Make a moist and juicy turkey breast roasted with garlic & butter on a bed of flavorful and colorful low-carb veggies, as an easy one pan keto turkey dinner!
The perfect dish to make on special occasions so that you can spend more time with your loved ones and less time in the kitchen. Just cook the turkey main and the veggie side dish at the same time!
How to roast raw turkey and vegetables together in one pan
The vegetables under the turkey will soak up all the juices, slow roasting in the melted butter and getting super tender and flavorful.
Roasting the turkey breast together with the veggies in one pan is much more practical, as you don’t need to go back to the oven to add/remove ingredients or the turkey itself during the cooking time.
The only “but” is that some adjustments are needed to get the veggies to be done at about the same time that the turkey will be, so they don’t get overcooked and mushy, or undercooked and tough.
That’s easy to do by cutting the vegetables in even sizes, and to an adequate size to match the cooking time of the turkey breast.
A larger, heavier and thicker turkey breast takes longer to cook, so you can cut the veggies in larger pieces. For a smaller turkey breast, cut the vegetables in smaller pieces.
Different sides for turkey
Of course, you can also just use the roasting pan for making only the skinless turkey breast, and make a keto or low-carb side dish separately.
This turnip and garlic mash, or these loaded roasted radishes can be made in the oven at the same time on a different rack if you have the space.
If you have an air fryer, these balsamic crispy Brussels sprouts are also wonderful with a keto turkey dinner!
Temperature for skinless turkey breast
Because this is a skinless turkey breast recipe, you don’t need to set the oven at a higher temperature to crisp up the skin.
A lower temperature setting all the way through cooking is how to roast a skinless turkey breast so it gets moist and juicy. A temperature higher than 175°C/350°F would only dry out the breast.
Do you cover turkey breast when baking
To help keep the juices in and make a moist turkey breast, it’s a good idea to cover it with foil. This is another reason why it’s easier to cook a skinless breast.
For a breast with the skin on, the moisture collected inside the aluminum foil will make the skin loose crispness. It’s complicated to keep a balance of crisp skin and moist breast.
With no skin on the turkey breast to worry about, you can concentrate your cooking efforts on moistness only.
Ingredient notes
For this easy one pan roasted turkey breast with vegetables recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Turkey breast: skinless and boneless, it’s the easiest to cook and to carve. Also, it makes for the best leftovers, specially when thinly sliced for turkey sandwiches with keto bread.
- Salt and white pepper: For the white pepper, avoid the powdered one. Coarse ground white pepper is much better for meat , specially if freshly ground.
- Herbs: I used thyme and rosemary, a wonderful combination. You can use fresh or dried thyme and rosemary as you prefer.
- Garlic & butter: The crushed garlic is mixed in the butter, and as the turkey breast cooks the mixture will melt into the meat and infuse it with flavor! I use grass fed Irish butter, there’s nothing better!
- Fall veggies: I chose Brussel sprouts, cauliflower and (baby) carrots for my skinless turkey roast. I’ll give you a list of low carb and keto veggies to chose from that will also be great with this recipe.
Low-carb fall veggies
There’s a wide choice of vegetables that are in season in late summer and fall and will make for the most flavorful turkey breast roast.
Here’s a list of non-starchy (keto friendly and low-carb!) fall vegetables that you can throw in the roasting pan with the turkey:
- Turnips
- Parsnips
- Radishes
- Fennel bulbs
- Shallots
- Carrots
- Brussels sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
- Pumpkin
- Butternut squash
- Zucchini
Can you use frozen veggies
Yes, you can! I actually used all frozen vegetables to make this one pan turkey roast. What’s more practical than frozen veggies? I love them! But you’ll need to thaw them first, bringing them to room temperature.
If you put the frozen veggies in the oven together with the turkey, they will bring down the oven temperature and increase the cooking time by a lot!
I made this mistake once and after 30 minutes (with the oven properly preheated!) the butter hadn’t even started to melt 🤦♀️
Making turkey cook faster
You can make the turkey cook faster without increasing the oven temperature. The shape of the turkey breast has a major influence on the cooking time.
It’s not about the whole weight of the turkey breast, but its thickness. A very thick breast will take longer to cook than one that is thinner (but longer/more spread sideways), even if they weight the same.
In other words, the turkey breast will cook faster if it is more “spread” in shape, in a way that it has more surface exposed the the oven heat.
That’s why I chose not to tie the turkey breast for this one pan roast recipe. A turkey breast that’s all tied up in a roll may look prettier to carve, but it takes longer to roast.
How to make
This recipe is fairly simple and straightforward, after initial preparation you can set and forget – but not for long or the turkey will overcook!
