This Slow Cooker Turkey Breast is without a doubt, this is the easiest, safest and tastiest way to cook turkey breast without brining. It’s moist and juicy, takes 3 minutes to prepare, then just leave it to cook in your slow cooker (crock pot). Then use the juices to make a killer gravy!
Even if you’re a first timer, you can have confidence in this turkey breast recipe. It’s a 5 star reader favourite with over a thousand glowing reviews!
Slow cooker turkey breast
Turkey breast is notoriously lean so the only way to guarantee it comes out juicy if you roast it in the oven is to brine it. If you don’t brine it, then even if you use a meat thermometer, it is extremely difficult to roast the turkey breast perfectly.
I created this Slow Cooker Turkey Breast after trying a handful of recipes for turkey breast and being disappointed by the bland looking skin, dry meat and mediocre gravy. So I tossed out everything I’d read and decided to come up with my own version using a slow cooker. This is by far the juiciest turkey breast I’ve ever had – without brining. And my friends agreed!
It’s almost magical how a recipe this simple can yield such extraordinary results. Moist turkey with incredible flavour and a gravy that’s off the charts!
How long to cook turkey breast in the slow cooker
A 2 kg / 4 l2b turkey breast will take 5 to 6 hours on LOW in a slow cooker. Check the internal temperature at 5 hours. See recipe notes for cook times for other sizes.
How to make slow cooker turkey breast
I promised you easy – and easy it is! Here’s how it goes down:
Slather turkey with a simple magical rub;
Place in a slow cooker on a bed of onion and garlic (these flavour the juices that comes out of the turkey and forms the basis for the gravy + keeps turkey elevated out of liquid while slow cooking);
Slow cook for 5 to 6 hours;
Briefly broil/grill or bake to crisp the skin; then
Use slow cooker juices to make a killer gravy. It’s incredible because it’s essentially made with the best homemade stock – the turkey juices!
PS That’s a multi function cooker you see. I use the slow cooker function for this recipe.
⚖️ Automatic recipe scaler ⚖️
Click or tap on Servings on the recipe. Then slide until the turkey reaches the weight of your turkey. It will change all the ingredient quantities for you! Then refer to the recipe notes for the right cook time for your turkey.
Slow cooker turkey breast tips!
Type of turkey breast – bone in or boneless turkey breast is fine. Skin on is recommended because the fat under the skin melts while the turkey is cooking and it bastes the turkey (helps with flavour and moisture). Also skin is required to get that lovely browned seasoned crust you see in the photos.
Single or double breast? Either is fine. These photos show a single turkey breast. See here for what a double turkey breast looks like (on the bone, also called a turkey buffe or turkey crown)
What size? Turkey breast differ drastically in size – they can range from 1.5/3lb to over 5kg/10lb! The beauty of this recipe is that it will work for any turkey breast size – as long as it fits in your slow cooker! Note the different cook times in the recipe.
A great rub goes a long way with turkey breast! It not only adds flavour, it seasons the broth and it gives the turkey breast great colour!
How long to cook turkey breast in the slow cooker – A 2 kg / 4 lb turkey breast will take about 5 to 6 hours on LOW in a slow cooker. See recipe notes for cook times for other sizes.
How to tell when turkey breast is done – When the internal temperature is 165F / 75C. That’s optimum perfectly-cooked juiciness, allowing for a slight temperature increase while the turkey rests.
Elevate the turkey breast with a halved garlic and onion to ensure even cooking because otherwise the breast will be half submerged and poaching in liquid (you will be amazed how much liquid the breast leeches while cooking)
Crisp the skin under the broiler. The extra flavour you get is worth it – and it only takes a few minutes
Use slow cooker juices for GRAVY – the turkey juices are loaded with flavour and are the best broth ever to make an absolute killer gravy!
Slow Cooking is FORGIVING! Because of the low temperature, there’s far less risk of drying out the turkey from overcooking. So even if the turkey is in the slow cooker for 1 or 2 hours longer than necessary, it will still be lovely. Plus – speaking really frankly – that gravy can save anything. ANYTHING!
Prefer ROASTED turkey breast? Use this Garlic Herb Butter Roasted Turkey Breast.
What to serve with turkey
Turkey breast is more often than not a centrepiece for holiday feasting in many households around the world. So with this in mind, here are some side dish suggestions for Thanksgiving and Christmas menus!
