Slow Cooker Turkey Breast with Vegetables

This mouth-watering Slow Cooker Turkey Breast with Vegetables is a great way to save oven space this holiday season. Perfectly seasoned and always juicy you’ll never want to make turkey breast any other way. Whether you are preparing dinner for small gatherings, or even if you just want to meal prep to have turkey on hand for sandwiches, you’re going to love this crockpot version!

 

Slow Cooker Turkey Breast Recipe

If you want a low maintenance turkey breast recipe without having to miss out on the tenderness and amazing flavors of a traditional oven baked turkey, you really need to try this slow cooker version.

With just a few simple steps, you’ll have juicy and fall-off-the-bone-tender Thanksgiving turkey that turns out perfect every single time! And the best part is, the crockpot does all the work for you, which is a huge time saver, and it frees up your oven for other dishes you need to cook.

As the breast begins to slowly cook, it creates natural turkey broth that gives the tender veggies such a great flavor. Though this delicious recipe could be a meal in one, you can serve it with mashed potatoes and this Homemade Gravy for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner feast.

If you have a small family and end up with leftovers, you just have to try this mouth-watering Leftover Turkey Casserole. It’s an amazing way to use up the rest of that delicious turkey!

💗 Why We Love This Recipe

• The slow cooking process of cooking the breast requires very little prep work. It takes 10 minutes or less to prep this turkey breast. Then it goes in the crockpot where you can set and forget it!
• Saves oven space for other holiday baking, which means the turkey and any of your favorite Thanksgiving Side Dishes can all cook at the same.
• By cooking it slowly with a lid on your slow cooker all the juices remain trapped inside the turkey, making the meat so juicy.
• This juicy turkey breast is not just for Thanksgiving. This is such an easy recipe, and because it’s not a full turkey, it’s the perfect way to enjoy it any time of year for a busy weeknight dinner for meal prep for turkey sandwiches, wraps and salads.

Recommended Tools

• Large Slow Cooker
• Instant Read Meat Thermometer
• Kitchen Knife
• Small bowl

What’s Needed to Make Crock Pot Turkey Breast

• Bone in turkey breast, thawed
• Yellow onion, roughly chopped
• Carrots
• Celery stalks
• Fresh sage (optional)
• Butter
• Herb spice rub (use your favorite brand)
• Poultry seasoning
• Garlic salt or garlic powder
• Smoked paprika
• Black pepper

How to Make Easy Crockpot Turkey Breast

Step One: Add Veggies to Slow Cooker

• Rough chop veggies into chunks.
• In the bottom of the crockpot place your onion, carrots and celery.

Step Two: Add the Turkey

• Place your turkey breast on top of the vegetables.

Step Three: Season the Breast

• In a bowl melt your butter.
• Add all the seasonings to it and whisk to combine.
• Pour the butter mixture over the turkey breast.

Step Four: Cook and Serve

• Cover and cook on the low setting for 6 hours or high for 4-5 hours (depending on the size of the turkey breast) or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the turkey breast reads 165 degrees F on an instant read thermometer. Keep in mind the cooking time will vary depending on the type of slow cooker you have.
• Remove the turkey from the slow cooker and let rest 10 minutes before slicing.
• Slice and serve.

Crockpot Turkey Recipe Variations

Veggies: You can add other vegetables to the slow cooker to add flavor to the turkey, small red potatoes, peeled sweet potatoes and parsnips are great veggies that hold up well during long slow cooking process.

Flavors: You can add any of your favorite herbs and spices to this recipe. Onion powder, fresh garlic and lemon or different fresh herbs are all popular and go great with the turkey breast meat.

Turkey: We use a bone-in turkey breast for this recipe. But if you prefer boneless you can certainly use it. especially if that’s what you find on sale at the grocery store. The cook time will vary so be sure to use a meat thermometer and start checking for doneness after about 4.5 hours.

Tips for the Best Crockpot Turkey Breast

• If you like crispy skin, once the turkey has finished cooking in the slow cooker, place in on a baking sheet in the oven and briefly broil until the turkey skin turns a nice golden brown color.

• Always safely thaw frozen turkey. You can either do so in the fridge or in cold water. For the fridge method, you want to allow about 24 hours for every 4-5 pounds of turkey. For the cold-water method, leave the breast in the package sealed. Place it breast side down in the cold water, making sure it is totally submerged. Keep changing the water out about every 30 minutes until thawed. For food safety purposes, you should never thaw turkey or any poultry at room temperature on the countertop. 

• Don’t skip the resting time. This will allow the juice to redistribute throughout the breast.

• Flavor is so important! Turkey, like chicken is a blank canvas for herbs and seasonings. You’ll want to be generous with your seasonings. 

• Turkey breast is lean meat so if there isn’t enough of its own juices to serve with the turkey, you can add some chicken stock to make a flavorful gravy.

• To take the guesswork out of whether it’s done, always use a meat thermometer. It should read 165 degrees when inserted in the thickest part of the breast.

• Resist opening the lid to the slow cooker any more often than you must. The heat has to build back up each time it’s removed which causes it to take longer to cook.

Crockpot Turkey Breast FAQs

How Much Turkey Per Person?

You want to make sure you have enough turkey to go around. If you’re serving several sides, you should plan on about a pound of turkey per person. I prefer to plan on 1.25 lbs. per person so I am sure to have enough for leftovers.

How Long Does Leftover Turkey Breast Last in the Fridge?

The USDA recommends that you keep turkey in the fridge for no more than 3-4 days.

How to Reheat Moist Turkey Breast

To keep tender turkey breast juicy when reheating, you’ll want cover with some of the juices from the bottom of the slow cooker, or with some of the gravy before reheating it. You can reheat it the microwave or in a baking dish in the oven, just until it has warmed through.

More Holiday Recipes

• Honey Glazed Ham with Pineapple
• Sugared Cranberries
• Pumpkin Hummus
• Pumpkin Crescent Rolls
• Cranberry Jell-O Salad
• Carrot Souffle
• Thanksgiving Turkey Cupcakes