Best Turkey Breast Slow Cooker Recipe

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Can I Cook Turkey Breast In Slow Cooker?
How To Cook A Turkey Breast In A Crock Pot
How Long Does A Turkey Breast Take To Cook?
How Long To Cook Turkey Breast In Crock Pot?
How To Carve Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
Can You Freeze Bone-In Turkey Breast?
How Much Bone-In Turkey Breast Per Person?
What To Serve With Crock Pot Turkey Breast
Tools To Make Crock Pot Turkey Breast
Crock Pot Slow Cooker Turkey Breast Recipe

Trying to figure out how to cook a turkey breast for Thanksgiving (or any day)? Look no further, this slow cooker turkey breast recipe is the best and easiest way to cook bone-in turkey breast. Spend just 10 minutes to prep the herb butter and your Crock Pot turkey breast is ready to cook away.

The end result? Juicy, flavorful turkey, without the work of a full turkey, and all made with just 9 basic ingredients. (Don't forget the healthy keto gravy recipe and sugar-free cranberry sauce to go with it!)

The #1 question I get about this Crock Pot turkey breast recipe: "How did you make it so juicy?!" Just follow the instructions below and you'll get that question, too. 😉

Can I Cook Turkey Breast In Slow Cooker?

Yes, cooking turkey breast in slow cooker is an easy way to end up with juicy turkey bone-in turkey breast.

If you're wondering how to cook a turkey breast easily, the slow cooker is the way to go! It doesn't require a lot of hands-on work, and you'll end up with succulent slow cooker turkey breast with gravy. If you want turkey done in less time, try air fryer turkey breast instead!

How To Cook A Turkey Breast In A Crock Pot

This slow cooker turkey breast roast is the easiest (and tastiest) way to make bone-in turkey breast.

Here's how to make turkey breast in a Crock Pot:

Make garlic herb butter. Mash together butter, salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary, thyme, parsley, and paprika.
Dry the bone-in turkey breast. Use a paper towel to pat the turkey until very dry. This helps the herb butter stick… and that's a good thing.
Prep the slow cooker. Grease the bottom, place onions inside and pour chicken broth over it.

TIP: Below is the size onions you want – large enough to help elevate the turkey breast during cooking.

Rub the turkey breast with herb butter. Place it in the Crock Pot and cover.

TIP: The butter can be hard to spread and tends to stick to your hands. Just spread it as best you can. Below is how evenly I was able to get it.

how to cook a turkey breast in slow cooker

Cook the Crock Pot turkey breast. You'll want it to reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.

TIP: Use a pastry brush to spread the butter more evenly over the turkey after it's melted, about an hour in. If you're wondering why not just melt it before cooking, it's because the butter is more prone to run off the cold turkey in the beginning, so it's best to rub the cold butter first and spread with a brush later in the cooking process.

NOTE: Wondering why we're NOT cooking to 165 degrees F, which is the typical safe temperature for poultry? It's because the temperature will rise more while broiling and resting. (More details below!)

turkey breast recipe cooking in a slow cooker

Crisp the turkey. Broil the turkey for a few minutes, until browned. Let the turkey rest before you carve it.

How Long Does A Turkey Breast Take To Cook?

Bone-in turkey breast cooking time will depend on how you're cooking it, what temperature you're cooking it at, and how big your turkey breast is.

In this Crock Pot turkey breast recipe, we're obviously using the slow cooker!

Bone-in turkey breast in the Crock Pot takes about 4 to 8 hours, depending on if you use Low or High temperature.

How Long To Cook Turkey Breast In Crock Pot?

When cooking turkey breast roast in a Crock Pot, use an instant read thermometer to check on cooking time to ensure you end up with perfectly cooked slow cooker turkey breast. You want to reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (it will continue to rise a bit afterward).

If you're cooking on Low temperature, it will take about 6 to 8 hours.
If cooking at High temperature, the roast turkey breast recipe will take 4 to 5 hours.

Note: These cooking times are for a 7 lb. breast, so the cooking time may need to be adjusted accordingly. However, the slow cooker is pretty forgiving about not drying out your turkey breast if you keep it in too long.

bone-in turkey breast roasted on a platter

How To Carve Slow Cooker Turkey Breast

After cooking Crock Pot turkey breast, be sure to let it rest! The internal temperature of the bone-in turkey breast will continue to rise after you stop cooking it. And, allowing it to rest for 15 to 20 minutes equals maximum juicy-ness!

