Roasted Turkey Breast with Buttery BBQ Honey Glaze

We’ve got your main dish covered with this beautiful roasted sweet and buttery BBQ glaze topped fresh turkey breast recipe. Serve it with a few side dishes and fresh baked bread or carve it into slices and have lunch all week long!

Why this roasted fresh turkey breast recipe works?

Who wouldn’t want to be in charge of the main dish when it wins the crowd over every time? This roasted turkey breast recipe has the best glaze that encompasses sweet and salty flavors of butter, BBQ sauce and honey. A little something for everyone’s tastes buds!

Fresh turkey breasts come without the wings so there is no fatty dark poultry meat to work with, and that means it has less fat overall than a full turkey. And not only is this recipe healthy, but we’ve got a simple fail-proof method for cooking fresh turkey breast.

This poultry recipe is wonderful to carve and serve as a main dish or make it in advance and save the slices for later in the week to enjoy in sandwiches.

Recipe ingredients

Roasted turkey breast is made of the meat, a simple glaze, herb and apple filling, and a meat thermometer is needed to check for doneness.

• Fresh turkey breast (7-9 pounds)– Try to aim for 9 pounds for this recipe, but it works with other sizes as well. See our turkey breast cooking chart below.
• Glaze – the glaze is made of butter or ghee, BBQ sauce, honey, salt and black pepper.
• Herb filling– Stuff the inside with fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, parsley, and apple slices for bursts of flavor in every bite as it soaks into the meat during cooking.

How to cook a turkey breast？

STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove any insides then soak the turkey in warm salted water for about 10 minutes and pat dry with paper towels.

STEP 2: In a small bowl mix together the melted butter, honey, BBQ sauce, salt, and pepper. Set 2 tablespoons aside for glazing later. Rub the remaining sauce all over the turkey, inside and out, as well as under the skin.

STEP 3: Core and cut the apple into quarters and put them in the cavity along with the herbs. Carefully flip the turkey over and set the turkey on a shallow roasting pan with the breast-side. Pour 1 cup of water to the bottom of the roasting pan, to help keep the turkey moist while still allowing browning.

STEP 4: Roast the turkey 2 ½ -3 hours. After 30 minutes, remove the turkey from the oven and baste the remaining sauce on top then cover with a loose tent of aluminum foil to prevent over browning. Transfer the turkey back to the oven and cook 2- 2 ½  more hours or until the turkey breast is done and a meat thermometer, not touching any bone reads at least 165 degrees F in the deepest part of the breast. It will continue to cook slightly after it is removed from the oven.

STEP 5: Remove from the oven and let it set for 20-30 minutes to allow the juices to settle. Use any extra pan juice to drizzle over the turkey slices when served.

Turkey Breast Cooking Times and Calculator

Notes for baking and setting total times cooked at 350 degrees F:

• 3-5 pounds, 1-2 ¼ hours
• 5-7 pounds, 2 – 3 hours
• 7-9 pounds, 2 ½ – 3 hours

Browning the skin

What if my roasted turkey breast starts to burn?
The darkness of the skin depends on how long it is uncovered and can be adjusted to how you like it. Start cooking the turkey breast without it covered, leaving foil off no more than 1 hour. We recommend covering it up to 30 minutes for a light golden color and up to 1 hour for darker skin.

Since there is a sugar base of honey and BBQ sauce, the roasted turkey will brown quickly.

How to tell if the roasted turkey is done?

When a turkey breast is done the internal temperature should be 165 degrees F. To ensure food safety when cooking meats, make sure to use a ChefsTemp thermometer to check that the turkey breast reaches at least 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part of the breast.

For more information, please refer to our meat cooking chart.

How to carve a turkey breast?

How to carve a turkey breast is a skill that will take you far for Thanksgiving and Christmas and anytime you want to cook a fresh turkey. Transfer the bird from the roasting pan to a carving plate or cutting board with the breast side still up. Then carefully slice alongside the breast bone, as close as possible all the way down to the cutting board. Then cut along the ribs down and around to connect at the bottom of the first cut. This will remove one of the breasts, then repeat on the other side. Remove the meat from the carcass. Lay each turnkey breast down and slice against the grain of the meat. For sandwich slices of meat chill the breast first then cut into very thin slices, as chilling it first helps to achieve a thinner carve.

Roasted Turkey Breast with Buttery BBQ Honey Glaze

Ingredients

• 1 (7-9 pound) fresh turkey breast (wingless)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bunch mixed herbs such as parsley, thyme, and rosemary
• 1 apple

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove any insides then soak the turkey in warm salted water for about 10 minutes and pat dry with paper towels.
2. In a small bowl mix together the melted butter, honey, BBQ sauce, salt, and pepper. Set 2 tablespoons aside for glazing later. Rub the remaining sauce all over the turkey, inside and out, as well as under the skin.
3. Core and cut the apple into quarters and put them in the cavity along with the herbs. Carefully flip the turkey over and set the turkey on a shallow roasting pan with the breast-side. Pour 1 cup of water to the bottom of the roasting pan, to help keep the turkey moist while still allowing browning.
4. Roast the turkey 2 ½ -3 hours. After 30 minutes, remove the turkey from the oven and baste the remaining sauce on top then cover with a loose tent of aluminum foil to prevent over browning. Transfer the turkey back to the oven and cook 2 – 2 ½  more hours or until the turkey breast is done and a meat thermometer, not touching any bone reads at least 165 degrees F in the deepest part of the breast.
5. Remove from the oven and let it set for 20-30 minutes to allow the juices to settle. Reserve pan juices to drizzle over the turkey when served.

Notes for baking and setting total times:

3-5 pounds, 1-2 ¼ hours

5-7 pounds, 2 – 3 hours

7-9 pounds, 2 ½  – 3  hours