And you might also find these helpful: Thanksgiving recipe index and Easy Thanksgiving Menu suggestions
Traditional Thanksgiving sides for turkey
Christmas side suggestions
A safe recipe – even for first timers
I know it can be nerve racking, trying a new recipe – especially you’re new to cooking, and it’s a centrepiece for Thanksgiving or Christmas!
But you can have Confidence in this Slow Cooker Turkey Breast recipe. It’s been viewed over 8 million times since I first published, there’s over a thousand fantastic reviews, it’s a simple recipe and there’s a recipe video below to guide you through it step by step.
Slow cookers are an extremely forgiving way to cook lean proteins because they use such a low heat so there’s a much bigger window in which the turkey is perfectly cooked (as in, 2 hours or so) compared to the oven (less than 20 minutes from perfect to overcooked-dry).
And in all honesty – worst case? Your turkey goes a bit over and it’s not quite as juicy as you hoped. Of course, I’m doing everything in my power to help avoid this – including sending over virtual positive vibes.😂
But if it does – don’t fret! That Turkey Gravy is so insanely good, it will totally make up for it! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
SLOW COOKER: Many people have said that my slow cooker looks like a pressure cooker. They are actually correct, it is a slow cooker and pressure cooker in one (but no, it is not an Instant Pot). It is called a Breville Fast-Slow Cooker (it’s an Australian product). I use the slow cooker function for this recipe.
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Juicy Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
Ingredients
- 2 kg / 4 lb turkey breast, skin on, bone in or boneless (if using frozen, thaw it) (Note 1)
- 1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally
- 1 onion (brown, yellow or white), unpeeled, cut in half
- 5 sprigs of thyme (or 2 tsp dried thyme leaves)
Rub
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp salt
- 5 grinds of black pepper
- 1 1/2 – 2 tbsp olive oil
Gravy
- Chicken stock/broth (or water), for topping up liquid (see Gravy step 1)
- 4 tbsp / 50g butter
- 1/4 cup / 35g flour
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place Rub ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine, it should be a wet paste.
- Pat the turkey dry all over with paper towels. Slather with the Rub, using most for the side and top.
- Place the garlic, onion and thyme face down in the slow cooker. Place the turkey breast on top so it is elevated.
- Slow Cook on LOW for 6 hours (do not use high) or until internal temperature reads 165F/75C when thermometer is inserted into the middle. Check internal temperature at 5 hours if you can. (To roast, follow this recipe).
- Remove turkey from the slow cooker (do not leave in slow cooker on Warm setting) and let it rest for 20 minutes before crisping the skin.
Crisp the Skin
- Preheat gril/broiler to high.
- Place an oven shelf 30cm / 1 foot from the heat source.
- Remove turkey breast from the slow cooker into a heatproof serving dish.
- Place on the oven shelf and broil for 3 to 5 minutes until the skin is crispy. Keep an eye on it – it browns very quickly!
- Serve immediately with gravy on the side.
Gravy
- Strain the liquid into a measuring jug, squishing the garlic etc to extract all the flavour. If you are short of 2 cups, top up with chicken broth (I usually get 2 cups of liquid from a 4 lb / 2 kg turkey breast).
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and mix to combine. Pour about 1/2 cup of liquid into the flour mixture and mix until it forms a paste. Slowly add remaining liquid, stirring as your go. Use a whisk if required to make the gravy smooth. Simmer until thickened – take it off before it is as thick as you want because it will continue to thicken.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with turkey.
Recipe Notes:
- 1 kg / 2 lb: 4 – 5 hours on low
- 2 – 3 kg / 4 – 6 lb: 5 – 6 hours on low
- 4 kg / 8 lb: 6 – 7 hours on low (see 8 June ’17 report from reader Tony)
- 5 kg / 10 lb: 8 – 9 hours on low
Nutrition Information:
Originally published November 2016. Updated for some housekeeping November 2019 – no change to recipe.
Life of Dozer
This is what a turkey coma looks like.
At 6am: 7lb bone in breast in crock pot. I added carrots and celery and omitted garlic. 9:30 am added turkey stock. On low temp from get go. The bird, I thought would take 7 hours, but at 5 hours 160 degrees. Oh no! I scramble to put together stuffing and peel Yukons for mash pots. I decided to remove bird from crock pot and put in another pot while I whipped into a frenzy pulling it all together.