Then you can carve it. I have a few suggestions:

Make sure your knife is sharp!
Cut the turkey meat along the breast bone and then cut that into slices.
Repeat on the other side.
Pull or slice off any other pieces of meat.

slow cooker turkey breast with sides

Can You Freeze Bone-In Turkey Breast?

Yes, you can definitely freeze any extra slow coker turkey breast meat that you have.

Once the turkey has cooled completely, place the meat (you can leave the bone in) in a zip top freezer bag, remove as much air as possible, and freeze.

Thaw overnight, and the next day you can reheat it in the oven at 300 degrees F (low temperature to prevent drying it out!) or even in the slow cooker again.

How Much Bone-In Turkey Breast Per Person?

This is not an easy answer! HA! The general rule of thumb for turkey is to buy 1 lb. meat per person.

This is obviously a very safe quantity if you want to be sure to have enough and have plenty for leftovers. Not very accurate in terms of nutrition facts, though!

Instead, I'm keeping the nutrition info reasonably realistic by choosing 6-8 ounces per serving. With a 7-pound bone-in turkey breast like the one I used, we got about 42 ounces of edible meat, or 6 servings that are 6-8 ounces each.

Of course, feel free to determine your own portion size based on your nutritional needs.

What To Serve With Crock Pot Turkey Breast

There are so many great side dishes for slow cooker turkey breast recipes! Here are a few good options, both holiday and any time of year:

The Best Mashed Cauliflower – If you think you miss potatoes, try out this keto mashed cauliflower recipe, you won't even think about potatoes again!
Oven Roasted Asparagus – Add some green to your plate with this easy and healthy recipe. It's a fast and easy way to cook asparagus.
Keto Mushroom Cauliflower Risotto – This pair makes an excellent weeknight dinner that's sure to satisfy.
Whole Roasted Cauliflower – This show-stopper side elevates any meal, bone in turkey breast recipes included!
Healthy Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole – If you have guests that aren't low carb, this sweet potato casserole uses real sweet potatoes but is still healthier than many other versions. Plus, no one can resist the bacon streusel!
Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Bacon – Crispy, crunchy, sweet, salty, earthy…all the flavors you want, in one simple side dish.

Slow Cooker – You can't make the best Crock Pot turkey breast without a slow cooker! This one is basic and affordable, and I love it!
Instant Read Thermometer– This thermometer is a must for easy slow cooker turkey breast recipes. It's the only way to know once it's reached proper internal temperature, and it reads in just 2 seconds with super high accuracy – which is actually important because the food can start to cool while you wait for a terrible thermometer to work.
Pastry Brush – Towards the end of cooking turkey breast, use a pastry brush to brush up some of the herb butter back on the top of the turkey.

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1 7-lb Bone-in turkey breast (2 halves joined at the breast bone)
1/4 cup Butter (softened; plus more for greasing the slow cooker)
2 tsp Sea salt
1/2 tsp Black pepper
4 cloves Garlic (minced)
2 tsp Fresh rosemary
2 tsp Fresh thyme
2 tsp Fresh parsley
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 large Yellow onion (cut into large, thick slices)
1/2 cup Chicken broth

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

In a small bowl, mash together the butter, salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary, thyme, parsley, and paprika.
Use paper towels to pat the turkey VERY dry, so that the herb butter sticks better. Rub the butter all over the top and sides of the turkey breast. (It's ok if it doesn't fully spread, just pat it down as best you can.)
Grease the bottom of the slow cooker with more butter. Place the onion inside and pour the chicken broth over it. (The onion will help keep the turkey raised.) Place the turkey breast on top of the onion.
Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high, until internal temperature reaches at least 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) inside (it will rise another 5 degrees during broiling and resting). If you can, lift the lid about an hour into cooking and use a pastry brush to spread the herb butter more evenly over the top and sides of the turkey. (Don't use melted butter from the beginning because it will all drip off the cold turkey.)
When the turkey is done, discard the onions but save the liquid below, which you can use as chicken broth in recipes!
Toward the end, preheat the broiler and place the rack close to it, with just enough room for the turkey to fit underneath. Transfer the turkey breast to a baking dish or roasting pan, and broil for 4-8 minutes, until browned. Rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

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Serving size: ~6-8 oz cooked turkey, or 1/6 of entire recipe

* Onion is not included in nutrition info because it's there for flavoring and elevating the turkey meat, and is typically discarded. Serving size weight is edible portion, not including bones.

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Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 317

Fat 17g

Protein 39g

Total Carbs 1g

Net Carbs 1g

Fiber 0g

Sugar 0g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

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