Make a delicious, juicy turkey breast in the air fryer for the perfect small holiday dinner! With a simple herb butter, the air fryer cooks the turkey quickly with a beautiful golden, crisp skin. This post is sponsored by Hamilton Beach.
Making a turkey breast in the air fryer is an absolute game changer. I’ve been using the Hamilton Beach Air Fry Countertop Toaster Oven to make a succulent holiday main that’s perfect for a smaller crowd–forget about stressing about roasting a whole turkey in the oven, the air fryer makes making turkey simple and stress-free.
Cooking for the holidays is a lot of work, so I like to keep my holiday recipes simple while being absolutely impressive. The key to delicious turkey? Start with an herb butter.
That’s all this recipe takes; no overnight brining, no dry rub, just a simple mixture of room temperature butter with chopped fresh herbs and some salt and pepper. The air fryer does the rest!
I love that when cooking with the air fryer, you don’t need to do any preheating, you can just add your turkey breast and set it to the “air fry” and cook for 45 minutes.
An important tip is to make sure that you take note of the size of your air fryer before picking up the turkey as this will dictate the size you can cook. I typically opt for a 2 or 2 ½ lb bone-in turkey breast which fits perfectly in the Hamilton Beach air fryer.
2 ½ lbs ends up being the perfect amount of turkey for a small holiday gathering of four people.
Should I get a bone-in, skin-on turkey breast for cooking in the air fryer?
Most definitely! Bone-in turkey breast will end up being juicier, plus the crispy skin may be the best part. Make sure you get the herb butter underneath the skin for optimal flavour.
Plus, you can save the bone to make homemade leftover turkey soup (if you have any leftovers!).
When your turkey is finished cooking, make sure to let it rest for ten minutes before slicing to allow the juices to settle.
This method for cooking turkey doesn’t create all of the drippings as you would when you roast a turkey in the oven, so make some make-ahead gravy to serve alongside.
Air Fryer Turkey Breast
Ingredients
- 1 2 ½ lb bone-in, skin-on turkey breast, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoon butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon minced mixed herbs, thyme, rosemary or sage
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix butter with herbs.
- Loosen skin of turkey breast: slide fingers underneath, careful not to tear the skin. Rub butter mixture all over turkey, including under the skin. Sprinkle all over with salt.
- Place turkey breast on the rack of the air fryer, skin side up and place in the middle of air fryer. Place the bake pan underneath and fill with 2 cups of water. Cook at 350F for 45 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160°. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Dustin
Fiori