Slow Cooker Turkey Breast recipe – seriously delicious! Just season the turkey breast and throw it in the slow cooker. Ready to eat in about 5 hours. Such an easy way to make your Thanksgiving turkey! Bone-in turkey breast, olive oil, garlic powder, seasoned salt, paprika, Italian seasoning, black pepper, and onion powder. Low-carb, keto-friendly, and gluten-free. Great for Thanksgiving and Christmas or just when you have a craving for a good turkey sandwich!!
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Pin This RecipeEasy Crockpot Turkey Breast
This Slow Cooker Turkey Breast is our go-to turkey recipe for the holiday season. It is such an easy recipe to make and it is packed full of great flavor. Just season the turkey, pop it in the crockpot, and let it work its magic. The end result is a tender and juicy turkey breast. SO good! I could eat the entire turkey myself! LOL!
This cooking method is basically foolproof. Slow cooking at a low temperature reduces the risk of overcooking the turkey and drying it out. If you have a programmable slow cooker, you can program it to switch to the warm setting at the end of the cooking time. This recipe is great when you have small gatherings and don’t need a whole turkey or just get a hankering for an amazing turkey sandwich! I’ve already been to the grocery store and picked out my turkey for our holiday meal. I can not wait to eat this again on the big day!
How to Cook a Bone-In Turkey Breast in the Slow Cooker
The cooking process is effortless. Thaw the turkey breast if frozen. Remove any giblets and rinse the turkey under cold water. Pat the turkey dry with some paper towels. Brush the outside of the turkey with olive oil. In a small bowl, combine garlic powder, seasoned salt, paprika, Italian seasoning, black pepper, and onion powder. Rub the seasoning mixture all over the turkey and place in the crockpot breast side up. Cover and cook on LOW until it reaches an internal temperature of 170ºF. Remove the turkey and place it on a carving board. Let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing it with a sharp knife.
Tips & Frequently Asked Questions
- I used a 6-pound turkey breast and it took about 5 hours to cook in the slow cooker. Use an instant-read meat thermometer to check for an internal temperature of 170ºF in the turkey breast meat.
- Once the turkey breast was cooked, I transfer it to a baking dish or roasting pan and pop it under the broiler for a few minutes to get that yummy crispy skin. Watch the turkey and broil it just until the turkey skin starts to turn golden brown.
- If you aren’t a fan of the skin, you can remove the skin before cooking. Either way, it will be great!
- If the lid won’t fit on the slow cooker with the turkey inside, cover the crockpot with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
- Can I cook the turkey on HIGH in the crockpot? Yes. It will take about half the time to cook on HIGH. Use an instant-read meat thermometer to check for an internal temperature of 170ºF.
- You can use any seasoning combination that you enjoy. Fresh herbs, poultry seasoning, cajun seasoning, BBQ seasoning, or a packet of onion soup mix are both delicious.
- For extra flavor, add some fresh onion and garlic in the bottom of the crockpot. Use the turkey juices to make a flavorful gravy.
- Can I cook a frozen turkey breast? Yes! Cooking a turkey breast from frozen or partially thawed is perfectly safe. It will just take longer to cook from frozen, so make sure to plan accordingly.
- This turkey breast is low-carb/keto-friendly and gluten-free.
- Store leftover turkey meat in an airtight container in the refrigerator or in a resealable freezer bag and freeze to eat later.
- Leftover turkey is great in soups, casseroles, and of course, turkey sandwiches!
What to Serve with Thanksgiving Turkey
This is the easiest way to make a turkey for your upcoming Thanksgiving dinner. This is such a simple recipe that packs tons of great flavor. Even if this is your first time making a turkey, this crock pot turkey breast is sure to turn out perfectly for the big day!
The best part about using this slow cooker recipe is that it frees up oven space for all those delicious side dishes. Green beans, mashed potatoes, squash casserole, rolls, and pecan pie are all a must! Here are a few of our go-to recipes from the blog that do great with this delicious recipe!
Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
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Easy Squash Casserole
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Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 1 (6 to 7-lb) bone-in turkey breast, thawed
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp seasoned salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp onion powder
Instructions:
- Brush turkey with oil.
- Combine seasonings and rub over turkey.
- Place turkey, breast side up, into 6-quart slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours.
