Our turkey breast in air fryer recipe makes the ultimate crispy turkey breast that's unbelievably moist and cooks in less than one hour. We are making our crispy herbed turkey breast using a simple seasoning of garlic salt and herbs de Provence to create an air fryer turkey breast that is perfect as a holiday meal or even a weeknight dinner, and always a WHOLE LOTTA YUM.
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Air Fryer Turkey Breast
We just purchased our air fryer this fall and we've been air frying up a storm! 14 days of air fryer dinners are what I told my husband would be happening. Our first recipe was actually air fryer chicken wings, and after making 4 batches of wings, we've deemed these to be the best ever!
After tons of research, we decided to purchase an air fryer/toaster oven combo and it replaced our old countertop toaster oven. Instant Pot sells another model through Walmart will most of the same features but for less.
Since we're just having a small group for Thanksgiving this year, I instantly knew I needed to perfect our turkey breast in air fryer seasoning and cooking method before people came over. I do have to say, having an air fryer Thanksgiving turkey truly makes for the simplest holiday dinner ever!
Not only does it free up valuable oven space, but it cooks up in less than an hour and it turns out super crisp and moist every time.
For a simple yet complete holiday meal, we paired our air fryer turkey breast with our fall roasted vegetables and our keto cranberry sauce.
Why You'll Love This!
- Quick-cooking a turkey breast in an air fryer makes for a super crisp yet really juicy turkey.
- Adding your favorite dried herbs adds extra flavor that makes this perfect for your holiday table--in less than one hour!! Oven-roasted turkey breast takes 1.5 hours to bake!
- Removing the turkey slightly before it's done and letting it rest, makes it super moist every time since it allows the juices to distribute.
- Flipping the turkey halfway gets the skin nice and crisp on both sides.
- Our turkey breast in air fryer recipe is perfect for those who prefer to follow specific eating plans. Naturally low-carb, keto, and gluten-free, our recipe is also sugar-free and dairy-free.
Ingredient Notes
When you're cooking a turkey in an air fryer, not many ingredients are needed. Just a little seasoning, crispy skin, and moist and juicy turkey is all that's needed to make the perfect air fryer turkey breast recipe.
- turkey breast
- olive oil
- garlic salt
- ground pepper
- herbs de Provence
- butter - melted
Variations
- Herbs de Provence is my favorite go-to mixed herb seasoning blend, but feel free to use Italian seasoning or simply dried herbs that go well with turkey like dried thyme, oregano, and rosemary.
- Or, skip the herbs for a simple air fryer turkey.
- You can make an air fryer turkey leg using the same method, just cook until a thermometer reads 160F.
Equipment
- An Air Fryer- We have an Omni Plus oven style air fryer , Cosori, and a small 3.2L Farberware basket style air fryer.
Step by Step Instructions
Cooking your turkey breast in air fryer is super simple! It's amazing how stressful cooking a whole turkey can be in an oven, yet cooking just the popular breast when you have a small group makes cooking turkey a breeze.
Prep
Mix the oil, garlic salt, pepper, and herbs de Provence in a small bowl.
With paper towels pat the turkey breast on both sides to remove the extra moisture. This is one of the keys to getting that extra crispy air fryer turkey breast skin.
Brush both sides of the turkey breast with the oil and herb mixture.
Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray to help make clean-up easier.
Turkey Breast in Air Fryer Temperature
Preheat the turkey breast in air fryer to 350 F.
Turkey Breast in Air Fryer Cook Time
Place the prepared turkey breast in your air fryer meat side down and cook for 25 minutes.
Carefully flip the turkey breast. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 165F when a thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the breast.
Let the turkey breast rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Recipe Tips
- Remove the turkey from the air fryer, cover it with aluminum foil and let the turkey breast rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Letting the meat rest is a super important step, it lets the internal juices that pool to the middle settle and redistribute to the rest of the meat, which makes every bite juicy.
- Air fryers heat so quickly, preheating isn't necessary.
- In our Omni Plus, the air fryer rack position is too high up for something large like a turkey breast. We lowered the rack to the center and that worked well for this recipe.
- Depending on your air fryer model, you can use the rotisserie instead of setting the turkey breast in an air fryer basket. Make sure not to use a turkey breast larger than your owner's manual recommends or it could break the rotisserie.
- You can cook a larger turkey breast than the 2.5 lb we used, many models allow for a 4lb piece or meat or roast.
- To cook the turkey breast in the oven, use the same steps, it just might take a little longer to cook.
Common Questions
Whether you are looking to create a simple Thanksgiving meal, or simply trying to do something different during the year, pairing our air fryer turkey breast with fall roasted vegetables and keto cranberry sauce makes a simple yet elegant dinner.
To cook a 3lb turkey breast in an air fryer will take 45-55 minutes. We recommend using a digital meat thermometer to check for doneness.
Most air fryer models have a max capacity of 4lbs, so no, you cannot cook a whole turkey in an air fryer. You can roast a turkey breast or a turkey leg, and you could roast a small whole chicken, but not a whole turkey as they would be too large.
Making Oven Roasted Turkey Breast
If you came across our air fryer turkey breast recipe and you DON'T have an air fryer and are wondering how to cook this easy turkey breast in the oven, here's how to adapt the recipe.
