Making a turkey breast in your slow cooker ensures it comes out moist and delicious, and frees up space in the oven for all of your other holiday dishes.
Serving a moist, juicy turkey for your Thanksgiving feast is easy when you use this Slow Cooker Turkey Breast with Gravy recipe and let the slow cooker do all the work for you.
Using a slow cooker is a much more reliable way than the oven to cook turkey without drying it out. And nobody likes dry turkey, especially during the holidays!
Plus, turkey breast in the slow cooker is so easy to prepare and cook, and it frees up so much space in your oven for all of those other Thanksgiving side dishes.
While this technique can be used on a whole turkey, I find it works best (and is safest) with a turkey breast–either boneless or bone-in–because of it’s smaller size.
I almost always opt for one or two smaller turkey breasts at Thanksgiving, rather than an entire turkey. They are much easier to prepare, cook, and serve. Trust me, once you make your turkey this way, you’ll never go back.
Another great thing about the slow cooker method is that you end up with plenty of juices for homemade turkey gravy! And it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without the gravy.
Whether I’m using a boneless or bone-in turkey breast, I like to use one with the skin on. It won’t crisp up in a slow cooker like it will in the oven, but there’s a simple solution.
Just slide your turkey under the broiler for a few minutes before slicing and serving, and you’ll get a nice, crispy, golden-brown skin, just like an oven roasted turkey.
This is one of the most fool-proof ways of cooking turkey I’ve come across, so if your nervous about your Thanksgiving bird, give this recipe a try.
You’re going to love the ease of this Slow Cooker Turkey Breast with Gravy, and who doesn’t need things to be more easy during this hectic time of year?
Be sure to save this recipe for Slow Cooker Turkey Breast with Gravy to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Here’s what you’ll need to make Slow Cooker Turkey Breast with Gravy
- Turkey breast
- Butter
- Spices: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper
- Produce: onions, fresh herbs (optional)
- Flour
- Chicken or turkey broth
Slow Cooker Turkey Breast with Gravy
Ingredients
For the turkey
- 4-6 pound turkey breast skin-on (boneless or bone-in)
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 large onion peeled and sliced
- Fresh parsley or rosemary for garnish (optional)
For the gravy
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup chicken or turkey broth
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the softened butter, garlic powder, onion powder, poultry seasoning and salt and pepper until well combined.
- Loosen the skin of the turkey (do not remove it). Spread half of teh butter mixture under the skin. Spread the remaining butter mixture over the outside of the turkey breast.
- Spray a large slow cooker with non stick cooking spray. Lay the onions in the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the turkey breast on top of the onion slices.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the turkey reads 165 degrees F.
- Transfer the turkey breast to a large baking sheet and preheat the broiler. Broil for 4-5 minutes, or until skin is browned and crispy. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pour the liquid from the slow cooker through a fine mesh strainer. Discard the solids.
- In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat, stir in 4 tablespoons flour. Whisk in the strained drippings, plus 1 cup of chicken or turkey broth. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until gravy is thickened. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Garnish turkey with fresh herbs, if desired, before slicing and serving.
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Nutrition
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Who Dished It Up First: Adapted from Dinner at the Zoo
1 comment
Elizabeth Mulgrew
WOW! With the trouble I’ve had with meat drying out in the slow cooker, this recipe came out FANTASTIC! I had almost given up on meat and crock pots! But I only cooked the turkey 3 hours on low since my slow cooker is a new one, which cooks much hotter than older ones, even on low I did broil it in the oven for the recommended time to get that nice browned skin. And the meat came out SOOO moist and tender! Both my husband and son said it was perfect! And the gravy is so flavorful and GUUUUD! Made some extra mashed potatoes so we could have potato cakes with leftover gravy for breakfast the next day! Yum! I think now the trick to keeping meat moist is to know your slow cooker (whether old or new) and start checking for doneness at the minimum cooking time. (Of course you could use an instant meat thermometer, if you have one.)