Simple roasted turkey breast (pechuga de pavo horneada)

This is a simple way to cook breast turkey. It is juicy, tender, and full of flavor.

Some people get invited to the thanksgiving spread and therefore there is not need to cook a whole turkey, some other people have small families and a whole turkey seems too much. In other cases, one can be overwhelmed to cook a whole turkey. This recipe is right for you even when you want to still eat a thanksgiving dinner in another day.

Cooking time for this recipe is just one hour and 20 minutes. Most of which you can use to do other things while the breasts are cooking.

Simple ingredients

Turkey

The breast turkey is easier to handle than a whole turkey, not only because of the bone involve but because all of the parts, they could cook different because of its size and dimension.

Butter

This can be salted, or unsalted. You just need to adjust the salt if you decide to use salted. For the butter, you need to make sure is room temperature to spread it easily.

Garlic

Fresh garlic is my preference here, but jarred garlic or garlic powder will still work. Fresh garlic has a powerful flavor so to create this rub for the turkey, this is something that I highly recommend.

Sage

This is such an aromatic herb. It does enhance the flavor of the turkey so if you have fresh will be great. I did use dried sage for the recipe and I am happy with the results. So if you want to simplify dried sage is an option.

Rosemary

I used dried rosemary and it was great, fresh is always a great option.

Thyme

I used dried thyme and it was great, fresh is always a great option.

Kosher salt

I highly recommend to use kosher, it seems to bring the turkey to the readiness it needs for roasting.

Black pepper

This is also an important ingredient. I love how it adds depth to the turkey’s flavor.

Carrots, Celery and Onion

This is such a great combination of vegetables to add flavor to the turkey while cooking and to have them as side as well.

How to make turkey breasts (step by step)

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Pad turkey breast with a towel to absorb most of the moisture. Rub a portion of your kosher salt to both sides of the breasts.
2. Place butter in a bowl and add minced garlic, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir it well to create a paste like consistency.

3. Coat turkey breasts with the prepared butter covering both sides.

4. Cut carrots, celery, and onion in roughly one inch size. Place them in a baking dish.

5. Add a tray to the baking dish placing it over the veggies. Allow room between the veggies and the tray to make sure the turkey will have the space to cook evenly.

6. Place in the oven and cook for 45 mins (15 mins per pound). Then increase temperature to 375 F and cook for 10 minutes. Using a cooking thermometer, check internal temperature to be 160 F. Once is 160 F , take the dish out and cover it with tin foil allowing to rest for 10 minutes. The turkey will continue to cook while resting and will be tender and juicy.

7. Cut and enjoy!

Tools

For this dish you need a safe oven dish with a rack, or trivet. I actually do not have a big roasting pan so I am using a baking dish and the trivet from my instant pot. They worked great! A roasting pan with a non stick rack is the ideal, but you can perfectly find ways to make it work if you don’t have one at the moment.

How to serve

I serve this dish with mash potatoes, veggies from the roast, and homemade cranberry jam. I also reheated some French bread and mixed some of the bottom juice of the roasting with a turkey gravy. As other proteins, you can serve with rice and a green salad.

How to store

Store in the fridge in a airtight container for about three days. You could freeze up to three months.