If you’re having a smaller group for your Thanksgiving dinner, or you just want an easy recipe for turkey breast, this Dutch Oven Turkey Breast recipe is it. It’s so easy and you get a delicious tender turkey every time.
For more dinner ideas, check out all of our recipes.
Thanksgiving is right around the corner, which means everyone is rushing out to pick up a whole turkey to make for their company.
And that’s great and delicious and how Thanksgiving should be.
However — and this is a big however — cooking a turkey breast in the Dutch oven is so incredibly easy and can be a weeknight meal. Seriously. It’s hands off once you get the turkey in the oven and is super delicious. Once you make it, you’ll realize that turkey doesn’t have to be a once a year only holiday feast. You can have it on a random Thursday during the year too.
Cooking a turkey breast in a Dutch oven rather than a roasting pan gives you a really moist turkey with tons of pan drippings to make a delicious gravy.
If you think this is a great method for cooking, but you’re not in the mood for turkey, you’re in luck. You can cook a whole chicken the same way. Find out how in our Dutch Oven Whole Roast Chicken recipe.
Dutch Oven Turkey Breast Recipe
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We use a bone-in turkey breast for this recipe. You could use same recipe with a boneless turkey breast roast. The only difference would be that you want to roast it skin side up with the breast side on top of the vegetables. Don’t flip it for the last 30 minutes.
Dutch Oven Turkey Breast Ingredients:
- 1 medium onion
- 4 large fresh garlic cloves
- 1 bone-in turkey breast
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 3 sprigs fresh parsley
How To Make A Dutch Oven Turkey Breast:
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Dice the onion and two of the garlic cloves. Put them in the bottom of a Dutch oven.
Quick note about this. Many recipes will tell you that you need to add a small rack or balls of aluminum foil to raise the turkey breast off the bottom of the Dutch oven. That’s the purpose of the onions here. They lift the turkey breast enough that it doesn’t get stuck to the bottom of the pan and so it doesn’t cook in its own juices (which will make it soggy).
Then, the onions and garlic go into the turkey gravy to add some great flavor.
If you don’t love onions, you could use carrots or celery instead. They just wouldn’t add the same flavoring to the brown gravy.
Rinse your turkey breast. Or don’t. That’s on you. I always joke and say, “Listen to what the spirits of your ancestors tell you to do.” No matter what you do when it comes to rinsing your meat, someone will disagree with you. So, just do what feels right to you.
If you do rinse your turkey breast, though, you’re gonna want to pat that dry after. No matter what your ancestors say. Pat it dry with paper towels, then place the turkey breast in the Dutch oven.
Small note: So, I’m adding this for the people who maybe found this recipe because they’ve never cooked a turkey before. Experience people will know this.
But, if this is your first turkey, you’re gonna wanna look inside the turkey’s cavity for a bag of gravy. Not all turkey breasts come with this. Some come with other goodies inside of there that need to be removed before cooking the turkey.
So, take a quick peek inside and pull out anything that looks like a plastic bag or giblets.
Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave.
Stir in the salt, thyme, lemon pepper, and onion powder.
Dice the remaining garlic cloves and add them to the butter. Stir.
Use a pastry brush to cover the turkey breast in the herb butter mixture. Make sure that you get under the skin. Flip the turkey breast on each side and cover it in the melted butter.
Pour the remaining butter into the cavity of the turkey breast. Add the parsley in there as well.
Cover the Dutch oven and stick it in the oven.
Bake for 20 minutes per pound.
With 30 minutes remaining, remove the Dutch oven’s lid.
Carefully flip the turkey breast onto the other side. Brush it with some of the pan drippings, then cook, uncovered, for the remaining time. This will get a crispy skin and golden brown turkey.
When the turkey is done (and its internal temperature has reached 165 F), remove all the pan juices (plus the cooked onions and garlic) at the bottom of the Dutch oven. Add the gravy packet that comes with the turkey to make a gravy to serve on top.
The time it takes to make the gravy will allow your turkey breast to rest, which you want to do before you cut it. That allows the juices to draw back into the turkey, giving your really moist, juicy meat. If you don’t let the turkey breast rest, you risk having a dry turkey.
When it’s done resting, transfer the turkey to a cutting board or platter to cut it into pieces.
Serve it with your favorite side dishes. We like mashed potatoes and brown sugar roasted carrots, but you can choose whatever you like best.
Dutch Oven Turkey Breast: Frequently Asked Questions
You absolutely have to completely defrost your turkey breast before you cook it. Thaw it in the fridge for at least one day per four pounds.
When you’re ready to cook the turkey breast, you may still see ice formed around the turkey breast cavity. You can easily pull those off before cooking. But you want to make sure the meat itself isn’t frozen.
Your cook time will vary based on the size of the turkey breast you purchase, however, you want to cook a turkey breast for 20 minutes per pound at 350 F. So, if you have a four pound turkey breast, it should take about 80 minutes. A six pound turkey breast would take 120 minutes (2 hours).
You want to stick a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and make sure the internal temperature is 165 F before serving (some say 160 F and that the temperature will rise as the turkey rests, but I always make sure it’s 165 F out of the oven).
We have a 6.5-quart Dutch oven and it’s the perfect size for a 6-pound turkey breast on its side. If you have a smaller Dutch oven, you’ll want to buy a smaller turkey breast. And vice versa. So, the size turkey breast you can cook in Dutch oven really varies.
This link here breaks it down pretty well with a few more specifics.
Wait until the turkey breast has cooled down to room temperature, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for about three to four days.
You can eat leftover turkey breast in sandwiches or as leftover turkey soup.
More Ways To Cook Turkey:
If you’re looking for an interesting way to cook an entire turkey, try our deep fried turkey recipe.
Dutch Oven Turkey Breast
If you’re having a smaller group for your Thanksgiving dinner, or you just want an easy recipe for turkey breast, this Dutch Oven Turkey Breast recipe is it. It’s so easy and you get a delicious tender turkey every time.
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion
- 4 large fresh garlic cloves
- 1 bone-in turkey breast
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 3 sprigs fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Dice the onion and two of the garlic cloves. Put them in the bottom of a Dutch oven.
- Rinse your turkey breast. Or don’t. That’s up to you. But if you do, you’re pat it dry after.
- Place the turkey breast in the Dutch oven.
- Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave.
- Stir in the salt, thyme, lemon pepper, and onion powder.
- Dice the remaining garlic cloves and add them to the butter. Stir.
- Use a pastry brush to cover the turkey breast in the herb butter mixture. Make sure that you get under the skin. Flip the turkey breast on each side and cover it in the melted butter.
- Pour the remaining butter into the cavity of the turkey breast. Add the parsley in there as well.
- Cover the Dutch oven and stick it in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes per pound.
- With 30 minutes remaining, remove the Dutch oven’s lid.
- Carefully flip the turkey breast onto the other side. Brush it with some of the pan drippings, then cook, uncovered, for the remaining time.
- When the turkey is done (and its internal temperature has reached 165 F), remove all the pan juices (plus the cooked onions and garlic) at the bottom of the Dutch oven. Add the gravy packet that comes with the turkey to make a gravy to serve on top.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 75Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 24mgSodium 201mgCarbohydrates 2gFiber 0gSugar 1gProtein 4g
Have you made this Dutch Oven Turkey Breast recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments.