Roast Turkey Breast with Traditional Stuffing

Are you a Thanksgiving novice, have picky eaters or just doing a small-scale Thanksgiving? Roast Turkey Breast with Traditional Stuffing is the way to go and it’s as showstopping as a whole turkey! Best of all, you can get it prepped the night before and it cooks in a fraction of the time it takes to roast a whole turkey. Read on to get my tips for a “cheater” gravy, too!

Why This Recipe is a Keeper!

For someone who cooks for a living, I have a lot of picky eaters at Thanksgiving and other holidays so I can’t go too gourmet. With everyone in our family only wanting the white meat, we stopped doing whole turkeys years ago. Instead, I do this simple, easy Roast Turkey Breast with Traditional Stuffing which they all love and it’s a lot less trouble than a whole turkey.

I was also a Thanksgiving dinner novice at one point in my life and remember calling my mother five or six times with questions. This is easy enough for a novice cook but it looks like you fussed and really stretched your culinary skills!

How to Make Roast Turkey Breast with Traditional Stuffing:

Recipe Ingredients:

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this recipe along with how to prep. See the turkey breast recipe card below for the exact quantities.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:

• A Turkey Breast Half: Turkey breast halves are one side of the whole breast. They’re available at grocery stores with full-service meat counters such as The Fresh Market and Whole Foods and their butchers will cut one for you. This recipe is easily doubled so if you have to buy a whole breast on the bone (with two halves), you can make two stuffed breasts or freeze one uncooked for Thanksgiving any time of year. I highly recommend brining the breast before roasting because it is white meat which can be very dry. Just make sure the turkey breast you’re using hasn’t been treated or injected with anything. Also, I like to roll and stuff a turkey breast with the skin so the meat retains as much moisture as possible.
• Butter: I always use unsalted butter when cooking because you can add your desired amount of salt.
• Stuffing Cubes: My picky eaters only want a certain national boxed brand for the traditional stuffing so I make it easy on myself and give it to them. I bump up the flavor and texture with onions and celery. (Shhhh….. 🙂 )
• Chicken Broth: The best chicken broth/stock is the one you make yourself. If you don’t want to go to the trouble, use a good low-sodium or unsalted brand. Here’s an extensive taste-testing Epicurious did.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

• Gather and prep all the ingredients.
• Brine the turkey breast half according to this Easy Turkey Brine Recipe.

• While the turkey breast is in the brine, make the traditional stuffing.
• Heat some of the butter in a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat.
• Add the onions and celery and cook until softened.
• Add chicken broth, bring to a boil then add stuffing mix. Cover and let stand until all the broth is absorbed.
• MAKE AHEAD: Let cool and refrigerate until needed.
• Measure out 2 cups of stuffing for filling the turkey breast and place the rest in an oiled or sprayed baking dish to serve alongside the roast turkey breast. Refrigerate both until needed.

• Start the gravy. Pour 6 cups of chicken broth into a saucepan. Bring it to a boil then reduce heat to low and let it simmer and reduce to 4 cups while the turkey breast roasts.
• Remove the breast from the brine and pat it dry.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a roasting pan.
• With just the tip of a boning knife, carefully and very lightly cut three shallow slits in the opened breast on each side just to get it to lie flatter and create more surface area.
• Place a gallon-size zipper-top bag over the butterflied, opened turkey breast and gently pound it with a rolling pin or meat mallet to flatten it out some more.
• Season with black pepper. If you brined the breast, you don’t need to season it with salt.

• Stuff the breast. Place the reserved 2 cups of filling over the opened breast, leaving a 1-inch margin.

• Fold the right side of the breast over the filling then pull the left side over.
• Neatly smooth the skin over the breast and secure with butcher’s twine. You don’t need to get fancy with what’s called a “butcher’s technique,” you an do individual ties the way I did in my recipe for Braised Pork Loin Roast in Dijon Mustard Sauce. (See the ingredient shot.)

• Place the turkey breast in the prepared roasting or baking pan and smear it with butter.

• Roast it for approximately 90 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the filling reads 160 degrees to allow for “carryover cooking.”
• When there’s approximately half-hour to go, place the stuffing in the baking dish in the oven so that bakes and heats through entirely (165 degrees).

• And then…..
• Tent the turkey breast with aluminum foil so that it “rests.” Carryover cooking will take the turkey breast to the safe internal temperature of 165 degrees.

• Finish the gravy. Pour as much of the browned butter drippings into a saucepan that you can, avoiding the super dark bits.
• Add a little more butter and then the flour. Cook the flour for 1-2 minutes then add the reduced chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened. Season with salt and black pepper.

• Untie, slice and serve! Roast Turkey Breast with Traditional Stuffing will make everyone happy!
• For a delicious stuffing alternative, stuff the roast turkey breast with my Sausage Stuffing with Fennel and Leeks.

In a Nutshell:

• Brine the turkey breast half.
• Make the stuffing and divide it up (Some for breast, some baked).
• Start the gravy.
• Remove the turkey breast from the brine. Pat dry.
• Pound and stuff the breast. Secure with twine. Butter it up.
• Roast the turkey breast. Place the baking dish with the rest of the stuffing in the oven when there’s 30 minutes or so to go.
• Let the turkey breast rest and finish the gravy.
• Done!

Chef Tips and Tricks:

• To speed up the brining process, butterfly the turkey breast before immersing in the brine. Because the turkey breast is halved, this will cut your brining time in half.
• After butterflying a turkey breast or chicken breast, I very lightly “score” the inside in a few places from top to bottom with the tip of a boning knife. This will help the breast lie flatter. On a turkey breast, I generally do three on each side while on a chicken breast, I would only do one or two (depending upon the size).
• When pounding any type of protein, it’s a good idea to cover it. I always use a gallon-size zipper-top bag because it’s thicker than plastic wrap which can tear very easily. Covering it keeps your mallet clean so you don’t get bits of protein in the crevices. Also, pounding chicken or turkey can spray tiny drops of moisture into the air or onto the counter. Even if you think your mallet didn’t touch the chicken or turkey, it’s a good idea to wash it thoroughly anyway.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Serve with:

• Roasted Beets with Red Wine Glaze
• Bourbon-Glazed Carrots with Honey
• Skillet Charred Green Beans with Goat Cheese Chipotle Butter
• Cheesy Green Bean Casserole (No Mushrooms)
• Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Souffle
• Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
• Or any one of these 30 Best Thanksgiving Sides!

More turkey recipes you’ll love!

• Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Turkey Breast with Garlic Herb Sauce
• Turkey Scallopini in Sherry Cream Sauce with Mushrooms and Artichokes
• Pecan-Crusted Turkey Cutlets with Red Onion Marmalade
• Moroccan Turkey Breast and Lentils (Slow Cooker Recipe)

Get all my holiday recipes here! Holiday Ideas – From A Chef’s Kitchen