The steps are virtually the same, but it'll take a little bit longer to cook in the oven. If you have a convection oven, the air circulates in a similar way as an air fryer. Many people even say if you do have a convection oven, do you really need an air fryer too? I have both yet still love having an air fryer too.
In a convection oven, lower the temperature to 325F, if you have a regular oven the temperature should be 350F. Make sure the oven rack is in the center of the oven.
Follow all of the recipe steps above except there's no need to flip your turkey breast over. After 1 hour of cooking a 3 lb turkey breast, open the oven and baste the turkey breast with butter.
Continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 165F, which could take another 20-30 minutes.
If the turkey breast seems to be browning too quickly, loosely cover it with foil.
Let rest covered with foil for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
More Air Fryer Recipes
Looking for more air fryer recipes?
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe
- Air Fryer Boneless Pork Chops
- Air Fryer Brats
- Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks
Come connect with us on Instagram! Be sure to tag us (wholelotta.yum) when you make a recipe. You can also find us on Facebook, and Pinterest.
📖 Recipe
Crispy Herbed Turkey Breast in Air Fryer
This herb air fryer turkey recipe makes the ultimate crispy turkey breast that's unbelievably moist and cooks in less than one hour. Air fryer turkey breast is perfect as a holiday meal, or even a weeknight dinner since it cooks so quickly!
Ingredients
- 2.5-3 lb turkey breast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon + garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ teaspoon + herbs de Provence
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
Instructions
- Mix the oil, garlic salt, pepper, and herbs de Provence in a small bowl.
- Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray to help make clean-up easier.
- With paper towels pat the turkey breast on both sides to remove the extra moisture. This is one of the keys to getting that extra crispy air fryer turkey breast skin.
- Brush both sides of the turkey breast with the oil and herb mixture and place the turkey on the air fryer rack with the breast piece facing down.
- Turn the heat to 350F and cook for 25 minutes.
- Carefully flip the turkey and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 165F when a thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the breast.
- Brush 1 tablespoon melted butter on the turkey breast after flipping.
- Let the turkey breast rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- You can make an air fryer turkey leg using the same method, just cook until a thermometer reads 160F.
- Air fryers heat so quickly, preheating isn't necessary
- Depending on your air fryer model, you can use the rotisserie instead of setting the turkey breast in an air fryer basket. Make sure not to use a turkey breast larger than your owner's manual recommends or it could break the rotisserie.
- Skip the dried herbs for simple air fryer turkey
- You can cook a larger turkey breast than the 2.5 lb we used, many models allow for a 4lb piece or meat or roast
- To cook the turkey breast in the oven, use the same steps, it just might take a little longer to cook.
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Clare says
I came across this recipe when my oven chose to stop heating the exact moment I was going to put in my turkey on Thanksgiving... We deconstructed our turkey and decided to only cook half. My partner deep fried the dark meat and I used my air fryer to cook the breast. We had already brined it over night and chose to debone it, so we used about a 2.5 lb breast. The whole family agreed it was some of the best turkey we had ever had.
I followed the recipe (didn't do the herbs due to brining) and ended up pulling it out 5-10 minutes earlier.
This recipe literally saved our Thanksgiving. Thank you.
WholeLottaYum says
Thank you so much, Clare! I'm glad the Thanksgiving turkey turned out for you! The air fryer is perfect for cooking a turkey breast and we love to brine ours also!
Paula Middaugh says
Have you tried a boneless turkey breast in the air fryer? They are usually 3 lbs. or so. I’m curious if it would turn out as juicy, or get dry.
WholeLottaYum says
Hi Paula, I have! But it was a Butterball boneless turkey roast. I wrapped it in foil to help retain moisture, flipped it halfway through cooking, and removed the foil during the last 10 minutes to brown the top.
Tracy says
There actually are air fryer ovens that will do up to a 10lb turkey. Just wanted to clear up this mistake. I actually thought this recipe was for an entire turkey. My bad I guess. Disappointed because finding a recipe that isn't strictly for the air fryer for an entire turkey has proven difficult.
Ashley H. says
I am cooking this for Thanksgiving but I have a larger bone-in turkey breast so I am cooking in the oven. I will cook according to the weight, but I am wondering, since I am not cooking in an air fryer, do I still need to flip the turkey as directed in Step 6?
Rebecca says
How far into cooking do you flip the turkey? How much longer after do you let it cook for?
Sheri says
Hi. Would the turkey breast be bone-in or no bone? Thx!
WholeLottaYum says
This was a bone-in turkey breast!
Kacee Conklin says
I often get a half turkey breast or drumsticks since I cook just for myself. I would make it in my Cuisinart toaster/convection oven so I am looking forward to getting one and cooking it in my Cuisinart toaster/convectons/airfryer/broiler oven (Costco of course). We always had bread stuffing when cooking a turkey. We'd save bacon fat and mom would saute onion, celery and Bell's Poultry spice in the bacon fat and then put over the bread for the stuffing. Yum. There's nothing to stuff so instead of margarine or butte,r I use bacon fat in for my Stove Top dressing. It's actually not bad! And gravy of course. 🙂
WholeLottaYum says
That sounds delicious, Kacee!
Lynn Rimmeli says
Hello! I just purchased a Jennie-O boneless turkey breast and it is 3.20 lbs. It does have skin on it. Would the cooking time be the same? Thanks so much!