Herb Roasted Turkey Breast is perfect for a weeknight dinner, or a smaller holiday meal. It also works really great for roast turkey sandwiches!

I still remember the first Thanksgiving I spent with my husband on our own when we just had a little toddler and a baby. I recreated everything my family of 6 grew up on religiously because I couldn’t possibly imagine anything different! I slaved for an entire day making every last dish, imagining my children’s sparkly eyes as they would gaze upon the table and have a perfect holiday to add to their forever memories of their childhoods. We sat down at that fancy table, with enough food to feed an army and my baby cried, my toddler picked at the funny chicken, and the entire thing was over in less than 10 minutes. It was anticlimactic to say the least. My point here is this. It’s okay to customize your holiday! It’s okay to do things a little different, and it’s okay to NOT cook a giant turkey if:

a.) You don’t want to.
b.) You don’t need an entire turkey
c.) Your family really just likes the white meat
d.) The thought of doing the whole bird thing gives you panic attacks.

This turkey breast takes minimal prep and produces moist, flavorful turkey that’s great for a holiday meal, or sandwiches during the week.

What Turkey Breast Should I buy?

You can find turkey breast in the meat department of the grocery store. Sometimes it’s packaged with other portions, like legs and wings, and sometimes you can find just the breast. It’s usually attached to the bone and looks like a giant chicken breast. If you find a boneless Turkey Breast, that works great, too. I’ve written this recipe for 1 breast, about 3 pounds, but you can certainly do more than that at at time. You could also include the other turkey portions if you purchased that way. If you’re serving a crowd, you can fit 2 or more in a roasting pan and just double or triple the herb mixture.

Step 1 Brine the Turkey:

You don’t have to brine a turkey breast, it’s totally optional. I do feel it makes a difference in the final product. Brined meat comes out juicier and more tender. Turkey breast only really needs an hour or so. To make a simple brine, just combine water and salt. You can adjust the amount so you have enough to cover the turkey. There are all sorts of fancy brines, and you can certainly use any of those, but since we’re putting so much flavor ON the actual meat, I’m just sticking with the easy basic brine mix of salt and water. You can really make as much as you need, using the ratio of 1 tablespoon salt for every 1 cup of water.

Step 2 Make Garlic Herb Butter

While your turkey is brining, you can prepare the garlic herb butter mixture. I use a combo of olive oil and butter, along with some lemon zest, garlic, and fresh herbs. You can usually find these little packs of herbs in the produce section of the grocery store that have all 3 of the ones you need: rosemary, sage, and thyme.

While your turkey is brining, you can mix up the herb rub. I use a combination of both butter and olive oil, along with some garlic, lemon zest, herbs, and salt and pepper.

When you’re ready to go, you’ll use your hands to spread it all over the meat. The most important part is separating that skin on top without actually tearing it off so you can spread the butter mixture in between the turkey and the skin. You can gently use your hands (yes, it feels as gross as it sounds, but it’s worth it, I promise!) or the handle of a silicone spatula can sometimes work well. Take the butter mixture and rub it on all surfaces of your turkey. If you have any leftover herbs, you can add them to the pan as well.

Step 3: Roast

I’m not using a roasting pan here, but I do like to use onions and/or potatoes to lift the meat off the bottom of the pan. I slice an onion in thick chunks like this:

If using potatoes, you’ll want to cut them in half first, or zap them in the microwave to give them a head start, otherwise they might not quite be soft yet when the turkey is done.

Use a digital thermometer to cook to temperature and avoid overcooking. I suggest basting a few times during the cooking process as well, to get that nice golden brown top.

Cover your pan with foil and let the meat sit for 5-10 minutes for the juices to redistribute. Then carve it off the bone and slice it up.

The juices and drippings are SO flavorful, so they are good on their own, just drizzled over the meat, or you can use them and follow this tutorial for some killer homemade gravy.

Try this out for thanksgiving, or for a nice dinner at home during the week. And if you DO want to cook a whole turkey, definitely check out our very popular Thanksgiving turkey recipe, right here.