correctly. After much trial and error, I’ve finally perfected my method for making an incredibly Moist Roasted Turkey Breast every single time!
This turkey breast recipe uses a dry brine to season the meat and lock in moisture, and a probe thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast is insurance against overcooking. If you’ve been plagued by dry turkey breasts over the years and can’t figure out what you’ve been doing wrong, this EASY recipe is for you!
“I have made my turkey this way the past two years. Both times it turned out AMAZING!! This will likely be how I always make them. Thank you!!” – Tatiana, So Much Food reader
Table of contents
- My Secret to a Super Moist Turkey Breast with Crispy Skin? A Dry Brine!
- Jenny’s Tip: How Much and What Type of Turkey Breast to Buy
- Make Sure to Use These 2 Special Tools
- Ingredients for the Dry Brine and Seasonings
- How to Make a Moist Turkey Breast in the Oven
- What to Serve with Your Turkey Breast
- More Ways to Cook a Turkey for Thanksgiving
My Secret to a Super Moist Turkey Breast with Crispy Skin? A Dry Brine!
For years, I associated a Thanksgiving turkey with a boring, flavorless bird where the breast meat is dry and tough as rubber. Can you relate?
This juicy roast turkey breast recipe changed all of that and it honestly blew me away with how good it was. Not only does it cook faster than a whole bird, but the skin bakes up gloriously crispy while the meat remains tender and moist.
My secret to a never-fail moist, tender, and juicy roast turkey breast? A dry brine! Here’s how it differs from a wet brine:
- Wet brine. Is a solution of water, salt, and sugar, along with some herbs and spices, that a raw turkey is soaked in to season the meat and add moisture. You’re actually seasoning the inside of the meat as it absorbs the brine through osmosis. A wet brine is often great for lean meats that tend to dry out since it adds extra moisture.
- Dry brine. Is all of that (salt, sugar, herbs, spices), minus the water. I love a dry brine because there is no mess and fuss with trying to find a container large enough for the brine and meat. A dry brine is also referred to as pre-salting because you’re basically just pre-salting the meat a day in advance. Not only does this break down the muscle tissue in the meat to make it more tender, but it also allows the skin to get crispier.
Jenny’s Tip: How Much and What Type of Turkey Breast to Buy
In this recipe, I used a 6.5 lb bone-in skin-on turkey breast. This yielded probably 4.5-5 lbs of meat before cooking once you subtract the weight of the bones. A good rule of thumb is 3/4 lb of turkey breast per guest (especially since you will likely have a bunch of sides!).
Now, the real question: boneless or bone-in? It’s honestly up to you! I will always prefer bone-in because I just honestly believe that it’s more flavorful.
Bone-in breasts are easier to find, less expensive, and you can use the leftover roasted bones in a wonderful broth or stock. I found that a 6.5 lb bone-in turkey breast can comfortably feed 4-6 (maybe 6-8 if you have a lot of sides!).
Make Sure to Use These 2 Special Tools
You don’t need many tools to make this delicious roast turkey breast, but you DO need these two absolutely essential ones.
- A good probe thermometer. A thermometer is crucial in making sure that your turkey is cooked all the way through and not overcooked. This thermometer from Amazon is the one I use and I simply insert it into the thickest part of the breast, set the temperature to 160ºF, leave the display on the counter, and shut the oven. The timer goes off when the meat has reached the right temp!
- A roasting pan. You need a roasting pan or oven-safe skillet large enough to hold the turkey breast (and potatoes). This all-clad roasting pan is my absolute favorite and it’s large enough to roast a full turkey for next year.
Ingredients for the Dry Brine and Seasonings
- Dry brine. I used a simple blend of kosher salt, brown sugar, paprika, ground sage, and ground black pepper to dry brine and season the turkey breast. Do NOT use regular table salt when making a dry brine; the grains are much smaller than kosher salt and will make your turkey breast taste far too salty.
- Salted butter. Softened butter is slathered all over the turkey breast before roasting to encourage even crisping of the skin and to add flavor.
- Veggies and aromatics. The turkey breast roasts on a bed of fingerling potatoes flavored with garlic and shallots.
- Fresh herbs. Rosemary and thyme are hardy herbs that infuse the turkey with aromatic flavor without burning.
- Bacon. A few slices of bacon are diced and tossed with the potatoes before roasting. The combination of bacon grease and turkey drippings makes these potatoes taste unreal!
How to Make a Moist Turkey Breast in the Oven
Jenny’s Tip: My preferred turkey breast dry brine ratio is 1 tablespoon of kosher salt for every 5 pounds of meat. Since the bone weight in my turkey breast accounted for about 1.5 pounds, I used 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of paprika, 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, and 1 teaspoon of ground sage.
- Dry brine the turkey breast for 24 hours. Feel free to play with around your favorite spices here! Some other great options would be dried herb blends like herbs de Provence, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, ground mustard, etc. Once you’ve decided on your spice blend, you’re going to rub the whole turkey breast with it, underside and all. You’ll throw the breast onto a rimmed baking sheet and leave it in the fridge, uncovered, for 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven. Meanwhile, remove the turkey breast from the fridge and let it hang out for about 30 minutes on your counter. (Never put a fridge cold turkey into the oven! The outside will cook faster than the middle.)
