Curious about air fryer turkey breast? This turkey breast in air fryer recipe is simple, but the result is perfectly juicy turkey breast with a crispy skin! Learn how to air fry a turkey breast – complete with the most delicious compound butter – it makes this the best turkey breast recipe!
While I have an Instant Pot turkey breast recipe, one bite of this and I decided it’s the best way to cook a turkey breast! Whether you’re making a smaller Thanksgiving feast, or just a comforting Sunday dinner, serve up your air fryer bone in turkey breast with haricot verts, kale pomegranate salad, cheesy potato casserole, and sausage stuffing. And if you’re looking for a larger turkey, my dry brine spatchcock turkey should be on your list.
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Table of Contents
- Can You Cook A Turkey Breast In An Air Fryer?
- Juicy Air Fryer Turkey Breast Video
- What You’ll Love about Air Fryer Turkey Breast
- Turkey Breast in Air Fryer Ingredients
- How to Air Fry a Turkey Breast
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Storage Instructions
- How to Serve Turkey Breast to the Whole Family
- Substitutes + Nutrition
- What to Serve with Turkey Breast Air Fryer
- More Easy Turkey Recipes
- What To Do with Leftover Turkey Breast
- Helpful Tools to Make Turkey Breast in Air Fryer
I’m thrilled to once-again partner with the National Turkey Federation to bring you these Thanksgiving and holiday inspired turkey recipes.
Turkey is a staple in our grocery cart (or grocery delivery!) because it’s incredibly versatile, it’s loaded with essential vitamins and minerals (selenium, and B vitamins to name a few), and let’s be real…it just tastes good! Whether you choose sliced turkey breast, turkey breast, whole turkeys, or ground turkey there are so many ways to eat and enjoy turkey!
Can You Cook A Turkey Breast In An Air Fryer?
Yes, and while I love spatchcock dry brine turkey, if you’re cooking up a smaller turkey, the air fryer is the way to go! Not only does it cook faster than roasting it in the oven, but it’s easy to get browned skin and juicy meat. One try and you’ll be hooked, too!
Juicy Air Fryer Turkey Breast Video
What You’ll Love about Air Fryer Turkey Breast
- Unbelievably JUICY tender meat
- Crispy turkey skin
- Quick cooking time
- Made with simple ingredients
- Easy to prep-ahead
Turkey Breast in Air Fryer Ingredients
The turkey breast seasoning is kept simple with classic Thanksgiving flavors mixed into a compound butter. It keeps the turkey meat nice and juicy, while imparting flavors from the fresh herbs and garlic as well as a hint of sweetness from the maple syrup.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter.
- Garlic – I think fresh or frozen garlic is better than jarred, but feel free to use your favorite.
- Maple syrup – Use pure maple syrup for best flavor.
- Rosemary – Use fresh rosemary.
- Thyme – Use fresh thyme.
- Turkey breast – For best flavor, choose a bone-in, skin-on turkey breast that’s about 3-4 pounds.
- Sea salt and black pepper
How to Air Fry a Turkey Breast
Let me show you how easy this turkey breast in an air fryer is!
- Preheat air fryer. Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees F.
- Dry turkey. Pat turkey breast skin dry with paper towels.
- Mix compound herb butter. Mash butter together in a small bowl and mix in garlic, maple syrup, rosemary, and thyme. Mash everything together
- Spread butter on turkey breast. Use your fingers to separate the skin from the meat and place butter mixture underneath skin.
TIP: After you put the chunks of butter under the skin, press on the top of the skin to spread out the butter. It’s easier to do this than spreading with your fingers.
- Season turkey breast. Spray top of turkey breast with olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper. Place skin side down in the air fryer and season the other side with olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper.
- Air fry turkey breast. Cook skin side down for 20 minutes, flip over, and cook another 20-40 minutes, until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.
- Let turkey breast rest. Remove turkey breast from air fryer and tent with aluminum foil. Rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you air fry a whole turkey?
It all depends on your air fryer size! There are some super-sized air fryers that could potentially fit a whole turkey, but standard sized air fryers will not fit a whole turkey.
How long to cook turkey breast in air fryer?
Wondering about cooking time for turkey breast in air fryer?
The turkey breast cooking time will depend on the size of the turkey breast and whether you are cooking air fryer turkey breast with bone or without bone.
A boneless turkey breast will take less time than air fryer turkey breast bone in.
