Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
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Moist, tender, perfectly seasoned crockpot turkey. No oven space. Includes THE BEST turkey gravy using drippings!
Featured Comment
I just had to tell you that this is BY FAR the best turkey I’ve made in the 15 years I’ve been cooking Thanksgiving turkeys! It was so incredibly moist, juicy, and flavorful! Mine was an 8 lb. bone-in breast, so I increased the amounts of everything and upped the cooking time, but otherwise kept everything else the same. Winner, winner, turkey dinner!!! I was actually sad that there were no leftovers, which has NEVER been the case in the past!
Thank you for an amazing recipe that I will use every Thanksgiving from now on (and maybe even on an ordinary weeknight!)
Thank you for an amazing recipe that I will use every Thanksgiving from now on (and maybe even on an ordinary weeknight!)
reasons to make slow cooker turkey breast
- Saves on oven space. Cooking a holiday meal can be stressful! Between all the side dishes that need to be prepped and warmed in the oven and the constant basting of your turkey, there’s a lot happening in the kitchen. But the turkey can be one less thing to worry about this year – and it frees up all the oven real estate.
- Juiciest and tender meat. With its long, low-heat cook and covered (and also very forgiving) environment, the turkey slowly simmers in its juices, preventing the lean turkey meat from drying out, and yielding a very, very juicy turkey breast and turkey meat that is exceptionally tender.
- Scaled-down turkey dinner. Skipping a big holiday gathering this year? Need extra turkey to complement your big bird? This no-fuss turkey breast is here for you.
- Great any time of year. Turkey breast is not just for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. With its hands-off, super easy approach, this can be made any time, even those super busy weeknights!
- Uses up all those juicy drippings. All those leftover drippings are used for the most flavorful turkey gravy for serving.
what are turkey breast halves
Also known as a split turkey breast.
This is simply half of a whole turkey breast, typically sold with skin-on. The smaller portion makes it ideal for a scaled down turkey meal, and more manageable pieces to cook with.
tips and tricks for success
- Use the right size crockpot. A 6-qt slow cooker, or bigger, is ideal for this recipe. The turkey breast halves may not fit in anything smaller.
- Thaw the turkey breast. If using frozen turkey breast halves, allow 24 hours to thaw completely in the fridge or 1-2 hours in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes.
- Use your favorite seasoning combination. Dried herbs, fresh herbs, paprika, poultry seasoning, onion powder and garlic powder are all great options.
- Choose a wine you will drink. A dry white wine (pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc) is great here – it does not have to be anything fancy or overpriced. Just something you don’t mind sipping on since you will have an open bottle.
- Use an instant-read thermometer for the most accurate results. Check your turkey breast halfway through cooking, around 2 1/2 hours, inserting through the thickest part of the breast but avoiding the bone. The internal temperature should reach 165°F.
- Crisp the skin. This is completely optional but you can also choose to crisp the skin under the broiler for a few minutes. Not a fan of the skin? You can remove it altogether!
- Let your bird rest. Let your turkey breast rest for at least 15-20 minutes prior to serving, allowing the juices to redistribute – this will allow for maximum flavor and juiciness.
Tools For This Recipe
6-qt slow cooker
Slow Cooker Turkey Breast: Frequently Asked Questions
What if I bought a frozen turkey breast? How long will it take to thaw?
To defrost boneless turkey breast halves in the refrigerator, we recommend allowing 24 hours to thaw.
Do I have to use white wine?
Additional chicken stock can be used for white wine as a non-alcoholic substitute.
How can I store leftovers?
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
What if I don’t have a slow cooker?
We have a recipe for roasted turkey breast here.
Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
Moist, tender, perfectly seasoned crockpot turkey. No oven space. Includes THE BEST turkey gravy using drippings!
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
Equipment
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-qt 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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mixed the seasonings but it doesn’t say what to do with it goes in with the veggies and turkey in the cooker or for the gravy mix?
It is used to season the turkey in step #3. 🙂
3. 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.
Is there any way to get an accurate list of nutritional values? I need to severely restrict fat and sodium?
Hi Melody! Nutritional information is provided only for select recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, we recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”). Hope that helps!
Thanks for the quick, minimal ingredient needed turkey breast recipe…I look forward to trying more of your recipes…
Yummy
I’ve used frozen meat in slow cooker in the past, but never turkey. I’m gone for work about 10 hours. Have you ever used frozen turkey breast at a longer timetable?
Excellent recipe…It was the perfect solution to the anxiety producing Thanksgiving dinner. I have Celiac so I cannot partake in the extended family meal. I end up cooking my own traditional meal and transporting to the Celebration. This recipe freed me up to cook a couple of side dishes plus the gluten free pumpkin crunch cake.