- Smear the turkey breast with butter and place on top of the potatoes. Not only does this create a built-in side dish for your roast turkey breast, but it also elevates the meat off of the roasting pan to encourage air circulation. (Good circulation = even cooking!)
- Roast for 2 hours at 350ºF. For the last 15 minutes, crank the heat up to 375ºF to really get some color on the turkey skin.
FYI, The Magic Number You’re Looking for Is 160ºF
Overcooked turkey is dry, tough, and rubbery. The only guaranteed way to tell if your turkey is cooked to perfection is to use a probe thermometer to test its doneness.
When oven roasting a turkey breast, you want to pull it out of the oven when it reaches 160ºF. Then, let it rest (gently covered with foil) for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
The carryover heat from the oven will raise the internal temperature of the turkey breast to 165ºF, which is what the USDA recommends when cooking turkey.
What to Serve with Your Turkey Breast
The turkey is the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving table! Here are the sides and appetizers we love serving it with:
- Appetizers. Classic Cheese Ball, Cranberry Baked Brie, Charcuterie Board
- Sides. Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes, Bacon Cornbread Stuffing, Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese
- Desserts. Pumpkin Sticky Toffee Puddings, Pecan Pie Bars, Skillet Apple Crisp
- Drinks. Spiced Mulled Wine, Cranberry Old Fashioned, Fizzy Bourbon Apple Cider Cocktail
If you do give this recipe a try, I love hearing about it! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram.
More Ways to Cook a Turkey for Thanksgiving
- Spatchcock Roast Turkey
- Slow Roasted Turkey Thighs
- Cheesecloth Roasted Turkey
- Maple Bourbon Glazed Turkey
And don’t forget to save those drippings to make homemade turkey gravy!
This post may contain affiliate links from which I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links allow me to keep providing great recipes for free and I never recommend products that I don’t love and personally own.
Juicy Roast Turkey Breast Recipe
Ingredients
Dry Brine:
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt (NOT table salt)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground sage
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
Roast Turkey Breast:
- 6.5-7 lb bone-in, skin-on turkey breast
- 2 tablespoons salted butter , at room temperature
- 3 lbs fingerling potatoes , rinsed
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon , diced
- 2 shallots , sliced
- 10 cloves garlic , peeled and left whole
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 3 Sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 Small bunch fresh thyme
Instructions
- Whisk together the dry brine. In a small bowl, mix the dry brine ingredients together.
- Coat the turkey breast. Place your turkey breast on a rimmed baking sheet or in a large baking dish. Gently pull the skin away from the meat to create a little space between the skin and meat. Sprinkle the dry brine liberally all over the turkey breast, including under the skin and on the underside. Gently rub the brine into the meat until it's well coated.
- Chill for 24 hours. Transfer the turkey to the fridge and chill uncovered for 24 hours.
- Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Remove the turkey from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Arrange the turkey breast over the potatoes. In a large roasting pan, toss together the potatoes, shallots, garlic, bacon, oil, salt, and pepper until well-combined. Evenly spread the sprigs of rosemary and fresh thyme over the potatoes. Place the turkey breast on top of the potatoes, and smear the skin with the softened butter all over.
- Roast. Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast. Leaving the display portion of the thermometer on the kitchen counter (or near the oven), place the roasting pan in the oven. Roast for about an hour and 45 minutes. After an hour, remove the roasting pan from the oven, toss the potatoes, and then return the roasting pan to the oven. Once the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 150ºF, increase the temperature to 375ºF for about 15 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 160ºF.
- Rest for 20 minutes. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and gently tent the turkey breast with foil. Allow the turkey to rest for 20 minutes before slicing. Serve warm.
Nutrition
You might also like...
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Turkey Dry Brined Spatchcock Turkey
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Thanksgiving Slow-Roasted Turkey Thighs
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Sides Caramelized Onion and Bacon Mashed Potatoes
Rate & Review This Recipe
I was very nervous to make my first turkey breast, but *as usual* Jenny made everything easy! We used a 5.5lb organic turkey breast, but with our probe thermometer, time was simple to gauge. I love the color and flavor from the brine+butter combo! Mmmm!
[…] is dry-brined and you can read all about why that’s so much better than wet-brining in my juicy roasted turkey breast post. It creates less mess, takes up less space, and gives way better flavor, and yields crispy skin […]
So delicious and simple! Easy to make and the family loved it! Will be adding this to our dinner option rotation!
Yay, that makes me so happy!
I have made my turkey this way the past two years. Both times it turned out AMAZING!! This will likely be how I always make them Thank you!!
Yay! Thank you for sharing, Tatiana!
I made this with a turkey breast and it came out perfectly! I plan to use the dry brine ingredients to do a whole turkey for Christmas and am wondering whether anyone has cooked a whole turkey with the potatoes, shallots, etc. underneath.
This method is so flavorful and moist that gravy isn’t necessary, so I could focus on other dishes.
Hi! You definitely could roast a turkey over them, i recommend spatchcocking the turkey so it lays flatter and cooks more quickly (I have a recipe for thihs on my website). Hope that helps!