The best way to determine when it’s done cooking is by using a meat thermometer. You can set this one to 160 degrees F. and it will beep when it reaches that temperature. Then remove it from air fryer basket, tent it with foil, and let it rest. The temperature will continue to rise.
A 3 lb. turkey breast air fryer will take about 45-55 minutes, and a 4 lb. turkey breast will take closer to 60-70 minutes.
Storage Instructions
Store any leftover air fryer turkey breast in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
How to reheat
Reheat the turkey breast in a hot skillet or microwave, just until heated through, being careful to not overheat.
Can you freeze bone in turkey breast?
Yes, you can also freeze leftover turkey breast meat. Store it in an airtight container (these glass storage containers and stasher bags are great) for 2-3 months.
How to Serve Turkey Breast to the Whole Family
I get it, feeding kids can be tough! But following the Division of Responsibility and knowing your job and your child’s job makes it SO much more enjoyable. You’ll be able to feed your kids any meal, which will help ensure that they are eating a variety of nutritious foods – with plenty of play food sprinkled in. 😉
Serve this Thanksgiving dinner with sides and let your kids choose what to put on their plate and no bribes for pumpkin pie. 😉
All of my articles on feeding kids can be found here and if you want a FULL list of all of the videos I have with hacks, tips, scripts, and ideas for feeding kids, check out my instagram or tiktok page.
Substitutes + Nutrition
If you want to swap out any of the ingredients and toppings, here are a few ways you can add even more nutrition into this meal:
- Dairy-free – It’s easy to make this turkey breast in the air fryer dairy-free, simply use your favorite butter alternative
- Dry herbs – Fresh herbs are preferred for the best flavor, but you can also use dried herbs. Use one teaspoon of dried rosemary and one teaspoon of dried thyme instead of fresh.
What to Serve with Turkey Breast Air Fryer
Serve this air fryer turkey recipe with classic Thanksgiving sides like mashed potatoes, sausage stuffing, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, and cranberry sauce. Here are some other great Thanksgiving side dishes:
More Easy Turkey Recipes
If you like this air fryer turkey breast recipe, you might also like some of these other easy turkey recipes:
- Dry Brine Spatchcock Turkey
- Instant Pot Turkey Breast
- Ground Turkey Stir Fry
- Turkey Meatloaf with Broccoli & Cheddar
What To Do with Leftover Turkey Breast
If you find yourself with leftover turkey breast, here are a few ways to use it:
- Turkey Sliders – Use thinly sliced turkey breast instead of the deli meat in these delicious sliders.
- Turkey French Dip Sandwich – Skip the cooking and just assemble your sandwiches.
- Turkey Hash – This is a favorite meal in my menu plan membership.
- Curry Lentil Soup – Perfect for Thanksgiving leftovers.
- Turkey Noodle Soup
- Homemade Buffalo Chicken Pizzas – Simply swap out the chicken for turkey.
Helpful Tools to Make Turkey Breast in Air Fryer
- Air Fryer – You can’t make turkey in air fryer without an air fryer! This is a basic one and be sure to use it for my air fryer broccoli next!
- Instant Read Meat Thermometer – A must so you don’t overcook your turkey.
- Chef Knife – Use a super-sharp knife to slice the turkey.
Juicy Air Fryer Turkey Breast Recipe with Maple Butter
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Description
Learn how to air fry a turkey breast! The maple butter on this EASY air fryer turkey breast keeps the meat juicy and tender. It’s a hit!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp. minced fresh rosemary
- 1 Tbsp. minced fresh thyme
- 3–4 lb. turkey breast
- 2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees F.
- Pat turkey breast skin dry with paper towels.
- In a small bowl, mash together butter, garlic, maple syrup, rosemary, and thyme together.
- Using your fingers to get under the turkey breast skin, place the butter mixture under the skin (do this completely so that the butter doesn’t melt out). Spray skin with olive oil, season 1 teaspoon of sea salt and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper. Place skin side down in the air fryer and spray bone-side with olive oil and season with remaining 1 teaspoon of sea salt and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper.
- Cook for 20 minutes. Flip over turkey breast and cook for another 20-40 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. (A 3 lb. breast will take 45 minutes and a 4lb. breast will take the upper side of 60 minutes.)
- Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- See cooking chart above in post.
Keywords: air fryer turkey breast, turkey breast in air fryer, turkey breast air fryer, how to air fry a turkey breast
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