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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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!!!
We tried this recipe last night: best turkey breast roast EVER. There’s only two of us so this is perfect for us. Didn’t have the wine so I just added a bit more broth. It came out perfectly. We’ve never had white meat this juicy. This will definitely be the way I cook turkey breasts going forward.
We love hearing that, Ashi! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Hi Ashi,
Where did you find the boneless, skin-on turkey breast halves?
Sorry I didn’t see this sooner but I get a “turkey roast” at my local Nob Hill (Raleys). It comes with skin and the size is perfect for two.
Just to clarify – 2 turkey breast halves, EACH weighing 1 1/2 – 2 lbs, for a total weight of 3 – 4 lbs, or is it 2 turkey breast halves weighing a TOTAL of 1 1/2-2 lbs.? Thanks! I want to make this.
2 (1 1/2 to 2 pound) boneless, skin-on turkey breast halves, meaning each turkey breast half weighing 1.5-2lb.