Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
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Moist, tender, perfectly seasoned crockpot turkey. No oven space. Includes THE BEST turkey gravy using drippings!
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I’m all about saving on oven space. Crockpots, Instant Pots. I will take them all. Especially when the crockpot does all the work for you. And I really mean, all the work for you.
So if you’re not about making an entire turkey this year, this slow cooker recipe will be your heaven. It requires just 2 turkey breast halves in a slow cooker for just 3-4 hours. In those 3-4 hours, you will have all the oven space you could possibly need for the rest of your sides.
The end result? Perfectly juicy, moist, tender turkey breast meat. It also browns beautifully in the slow cooker, promise. No need to broil it or anything. And you know all those juicy drippings? You can strain them to make the best gravy ever.
Who knew a turkey could be this easy?
Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ¾ teaspoon onion powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 2 celery ribs, cut into thirds
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 2 boneless, skin-on turkey breast halves, about 1 1/2-2 pounds each
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature and divided
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine paprika, thyme, poultry seasoning, onion powder, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper.
- Place onion and celery into a 6 or 8-qt oval slow cooker; add chicken stock and wine.
- Using your fingers, carefully loosen the skin from the breast meat, spreading 4 tablespoons butter under the skin. Secure skin over the butter with wooden picks; brush skin with 1 tablespoon melted butter and season with paprika mixture.
- Place turkey, breast side up, on top of the vegetables. Cover and cook on low heat for 3-4 hours, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Remove turkey from the slow cooker; let rest 10-15 minutes.
- Strain slow cooker drippings through a fine-mesh sieve; discard solids.
- Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in pan drippings. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 5-10 minutes.
- Serve turkey immediately with gravy.
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Tried to make do with a round crockpot, which kept part of the meat higher than the sauce. Not a great idea although it was still great (especially the part that was completely immersed). Just got an oval one for the next round. Thanks so much.
Loved this for Thanksgiving 2020. The gravy was an absolute hit! Great taste and reheats well.
My only issue was it came out dry. I did everything listed using fresh turkey breast halves. I can’t figure out why this happened because the recipe is very clear. So easy to follow.
I debated taking it out when the juices ran clear, but that was before 165 degrees. Any advice? We’ll definitely be doing this recipe again. It’s amazing!!
Yes first time I made it was perfect because I took out when juices ran clear! 2nd time I ran temperature and it was over cooked. Trust your gut if you’re a good cook!
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was easy and delicious. The turkey came out great, but the gravy— it was the best gravy I’ve ever had or made! Followed the directions exactly and it was perfect. Thank you!
For Covid Thanksgiving, my brother whose family usually hosts us begged off–a wise decision, in my book–so I ended up searching for “Crock Pot Turkey” online, and finding this one.
I decided on (2) 24 ounce turkey breast tenderloins, and I
I used a 4 quart slow cooker, not 6 or 8 quart. I found that this worked well, but I had to rotate the tenderloins on the bottom to the top, to ensure even cooking. Total cooking time was about 5-1/2 to 6 hours, starting on high for the first 1-1/2 hours or so.
I used both thyme and poultry seasoning, but the poultry seasoning smelled strongly of thyme–not to mention that thyme was included in the ingredients–so I held off a little on the thyme. Still, thyme was an obvious presence, but not TOO intense. I didn’t get around to making gravy for mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving, but I strained the drippings and refrigerated them for later use. I opted for instant mashed potatoes two days later (today and tonight), and the gravy came out well. (I skimped a little on the drippings, so the gravy was rather thick, but I have enough drippings for one or two more meals. Nothing dresses up potatoes in a box like gravy from scratch!) All in all, this recipe gave me something to do while on my own on a national holiday, and the end result was amazing! The turkey was moist and flavorful, and reheats well in the microwave. The spices lose their intensity after draining the meat, but retain their flavor for the gravy. I’ll probably be able to get a couple more meals from this venture, even after lunch and dinner today. I’ll try it again next year!
