Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast and Stuffing Recipe (2024)

Why It Works

A turkey breast is the ideal size for small gatherings and is far faster to cook, going from fridge to table in under 2 hours.
You only have to keep in mind a single final target temperature, instead of having to worry about legs and breasts cooking at different rates with a whole bird.
Removing the turkey breast halfway through to finish roasting on its own ensures both the meat and the stuffing are cooked to the right temperature.
Adding pan juices to the stuffing just before reheating provides moisture and saturates it with rich turkey flavor.

Perhaps your family is small. Perhaps your friends all bailed on you the week before. Perhaps only half your family eats meat. Heck, perhaps you simply don't enjoy leftovers.*

*You weirdo.

Point is, there are any number of reasons you might have for not wanting to roast an entire turkey for Thanksgiving, but nobody should be deprived of juicy meat, crispy skin, and turkey-saturated stuffing on that day, am I right?

My initial thought was that since I already have a great method for crisp-skinned spatchco*cked roast turkey, and a roast turkey breast is essentially a spatchco*cked breast without the legs, I should just be able to use the exact same technique, throwing the breast on top of a casserole dish full of stuffing to catch the drippings. I tried it, using my classic sage and sausage stuffing recipe, and rubbing my turkey over and under the skin with some herb butter.

Simply cooking a turkey breast is far easier than cooking a whole turkey, since you only have a single final target temperature in mind, instead of having to worry about legs and breasts cooking at different rates. As soon as that breast is at 150°F, you can pull it out of the oven and let it rest.

About halfway through cooking, I realized there was a problem.

Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast and Stuffing Recipe (1)

The Problems With Cooking Turkey Breast

While my stuffing was already pushing 180°F and starting to char around the edges, the turkey breast was not even close to finished. It still had a good 30°F to get up to my 150°F target temperature.

On top of that, the butter in the stuffing, combined with the sausage fat, and the rendering fat from the turkey breast made the stuffing unpalatably greasy—there was a huge pool of oil on top of it. This greasiness is exacerbated by the fact that if the stuffing gets much above 160°F or so, the eggs I use to bind it will curdle and break, squeezing out the fat that they were initially trapping.

Fortunately, the solution was relatively simple.

The Solution

First of all, I decreased the butter content of my stuffing, figuring that what renders from the turkey will make it plenty rich.

Second, I decided to just remove the turkey breast half way through roasting, and let it finish on its own. Once it had cooked, I then took all those exuded pan juices and poured them right back onto the stuffing.

Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast and Stuffing Recipe (2)

Since the turkey needs to rest for about 20 minutes anyway to make sure that you don't lose all its juices, this gives you ample time to throw that stuffing back into the oven to crisp up on top and reheat to 160°F. The stuffing comes loaded with turkey flavor, but if you want even more, make sure to stuff the cavity under the breast and under the flap of fat near the neck with stuffing as well before you start to roast.

November 2012

Recipe Details

Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast and Stuffing

Prep20 mins

Cook2 hrs

Active45 mins

Total2 hrs 20 mins

Serves6to 8 servings

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, divided
1 1/2 pounds sage sausage, removed from casing
1 large onion, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
4 large stalks celery, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, minced or grated on microplane, divided
1/4 cup minced fresh sage leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried sage leaves)
32 ounces (4 cups; 946ml) low-sodium chicken or turkey broth, preferably homemade
3 large whole eggs
2 1/2 pounds (about 2 loaves) high quality sandwich bread or soft Italian or French bread, stale or dried in the oven
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 whole bone-in, skin-on turkey breast (about 4 to 5 pounds), patted dry

