Air Fryer Herb Butter Turkey Breast has perfectly cooked juicy meat full of rich flavor from the fresh herb and butter rub. Ready in 1 hour!
Oven-Roasted Turkey Breast is a great option if you have a smaller group for your holiday meal or craving a roast turkey dinner when it’s not the holiday season. This air fryer version gives you an even shorter cooking time than the regular oven and makes the dish easy enough for a Weeknight Dinner. If you don’t have an air-fryer, try my Slow Cooker Turkey Breast.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Air Fryer Turkey Breast with Herb Butter Recipe
A beautiful Roast Turkey during the holiday season is something we look forward to all year! The crispy skin, the moist turkey meat, the amazing flavor – what’s not to love? Practically speaking, most of us aren’t cooking a full oven-roasted turkey unless there is a crowd to feed. That’s why I made this air-fried turkey breast recipe, so you can enjoy freshly cooked turkey anytime of year.
Using turkey breast meat is an excellent option when you don’t want a whole turkey. It comes out just as tender and flavorful without a lot of extra work. Making it in the air fryer means a short cook time in comparison to a holiday turkey. The rapid circulation of air helps the food to cook quickly and evenly.
My Air Fryer Turkey Breast not only has an incredibly juicy turkey breast meat, it’s filled with amazing flavor thanks to the fresh herbed butter. The meat is rubbed with butter and fresh herbs before cooking. The simple coating helps keep the turkey meat moist and flavorful even though it’s boneless and skinless.
Ingredients
- Turkey Breast: A 4 pound turkey breast will feed about 4-5 people, and you can use up to 6 pounds for this recipe. I used boneless turkey breast for this recipe so that it cooks very quickly, however you can swap in bone-in turkey and increase the cooking time.
- Butter: The butter takes the place of the turkey skin, helping to lock in the juices and flavors while also adding extra flavor and moisture.
- Seasonings: For the seasoning, you need fresh thyme leaves, rosemary, sage, kosher salt, and black pepper. You mix the seasonings with the butter for the coating and they infuse the meat with so much delicious flavor.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Air Fryer: You can make this recipe with a 4-6 pound turkey breast, but you want to choose one that will fit easily in the air fryer basket. There needs to be enough room for the air to circulate or it won’t cook properly. If your air-fryer basket is too small, I would recommend using my oven-roasted method or slow cooker method mentioned at the top of this post.
- Meat Thermometer: I like an instant read thermometer because you get a more accurate temperature of the meat. Stick the instant meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. Once the internal temperature reads 165 degrees, the turkey meat is done.
How to Make
Time needed: 1 hour.
- Prep Work
Preheat the air fryer temperature to 350 degrees. Spray the air fryer basket with oil. Dry the turkey breast with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel.
- Herb Butter Mixture
Measure out your fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme. Mince them with the salt and pepper until they’re well blended and finely minced. Add the seasoning to a large mixing bowl with the melted butter.
- Coat the Turkey
Brush the herb butter mixture over the turkey breast so that it’s very well coated.
- Cook the Turkey
Add the turkey breast to the air fryer with the breast side facing down. Close and leave the turkey for a 20 minute cook time.
- Flip and Baste
After that, flip the turkey and brush it with the remaining blend of thyme, rosemary, sage, and butter. Continue air frying for 20-30 minutes. Use an instant-read thermometer to check that the meat is done.
- Rest and Carve
Once the turkey is cooked through, remove and set on a cutting board. Tent the breast with foil. Let the breast rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Can this be made ahead of time?
You can coat the turkey breast in half of the melted butter and herb mixture the night before. Reserve the other half of the butter mixture in a sealed container. Melt the remaining herb butter again while the turkey is cooking so it is ready to be brushed on when you flip the breast.
Nutritional Facts
Tips & Tricks for Air Fryer Turkey Breast
Meal Prep
Though you can serve it for a small Thanksgiving get-together, making yourself a delicious turkey breast is also fantastic meal prep recipe. Instead of serving the entire turkey breast at once, you can carve it into serving sizes and divide it into meal prep containers. Store them for filling and healthy meals throughout the week.
When is turkey breast done?
Turkey needs to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees before it is safe to eat. The meat will continue cooking while it rests so it’s okay to pull it out of the air fryer at 160 degrees. Just use an instant read thermometer after no more than 5 minutes to make sure it reaches 165 degrees.
What to Pair With Butter & Herb Turkey Breast
Holiday Meal: You can make all your favorite holiday side dishes like Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, and Cranberry Sauce for a holiday meal year round.
Casual: Since you are saving stove-top and oven-space, this is a great recipe to serve with your favorite roasted and sauteed sides. An easy weeknight dinner would be Mini Hasselback Potatoes (like I did for this recipe) and quickly sauteed veggies like Sauteed Green Beans or Sauteed Carrots.
How to Store
Store: Don’t leave cooked turkey breast at room temperature for more than 2 hours. If you have any leftover turkey breast, you can wrap the breast with aluminum foil or put it in an airtight container. Store it in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheat: You can use the air-fryer to reheat your leftover turkey! Reheat for about 5 minutes at 390 degrees. If you want to reheat it in the oven, add it to a baking pan with a tablespoon of broth, then cover the dish and bake at 375 degrees until heated through.
Freeze: Cool the leftover meat down completely and store in a freezer safe container. It will stay good for about 3 months. Thaw the turkey in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Frequent Questions
If you forgot to defrost your turkey meat, you can still cook it from frozen in the air fryer. Simply place the frozen turkey breast in the 350-degree air fryer and cook for about 4-6 minutes. By then, the meat should be thawed, but you can add a few extra minutes if you need to. You can prepare the turkey with the butter and herb mixture, and cook as usual.
A 4 pound boneless turkey breast will feed about 4-5 people, averaging about a pound per person. If you use bone-in turkey, keep in mind that the weight includes the bones and skins, so it might be less servings.
Yes, you can use bone-in, skin on turkey breast instead of boneless meat. You will need to add about 10-20 minutes of cooking time depending on the size you use.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 4-6 pounds turkey breast , patted dry
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary , removed from stems
- 10 leaves fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees and spray the basket with vegetable oil spray.
- Dry the turkey breast really well with paper towels.
- Mince the rosemary, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper together until very finely minced.
- Add the melted butter and herb mixture to a large bowl and season the turkey breast very well.
- Add the turkey breast, breast side down in the air fryer.
- Cook for 20 minutes.
- Flip the turkey, brush with some of the remaining butter from the bowl.
- Cook for 20-30 minutes (check temperature in the thickest part is 165 degrees before removing).
- Remove the basket, tent with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
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Variations
Air Fryer Garlic Herb Turkey Breast: An easy way to bring additional flavor to the recipe is by mincing garlic cloves to mix with the herb and butter mixture and season the turkey.
Cajun Turkey Breast: Instead of the herbs, try whisking 1 ½ teaspoon Cajun seasoning blend, 2 teaspoons paprika, 2 teaspoons cumin, and 2 teaspoons garlic powder into the melted butter with salt and pepper. Season the Air Fryer Turkey Breast with the spice blend for a uniquely flavored turkey dinner.
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