At 12:30 I put the birdy under the broiler while I finished off the gravy. We served from the stove and it was delicious! Turkey could have had more flavor, but was tender and juicy and the gravy took care of adding pizzazz. I made the best stuffing EVER! There wasn’t as much liquid left in the pot, so I am glad I added some turkey stock which I had been brewing with vegetables and trimmings from turkey breast. All in all….close to perfect. Thanks!
Sounds like you nailed it Mel!
Hi! The turkey came out great but the gravy was a disaster! It came out very thick and greasy. I’m sure I’m not the only one this happened to. What did I do wrong?
Hi Mary, sorry this happened!! Did you follow the directions or make any changes?
I have prepared this turkey recipe 3-4 times. Absolutely the best turkey and gravy I ever prepared! Too easy to be so perfect. This time our 5.89 pound turkey breast registered 167degrees after 6 hours on low in our crockpot. Thank you for this recipe!
I cooked this recipe and the cornbread for Thanksgiving. Everyone really enjoyed it. Will definitely make again.
You’re so welcome Phyllis!!
Over the past 40 years, I’ve made turkey ALL WAYS – cooking bag, paper bag, brined, spatchcocked, roasted, fried. No more! This was the easiest, tastiest and most moist turkey yet! (I also positioned an orange on the sides to make sure the breast didn’t tip as well as a lime in the cavity.)
I had a 5lb 4oz turkey breast that was done in 5 hours, an hour sooner than I thought. I didn’t panic and listened to your instructions…left it in the crockpot until I was ready to carve it.
I worried that it was going to be dry after that extra hour, but it carved beautifully and was so moist!
I can’t wait to try your other recipes, Nagi, because I TRUST you : )
P.S. Since we’re heart healthy, so I skipped the broiling part of the recipe which made it even easier!
I followed this recipe as instructed, and my turkey was moist and delicious, and the gravy was smooth and tasty!
Wahoo! Nailed it Donna!
My turkey breast had netting around it and when I took the netting off everything just kind of fell apart. Not all nice and together like in the video. So it was pretty sloppy getting it dried off and the rub on. Not sure if it will turn out the same but giving it a go. Was I supposed to keep the netting on it while it cooked?
Hi Renee! The netting just holds the breast tightly together but I never cook with the netting on because it stops you from getting the rub into all the cracks and crevices! The breast shouldn’t “fall apart” though – as you can see from the photos my breast is a nice neat piece! Does yours look different?? N xx
Yes, mine looked a little different because parts fell off of it when I took the netting off. Thanks for answering. It’s still cooking so we’ll see how it goes and next time if I need to adjust and leave the netting on.
I put my turkey in the crockpot but forgot to plug it in so I am starting 2 hours late. Dinner was suppose to be at 4. I have a 7 pd turkey breast so I am starting in on high for a short time then to med for a short time and then
to low to finish. Otherwise we won’t eat until 7:00. I hope it won’t be tough. Do you have any other suggestions. So stressed!
Hi Ronnie, sorry to hear!! As per the notes, this one isn’t suitable to be cooked on high – but I’ve got my fingers crossed for you! If you hadn’t already started I would of just skipped the slow cook and roasted the turkey. Let me know how you go!!
Thank you for such a quick response. I have another issue. My slow cooker is a 6 quart. I’m putting a 10 pound bird in it. It’s a tight fit. Is that a problem? I also have a much larger Nesco roaster. I read that you can slow cook in them by setting the temp to 200 degrees to duplicate low on slow cooker. Is that true? I want to follow your recipe as closely as possible, but not sure I can put garlic and onion under bird and get the lid on. I mean it is wall to wall bird.
