This Boneless Turkey Breast Roast is stuffed with garlic, has a golden herb crust and comes out tender and juicy every time! You need only 6 ingredients for flavorful and impressive results every time!
Reader’s Review
I am making this again this Thanksgiving, 3rd year in a row! I love the juiciness and the flavors but also the simplicity of this recipe. I might rub with butter this time instead of oil like another reader mentioned.
Ali
Make this juicy boneless turkey breast roast for Thanksgiving dinner instead of roasting a whole turkey! I am a pro at cooking a turkey breast roast for holidays because it’s always just 4 of us.
Over the years I have perfected a slow cooker boneless turkey breast, Instant Pot turkey breast and even air fryer turkey breast. Once we even had bacon wrapped turkey breast.
So, lots of options for you depending what you are feeling like this year!
Why You’ll Love a Turkey Breast Roast
- Perfect for small gatherings: If you are feeding only 4 – 6 people, this boneless turkey roast is a perfect size.
- Flavorful: Anything stuffed with garlic is always delicious! Use simple spices in this recipe or this turkey breast rub.
- Juicy every time: Juicy whole turkey is a hit and miss, where as a turkey breast roast is guaranteed to be juicy because cooking it is so easy!
- Frees up oven space: You need only 1 1/2 hours to cook this roast vs. 4-5 hours for a whole bird.
Ingredients for Boneless Turkey Breast Roast
When purchasing your turkey roast, general rule of thumb is 1/2 pound of turkey breast per person, so purchase accordingly to the number of guests you will be serving.
- Boneless turkey breast roast: This recipe calls for a fresh roast. If you have a frozen one, here is an easy tutorial how to thaw a turkey breast, even if you need to do so quickly. It can be only turkey breasts, turkey thighs or both. In either case, meat is shaped and held together by stretchy mesh.
- Fresh rosemary: Not dried. I am all for shortcuts but holiday roast calls for fresh herbs as it infuses the best taste.
- Garlic: There is really no substitute for fresh garlic, which has a very distinctive flavor. I don’t recommend to use minced garlic from a jar or garlic powder.
- Olive oil: Can also use avocado oil or grapeseed oil. I do not recommend to use melted butter because it will solidify as soon as you brush it on cold turkey breast roast and herbs will not stick.
- Salt and black pepper: To season and taste.
How to Cook Boneless Turkey Breast Roast
I prefer to roast turkey breast in my 6 Quart Dutch oven but you can also do so on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Stuff with garlic: In a medium roasting pan or Dutch oven, place turkey breast and make 10-15 inserts with a paring knife. Stick garlic slice into each hole until you run out of garlic.
Season with rosemary: Rub roast with oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper all around. Taking small handfuls of rosemary pat it onto the roast, then sprinkle some.
The goal is to coat the roast in herbs for best roasted turkey flavor.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes per 1 pound at 350 F: I cooked 3 pounds turkey breast roast for 90 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast reads 160 degrees F.
Remove mesh casing and slice: Using sharp knife or kitchen scissors, cut casing in the middle, remove and discard. Slice into thin slices without pushing on meat too hard.
How Do I Know It’s Done?
Remove roast from the oven as soon as when an instant read meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part reads 160 degrees F. As per USDA guidelines, poultry meat is safe to eat when it’s cooked to 165 F. Don’t worry, as the turkey rests tented under foil or in Dutch oven, it will continue to cook with residual heat and will reach 165 degrees F optimal temperature. This way it will be juicy!
How Long to Cook Boneless Turkey Breast?
The general rule of thumb is to cook it for 30 minutes per pound in preheated to 350 degrees F oven.
Here is a table of cooking times for quick reference:
| Turkey breast weight | Cooking time |
|---|---|
| 2 pounds | 60 minutes or 1 hour |
| 3 pounds | 90 minutes or 1 hour 30 minutes |
| 4 pounds | 120 minutes or 2 hours |
| 5 pounds | 150 minutes or 2 hours 30 minutes |
| 6 pounds | 180 minutes or 3 hours |
Extra Large Roast
7-10 pounds roast: Cook for 30 minutes per pound but check with a thermometer 30 minutes before calculated total time. Just to avoid overcooking it as oven gets hotter with time.