Don’t make the same mistake I did by purchasing the JENNIE-O OVEN READY boneless turkey breast. This breast is already pre-seasoned so your delicious recipe does not work with it, and it’s skinless which means there are no drippings for gravy. It does come with a gravy packet which was soooo DISGUSTING, but I already have a recipe for no-drippings gravy so I didn’t need it. Needless to say I was totally bummed, but since I was pretty skeptical from the get-go I didn’t serve this as a main dish. My mouth is watering after reading all these fab reviews! Definitely going to try your DAMN DELICIOUS recipe for Christmas!!
Simply the best!!!
I made this today with a 4.9 pound double breasted bone-in turkey and followed everything else as listed above, and it was amazing! Mine took approximately 4 hours. As others have said, the gravy is delicious!
I made a fresh turkey breast (both breasts) in my crock pot with this recipe today. It was in the pot for 5 hours and the meat was moist, flavorful and fell off the carcass. Much less hassle than baking the whole bird for a small gathering!! And I saved the vegetables and stock for what I believe will be a great soup base this weekend. Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
This recipe was sooo good! It was the perfect Thanksgiving dinner for 3. And the gravy was amazing!
I made this today –
Thanksgiving 2020. It made a difficult year a good bit better. The turkey was juicy and flavorful-but the GRAVY!! It was hands down the best turkey gravy I’ve ever made – and I’ve been doing this for 30+ years!! Every recipe-without exception-I’ve made from this website has been a keeper.
Best tasting turkey and gravy ever! Thank you for such a great recipe! Followed recipe and was not disappointed!
Awesome recipe and ease of preparation: I added a layer of whole Cremini mushrooms on top of the celery ribs and sweet onion and took some liberties with the seasonings (I worked at Antoines New Orleans late 1970s). It was hard to find a 3 lb bone-in turkey breast but Trader Joe’s came through after failures at Sprouts, Vons, Ralphs & Whole Foods (WF only had 5 lbs for $36 and that was too big for my small household, they would not cut it in half). The 3 lb bone-in is perfect size for my 8 quart Crock Pot. I coated the crock pot liberally with Trader Joe’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil (cold pressed and packed in Italy) which is great on salads, etc. I used less butter and substituted olive oil. I used more chicken stock and chardonnay. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and thank you for making mine a culinary feast!
I’m making this tomorrow and need a quick response. Can I incorporate my dressing with this?
I wouldn’t recommend it. Stuffed poultry in a crock pot is potentially dangerous as it’s a breeding ground for bacteria due to low temp and slow cooking. Best to cook stuffing separately.
If you were to use an Instant Pot what would the cook time be?
I found whole boneless Turkey Breasts at BJ’s. The biggest I could find was almost 4lbs.
Was wondering should I cut the breast in half to make it cook better.
I love all your recipes keep them coming please.
Just going to be 3 at dinner this year. I’m so use to cooking for 10-15.
Stay well and safe.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Really good recipe. I followed it as directed and am now going to make it for our small Covid Thanksgiving
Should we just double or triple the ingredients if we have a bigger turkey breast? The smallest one I could get is 6 pounds! This is my first time making the turkey so I would love some guidance! Thanks!
I’m wondering the same thing. I have a 7 lb. turkey breast and am wondering how long it will take to cook.
I too have a larger bone in breast and I have been scouring recipes and I saw 6.5 hours for an almost 7lb breast like I have. So I’m going to temp at 6 to double check and plan for 7 just in case.
I’m also wondering about how long to cook a larger turkey breast and what ingredients to adjust. Smallest half I could get is five pounds without bones.
can you use turkey breast with the bone?
Is there a replacement for white wine? Typically I’d be able to finish up the extra wine but not right now!
I have read that white wine vinegar is a good sub
You can buy the little bottles of wine (the single serving bottles); that’s my trick.
I used ginger ale last year and it was amazing!
How do I find the carbs and salt info for this recipe? It looks great but why make it if it’s too high in those areas.
I can’t speak to the sodium, but I put it through My Carb Manager and it came to one carb per serving without the gravy and 3
carbs per serving with the gravy (I said 10 servings for my 4 lbs of turkey). You could use light salt and reduced sodium chicken broth if you need to stay low there.