Hi, it should be ok if it’s a tight fit as it will shrink when cooking – I’m unsure about the roaster sorry, I’ve never used one. Your only other option is to roast, have a look at this recipe: https://salesdock.info/garlic-herb-butter-roasted-turkey-breast/%3C/a%3E – N x
I actually have a question. I’m using a 10 pound bone in, skin on double turkey breast. Your recipe says to tap or hover over “servings” to scale the ingredients to my bird. I can’t get it to work. So I figured I’d do it manually. You used 4# bird. Can I double the ingredients or will the garlic and onion powders in the rub be too strong at 3 t. Or 1 T. I’m assuming I’ll get more than 2 cups of juice. If I get 4, can I again double the ingredients? I’m 5 hours away from starting the prep for it. Your help would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Shirley, you should be able to hover your mouse over the servings and a bar will pop up allowing you to change the ingredients. You could simply double the ingredients for your 10 pound beauty and it will be perfect, if you can get 4 cups of liquid, double the gravy ingredients too (or you can top up with chicken stock to equal 4 cups). Love to know how you go!! – N x
Hi Nagi … your recipes and tips are fantastic and videos and pictures make it oh so easy to follow. Thank you. Q: I live in Sydney and am curious if the turkey breast with bone in is available at Woolies and if so, is it fresh or frozen? In plastic wrap or in a box? Just want to keep a 👀 out for it for Xmas.😉🎄👍🏼
Hi Bron, Woolies do sell frozen buffe’s (the double breast) but they have been brined. I usually head to the butcher so I can get exactly what I’m looking for – N x
Recipe says LOW for 4-5 hours. My crockpot is either LOW 8-10 hours or HIGH 4-6 hours. Which do I choose?
Hi Lisa, use the LOW function and check it at 4-5 hours (as per note 3, this recipe isn’t suitable for high setting) – N x
Hi, I bought a 3lb bone in turkey. Would you recommend using a 4 quart or 7 quart slow cooker? I have both. Thanks!
Hi Susan, use the smaller one if it will fit in there 🙂 Enjoy!
I have a small little 2lb bone in turkey breast, how long should I cook in the crockpot on low?
Thank you, Nagi ! Ta-daaaa….this turkey was Amazing! So moist and delicious. Thank you SO much for this recipe and your help! Happy Holidays!
Can I leave the turkey breast in the slow cooker after it reaches 165 degrees or should I take it out of the slow cooker?
Hi Deb! Please take it out otherwise it will overcook! Cover with foil to keep warm 🙂 N x
This will be my third year doing this recipe/method for Thanksgiving. I LOVE it so much I’m making two breasts this year. Thanks so much!!
I LOVE hearing this Michelle! – N x
I have to travel 2 hours with it tomorrow morning. Can I leave it in the crock pot in its juices obviously turned off😉….or do I take it out & transfer to another container also with juices (or not) & then place it back in crock pot on warm when I arrive to my destination?
I have to travel 2 hours with it tomorrow morning. Can I leave it in the crock pot in its juices clearly turned off😉….or do I take it out & transfer to another container also with juices & then place it back in crock pot on warm when I arrive to my destination?
Good flavor and great gravy. I cooked 4lb half breast with bone. Slicing was a problem for me. It just shredded. Looked unappealing but tasted ok. How did you slice the half breast with bone? Will roast a whole turkey, but want to do this for extra meat at Christmas!
Hi Diane, can I ask how long you cooked it for? You can’t overcook here when you’re slow cooking, but the more you cook it the more the meat becomes shreddable & breaks down (like pulled pork) – N x
I have a 7 lb double breast. I don’t see any brining instructions. Can you or anyone recommend a brine with measurements? Thanks
Hi Marisol, there’s no need to brine this one – it’s slow cooked so it’s super juicy!
Do you put the turkey breast facing down with ribs facing up or vice versa in the crock pot?
Breast up Channing – just like the video 🙂
Hi,
The cook times I noticed were for bone in. Are they much different for boneless? Thank you
Hi Sandra, this recipe is suitable for bone in or boneless – N x
i use this recipe and LOVE IT only way i will do a turkey breast – this year i am using a bigger one (8 lb) and i changed the slider scale to change the portion sizes however my question is does this change the amt of gravy it will make? it changed the measurements for the gravy add ins but the instructions stayed the same as the 4 lb for only getting 2 cups of gravy and adding to get 2 cups – wouldn’t that increase or no?
Hi Karen – sorry about that! If you want double the gravy, you’ll need 4 cups of liquid – you can top this up with chicken stock if you don’t get enough from your turkey – N x
Does any one have suggestions on how to reheat without drying it out? I plan on cooking the day before.
The way caterers reheat turkey is so fantastic that my mom started cooking turkey the night before serving. She’d slice it just before reheating on a sheet pan sprinkled with broth covered tightly in foil. A few small dots/cubes of butter helps too. A shallow baking dish also works. Just be sure to cover well with foil. 30 minutes at 350° F. We love it this way because then the turkey is always hot AND super moist. Good luck!
Hi Lj, drying out a little is unavoidable when reheating, although this turkey breast is so moist I usually cover and microwave without any issues!