Tips for Best Results
- Don’t remove the casing before cooking: Casing is holding pieces of meat together. If you remove it, meat will fall apart. Do not worry, we will season it inside.
- Bake roast uncovered: If you cover it, white meat will steam instead of roasting.
- Don’t check on it during baking: I do not recommend to open the oven and try to baste it with turkey broth or melted butter. Each time you open the door, the oven temperature drops and your cook time will be skewed.
- Important to let meat rest: Resting meat results in juicy and tender turkey. Remove roast from the oven, cover with aluminum foil and let turkey breast rest for 10 minutes. Don’t skip!
- Browned crispy skin: You can try broiling the roast for a few minutes at the end. Just be careful not to dry out the turkey.
Variations
As is, this turkey breast roast recipe produces amazing results! If you want to try some variations though, here are some ideas.
- Can’t stand the thought of not using butter to rub turkey? Melt small amount of butter then mix with EVOO or some readers have had success with using room temperature butter.
- Stuffed turkey breast: If you are up for the challenge, some readers have successfully removed mesh, unrolled the breast and spread additional layer of fresh herbs and butter, then rolled it back up and stuffed breast back in mesh before roasting.
Serving Ideas
I like serve it with my mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, healthy cranberry sauce and Greek yogurt dinner rolls.
Are you wondering “What else to serve with turkey breast?” Here are a few more holiday side dishes that are the perfect complement to your festive celebration.
How to Store
Store: Refrigerate cooked turkey roast whole or sliced in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Leftover turkey is so good cold on its own, in a sandwich or we love these leftover turkey quesadillas. Or reheat just until warm with gravy.
Freeze: Freeze leftovers sliced or cut into bite sized pieces in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator and then use leftovers for turkey noodle soup, turkey and rice soup, as a protein in a salad for lunch.
FAQs
Yes. You could season the turkey breast, cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Let turkey come to room temperature, then proceed with roasting.
You can absolutely cook 2 roasts in the same Dutch oven, and the oven temperature still stays the same but the cooking time will increase more than if they were in separate pots. Because there’s less air circulation around each roast, they heat each other up and the Dutch oven traps moisture, slowing browning. Plan for 20–35 minutes longer than a single roast. Start checking early for recommended internal temp to avoid overcooking. Also be sure to place the roasts side by side and leave a little space between them if possible.
Trust the first internal temperature check, remove it from the oven and let rest so turkey juices settle back into the roast. Also to keep it moist for a while, don’t slice it right away but rather before serving.
If your roast comes out tough, it is because of type of meat the store used to wrap into the casing. I once happened to buy a small 2 pounds roast and it was pretty chewy with muscle tissues. I highly recommend to buy a minimum 3 pounds roast.
More Main Dish Recipes to Try
Here are a few more suggestions for your small holiday meal instead of traditional turkey!
Boneless Turkey Breast Roast
Video
Ingredients
Boneless Turkey Roast
- 3 pounds fresh boneless turkey roast, in casing
- 3 large garlic cloves, cut into matchsticks
- 3 large rosemary sprigs, leaves removed and minced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Easy Pan Gravy (Optional)
- 2 cups low sodium chicken stock, or water
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Boneless Turkey Roast
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium roasting pan or Dutch oven, place turkey roast and make 10-15 inserts with a paring knife. Stick garlic slice into each one until you run out of garlic.
- Rub roast with oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper all around. Taking small handfuls of rosemary pat it onto the roast, then sprinkle some. The goal is to coat the roast in herbs.
- Bake uncovered for 90 minutes. Check with meat thermometer, it should read 160 degrees F.
- Remove from the oven, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Internal temperature will reach 170 degrees F and juices settle.
- Using a sharp knife or scissors, remove the casing and slice. Serve warm at a Holiday table with traditional sides of mashed potatoes and gravy, cold as an appy or use in sandwiches instead of deli meat.
Easy Pan Gravy (Optional)
- Place roasting pan with juices from cooking turkey roast on medium heat. Scrape and shake rosemary and burnt on pieces from removed casing into the pot. There is a lot of flavor. Discard the casing.
