Rolled Stuffed Turkey Breast with Sausage & Herb Stuffing
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This stuffed turkey breast is a great alternative to traditional holiday turkey. Not only is it packed with flavor, but it also cooks in just 1-1/4 hours and can be made entirely ahead of time.
If you’re looking for an alternative to roasting a huge bird for the holidays, I highly recommend this rolled turkey breast with sausage stuffing adapted from Food Network’s Patrick and Gina Neely. It’s much more flavorful than your typical roast turkey and cooks in just 1-1/4 hours. What’s more, it can be made entirely ahead of time, makes an impressive presentation, and is a cinch to carve.
To begin, make the stuffing. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until soft.
Add the garlic and sausage and continue to cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is cooked and slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Add the wine, rosemary and thyme and cook for two minutes more, using your wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg, stuffing cubes, chicken broth, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and sausage mixture.
Stir until all the bread is moistened.
Place the butterflied turkey breast skin-side down on a countertop or work surface and pound to an even 1/2-inch thickness. Spoon about half of the stuffing in an even 1/2-inch layer over the breast, leaving a 1-inch border all around. (You’ll cook the remaining stuffing separately.)
Starting at the long end, roll the turkey into a long cylinder. Tie the roll with kitchen string with about 1-1/2 inches between each knot, and then trim the strings.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place an oven-proof rack over top. Place the turkey seam-side down on the rack, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roll reads 155°F.
Remove the turkey from the oven and let rest, loosely tented with foil for 15 minutes. The turkey will rise in temperature as it rests to 165°F. Snip the kitchen twine. Transfer the roll to a cutting board and slice into 1/2-inch thick slices.
Arrange on a platter and serve with gravy.
Rolled Turkey Breast with Sausage & Herb Stuffing
This stuffed turkey breast is a great alternative to traditional holiday turkey. Not only is it packed with flavor, but it also cooks in just 1-1/4 hours and can be made entirely ahead of time.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 2 large stalks celery, finely diced
- 3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 8 ounces mild Italian pork sausage, casings removed (or substitute chicken or turkey sausage)
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 9 cups store-bought seasoned or unseasoned stuffing cubes
- 1¾ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 whole (2 halves) (5-6 pound) skin-on turkey breast, boned and butterflied (see note)
- Kosher salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Homemade gravy, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sausage and continue to cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is cooked and slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, rosemary and thyme and cook for 2 minutes more, using your wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg, stuffing cubes, chicken broth, parsley, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and sausage mixture. Stir until all the bread is moistened.
- Place the butterflied turkey breast skin-side down on a countertop or work surface and cover with plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or rolling pin, pound the turkey breast to an even ½-inch thickness. Rub the meat with 1 tablespoon of the oil, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Spoon about half of the stuffing in an even ½-inch layer over the breast, leaving a 1-inch border all around. (Place the extra stuffing in a buttered 8-inch baking dish, and bake during the last 40 minutes of the turkey's cooking time.)
- Starting at the long end, roll the turkey into a long cylinder (start at the end with less skin; this way the skin will end up mostly on the outside of the roll). Don't worry if the stuffing peeks out in some spots. Tie the roll with kitchen string with about 1½ inches between each knot, and then trim the strings.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place an oven-proof rack over top. Spray the rack with nonstick cooking spray. Place the turkey seam-side down on the rack. Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon oil and season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Roast for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roll reads 155°F. Remove the turkey from the oven and let rest, loosely tented with foil for 15 minutes. The turkey will rise in temperature as it rests to 165°F. Snip and discard the kitchen twine. Transfer the roll to a cutting board and slice into ½-inch thick slices and arrange on a platter. Serve with gravy.
- Note: Ask your butcher to bone and butterfly the turkey breast for you. If you'd like to do it yourself, watch this how-to video. If you're buying a boneless turkey breast, look for one that is about 4 pounds.
- Make Ahead: The recipe can be prepared and cooked 1 to 2 days ahead of time, covered, and stored in the refrigerator. Slice the turkey roll cold and reheat, covered, in a 300°F oven until warm, 40 to 45 minutes.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Serving size: Note that data includes a side of stuffing
- Calories: 1063
- Fat: 56 g
- Saturated fat: 15 g
- Carbohydrates: 53 g
- Sugar: 6 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 82 g
- Sodium: 2100 mg
- Cholesterol: 253 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Made this for Christmas 2021 and it was a huge hit – cooked the day before and sliced it cold. Reheated enough for 4 of us that day and froze the remaining slices in a plastic zip bag with parchment between. Last night we had the leftovers, including some frozen leftover gravy (also this site). It was just as good as the first time!
As others mentioned, it’s best to get your butcher to bone and butterfly the turkey breast. I found it a bit daunting to roll because the skin distribution was uneven on mine so I think I’ll try removing all the skin before stuffing and rolling, then drape the skin over it once rolled. We don’t eat meat so the bacon isn’t an option.
Highly recommend – my family agrees this is the way to go for Thanksgiving next year, too!
I have made this turkey many times because everyone just loves it. Even dark meat friends gobble it up. Now I have an issue. I found out last night that 2 of my guests can’t eat pork. What to do? I am sure the sausage adds flavor and fat… but now I’m panicking. Any ideas so I can be calm tomorrow? Many thanks. Your books are fabulous and your speedy responses are amazing.
Hi Lexi, You can use turkey or chicken sausage – it will be just as good. Hope that helps and so glad you enjoy the cookbooks!
I can’t believe I asked a question that was answered in your recipe. Made so many times, but never read past pork sausage I guess. Again, thanks for all your great recipes. Off topic, I made the pecan squares yesterday and just Unbelievable. I had to hide them from my family so I would have some left for today.
sounds delish. Will make this to go with my boneless turkey on Christmas morning
I made this for Thanksgiving this year to a unanimous request from my family to repeat this every year! Had so much stuffing left over that I made a second one the next day to eat with leftovers. I did bard with bacon, which we all liked. So easy and fool-proof, which cuts the holiday stress in half!
I’m excited to make this for Christmas this year, but curious how many packages of Pepperidge farm stuffing cubes I should purchase?
Hi Tamara, It looks like a bag contains about 7 cups, so you’ll need to use one full bag and a little of a second bag. Hope that helps!
No mention of how many pounds of turkey breast!
I had to go to the Neelys’ recipe to find “4lbs”, but no adaptation for larger double breast!
Maybe I should make TWO ?
Hi Jen, Sorry you missed it — the recipe specifies to use 1 whole (2 halves) (5-6 pound) turkey breast. This serves 8, so if you’re serving significantly more people, you may want to make two of them. Hope that helps!