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.
Amazing recipe! Turkey was moist & the gravy was outstanding! Another keeper from Nagi & Dozer 🙂❤
This is the best way to make turkey breast, whole chickens and even bone in chicken breasts in the crock pot. The gravy is drinkable!!!
This was so good! I couldn’t get the skin to crisp for some reason, despite leaving it under the broiler longer than called for, but it was still delicious! The gravy was the best I’ve ever had. I’ll double it next time, because it didn’t make enough for the leftovers (we devoured it!) 😅 I don’t eat garlic, so I used an onion and an apple to elevate the turkey in the crock pot. It worked perfectly and it gave the gravy a wonderful flavor because the apples basically liquified while cooking. Amazing!
I LOVE the idea of an apple in the bottom!!! i like garlic, but might also throw in an apple as well to add some sweetness!!
Thank you for this tip! My husband can’t eat garlic so perfect alternative.
I made this tonight with a turkey breast I purchased on sale at Christmas. I didn’t have the fresh thyme, so I used some fresh sage I have in a pot for the winter, a touch of herb de Provence and a bay leaf. The gravy was fantastic and the breast so moist! I will always cook turkey in the slow cooker from now on. So easy and, above all, TASTY! I love your recipes!
Soooo good!!!! The flavors are amazing and the drippings made amazing gravy!!! And I cannot make gravy to save my life and it was the best ever!!!! Cannot wait to make it again!
Made this tonight with a 1kg box turkey breast. Taste was great, checked after 5 hours and it was done. Didn’t have a lot of liquid so added a cup of stock for the gravy, even then it was very thick and ended up adding about another 300ml of water. Probably should have halved the butter/flour in hindsight.
Did crunchy roast spuds and the apple and walnut salad as sides. Both excellent.
I’ve made this 2xs before and it’s always amazing. This time, my bone-in turkey breast was almost too big for my slow cooker so I couldn’t elevate it (onion and garlic stuffed to the side lol). I hope it doesn’t dry the bottom out too bad. I had to lay it on its side. It’s a little over 7lbs so I’m going to do 8hrs to be sure. I don’t plan on crisping the skin cause we don’t normally eat skins anyway. The gravy recipe is really simple but one of the best I’ve made at home that has flour in it. If you have a standard Hamilton or CrockPot slow cooker, try to get a 5-6lb breast if it’s bone in lol. Anything more it might not fit. I love Nagi’s recipes!
Also, since we aren’t eating the skin, I put most of the seasoning underneath the skin and lightly smeared the rest on top.
What size is your slow cooker?
Is this nice cold? I have to take to my sisters for Xmas day
Yes! The turkey is lovely and moist which is great for serving cold. (Nothing worse than over dry cold turkey!!)
Hi Nagi, can I slow cook my fresh from the butcher stuffed double turkey breast?
I did a 3 lb turkey breast. Cooked until 165 plus a little longer. Flavor good but turkey is tough and a bit dry.
This is the best turkey I’ve had. Everyone really enjoyed it. So easy too. Thank you, Nagi!!!
Can I do this in an oven bag instead of slow cooker? If so, what temperature for the oven and for how long?
Just the best! Turns out great every time I have made it (6 or 7 times)
It definitely makes the best most flavorful gravy. Ok the only gravy that I have successfully ever made.
I appreciate all the extra information.
I have shared this recipe numerous times.
I made this for Thanksgiving. I’m a good cook but my family said it was my best Thanksgiving meal yet! I cooked the turkey longer in the crockpot because it was huge and pulled the meat off and cut up the day before. We don’t eat the skin but I put it and the bones back in my Instantpot with some additional store bought broth and pressure cooked 4 minutes to release more flavor. I doubled the gravy recipe and covered the cut up turkey- it was all eaten without having to throw any away for the first time ever! It easily reheated on low. This will be what I make every year from now on. Thank you!!!
Wow, this was so simple and delicious! I loved how moist the turkey breast was and the rub added a great flavor. I applied the rub under the skin, a little on top of the skin and then the remainder in the cavity. Fabulous!
This recipe was so easy to do yet so delicious! Thank you for all your creative, easy methods to cook! Everything came out great.
I cooked our Turkey in the crook-pot and my family loved it. Was so glad to have Turkey this year. We haven’t had in 4 years. Do to illness and oven stopped working. This was a thankful dinner. Thank you again. And plan on trying the Garlic Bread leftover Turkey pot pie. In our microwave convection and hope next will do the cast iron.
This really was outstanding. I’m not much of a crockpot cook because I don’t like the texture of the food usually, but this recipe made promises I couldn’t resist. The inclusive notes are a must read! My bird was 4.8 pounds and I had inserted a temp probe when I started the timer, and it rang out over an hour from the lowest estimate for doneness, so I took it out and broiled as directed. Perfect! Not dry, mushy, or falling apart! Might try some of my own seasonings next time, but I think the paprika will be permanent because it lends such good color. I crammed some of the rub up under the skin, as well. Loved it!
We made the turkey breast this way and it was so good! The gravy was delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
This is the second year I have made this recipe. It was a hit again. And the gravy is just so darn good. Thank you Nagi for another great recipe🥰🥰