Air Fryer Turkey Breast is tender, juicy, and full of flavor! Just the thing for a scaled down Thanksgiving dinner, or anytime you want a holiday-inspired meal without all the added holiday stress! Plus with the air fryer, you can have dinner on the table in a fraction of how long it would take to bake in the oven.
Complete your meal with a side of Mashed Potatoes and Nana’s Famous Green Bean Recipe. Or for a more traditional Thanksgiving setting try out my Cornbread Dressing, Sweet Potato Casserole and Cranberry Sauce.
Air Fryer Turkey Breast Recipe
Planning an air fryer holiday? Lots of people are this year! At the very minimum, they’re looking at freeing up oven space and preparing a few sides in the air fryer. I say, let’s take it one step further and go ahead and do the turkey!
Let’s face it, at this point what on earth would we do without the air fryer? I mean really, is there anything it can’t do? Air Fryer Turkey Breast is moist and juicy on the inside with a crispy outside skin. This recipe is a wonderful alternative to roasting a full turkey.
Whether you want to have a more intimate holiday gathering or you’re just looking for some inspiration for a new weeknight meal, this turkey entree can be made in no time and with way less effort than all that basting and traditional turkey prep.
More Air Fryer Recipes
Using your air fryer more and more like we are? Here are a few more recipes to try out:
- Air Fryer Pickles
- Air Fryer Shrimp
- Lemon Pepper Wings – Baked or Air Fried!
- Air Fryer Donuts – Biscuit Donuts
- Easy Air Fryer Bacon
- Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts with Garlic and Parmesan
- Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks
What You’ll Need
With just a few simple ingredients, you’re on your way to a delicious turkey dinner! As always, you can find the amounts and a complete list of the ingredients in the recipe card at the end of this post:
- turkey breast – About 5 to 7 pounds, with the bone in.
- olive oil – Vegetable oil can be substituted but the lighter taste of olive oil works best.
- butter – Unsalted and softened.
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper – To taste.
- sage, rosemary, and thyme – Freshly chopped.
You can use dried herbs if you don’t have fresh ones on hand but I highly recommend the fresh herbs for the best flavor.
How to Make a Turkey Breast In The Air Fryer
With the air fryer, it doesn’t have to take five hours for a perfectly prepared turkey dinner to arrive at your dining room table. With just ten minutes of prep and under an hour of cook time, your whole family will be including the air fryer in what they’re thankful for this year!
- Preheat your air fryer to 400°F and pat the turkey breast dry with paper towels.
- Loosen the skin of the turkey and rub the butter into the turkey under the skin. This will give your turkey amazing flavor and help give it that crispy skin.
- Liberally drizzle olive oil over the top of the turkey and season with salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle the herbs over the top of the turkey breast and rub them in gently.
- Air fry for about 10 minutes.
- Flip the turkey over and reduce the temperature to 350°F and continue cooking for 40 minutes.
- Remove the turkey from the air fryer and let it rest for about 10 minutes before carving.
- Enjoy! Top with turkey gravy or cranberry sauce and serve with your best sides.
Be sure to check the turkey at the 30 minute mark and flip the turkey breast over one more time to make sure the skin is crisping up evenly on both sides. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature – you’re looking for 165°F.
Storage Information
You can store this turkey breast in an airtight container in your fridge for 3 to 4 days to retain the freshest flavor. To reheat it, you can pop your leftovers right back in the air fryer or enjoy it cold. No shame to all the cold turkey lovers out there! It’s tasty all the time.
FAQs
The possibilities are endless when it comes to using up your leftover Air Fryer Turkey breast! It’s perfect for sandwiches, pot pies, turkey noodle soup, casseroles, chili, anything! In my opinion, the best part of Thanksgiving are all the delicious leftovers that are enjoyed the following days.
The same with roasting a traditional turkey, you can use a frozen bird. However, you will need to let it thaw completely before cooking even when using the air fryer or it will not cook through.
Trish’s Tips and Variations
- This recipe will work for any air fryer you might own as long as the turkey breast will actually fit in the air fryer. If it doesn’t fit, you can try trimming it down to make it fit or cut in half. If the breast is too big for the basket, you can put it directly in the air fryer pot or the base dish to cook. You may have to adjust the size of your turkey breast depending on your personal air fryer.
- When checking the internal temperature of your turkey breast, make sure to insert the thermometer into the center of the meat and that it isn’t touching any of the bone.
- You can use dried herbs if you don’t have fresh ones on hand but I highly recommend the fresh herbs, as they lend a better taste to the turkey.
- Feel free to substitute the herbs you use to vary the flavors of your turkey. Parsley is a great one to include or garnish with.
- Amp up the flavor by chopping up additional herbs and combining them with the softened butter.
More Tasty Turkey Recipes
Side Dish Favorites
Side dishes make the meal! I’ve said it a million times and that’s because it’s true. A few awesome side dishes can take any meal – holiday or otherwise – to the next level. Don’t miss out on these favorites:
- Cheesy Potatoes
- Duchess Potatoes
- Green Bean Recipe
- Cornbread
- Mashed Potatoes
- Dinner Rolls
- Cornbread Dressing
- Cranberry Sauce
- Candied Yams
How To Make Air Fryer Turkey Breast
Air Fryer Turkey Breast
Ingredients
- 5 to 7 pound turkey breast bone in
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh sage chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme chopped
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400°F and pat turkey breast dry with paper towels.5 to 7 pound turkey breast
- Loosen the skin of the turkey and rub the butter into the turkey under the skin.2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Drizzle the olive oil all over the top of the turkey and season with salt and pepper.1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- Sprinkle the fresh herbs over the top of the turkey breast and rub in gently.1 ½ teaspoons fresh sage, 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, 1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme
- Place the turkey breast into the air fryer and cook at 400°F for about 10 minutes.
- Flip the turkey over and reduce the temperature to 350°F and continue cooking for an additional 40 minutes. Check the turkey at the 30 minute mark and flip the turkey over one more time if the skin isn’t crisping up evenly. Use a thermometer to check the internal temperature. The turkey is done when it reaches 165°F.
- Remove the turkey from the air fryer and let rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.
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