- Add broth and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes and whisk to scrape the walls. Again lots of flavor in there. Add white wine, butter, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low-medium and cook for 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl, add a bit of gravy from the pot and cornstarch. Whisk well with a fork, pour back into the pot and whisk until gravy starts boiling.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes or until thickened a bit. Serve with a turkey roast.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate roast whole or sliced in an airtight container for up to a week. It tastes so good cold. And warm with gravy. This recipe is so versatile!
- Freeze: Freeze leftovers sliced or cut into bite sized pieces in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator.
- Make ahead: Season the turkey breast with garlic and herbs, cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Let turkey come to room temp, then proceed with roasting.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The turkey breast and gravy were delicious! I followed your recipe, except I used a combo of fresh herbs—rosemary, thyme, and sage—just because I had them on hand. So easy. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you!
You are very welcome. Fresh herbs are amazing with turkey!
This was the best turkey my husband and I have ever had. And so simple to make too! I agree that this would be a great substitute to buying deli meat
Jessica! I am so excited that you think this was the best turkey recipe! Thanks so much.
Delicious and so easy! I made the turkey and the gravy. Thanks for a great recipe. Everyone loved it. Turkey was super moist and flavorful.
I am so thankful that you enjoyed my recipes Veronica!
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have never cooked a turkey of any kind (breast, whole, etc.) until tonight, and as my husband is a vegetarian, I was on my own. Your recipe was amazing, your directions were crystal clear, and the turkey was delicious. Thank you for helping me make Thanksgiving awesome. Here’s wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season!
Gail
I am so happy to hear this Gail. I really appreciate the feedback about the recipe and instructions. So glad it helped you cook a perfect turkey! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Hi Again Olena. The Sweetheart turkey roast turned out to be all white meat (not my favorite) but was moist and good. I really overdid the garlic, but now I know! Thanks for the instructions! I had no idea it would heat up so much more while resting. Thank you! Jane
Glad the turkey roast turned out nice and moist. Can you really overdo it on garlic?! (this Ukrainian girl doesn’t think so :).
Easy recipe with fantastic results! No dry turkey here; just moist and flavorful.
Awesome! Happy Thanksgiving!
Olena, I made this breast last year and it was awesome! I am doing it again today. My family love it! I am so grateful that I found your recipe. Thanks for the very clear instructions!
Oh yay!!! So happy to hear, Clara! We improved instructions and added video since last year. 🙂
Hi I made this for my family’s thanksgiving and it was great! Thank you for the recipe! Now I’m to bring it to a small gathering and I’m wondering how long I can keep it covered before it goes dry. I will only slice it at the venue of course. Thank you for any advice! 🙂
Hi Juliet. So happy to hear!!! Turkey roast will not go dry cause juices will be locked in with proper cooking. It’s more of an issue going cold and the reheating and making more dry. I would underbake it by 15 minutes and then warm up covered in Dutch oven you bring it in or smth with a lid for 15 mins at 350.
Dear Olena, I was so happy to run across your web site last night when I brought a 3 lb. turkey roast home from the store. The choices were few, since it was the night before Thanksgiving (I’m in Utah, but was born in Alberta!). It’s called a Sweetheart roast, but doesn’t say whether it is white or dark meat. At home I was so disappointed to see it had no instructions on it other than safety tips. I am 70 years old but not an experienced cook at all. So I didn’t even know what temp to set the oven or for how long, or how to do it. Thank you for your instructions! I love that they are detailed, and don’t assume I already know a lot, because I don’t. Now I am going to try it and make a Thanksgiving dinner for myself since my health doesn’t allow me to go where I was invited. I don’t have fresh rosemary, but I do have some garlic. Wish me luck! Jane
I didn’t know how to, so assumed many wouldn’t. You are very welcome and Happy Thanksgiving! Leftovers would make wonderful sandwiches!
Great advice thank you
Eager to try this today! Can I use a cast iron pan to roast it in? I’ve actually never used my cast iron so this would be the first time!
Yes, for sure! Dutch oven is cast iron. Enjoy!