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Home » ALL RECIPES » Sous Vide Recipes » Sous Vide Turkey Breast

September 23, 2019

Sous Vide Turkey Breast

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Sliced turkey breast with quinoa stuffing
sous vide turkey breast sliced on plate with stuffing p3
sous vide turkey breast sliced on plate with stuffing p4

Perfection!  Sous vide turkey breast is impossible to beat for moist, tender, succulent turkey – EVERY time. Amazing results with this method – guaranteed.

Succulent sous vide turkey breast. Tender, moist and cooked to perfection from edge to edge.

And don’t just think Thanksgiving. Turkey can be a light summer dinner, too, when served with lighter sides and accompaniments such as peach chutney, mango salsa, savory peach sauce or cranberry relish. 

 

If you’ve read any of our other sous vide recipes, you’ll know that I’m completely sold on sous vide for its easy, walk-away, stress free benefits.

Once you master a few simple rules, you are pretty much sure to achieve tender, moist meat with precise control over the done-ness you choose.

Unlike the oven or grill, the temperature is the same from edge to edge and not, for example, overcooked on the outside and under cooked in the middle. Incredibly reliable.

As for turkey, I hate, hate, hate dry-as-a-bone turkey that you can choke on if not soaked in gravy. With traditional methods, a whole turkey is tough to get right as the different parts of the turkey cook at different rates.  Turkey breasts are easier, but you often still have to hold your breath when you slice into it.

With the sous vide method, there are no surprises. Moist, succulent, tender every time. 

For a few tips and tricks we’ve learned in the last couple of years about sous vide cooking (after lots of practice and research), take a look at our post on Best Sous Vide Recipes. 

Temperature 

I do suggest experimenting with your preferred ‘cook’ from super soft and moist to the more traditional. 

There are some wonderful websites that show clear pictures of the different levels of ‘cook’ to help you choose. Here is one from Serious Eats on Sous Vide Turkey Breast.  

For this recipe, I used a temperature of 144F for 2 3/4 hours and the turkey was outstanding – flavorful, tender and juicy. If you prefer your turkey a bit more well done with no pink at all, cook it at 145-146F.

Note that you can do 2-3 half-breasts at the same time if you have a large enough vessel. 

Great Sides for Sous Vide Turkey Breast

Everyone has his/her favorite sides for turkey on Thanksgiving or other times.  Here’s a few of ours:

  • Vegetable Quinoa Stuffing (pictured)
  • Vegetarian Stovetop Stuffing
  • Homemade Stuffing
  • Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes (includes gravies, sides, stuffings, cranberry sauce and more)

Make Ahead

  • The turkey breast can be seasoned, sealed in a vacuum sealed bag and refrigerated for a couple of days before cooking.
  • If cooking the same day, you have an additional 2 hour window to keep the turkey in the sous vide bath (up to 5 hours total) without affecting the temperature and texture.

Other turkey recipes you might like

  • glazed sous vide turkey thighs
  • grilled turkey breast
  • bone-in turkey breast with pear chutney
turkey breast, oil, garlic pepper, salt, pepper, rosemary

1/2 bone-in turkey breast, olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper

turkey breast meat and bone separated

Cut breast meat from the bone

turkey breast in sous vide bag

Season breast and vacuum seal in bag (or place in zipper lock bag) to prepare for sous vide cooking.

turkey breast after sous vide cooking

Cook breast at 144-146F for 2 3/4 hours in sous vide water bath. Remove from bag and pat dry with paper towel.sous vide turkey breast seared on skin side

Sear skin in hot pan for 1-2 minutes with a touch of oil for a nice presentation.

sliced sous vide turkey breast on cutting board

Slice turkey and serve.

sous vide turkey breast on plate with stuffing

sous vide turkey breast sliced on plate

sous vide turkey breast sliced on a plate with quinoa stuffing
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4.7 from 20 votes

Sous Vide Turkey Breast

Perfection! Sous vide turkey breast is impossible to beat for moist, tender, succulent turkey - EVERY time. Amazing results with this method - guaranteed.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time2 hrs 50 mins
Total Time3 hrs
Course: Main Course, make ahead
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4
Author: Cheryl

Ingredients

  • 1/2 turkey breast, bone-in, skin-on (about 2.5 pounds) - or 2 pound boneless, skin on.
  • 1 tbsp olive oil or melted butter
  • seasonings: kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder, fresh or dried rosemary (or thyme)

For searing turkey after sous vide cooking:

  • 2 tsp oil with high smoke point (e.g. canola, avocado, extra light olive oil, corn, peanut oil or ghee/clarified butter)
  • additional salt, pepper

