Herb Roasted Bone-In Turkey Breast

Name: Herb Roasted Bone-In Turkey Breast
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: 6 tablespoons butter ((softened)); 3 teaspoons dried herb mixture ( (thyme, rosemary and parsley)); 1 bone-in split turkey breast ((3 pounds)); salt and pepper

The skin is the best part. Herb butter pressed directly underneath it melts as the turkey roasts, basting the meat from the inside out and crisping the skin in a way that nothing else does. That's what makes this Herb Roasted Bone-In Turkey Breast worth making any night of the year, not just at Thanksgiving.

A 3-pound split breast is the right size when you're cooking for four. It takes about an hour in the oven, skips the whole-bird production, and still gives you enough drippings to make a real gravy.

What Makes this different:

Herb butter under the skin is the technique that changes everything here. As the turkey roasts, the butter melts and bastes the meat from the inside out, which is why the skin gets golden and crispy while the breast stays genuinely juicy. The original version of this post explained what to do without saying why any of it worked, so I rewrote it. A split bone-in breast is my go-to for a group of four: it cooks in under an hour, there's no wrestling with a whole bird, and you still get drippings for gravy. Pull it from the fridge 30 minutes before it goes in the oven.

Roasted skin on turkey breast on cutting board with fresh herbs.

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What I Learned Making This Recipe

Here's something I didn't fully appreciate until I'd made this a few times: rhubarb cooks faster than you'd expect, and it goes from firm to completely soft with almost no in-between stage. If it were the only fruit in this crisp, you'd end up with something closer to a fruit compote under a streusel. Good, but not what you're imagining when you picture a crisp. The apples are the fix. They hold their shape in the oven and give the filling somewhere to land. They also bring enough natural sweetness that you can dial back the added sugar without losing anything. The ratio in this recipe, twice as much rhubarb as apple, keeps the filling bright and tart rather than just apple-flavored.

The salt in the streusel is something I honestly missed for years. Reader Paige left a comment suggesting it, and I tested it that same week. She was absolutely right. Unsalted streusel sits on top of the fruit and does its own thing. Salted streusel actually becomes part of the dessert.

Jump to:

What Makes this different:
What I Learned Making This Recipe
Ingredients and Substitutions
Instructions
My Best Tips
FAQs
Make Ahead, Freezing and Storage
More Thanksgiving Recipes
Recipe
Reviews

Ingredients and Substitutions

Diagram of ingredients for turkey breast with salt, pepper, herbs and butter.

INgredient notes:

Butter. Softened, not melted. You're pressing it under the skin as a solid so it stays put during prep and melts slowly as the turkey roasts. Melted butter runs right back out before it does anything useful. Leave it on the counter for 30 minutes if it came straight from the fridge.

Dried herb mixture. The blend here is thyme, rosemary, and parsley. Thyme is earthy and warm, rosemary brings the piney, aromatic note, and parsley lightens the whole thing. If you have fresh herbs on hand, use them. Swap the 3 teaspoons of dried herbs for 1 tablespoon each of fresh thyme, rosemary, and parsley. The flavor difference is real.

Bone-in split turkey breast, 3 pounds. The bone conducts heat into the thickest part of the meat and helps it cook more evenly than a boneless breast. The skin is the delivery vehicle for the herb butter, so don't remove it. A split breast is one half of a whole bone-in breast and serves 4 people easily.

Salt and pepper. Season the outside generously. Turkey is forgiving of salt and needs it.

Instructions

Step 1

Mix softened butter with dried herbs until combined.

Step 2

Gently separate the skin from the meat with your hand and press the herb butter underneath, spreading it all the way to the edges.

Season the outside of the breast generously with salt and pepper.

Step 3

Roast at 400°F for 12-14 minutes per pound, basting with the herb butter pooled in the pan halfway through.

Step 4

Rest under a loose tent of foil for 20 minutes before carving.

large roasted bone in turkey breast on a black platter with fresh herbs.

My Best Tips

Use a sheet pan, not a deep roasting pan. Low sides let hot air circulate all the way around the breast, which is what gives you crispy skin on the edges and bottom. A pan with high sides traps steam underneath and you end up with steamed turkey instead of roasted turkey. A half sheet pan is the right tool here.

Take it out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before roasting. A cold breast goes into a hot oven cold and cooks unevenly: the outside dries out before the inside catches up. Thirty minutes on the counter takes the chill off and helps it roast evenly.

Buy a meat thermometer and actually use it. This is the one piece of equipment I won't let you skip. Pull the breast at 160°F and carryover cooking will bring it up to 165°F during the rest. Color and timing are not reliable indicators of doneness. A thermometer is.

Don't skip the rest. Twenty minutes under a loose tent of foil lets the juices redistribute into the meat. Carve too early and they run out onto the cutting board instead.

Baste once at the halfway point. You don't need to hover over this, but one pass with the herb butter pooled in the bottom of the pan makes a real difference in the final skin color and flavor.

Aliced roasted turkey breast on a cutting board with a knife.

FAQs

How long do you cook a bone-in turkey breast?

At 400°F, plan on 12-14 minutes per pound. A 3-pound split breast takes about 40 minutes. At 325°F, increase to 18-22 minutes per pound. That said, go by temperature, not time. Pull it at 160°F.

How do I know it's done?

Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast, away from the bone. When it reads 160°F, pull it. Tent it loosely with foil and let it rest for 20 minutes. Carryover cooking will bring the temperature up to the safe 165°F during that rest.

Can I grill a turkey breast?

Yes. I love grilled turkey breast. The best way is over indirect heat for about 20 minutes per pound. Pull it at 160°F and rest under foil for 20-30 minutes

How do you carve a turkey breast?

Start with a sharp carving knife and run it along the breastbone in even strokes to remove the meat in one large piece. Then slice and serve.

Make Ahead, Freezing and Storage

Make ahead. Once the herb butter is under the skin, you can cover the turkey and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours before roasting. Pull it from the fridge 30 minutes before it goes in the oven.

Storage. Leftover turkey keeps in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container. It slices well cold and makes excellent sandwiches the next day.

A piece of meat on a cutting board, with parsley garnish.

More Thanksgiving Recipes

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