I couldn’t find the boneless, skinless breasts, but it was so easy to debone the bone in breasts. Subbed in 3T of a gluten free flour blend for the gravy prep – easy, peasy. Several family members elected to eat my turkey and gravy after stealing a taste (with a clean fork, of course! No gluten contamination making me sick – thank you!)
P.S. I froze the second cooked turkey breast and a cup of the gravy. Tonight (almost 3 months later), we had a quick delicious turkey dinner. Still so moist and flavorful. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This was the first home run I have made in an eternity! The seasoning was spot on and made amazing flavor for the gravy. damn delicious!
I made this with a 7 pound bone in breast. The turkey breast was large enough where it couldn’t sit on the vegetables and close the lid, so I moved them to the side of the turkey. The chest bones served the same purpose of raising the meat above the juices, so all was well. I used a temperature probe on the crock pot set to 165 degrees which took close to to 3 hours to reach the final temperature. The meat turned out to be very moist and juicy and the drippings made delicious gravy. I removed the breast meat from the bones, sliced and placed on a platter with the vegetables that were previously strained when making the gravy. The celery wasn’t as soft as it would have been had it been placed directly in the juices. Also, the skin didn’t brown, but perhaps such a large turkey skewed the browning. Everyone remarked on how good the turkey turned out. I will definitely make this again. If I decide to use the same size turkey breast with bones, I will omit buttering under the skin since it didn’t brown and therefore I removed the skin when I was slicing the breast meat to serve.
Absolutely delicious. Was very surprised at how much flavor it had and was so juicy, Gravy also rocked. I bought my fresh boneless turkey breasts at Sprouts. I do think that it is a seasonal item.
I made this tonight and it was fantastic. My whole family said it was the best turkey they’ve had. I followed the recipe exactly and use 2- 2lb breast with skin. I made gravy also and it was sooooo good. This is now our yearly recipe.
Cooked on low for 4 hours. Forgot to put in the broth and wine! so added an hour into cooking – oops.
I made this tonight for our Thanksgiving meal. I used a 5.5 pound bone-in chicken breast with the skin on. It was absolutely delicious, and the best Turkey I ever had. My only recommendation is to allow for a 5 hour cook time with the crock pot set to high. I did not make the gravy but served it au jus. Delectable.
I hAVE THE CORRECT WEIGHT TURKEY BREASTS BUT THEY DON’T HAVE SKIN ON. WHAT SHOULD I DO ABOUT THE BUTTER?
I am excited to try this. I normally fix a big turkey but since there are just three of us this year, I am just cooking with a turkey breast.
I couldn’t find a boneless turkey breast. I have a 5 lb turkey breast on the bone, should the cooking time be adjusted? More time?
I have the same question. No boneless turkey breasts in sight. Sadly, I’m far from a Whole Foods. Can you say what the cooking time adjustment will be? Thanks –
I didn’t realize the recipe said boneless. I made this recipe Sunday using bone in breast, came out flawless
Made this for a small family gathering this Thanksgiving. I couldn’t find the skin on turkey breast so I ended up using skinless breast tenderloins. I still rubbed it with all the butter and it was amazing.
You are so talented, your recipes are amazing. I have a stupid question, where do i find the boneless breasts with the skin on, I have never seen that????
Whole Foods has boneless turkey breasts with skin on. They split a whole one for me since there are only 3 of us. The half turkey breast is 3.75 pounds. So excited to try this recipe!
Freezer section of any Grocery store
Love your recipes and looking forward to trying this one.
But a question … I have a 4 pound boneless turkey roast, what adjustments to ingredient amounts and cooking time should I make? Thanks much!
The recipe sounds amazing! Any thoughts about using turkey thighs instead of breasts?
HELP! I’m cooking for two, using just ONE half turkey breast. IF you have made this with ONE 1.5 – 2-pound boneless breast -OR- ONE 2+ pound bone-IN breast, how long did it take to cook to perfection? Please help! Thanks in advance. Happy Thanksgiving!
This recipe has only been tested using 2 (1 1/2 to 2 pound) boneless, skin-on turkey breast halves so I cannot answer with certainty at this time. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! Good luck! 🙂
Hi I am curious about adding liquid, many crockpot recipes I’ve read while researching state no liquid added. So can you explain? Thanks!
Mel, the chicken stock and white wine combined with the drippings will create an awesome gravy to accompany your turkey breast. 🙂
Hi! I was wondering if turkey stock can be used instead of chicken stock?
Sure!
Can’t wait to try this recipe, I like how you use the gravy. Thank you for the great recipe!
No oven space needed – wow – that will help greatly – oven is always full for this dinner! Great idea!!!