1. Cut the veggies in even sizes:
Start by cutting your chosen veggies in similar sizes. Cut them according to the cooking time expected for the turkey breast: a larger, whole turkey breast will cook for longer, so you can have larger chunks of veggies.
For a half turkey breast, cut veggies in bite sized pieces. You can leave Brussels sprouts whole if they are small.
Spread vegetables in a large roasting pan and toss them in olive oil.
2. Season and foil the turkey breast:
Season the turkey breast with salt and pepper, and place it comfortably on top of the vegetable bed.
Mix the butter with the crushed garlic and herbs and spread on top of the breast. Then, make a foil tent over the breast (no need to cover the veggies) to help trap moisture in.
3. Roasting time and temperature:
Roast the turkey breast on 175 °C (350 °F) to the internal temperature of 69°C or 157°F (the minimum safe temperature that will make for the moistest and juiciest turkey) to 71°C (160°F) at the thickest part.
Try not to go over this temperature, as too much moisture will evaporate and turn the meat dry. Total cooking time is around 20 minutes per pound of turkey, but this depends a lot on the shape and thickness of the breast.
When the turkey breast reaches temperature, remove the roasting pan from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Leftovers storage and freezing
The one pan roasted turkey and veggies leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. They are great to be had over the course of the week, and make for easy and delicious high protein keto and low-carb meals:
- Make keto turkey sandwiches adding thin slices to keto bread buns
- Or roll it up in these protein tortillas for keto turkey wraps
- Cut into bites and serve as protein over this simple keto arugula salad
Freeze turkey leftovers after completely cooled in airtight containers or freezer bags. You can freeze the whole dish to be unfrozen and eaten at a later time, or divide the turkey and veggies into portions in different containers.
Frozen leftovers keep for a really long time, but use them within 2 to 5 months for best quality and fresh taste.
One Pan Roasted Turkey Breast With Fall Veggies
An easy one pan turkey dinner of juicy roasted skinless turkey breast and tender fall vegetables infused in garlic, butter and herbs!
Ingredients
- 1 skinless and boneless turkey breast (About 2.5 kilos/5.5 pounds)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon coarse ground white pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 6-7 cups chopped fall vegetables, like Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower -see Notes for options
- 75 grams (~1/3 cup) butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon crushed or finely diced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
Instructions
- Place oven rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat it to 175 °C (350 °F).
- Prepare vegetables, cutting them in even smaller or larger sized according to the weight of the turkey breast. For smaller/thinner turkey breasts, cut veggies in bite sized pieces, and for heavier/thicker turkey breasts roughly chop veggies in larger pieces.
- Spread vegetables in a large roasting pan or casserole dish in a single layer. Drizzle olive oil and toss vegetables to coat them evenly.
- Dry the skin of the turkey breast with a paper towel. Rub the salt and white pepper all over the turkey breast, and place it in the middle of the roasting pan on top of the vegetables.
- Mix the softened butter with the crushed garlic, thyme and rosemary, and spread it over the top of the turkey breast.
- Take a piece of of aluminum foil and tent it just over the breast, folding the edges and leaving the ends a bit open for airflow.
- Place the pan in the preheated oven and roast the turkey breast until it reaches the internal temperature of 69°C (157°F) to 71°C (160°F) at the thickest part. Cooking time is estimate to take about 20 minutes per pound of turkey.
- When it reaches the internal temperature of 69°C (157°F), remove the turkey breast from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
- Transfer to a cutting board or warm serving dish to carve into slices and serve with the roasted vegetables.
Notes
Salt and spices are indicated for seasoning a whole turkey breast of around 2.5 kilos/5.5 pounds. Adjust quantities for a half breast.
Fall vegetables: I used Brussels sprouts, carrots and cauliflower. Other low-carb and keto friendly non-starchy fall veggies to consider are: broccoli, turnips, parsnip, fennel bulbs, radishes, pumpkin, butternut squash, leek and shallots.
Without a meat thermometer, start checking the turkey breast for doneness after 1 hour of cooking (for half breast) or 90 minutes (for full breast). You can tell if the meat is done by inserting a long thin stick (like a kebab stick) in the thickest part of the breast and checking the color of the liquid that runs out: if it's clear, the meat is done. If it's red or pink, it must continue cooking just until it runs clear.
Nutrition information is calculated for the skinless roasted turkey breast with garlic and butter without the vegetables, so you can calculate your choice of veggies.
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Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 2 slices (~170 grams/6 oz)Amount Per Serving: Calories: 258Total Fat: 5.8gCarbohydrates: 0.3gNet Carbohydrates: 0.3gProtein: 51.1g
Nutrition information is provided as a guideline only. Different brands of ingredients may have different nutrition facts. If tracking macros, remake the calculations using the nutrition facts from the labels of the ingredients you selected. Net carbs calculated exclude carbs from insoluble fiber and sugar alcohols.
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