Making Turkey Breast in the Air Fryer is a quick, easy, and hassle-free way to “roast” a turkey breast in under an hour.
With just a handful of ingredients and an incredibly simple cooking method, you can make this for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any night of the year.
Turkey Breast Recipe Overview
If you’re cooking for just a few people, you don’t need to take all day to roast an entire turkey. One turkey breast is enough for up to 4 servings, and it can be cooked in the air fryer in about 40 minutes.
Using the air fryer on Thanksgiving to cook a turkey breast is great if your family really likes white meat. You can cook your regular turkey the traditional way, but cook an extra breast in the air fryer so that you won’t run out!
I like to pick up one or two of these at the grocery store while they’re on sale in November, then thaw and air fry one whenever I’m in the mood for a turkey dinner.
List of ingredients
- Turkey Breast – Look for a boneless turkey breast that still has the skin. This recipe uses a breast that is about 2 pounds. If yours is smaller or larger, that’s ok. Just adjust the cooking time as needed.
- Butter: Softened butter is mixed with seasonings and then placed under the skin. This keeps the meat tender and juicy.
- Seasoning: Salt, pepper, and a little bit of poultry seasoning is all you need! Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper are recommended.
- Lemon Zest: The fresh zing of lemon zest brings a hint of brightness to the turkey.
- Olive Oil: This is used to coat the turkey breast, and is the key to crispy turkey skin!
Air Frying Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400ºF/200ºC for 5 minutes. While you do that, pat the turkey breast dry with paper towels and gently loosen the skin from the breast (but don’t fully remove it).
- In a small bowl, stir together the softened butter, poultry seasoning, and lemon zest.
- Place the butter mixture under the skin of the turkey breast, and spread it out evenly.
- Use your hands to coat the outside of the turkey with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper on all sides.
- Place the turkey breast skin side down in the air fryer and cook at 350ºF/176ºC for 20 minutes.
- Carefully flip the turkey breast over. Set the air fryer to 400ºF/200ºC, and cook for an additional 13-15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF/74ºC. Rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
How to Serve This Turkey Breast
Complete your meal with the perfect side dishes!
You can use your air fryer to prepare almost all of the classic thanksgiving side dishes, including Air Fryer Stufing, Air Fryer Green Bean Casserole, and crispy Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts.
But if you’d rather make your sides on the stove, check out these recipes for Ranch Mashed Potatoes and sauted Green Beans and Mushrooms.
Recipe Tips
- Avoid using bone-in turkey breast for this recipe. It won’t cook as evenly with the bones. If your turkey breast came with bones, cut them away first.
- Preheat the Air Fryer. Most recipes don’t require pre-heating, but for this one, it’s a very important step. Starting the turkey in a hot air fryer ensures even cooking and crispy skin.
- Skin down first. Cooking the breast with the skin down will render away most of the fat. This way, when you flip it over, the skin will get perfectly crisp.
- Raise the temperature. Pay special attention to the recipe. After cooking the turkey breast at 350°F and flipping it over, the second air fry is done at 400°F to promote crisping.
Recipe FAQs
You can keep leftovers in the fridge. It will stay fresh for 3-4 days if kept in an airtight container, and makes delicious leftover turkey sandwiches!
The turkey breast must be fully thawed before cooking it in the air fryer. While you can cook frozen chicken breast or frozen steak in the air fryer, a turkey breast is just too large to cook fully from frozen.
Any type of dried herbs can be used. Poultry seasoning is usually a blend that includes sage, thyme, and rosemary. So use one of those!
You probably can, but this recipe is not designed for that! To cook a whole turkey, you’ll need to have a very large air fryer, and follow a recipe specifically for that. In the meantime, you can see how we cook a whole chicken in the air fryer, or delicious air fryer cornish hens.
Turkey Breast in Air Fryer
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 boneless skin-on turkey breast about 2 pounds
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ½ teaspoon fresh lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer using the preheat function or by heating it at 400ºF/204ºC for 5 minutes.
- Pat the turkey breast dry with a paper towel and gently loosen the skin from the breast (but make sure not to remove it).
- In a small bowl, stir together the softened butter, poultry seasoning, and lemon zest. Rub the butter mixture under the skin of the turkey breast.
- Rub out the outside of the turkey breast with olive oil and season with sprinkle with salt and pepper on all sides.
- Place the turkey breast skin side down in the air fryer and cook it at 350ºF/176ºC for 20 minutes. Flip the turkey breast and cook it skin side up for an additional 13-15 minutes at 400ºF/204ºC, or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF/74ºC on an instant read thermometer.
- Allow the turkey breast to rest in the air fryer for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy immediately.
Notes
- Avoid using bone-in turkey breast for this recipe. It will not cook as evenly with the bones. If your turkey breast came with bones, cut them away first.
- Preheat the Air Fryer. Most recipes don’t require pre-heating, but for this one, it’s a very important step. Starting the turkey in a hot air fryer ensures even cooking and crispy skin.
- Skin down first. Cooking the breast with the skin down will render away most of the fat. This way, when you flip it over, the skin will get perfectly crisp.
- Raise the temperature. Pay special attention to the recipe. After cooking the turkey breast at 350°F and flipping it over, the second air fry is done at 400°F to promote crisping.
