I'm not a big turkey fan, so every Thanksgiving and Christmas I try to come up with something a little different. I like to stick with dishes that are traditional-ish, but a little less bland than plain turkey. This stuffed turkey breast is loaded with goat cheese, dried cranberries, spiced apples, herbs, and candied pecans. It's moist, delicious, and so easy. No fussing with a whole turkey, no day-long cooking process, and no lengthy prep ahead of time. Best of all, you can turn the cooking broth into gravy in a snap. It's the perfect no-fuss holiday meal.
Here's what you'll need for this stuffed turkey breast.
- Whole turkey breast ($14.02). We bought a whole turkey breast from Giant. It was about 4.5 pounds. Walmart has a frozen whole turkey breast for ~$2.30 per pound. You'll have to break it down yourself unless you can find boneless, skinless breasts somewhere. Here's a helpful video--it took me about 10 minutes to de-bone and clean up mine.
- Fresh sage ($2.00)
- Fresh rosemary ($2.00)
- Pecan halves or chopped pecans ($5.68)
- An Apple ($1.54). We used honeycrisp. Any well balanced apple variety will work. Pink lady would be great too.
- Goat cheese ($4.98). Goat cheese is a soft cheese, usually found in log form in the fancier cheese section.
- Dried cranberries ($2.64)
- Chicken broth ($1.33)
- Typical fridge and pantry ingredients
- Butter, crushed red pepper, cinnamon, salt, black pepper, maple syrup, oil, and cornstarch
Excluding the typical pantry and fridge ingredients, the ingredients for this dish cost around $34.19, or about $5.70 per serving.
Here's how you make it.
First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Next, break down your turkey breast and remove the bones and skin (here's a good tutorial). Once you have two clean boneless breasts, butterfly both of them and pound them to about a half inch thick (follow this tutorial if you don't know how to butterfly the breasts). Then sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
Next, melt butter over medium-low heat in a dutch oven, large cast iron skillet, or other oven-safe pot or pan with a lid. Add sage, rosemary, pecans, cinnamon, crushed red pepper, and salt. Cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. Then add maple syrup and apples and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the mixture from the heat and add it to a mixing bowl.
Add dried cranberries and goat cheese to the mixing bowl with the apple mixture. Mix until everything is combined, then spread the mixture evenly across the two turkey breasts.
Starting at the bottom, roll each breast up, tucking in the filling as you go. Use butcher's twine to tie off the breasts. Add oil to the same pan you cooked the apples in and turn the heat to medium. Once hot, sear each side of the turkey breast rolls for 2-3 minutes until golden brown.
Once the turkey is seared on each side, add chicken broth to the pan and cover with a lid. Place into the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until the thickest part of the turkey is 165 degrees.
Now for the gravy...
Once the turkey is fully cooked, remove the breasts from the pan and set aside, leaving the broth in the pan. Discard any large bits of filling that have fallen into the broth. Put the pan of broth over medium heat and allow it to come to a simmer.
Next, dissolve cornstarch into a cup of cold chicken broth and add it to the pan, stirring as you add it. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens into a gravy-like consistency, about 5 minutes. Add black pepper or salt to taste, then remove it from the heat.
Cut the turkey into inch-thick rolls and serve with the gravy on the side. Enjoy!
Here are some holiday sides to serve this with...
Goat Cheese, Cranberry, and Apple Stuffed Turkey Breast
4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcal1
hour10
minutesPrevent your screen from going dark!
Ingredients
2 2 turkey breasts (~4.5 pounds)
1 tablespoon 1 fresh sage, chopped
1 tablespoon 1 fresh rosemary, chopped
1 cup 1 pecans, chopped
3 tablespoons 3 butter
1 1 apple, diced
¼ teaspoon ¼ crushed red pepper
¼ teaspoon ¼ ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons 2 maple syrup
¼ teaspoon ¼ salt
8 ounces 8 goat cheese
1 cup 1 dried cranberries
⅔ cup ⅔ apple cider
2 teaspoons 2 cornstarch
⅓ cup ⅓ water
¼ teaspoon ¼ black pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Break down the turkey breast and remove the bones and skin (here's a good tutorial). Once you have two clean boneless breasts, butterfly both of them and pound them to about a half inch thick (follow this tutorial if you don't know how to butterfly the breasts). Then sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
- Melt butter over medium-low heat in a dutch oven, large cast iron skillet, or other oven-safe pot or pan with a lid. Add sage, rosemary, pecans, cinnamon, crushed red pepper, and salt. Cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. Then add maple syrup and apples and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the mixture from the heat and add it to a mixing bowl.
- Add dried cranberries and goat cheese to the mixing bowl with the apple mixture. Mix until everything is combined, then spread the mixture evenly across the two turkey breasts.
- Starting at the bottom, roll each breast up, tucking in the filling as you go. Use butcher's twine to tie off the breasts. Add oil to the same pan you cooked the apples in and turn the heat to medium. Once hot, sear each side of the turkey breast rolls for 2-3 minutes until golden brown.
- Once the turkey is seared on each side, add chicken broth to the pan and cover with a lid. Place into the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until the thickest part of the turkey is 165 degrees.
- Once the turkey is fully cooked, remove the breasts from the pan and set aside, leaving the broth in the pan. Discard any large bits of filling that have fallen into the broth. Put the pan of broth over medium heat and allow it to come to a simmer.
- Next, dissolve cornstarch into a cup of cold chicken broth and add it to the pan, stirring as you add it. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens into a gravy-like consistency, about 5 minutes. Add black pepper or salt to taste, then remove it from the heat.
- Cut the turkey into inch-thick rolls and serve with the gravy on the side. Enjoy!
