Our oven-roasted turkey breast recipe is slathered in lemon, garlic, and herb butter. It is hands down the best recipe for a juicy and moist bone-in roasted turkey breast. Perfect for your Thanksgiving menu!
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Hosting Thanksgiving can be a lot to juggle, especially when everyone has strong opinions about classic versus modern recipes. I like to blend the two, keeping tradition alive with familiar flavors while adding fresh updates, like my whole roasted cranberries and my sweet potato crunch casserole.
This roasted turkey breast is the best of both worlds. It has a classic sage and thyme seasoning with a simpler and is a more manageable approach than cooking a whole bird.
It's ideal for smaller gatherings of 4 to 6 people or as a white-meat supplement for larger holiday feasts. Plus, it's versatile enough for Easter, Christmas, or even meal prep during the week. And it pairs perfectly with my easy flourless turkey gravy.
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📖Why My Recipe Works
- While I showed a whole turkey breast in the photos, this recipe can be made with a whole or half breast, also called a split breast. You also use it for a skinless, boneless turkey breast.
- The molasses brine keeps the breast moist and the herb butter creates a lovely crispy skin.
🧾Ingredient Notes
- Turkey- Whole bone-in turkey breast with the skin still on (6 to 7 pounds). Follow my guide for understanding turkey labels so you buy the right type!
- Butter- This recipe is naturally gluten-free and can be made dairy-free by using vegan butter or margarine.
- Fresh Herbs- Thyme, sage, and rosemary, or any combination of these.
- Lemon- You need whole lemons for the brine but just lemon juice for the herb butter.
- Garlic- Roasted garlic makes a great substitute.
- Wine- I typically roast my turkey with a dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, or even Chardonnay. If wine isn't your thing, you can substitute turkey stock or chicken broth. The key is to keep moisture in the oven to ensure a juicy breast.
To make a half turkey breast or boneless turkey breast, you can scale down the herb butter ingredients. Or split the herb butter and use half for your dinner rolls.
🦃 Brining is the Secret
Often people ask if bringing turkey is really necessary and my answer is... yes! I am a big fan of brining chicken and brining salmon. Turkey breast meat is known to dry out quickly, which is why brine is important. In fact, I would say that a turkey brine is the most critical step in roasting a turkey.
There are two methods-wet and dry-and both yield delicious results depending on your timeline and preferences.
- Wet brine: Submerge the turkey breast in a mix of water, salt, sugar, and herbs. This classic method is quick and perfect for recipes like my roasted turkey breast.
- Dry brine: Coat the turkey in salt and let it sit uncovered in the fridge. It takes longer but seasons and brines in one step while creating crispy, golden skin.
The dry brine method is my preference for whole turkey, but it takes several days, so I prefer a wet brine for turkey breast.
⏲️ How to Roast Turkey Breast
Brine Overnight
Heat the brine until the salt dissolves. Add cold water and ice to cool. Fully submerge the turkey and refrigerate overnight.
Cover with Herb Butter
Remove the turkey from the brine and pat with a paper towel; this will help the skin crisp up. Half the herb butter goes under the skin. The other half is over the skin. This allows for the flavor to go directly onto the meat while getting enough butter onto the skin to crisp it up.
Roast the Turkey
Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Pour in the wine. Roasting the turkey on a rack allows the juices to drain so you can have pan gravy from the drippings.
Make the Gravy
To serve with gravy, scrape up all the bits with a wooden spoon. Pour into a fat separator and follow the instructions for turkey gravy.
🥗 What to Serve with Turkey Breast
You can't go wrong with a classic pairing of Small Batch Mashed Potatoes, cranberry salad, and cornbread stuffing. But if you want to add a few unique side dishes try a simple Brussel Sprout Salad and my Modern Green Bean Casserole. And you have to Sweet Potato Crunch casserole.
To drink, I like to serve chardonnay, or the less popular but arguably better, viognier. For red wine, I recommend sticking with the classic turkey breast and pinot noir pairing.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- If you don't have a rack for your roasting pan you can ball up a few pieces of aluminum foil to prop your turkey up on.
- Be sure to salt and pepper the bottom of your turkey for maximum flavor.
- Let your turkey to sit out at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes before roasting.
- Avoid basted and self-basting turkeys, they are injected with a solution that is intended to retain moisture. Your turkey may be too salty if brined.
- Do not brine kosher turkeys. They are typically brined during the packaging process.
- If the turkey isn't completely covered by the brine add enough water to fully submerge.
- Check the roasting turkey every 30 minutes and add more wine, turkey stock, or water to the bottom of the pan if it begins to run dry.
- If you live in a very dry climate, start your turkey covered with foil for the first 30 to 45 minutes
- If your turkey begins to brown too quickly, loosely cover or tent with foil to stop the browning but allow steam to escape.
- A half turkey breast will typically cook in less than 2 hours. While boneless breasts will be about 90 minutes, depending on the size.
