Do you know what's more exhausting than spending hours shopping on Black Friday? It's spending the entirety of Thanksgiving cooking dinner. Before the pandemic, many households would invite family and friends over and spend all day roasting a whole turkey, preparing countless side dishes, and then serving it before falling asleep on the couch during the third quarter. Entertaining and preparing a Thanksgiving dinner with the roasted turkey and all the fixings is exhausting. So why not keep things simple this year and prepare an air fried turkey breast? Take back all those hours in the hot kitchen and put your air fryer to work!
Can You Air Fry a Thanksgiving Turkey?
Dig out that air fryer basket for the best turkey you've ever had! I am personally not the biggest fan of turkey because it dries out so easily. However, since this air fryer recipe has a shorter cooking time and focuses just on the boneless turkey breast, the turkey comes out considerably juicy with crispy skin. The only downside is that there is no bone-in pieces such as legs or thighs if dark meat is more your style.
It is possible to place an entire turkey in an air fryer oven, it's just got to be big enough to handle it. For me, I'm gonna stick to an air fryer turkey breast for my current appliance size.
Not only is the total time cut down, but air frying a turkey also frees up oven space for your other sides. Now you have a spot to cook all your sweet potatoes! It's healthier than a deep-fried turkey recipe too.
How to Air Fry a Turkey Breast
Whether this is for Thanksgiving or a weeknight meal, this air fried turkey breast is a snap to put together.
Remove the turkey breast from the packaging and dry the skin.
In a small bowl make the herb butter by combining the softened butter with sage, thyme, rosemary, paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper. Rub the mixture under the turkey skin and on the turkey skin.
Preheat your air fryer to 350F.
Place the turkey breast skin-side down and cook for 25 minutes. Flip and cook the turkey skin-side up for 35 minutes. Using an instant-read thermometer, check the internal temperature of the turkey breast and remove it from the air fryer when the internal temperature of 160F has been reached.
Cover the breast with aluminum foil and let the turkey rest for 10 minutes. Carve the juicy turkey and enjoy!
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Air Fryer Turkey Breast
Prep Time: 5 minutes |
Cook Time: 35 minutes
servings
INGREDIENTS
13-lbboneless turkey breast
3Tbspbutter, softened
1Tbspfresh rosemary, chopped
1Tbspfresh sage, chopped
1Tbspfresh thyme, chopped
1tsppaprika
1tspsalt
1/2tspblack pepper
Instructions
In a small bowl make the herb butter by combining the softened butter with sage, thyme, rosemary, paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper. Rub the mixture under the turkey skin and on the turkey skin.
Preheat your air fryer to 350F.
Place the turkey breast skin-side down and cook for 25 minutes. Flip and cook the turkey skin-side up for 35 minutes. Using an instant-read thermometer, check the internal temperature of the turkey breast and remove it from the air fryer when the internal temperature of 160F has been reached.
Cover the breast with aluminum foil and let the turkey rest for 10 minutes. Carve the juicy turkey and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Air Fryer Turkey Breast
Amount Per Serving
Calories 388Calories from Fat 207
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 23g35%
Saturated Fat 10g50%
Polyunsaturated Fat 5g
Monounsaturated Fat 8g
Cholesterol 163mg54%
Sodium 562mg23%
Potassium 541mg15%
Total Carbohydrates 2g1%
Dietary Fiber 1g4%
Sugars 0.1g
Protein 46g92%
Vitamin A19%
Vitamin C6%
Calcium1%
Iron19%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Air Fried Turkey Breast is a Quick & Easy Thanksgiving Dish