Directions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. In a large Dutch oven, melt 5 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat until foaming subsides (don't allow butter to brown), about 2 minutes. Add sausage and mash with stiff whisk or potato masher to break up into fine pieces (largest pieces should be no greater than 1/4-inch). Cook, stirring frequently until only a few bits of pink remain, about 8 minutes. Add onions, celery, garlic, and sage and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add half of chicken stock.
Whisk remaining chicken stock, eggs, and 3 tablespoons parsley in a medium bowl until hom*ogeneous. Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, slowly pour egg mixture into sausage mixture. Add bread cubes and fold gently until evenly mixed.
Using poultry shears, cut off and remove any back portion that may be attached to the turkey (there may not be any). Fill cavity under turkey breast and under flap of fat around neck with stuffing. Transfer remaining stuffing to a buttered 9- by 13-inch baking dish and place turkey on top.
Using your hands, carefully separate the turkey skin from the meat by inserting at the bottom of the breast, being careful not to tear it. In a small bowl, combine remaining butter with remaining parsley and oregano. Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Stir with a fork until hom*ogenous. Rub mixture evenly over and under turkey skin.
Transfer to oven and roast until stuffing starts to brown, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer turkey to a wire rack set in a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, and return turkey to oven. Continue roasting until turkey is golden brown and crisp, and thickest part near bone registers 145 to 150°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven, transfer to a plate, and let rest for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, pour exuded juices back over stuffing. Return stuffing to oven and cook until it's golden brown and registers 160°F on an instant read thermometer, about 15 minutes. Carve turkey, spread over stuffing, and serve.

Special Equipment

9- by 13-inch baking dish

The Food Lab's Definitive Guide to Buying, Prepping, Cooking, and Carving Your Holiday Turkey

Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast and Stuffing Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can you cook turkey and stuffing at the same time? ›

You can keep cooking the turkey to get the dressing to 165°F, but the turkey will likely be overcooked and dry at that point. While you thought you were saving time by cooking the turkey and dressing together, it more than likely will take much longer to cook this way.

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Do you cook stuffing before putting it in the turkey? ›

Fully cook raw meat, poultry, or seafood ingredients before adding to stuffing. Combine the ingredients and place them in your bird immediately before cooking. Don't stuff whole poultry with cooked stuffing. In addition to the turkey, the stuffing's center needs to reach 165 F.

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Should you stuff a turkey breast? ›

Roast Turkey Breast with Traditional Stuffing is perfect if you're a Thanksgiving novice, have picky eaters or are doing a small-scale Thanksgiving. 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.

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Does stuffing add flavor to turkey? ›

Not only will it amp up the flavor of your turkey meat, but the extra fat will ensure that coveted crispy skin. Never pass up the opportunity to add flavor to turkey by stuffing the cavity with a simple aromatics mix.

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Why not cook turkey with stuffing? ›

When stuffed, the turkey's raw juices come in direct contact with the stuffing. This means that in order to be safe to eat, your stuffing has to reach 165°F. But by the time the stuffing is safe, the rest of the turkey will be well over 180°F, and will basically have turned into tough, dry turkey jerky.

Get More Info Here ›

Is it better to cook a turkey at 325 or 350? ›

Oven-Roasted Turkey

We recommend starting the turkey in a 425 degree oven for 30-45 minutes before tenting the pan with foil and lowering the temperature to 350 degrees until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the bird.

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Can you put uncooked stuffing in turkey? ›

Stuffing Safety

Both the turkey and stuffing need to reach a minimal internal temperature of 165°F in order for harmful pathogens in the stuffing to be killed, explains Baker.

Is it better to stuff the turkey or make the stuffing on the side? ›

If you cook the stuffing outside the turkey, first of all, it's no longer "stuffing" — it's "dressing." Both it and the turkey will cook more reliably, and you can fill the inside of the turkey (loosely) with aromatics if you're going for that Thanksgiving-y turkey-cornucopia look.

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Does stuffing a turkey make it more moist? ›

Some people feel that stuffing has a better taste and is moister when prepared in the turkey. If the turkey is stuffed, the stuffing should also reach the minimum internal temperature of 165 F in the center of the stuffing.

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Should you rinse a turkey breast before cooking? ›

How do you clean a turkey before cooking it? Well... you don't! Just like with other meat, the USDA recommends skipping washing your turkey before you cook it. It doesn't matter if you're roasting, frying, or smoking your turkey, there's no need to give it a rinse unless you've brined it (more on that below).

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Do you need to wash a turkey breast before cooking? ›

According to a study by the food safety experts at the USDA, washing or rinsing raw turkey can put you at risk of foodborne illness. There's only one time you should wash a raw turkey, and that is after brining. Otherwise, do not wash a turkey before cooking.

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How to stuff turkey breasts? ›

Using poultry shears, cut off and remove any back portion that may be attached to the turkey (there may not be any). Fill cavity under turkey breast and under flap of fat around neck with stuffing. Transfer remaining stuffing to a buttered 9- by 13-inch baking dish and place turkey on top.