This air fryer turkey breast recipe is a quick way to make a juicy turkey breast rubbed in herb butter made fast in the air fryer.
Thanksgiving turkey is a hot topic during the fall months. Between figuring out what’s the best turkey to get and how many people love white and dark meat, it could get confusing.
Not only is it confusing, but there are SO many ways to cook turkey from oven roasting, smoking and even frying with oil.
Over this past year I fell in love with my Air Fryer, so it’s only natural that I would try and air fry turkey. This recipe is great because it uses just the turkey breast and is cooked in one hour. Most people in my circle only eat white meat, so it helps to make a turkey breast that will all be eaten without any leftovers!
How Many People Does One Turkey Breast Serve?
For this recipe, I used one bone in, skin on turkey breast that was 5 pounds. This will serve about 6-8 people.
How Much Time Do You Cook A Turkey In An Air Fryer?
Air fryer turkey can be cooked at 350. For each pound of turkey, plan on cooking it for 12 minutes. Make sure your turkey is fully cooked by inserting a thermometer in the thickest part of the meat. Once the internal temperature reaches 165 it is fully cooked.
How to Make Herb Butter For Turkey Breast:
- Let 4 tablespoons of butter come to room temperature so it is soft enough to mix herbs and seasonings into.
- Place butter in a small bowl and add in poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder and freshly chopped sage.
- Mix together until fully combined. This will be rubbed under the skin and on top of the skin to flavor the turkey breast.
How to Make Air Fryer Turkey Breast:
- Remove defrosted turkey breast from fridge and let sit on counter at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes to take the chill off. This will prevent the meat from seizing up and becoming too tough.
- Remove turkey breast from package and pat with paper towels until completely dry. Remove any excess skin with kitchen shears from the neck area.
- Lift up skin and rub herb butter mixture under the skin, on top of the skin and over the rest of the turkey breast until fully coated,
- Add turkey breast to air fryer basket breast side down and place a piece of foil on top to prevent from burning. Make sure the the turkey breast fully fits in air fryer without it touching the heat element at the top.
- Turn air fryer on 350 and cook for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, using tongs, flip turkey breast so the meat side is up and place the foil on top of the breast. Cook for 20 minutes longer.
- Remove the foil and cook for 10 more minutes or until skin is browned to desired look.
- Using tongs, remove entire turkey breast from air fryer and place onto a plate and tent with foil for 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving.
Recipe Tips & Questions:
Make sure you check the size of your air fryer. The air fryer I used is 8qts which fit the 5 pound turkey breast perfectly. Make sure your will fit the size of your turkey breast. If it ends up being too big, create a makeshift basket that elevates the turkey breast with aluminum foil or a heat safe trivet.
Dry with paper towels. Making sure your turkey breast is fully dry will help the herb butter stick to the meat and not sweat off during cooking.
Let come to room temperature. Adding cold meat to a hot cooking setting will cause the meat to seize up and become less tender and juicy.
Add foil on the bottom for easy clean up. There will be some oil and drippings coming off the turkey breast that that will fall to the bottom. For easier clean up, add a piece of aluminum foil to catch the drippings for easier clean up.
Other Air Fryer Recipes:
Air Fryer Turkey Breast
Ingredients
- 1 5 lb Turkey Breast bone in skin on
- 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 2 tbsp Fresh Sage chopped
- 1 tbsp Poultry Seasoning
- 2 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
Instructions
To Make Herb Butter:
- Let 4 tablespoons of butter come to room temperature so it is soft enough to mix herbs and seasonings into.
- Place butter in a small bowl and add in poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder and freshly chopped sage.
- Mix together until fully combined. This will be rubbed under the skin and on top of the skin to flavor the turkey breast.
To Air Fry Turkey Breast:
- Remove defrosted turkey breast from fridge and let sit on counter at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes to take the chill off. This will prevent the meat from seizing up and becoming too tough.
- Remove turkey breast from package and pat with paper towels until completely dry. Remove any excess skin with kitchen shears from the neck area.
- Lift up skin and rub herb butter mixture under the skin, on top of the skin and over the rest of the turkey breast until fully coated,
- Add turkey breast to air fryer basket breast side down and place a piece of foil on top to prevent from burning. Make sure the the turkey breast fully fits in air fryer without it touching the heat element at the top.
- Turn air fryer on 350 and cook for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, using tongs, flip turkey breast so the meat side is up and place the foil on top of the breast. Cook for 20 minutes longer.
- Remove the foil and cook for 10 more minutes or until skin is browned to desired look.
- Using tongs, remove entire turkey breast from air fryer and place onto a plate and tent with foil for 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving.
Can this be done with olive oil instead of butter?
Sure can!