- Save your turkey carcass to make homemade turkey broth.
- You will need to defrost the turkey fully before cooking. The average bone-in double turkey breast will need 48 to 72 hours in the refrigerator to completely defrost.
💭 Christmas Breast Recipe Variation
My favorite variation of this recipe is to swap out the lemons with oranges and add a pinch of nutmeg to the herb butter. This is how I make it for our Christmas dinner. You can also throw a few cinnamon sticks into the brine.
More Roasted Turkey Recipes
Food Safety Reminders
- Cook to a minimum internal temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Insert the meat thermometer at the thickest part of the breast
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched the raw turkey meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature beyond the 1 hour resting period
Did you enjoy making this recipe? Show it some love with ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a comment! Hungry for more FLAVORFUL recipes?
📖 Recipe Card
Herb Roasted Bone-In Turkey Breast
Ingredients
Turkey Breast Brine
- 8 cups water
- ½ cup kosher salt
- ¼ cup molasses
- 4 cloves garlic smashed
- 1 Tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 sprigs fresh sage
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 lemons cut in half
- 4 cups ice
Roasted Turkey Breast
- 1 whole bone-in turkey breast 6 ½ to 7 pounds
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 Tablespoons butter softened
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup dry white wine
Instructions
Brine the Turkey
- In a large stockpot, combine 4 cups of water, molasses, salt, pepper, herbs, and lemon. Heat until salt dissolves, remove from heat. Add the remaining 4 cups of cool water and 4 cups of ice.8 cups water, ¼ cup molasses, 4 cloves garlic smashed, 1 Tablespoon whole black peppercorns, 2 sprigs fresh sage, 2 sprigs rosemary, 2 lemons, 4 cups ice, ½ cup kosher salt
- Put turkey breast into a large pot. When the brine mixture is completely cooled and pour over they turkey. If the turkey isn't completely covered by water add enough to fully submerge. Place in refrigerator for 12 hours.1 whole bone-in turkey breast
Roasting the Turkey Breast
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, combine the garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, butter, and lemon juice to make a paste.3 cloves garlic, 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves, 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves, 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 4 Tablespoons butter
- Remove the turkey from the brine and pat dry, Loosen the skin from the meat gently with your fingers and smear half of the paste directly on the meat. Spread the remaining paste evenly on the skin.1 whole bone-in turkey breast, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper
- Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Pour the wine into the bottom of the roasting pan.1 cup dry white wine
- Roast the turkey for 2 hours to 2 ½ hours, until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F. When the turkey is done, cover it with a foil tent and allow it to rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. It should come up to 165 F degrees minimum.
- To serve, slice the turkey into ¼ to ⅓ inch pieces and spoon over pan juices. Or pour pan juices into prepared turkey gravy (see recipe link below) and serve gravy on the side. Garnish with lemon slices and fresh herbs.
Video
Notes
- Kosher, self-basting, or basted turkey breasts should not be brined as they have either been previously brined (kosher) or injected with a solution.
- Thie recipe can be made with a whole turkey breast or a split turkey breast. Cooking time should be reduced for the half breast.
- If the skin is over-browning, cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil.
- Allow the turkey breast to rest at room temperature for 1 hour before placing it in the oven.
- Turkey Gravy Recipe
Equipment
Nutrition
Common Recipe Questions
A bone-in turkey breast should brine overnight or for about 12 hours. A boneless turkey breast can get away with less time but a minimum of 3 to 4 hours.
In order to brown the skin, the turkey breast should be cooked uncovered with liquid (wine or stock) in the pan to ensure a moist environment. If you live in a dry climate, cover the turkey breast with foil for the first 30 to 45 minutes of cooking then remove. If the turkey skin browns too quickly, loosely cover with foil.
Yes. Whole and half turkey breasts will stay fresh longer than sliced turkey. Tightly wrap in plastic wrap, place in a freezer bag, and store for up to 2 months.
For bone-in turkey breasts or whole turkeys, plan for 1 pound per person. For boneless turkey breasts, plan on ½ pound per person. Increase by ½ to 1 pound for leftovers.
Jen says
Made this for Thanksgiving 2025, it turned out great! I was a little nervous that the molasses would impart a weird flavour but it was undetectable. Great, flavourful breast meat. Pan drippings were delicious and made a very good gravy (used cornstarch to keep it gluten free). Thank you for the excellent recipe!
Jen Wooster says
Thanks for the review!
Gina says
This brine makes the most delicious turkey! Will definitely be using this recipe in the future.
Jen says
We couldn't agree more.
Ana F. says
The combination of the herbs and lemon is perfect! This recipe makes for THE perfect oven-roasted turkey breast!
Jen says
Thanks so much for the review!
Jess says
Literally cannot wait for turkey day. With this recipe, I am all set and just need the big day to be here!
sue says
This post literally makes my mouth water...love the flavors!
Dannii says
This turkey looks perfectly cooked and the herb combination looks amazing.