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.”
What You’ll Need To Make Stuffed Turkey Breast
- Butter: Adds richness and helps soften the vegetables for the stuffing base.
- Onion, Celery, and Garlic: Create a savory, aromatic foundation for the stuffing, adding layers of flavor and a slight crunch.
- Mild Italian Pork Sausage: Infuses the stuffing with savory, slightly spiced richness; chicken or turkey sausage can be used for a lighter option.
- White Wine: Deglazes the pan, adding acidity and depth to the stuffing.
- Fresh Rosemary and Thyme: Add earthy, aromatic flavors that complement the turkey and stuffing.
- Egg: Acts as a binder to hold the stuffing together.
- Stuffing Cubes: Serve as the foundation for the stuffing, absorbing the flavors from the sausage and vegetables. Store-bought is perfectly fine.
- Chicken Broth: Moistens the stuffing, ensuring it stays flavorful and tender during roasting.
- Parsley: Adds freshness and color to balance the richness of the stuffing.
- Turkey Breast: The recipe calls for a 5 to 6-pound whole bone-in turkey breast. Ask your butcher to bone and butterfly it for you, or, even better, see if they’ll pound it to 1/2-inch thickness to save you a step. If you prefer using a boneless breast, aim for one around 4 pounds to account for the missing bone weight.
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: Used to coat the turkey breast, helping it achieve a crispy, golden exterior.
- Homemade Gravy: The perfect finishing touch for serving, turkey gravy adds moisture and flavor to the dish.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
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 down on a countertop or work surface.
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 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 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 — this takes some time and muscle so be patient. 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 live in your area. Do you have a recommendation as to where I can buy a boneless butterflied turkey breast?
Thank you.
Hi Laura, The butchers at Whole Foods will happily do it for you. Be sure the bone-in breast weighs 5 to 6 lbs; it should be about 4 pounds after they de-bone it.
We did this yesterday – Canadian Thanksgiving – and instead of olive oil drizzled bacon fat on the skin, tucked sage and parsley under the skin, ans piece de resistance, placed quartered onions, small carrots and celery under the turkey rack to roast in the juices, oh my. So easy to serve, elegant and tasty
This recipe sounds wonderful! I want to make a trial run before I try it for Thanksgiving this year[its never too early to start planning!]
When taking the temperature in the thickest portion to determine doneness are the thinner sections of the roll going to be overcooked? I like the idea of making it the day before to reduce the frantic time spent in the kitchen before serving! Thanks so much for your wonderful website. I have found so many great recipes here!
So glad you like the recipes, Judy! No, the thinner parts of the chicken breast won’t get overcooked while the thicker section cooks. Hope you enjoy the trial run. 🙂
Question: just back from the butcher and ended up with a 6lb. breast…..after it was deboned and butterflied. So it must have been 7 or 8 lbs.to begin with.
How should I proceed?? Should I do 2 separate rolls and. double the stuffing??
Thanks!!
Hi Michelle, That has happened to me. I did one roll and it was fine; the only issue was that it took forever to pound thin. I had to bring my husband in for extra muscle :). You could also do two smaller rolls, if that’s easier. (You don’t need to double the stuffing, as the recipe makes extra, unless you want more to serve on the side.)
I was nervous to try this recipe but followed it exactly and the results were amazing! My entire family raved about it – even my in laws!! Thank you!
I got the smallest breast I could find at Whole Foods and had them butterfly it. Pounding it took some time. By the time I finished stuffing it, it looked like the “Great Wall of China”. Way too much for the two of us. The recipe, which I followed exactly, is rather time-consuming but definitely worth the effort. The taste is delicious. Next time I would use turkey cutlets and make small individual rolls. A keeper for my “do-again” recipe file. I love Jen’s recipes … they come out how you expect and are always so tasty. Plus the ingredients are generally ones you have on hand.
hello, can I make the stuffing ahead of time and freeze until ready to use
Yes, definitely, Karen – it freezes well. Happy holidays!
Jenn, as I mentioned in my review of your high-heat turkey recipe, I also tried this lovely dish over Thanksgiving this year, just to make sure I had enough turkey. I couldn’t believe how easy and beautiful it was! It cooked in exactly 1 hour and 15 min and I absolutely loved the look of it on the platter – so gorgeous and fancy! I thought the process of rolling it up might be a little daunting, but found it very straightforward. I did wrap the roll in one layer of cheesecloth to help keep the stuffing from creeping out after prep (I made it earlier that morning and chilled it until cook time). This may just beat out the big bird next year!
So glad everything turned out, Mary! ❤️
Similar to another review here, the hardest part for me was butterflying the turkey breast. I only just realized that I rolled it the wrong way – rolling “left to right” as it was pictured here. It resulted in a much thicker roast and inevitably some of the stuffing “breached” while roasting. But still, I didn’t overcook it and everything was tasty and tender.
I did struggle a little with the stuffing because my wife is gluten free and we usually just replace stuffing cubes with breadcrumbs we make ourselves from a nice gluten free bread we like. We usually have to tweak the measurements though, and this time it was all a little too moist, as the bread is not as dry as stuffing cubes. I either need to use more stale bread or halve the stock or white wine in the sausage mix, to keep stuffing a little drier and make the roast easier to carve. But it’s very tasty, relatively easy and a perfect option for our small family! Will be trying again for Christmas!
I made this yesterday with a 5lb boneless turkey breast that I had ordered from Whole Foods. I did not realize when I ordered the turkey that I had to specify I wanted it boned AND butterflied so my husband and I attempted to butterfly it after watching a few YouTube videos. We were not able to pound the meat down to 1/2″ so as a result, our roll was shorter in length and had a larger diameter than what is pictured here. We wrapped the part of the roll that didn’t have skin on it in bacon. It took about 2 hours to cook. Despite our butterfly issues, the turkey was delicious and so much easier to carve than a boned breast. Next year I will not make the same mistake and I will be sure to ask the butcher to butterfly the breast too.