Instructions

  • I use an oven/box-type sous vide machine. If you use an immersion circulator sous vide, follow manufacturer's instructions for operation.
    PREPARE SOUS VIDE BATH: Fill water in sous vide machine as per manufacturers instructions (not too high). Set the temperature to 144F (or 145-146F if you want no pink) and allow water to heat to that temperature.
  • PREPARE TURKEY: To remove bone from turkey breast, slice turkey meat off as close to the bone as possible. You can leave the turkey on the bone if you prefer. Reserve bone for making broth for gravy if desired.
    Season: Rub oil or butter on all sides of turkey breast. Generously season all sides with kosher salt and pepper, a little garlic powder and fresh chopped (or dried) rosemary or thyme. Place turkey in bag: If using a vacuum sealed bag, fold back top of bag about an inch to create a flap (this ensures no food touches the top of the bag where it gets sealed). Insert turkey breast and shape it to an even thickness (to cook more evenly). Unfold flap and vacuum seal the bag using a vacuum sealer. Turkey can be refrigerated in the bag for a couple of days. (Note 1).
  • COOK TURKEY SOUS VIDE: When temperature of sous vide machine reaches 144F (or 145-6F), submerge bag into water. Cover and cook for minimum 2 3/4 hours and a maximum of 5 hours. Remove turkey from sous vide machine and remove from bag. Reserve juices to make a gravy if desired (there will not be a lot of juices though). Pat turkey dry with a paper towel.
  • MAKE IT LOOK BEAUTIFUL (OPTIONAL): The turkey is perfect to eat as is, but if you want a pretty presentation, you can flash sear it in a pan or grill it skin side down on high heat 1-2 minutes. First, season turkey lightly again on all sides. To sear skin side: Heat oil in a heavy pan to high/medium high (about 8 out of 10). Place skin side down, pressing into pan on all corners to fully brown the entire skin side for a total of 1-2 minutes. To grill: Grill skin side down on high heat for 1-2 minutes.
  • SLICE AND SERVE: Slice horizontally and serve with gravy if desired, cranberry orange relish and other sides.

Notes

  1. Instead of a vacuum sealer, you can use a heavy zipper-lock bag. Place turkey breast in bag. Slowly lower bag into water. The pressure of the water will press air out of bag. When bag is just above water line and air is mostly out, seal (zip up) bag.
  2. Make Ahead: Turkey can be seasoned, sealed in a vacuum sealed bag and refrigerated for a couple of days before cooking. Also, if cooking the same day, you have an additional 2 hour window to keep the turkey in the sous vide bath (up to 5 hours total) without affecting the temperature and texture. 

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Sous Vide Turkey Breast
Amount Per Serving (0 g)
Calories 398 Calories from Fat 180
% Daily Value*
Fat 20g31%
Saturated Fat 7g44%
Cholesterol 151mg50%
Sodium 948mg41%
Carbohydrates 2g1%
Protein 56g112%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?We'd love you to rate it above under 'rate this recipe' or in the comment section below. Thanks!

This recipe has been updated from the originally published recipe in 2017. 

Filed Under: ALL RECIPES, Main Course, Make Ahead Recipes, Sous Vide Recipes Tagged With: best sous vide recipes, sous vide turkey

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brandyn Ursini says

    October 31, 2020 at 4:13 pm

    5 stars
    So good. Glad I decided to try this out

    Reply
    • Cheryl says

      October 31, 2020 at 11:06 pm

      5 stars
      Glad you tried it too! Thanks for leaving a comment.

      Reply
  2. kathyaj says

    October 25, 2020 at 1:07 pm

    5 stars
    Easy peasy and excellent

    Reply
    • Cheryl says

      October 25, 2020 at 11:03 pm

      🙂

      Reply
  3. Dan says

    December 17, 2019 at 5:44 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious

    Reply
  4. Dan says

    December 17, 2019 at 5:42 pm

    5 stars
    Love it!

    Reply
  5. Leslee Miller says

    November 13, 2019 at 8:04 am

    This was the moistest, most succulent turkey breast I’ve ever had … anywhere, fine restaurants included. This will be my go-to recipe from here out!

    Reply
    • Cheryl says

      November 13, 2019 at 8:23 am

      Thanks for your lovely comment! So glad you liked the recipe.

      Reply

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Cheryl and Jenna

Two Kooks, Cheryl and Jenna

We're Two Kooks (mom and daughter) sharing recipes and tips for the busy home cook that are researched and tested, adaptable to your taste, easy to follow and delish. Check us out! Read More…

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