Notes:
- This turkey takes about 5 hours to cook in the slow cooker. Once the turkey breast was cooked, I transferred it to a baking pan and popped it under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp up the skin.
- If you aren’t a fan of the skin, you can remove the skin before cooking. Either way, it will be great!
- Can I cook the turkey on HIGH in the crockpot? Yes. It will take about half the time to cook on HIGH. Use an instant-read meat thermometer to check for an internal temperature of 170ºF.
- You can use any seasoning combination that you enjoy. Cajun seasoning, BBQ seasoning or a packet of onion soup mix are both delicious.
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Cajun Seasoning: https://www.plainchicken.com/creolecajun-seasoning-secret-recipe/
- Here is our recipe for Homemade BBQ Seasoning: https://www.plainchicken.com/bbq-seasoning/
- Can you cook a turkey breast from frozen? Yes! Cooking a turkey breast from frozen or partially thawed is perfectly safe. It will just take longer to cook from frozen, so make sure to plan accordingly.
- This turkey breast is low-carb/keto-friendly and gluten-free.
Steph
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This was so moist. It was delicious, everyone loved it.
Can I shred this turkey for pulled turkey? I’m planning on using your bbq seasoning rub. If I can, hiw many people do youbthink it will feed?
I made this last weekend and it was very good. Didn’t use the Italian spice and used celery salt in p!acrid seasoned salt. It was very good, took my slow cooker longer but very good. Will be my go to for Turkey breast now. Thank you!
How long would you cook it from frozen?
Can i use this recipe with 2 small boneless turkey breasts in same crock pot?
Sure
This look so great! Could you add veggies to the bottom of the slow cooker or would that throw off the time/proper cooking of the turkey? Probably a dumb question, but I’m new to the crockpot turkey game!
I made it for our considerably smaller Thanksgiving celebration. (My son’s school is requiring a 14 day isolation if we have Thanksgiving dinner with people outside of our household, so we’re staying home.) I love the recipes on this blog. They are easy to follow and taste great! I hope everyone has a happy and healthy Thanksgiving full of peace and happiness!
I made this last year and it was DELICIOUS! Will use this recipe again this year! We don't need a huge turkey for just the two of us!
Can I brine it like you do for the instant pot and then cook it in the crock pot?
Absolutely! Sounds delicious. Enjoy!
I plan on using this recipe for Thanksgiving this year. We have a 4.5lb turkey breast and a slow cooler that tends to cook on the hot side on low. How long should I cook this, and what method of thawing did you use? How long was it before it was completely thawed? Thanks!
my turkey breast is only 3 lbs.
How long should I cook it?
I would say 3 to 4 hours
Can I inject my turkey and use the spices on the outside? I don’t want my turkey to be dry
Sure
Cooking in the Crock-Pot do I need to add any broth or liquid for the turkey breast
no
I know we just had Thanksgiving but I'm going to try this today 🙂
Made this today and it was amazing! I didn't have paprika so just did without. The turkey was so moist and the flavor really ran through all the meat. So glad I saw this recipe on Facebook!
Emily – I’m thrilled to hear the turkey was a success for your holiday meal!! So glad you found the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving!
Cant wait to try this, I have to make two, so I may make one tomorrow (cause I work all day wednesday) and the bigger one on Thanksgiving because the kids love the TG leftovers,plus they used to like the dark meat, but now not so much, so I just want to do the breast. I did get the McCormick box gravy, yeah I am not that great at gravy so some reason, just easier to buy it. Looks so good, have a happy Turkey day!
No shame! We use a packet of McCormick gravy mix for our gravy. SO good! Enjoy the turkey!!
How did you do your gravy and potatoes? In the slow cooker?
I have made mashed potatoes in the slow cooker. Most of the time we just boil the potatoes and add some milk, butter, salt and pepper and mix them up with a hand mixer. For our gravy – we use a packet of McCormick Turkey Gravy mix and add some of the turkey juices to the mix in the place of the water. We used to make our own gravy, but we just love the packet more, soooo…. 🙂
Do you put any liquid in the bottom of the crockpot or just the turkey?
No liquid – just the turkey
The turkey breast is so nice & brown * it will brown-up that nicely in slowcooker? Looks DELICIOUS will want to give it a try.
I popped it under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp up the skin.
I have a 4.5 pound turkey how long should I cook it for in the slow cooker? Also can I put some chicken broth in the bottom of the crockpot?