Stuffed Turkey Breast with Sausage & Herbs
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Looking for a smaller, more flavorful turkey option for the holidays? This stuffed turkey breast is juicy, packed with flavor, and cooks in just over an hour. It’s also make-ahead friendly and easy to carve—perfect for a stress-free holiday meal!
Whether you’re cooking for a smaller crowd for the holidays or looking for an alternative to traditional turkey, this stuffed turkey breast is the answer. Adapted from Patrick and Gina Neely, it is much more flavorful and juicy than your typical roast turkey and cooks in just 1¼ hours. What’s more, it can be made entirely ahead of time and is a cinch to carve. The hardest part of the recipe is pounding the turkey breast thin, so I suggest asking your butcher to do it for you. This recipe has become part of my family’s Thanksgiving tradition—everyone prefers it to traditional roast turkey, even the dark-meat lovers. Sometimes I even make it in addition to roasting a large bird to guarantee we have plenty of leftovers.
“I have been making turkey for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas for over 50 years…I have NEVER gotten rave reviews like I did this time.”
Step-by-Step Instructions
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.
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. 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 up on a countertop or work surface.
Pound to an even 1/2-inch thickness, then flip the breast so it’s skin-side down.
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 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.
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Stuffed Turkey Breast with Sausage & Herbs
Looking for a smaller, more flavorful turkey option for the holidays? This stuffed turkey breast is juicy, packed with flavor, and cooks in just over an hour. It’s also make-ahead friendly and easy to carve—perfect for a stress-free holiday meal!
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 to 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 up 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 — this takes some time and muscle so be patient. Flip the breast over so it's skin-side down then 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 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. 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 (you can also ask if they will pound it to a ½-inch thickness to save you a step later). 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)
- 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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I am sure you hear this all the time, but I wanted you to know you are always my first go-to for any recipe. They are always perfect. I ran a high end private dining club for many years and I would have loved to have had you as our chef. You are extraordinary. So glad you have a website of amazing recipes. Congratulations.
Hi Louisa, thank you for your incredibly kind words – you made my day!
Hi Jenn,
Me again….I read further in the comments that I can prep this a day in advance which is great. Is it also possible to fully prep and freeze before cooking?
Also, can I make your gravy recipe with just the chicken broth? Or, should I get chicken bone broth?
Lucia
Hi Lucia, Yes, you can freeze this. (I’d remove it about 24 hours before you’d like to bake it.) And keep in mind the bake time may be slightly longer as it will be cold. And, yes, you can replace the turkey drippings with chicken broth – no need to get bone broth. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn,
Tradition in our house is beef tenderloin for Christmas Eve and ham Christmas day. Kids are agreeing that ham is getting old so I love the idea of turkey but not the traditional bird. Can I make this stuffed turkey breast 2 days in advance and leave uncooked in the fridge? Any other ideas for me?
Thanks!
Hi Lucia, es, you can prep and stuff it a day ahead (and I think two days should be OK but I wouldn’t push it any longer than that); just make sure everything is cold when you assemble and refrigerate right away. And if you want to fully prepare and cook it, it reheats beautifully.
Hi Jenn. I’m looking forward to trying this but want to use just half of a turkey breast, approximately 1.5 lbs. for 3 of us. How long do you think it will need to cook for that smaller size?
Hi Leslie, the cook time may be slightly less, but not significantly so. I’d probably check it at an hour, but to remove any guesswork, I suggest using an instant thermometer — insert it into the thickest part of the roll and remove it from the oven when it reaches 155°F (it will rise in temperature to 165°F as it rests).
Thanks so much for your quick response Jenn! Many of your other holiday recipes will also be on the menu which I know will be enjoyed by everyone.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Hi Jenn. Only skinless single turkey breasts are available near me. Is it still possible to make this dish, and if so, do you have any recommendations I should consider, or any changes I should make to the original posted recipe? Alternatively, I am open to another recommendation for a recipe that combines turkey with stuffing (in another format/form).
Hi Ella, It should be just fine without the skin, but you might consider wrapping the roll in a few slices of bacon before roasting — it adds fat, moisture, and great flavor, helping keep the meat juicy. Otherwise, you can follow the recipe as written.
Wonderful recipe, tasted good and looked gorgeous plated but my teen kids were rather horrified by the raw, desecrated turkey meat they saw me pounding away at and they called it the “Tube of Turkey” LOL. I watched a few YouTube videos to learn how to debone the entire turkey breast and with patience, working slowly and good deboning knife, I was able to get both breast lobes off and still attached as yours look in the pictures.
I forgot to add will there be enough drippings for gravy ?
It really doesn’t make a lot of drippings. I use mostly chicken broth for my gravy when making this recipe.