Our easy turkey breast in the air fryer recipe makes the ultimate crispy turkey breast that's unbelievably moist and cooks in less than one hour. We're using a simple seasoning of garlic salt and herbs de Provence to create the best bone-in turkey recipe that'll be perfect for your holiday meal or even a weeknight dinner.
Our air fryer turkey breast is unbelievably crispy and moist!
Get a perfectly moist and crisp bone-in turkey breast flavored with Mediterranean flavors in less than one hour in an air fryer oven or basket style air fryer.
When you're cooking for a smaller holiday group, we love to skip the big bird and make a simple yet delicious turkey breast. Cooking it in an air fryer makes it beyond simple, you just might not go back to oven cooked turkeys again.
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. You of course can also use an air fryer basket model for this recipe, we've done so many times in our Cosori and our readers have too.
Just make sure to buy a turkey breast that’ll easily fit inside your air fryer, many units can fit up to 3-4 lbs of meat whether it's something like turkey pieces or a small whole chicken.
What you'll need
- turkey breast - we used a bone-in skin on turkey breast
- olive oil - extra virgin
- garlic salt - or mix salt with garlic powder
- ground pepper
- herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning
- 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 turkey leg, thighs, drumsticks, or tenderloins using the same method, just cook until a thermometer reads 160F.
Tools
- An Air Fryer- We have an Omni Plus oven style air fryer , Cosori, and a small 3.2L Farberware basket style air fryer.
How to Air Fry Turkey Breast step by step
- 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.
- Preheat your air fryer at 350 F for 5 minutes.
- Brush both sides of the turkey breast with the oil and herb mixture.
- Place the prepared turkey breast meat side down in the air fryer and cook it for 25 minutes.
- Carefully flip it over. 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. Enjoy!
Serving suggestions
Whether you are looking to create a simple Thanksgiving meal, or simply trying to do something different during the year, turkey always goes well with fall roasted vegetables and healthy cranberry sauce.
Jenn's 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.
- 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.
Storing and leftovers
Store: Store leftover cooked turkey in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 5 days.
Freeze: You can freeze leftover turkey for up to 3 months.
Reheat: Preheat the air fryer to 350°F. Place the turkey slices in a single layer in the air fryer basket or tray, cooking for 3-5 mins depending on the thickness of the slices. It's a good idea to check on the turkey slices every minute or so to ensure they are not overcooked. Reheated turkey slices can dry out quickly, so it's best to serve them immediately after reheating.
Reader questions
Can I Cook A Whole Turkey in an Air Fryer?
Most air fryer models have a max capacity of 4 lbs, so no, you can't 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.
Can I air fry a butterball turkey breast?
Yes, you can air fry a Butterball turkey breast! Air frying a Butterball turkey breast is similar to cooking any other type of turkey breast, assuming you have actual breast meat and not a turkey breast roast. A turkey breast takes about 45-55 minutes to cook on 350 F whereas a Butterball turkey breast roast will take even less time.
Looking for more turkey recipes?
- Air fryer turkey cutlets
- Air fryer boneless turkey breast (from frozen)
- Air fried turkey bacon recipe
- Air fryer turkey burgers
- Easy air fried turkey legs
- Air fryer turkey tenderloin
- Turkey wings in an air fryer
If you loved our recipe, please leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and leave us a comment too! Connect with us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube!
Recipe
Bone In Air Fryer Turkey Breast
Equipment
- 1 Air fryer oven or basket style
Ingredients
- 2.5-3 lb turkey breast bone in, skin on
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon + garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ teaspoon + herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
Instructions
- Mix the oil, garlic salt, pepper, and herbs de Provence in a small bowl.
- Spray the aluminum air fryer oven tray with cooking spray to help make clean-up easier. If you have a non-stick basket, do not spray it. Preheat the air fryer at 350 F for 5 minutes.
- 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 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.
- Air fry the turkey at 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 it with 1 tablespoon melted butter.
- Let the turkey breast rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can make an air fryer turkey leg, tenderloin, cutlets, or drumsticks using the same method, just cook until a thermometer reads 160F.
- 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 of meat or roast
Linda Novell says
Delicious, moist, tasty and little clean up in my air fryer! Beautiful golden!
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!