Lemon Herb Turkey Breast is the perfect recipe for a holiday main course loaded with fresh flavors. It’s light, easy to make, and done quickly in the instant pot.
Jump to RecipeHaving a few options for turkey breast recipes is perfect for Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, or other holiday season meals. For this easy recipe, I used my instant pot turkey breast recipe and modified it for a different taste. Lemon herb turkey is a delicious meal to serve as the main course for any special occasion.
If you have a large pressure cooker, you could try fitting a whole turkey. Mine isn’t big enough, though, so we always make a whole turkey breast in the instant pot. It fits well enough and since it’s smaller it reduces the cooking time. No matter the size of the turkey breast, you want to make sure it reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees F when using a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast.
Another reason we only use a bone-in turkey breast instead of the whole turkey is that we prefer the taste of white meat in my family. Fresh herbs are always the best choice as they will have the most flavor. If you can’t get fresh herbs, though, dried herbs will work as well. Make sure to check the label for the conversion from fresh rosemary and thyme to dried rosemary and thyme.
Pressure cooking the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner is a great alternative to using the oven for a few reasons. It’s typically a quicker cook time. You aren’t heating the oven up. Or, if you do have other dishes to make in the oven, you aren’t taking the time to make the Thanksgiving turkey in there.
Lemon Herb Turkey Breast Step by Step
Ingredients
- 14 oz chicken broth
- 12 sprigs fresh thyme
- 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 3lb frozen turkey breast, thawed
- 1 yellow onion, halved
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 head garlic, halved
- 8 tbsp butter
- 2 tsp lemon zest
Preparation
Add chicken broth, half of the thyme, half of the rosemary, minced garlic, salt, and sugar to the bottom of the pot.
Place turkey breast on the metal rack in the instant pot over the broth mixture.
Surround the turkey breast with the halved onion, lemon, and head of garlic.
Place the butter on top of the turkey.
Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Allow a natural release of the pressure for about 10 minutes, then manually release the pressure.
Discard the remaining cooking liquid or use it to make turkey gravy from the pan drippings. Slice and garnish with lemon zest and lemon slices if desired.
Lemon Herb Turkey Breast Leftovers
Storage: Store leftover turkey breast in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Reheating: The best way to reheat the turkey is in the oven. If it gets dry, you can pour chicken broth, turkey broth, or vegetable broth into the pan to let it soak that up while cooking.
Freezing: Freeze leftover turkey breast in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
Recipe
Originally Published On: October 2, 2023
Lemon Herb Turkey Breast
Ingredients
- 14 oz chicken broth
- 12 sprigs fresh thyme
- 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 3 lb frozen turkey breast (thawed)
- 1 yellow onion (halved)
- 1 lemon (halved)
- 1 head garlic (halved)
- 8 tbsp butter
- 2 tsp lemon zest
Instructions
- Add chicken broth, half of the thyme, half of the rosemary, minced garlic, salt, and sugar to the bottom of the pot
- Place turkey breast on the metal rack in the instant pot over the broth mixture
- Surround the turkey breast with the halved onion, lemon, and head of garlic
- Place the butter on top of the turkey
- Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes
- Allow a natural release of the pressure for about 10 minutes, then manually release the pressure
- Discard the remaining cooking liquid or use it to make turkey gravy from the pan drippings
- Slice and garnish with lemon zest and lemon slices if desired
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
More Thanksgiving Recipes
- Leftover Turkey Tortellini Soup
- Turkey Gravy from Scratch
- Smooth and Creamy Mashed Cauliflower and Potatoes
- Instant Pot Turkey Roasted to Perfection
- Grandpa’s Sweet Potato Casserole
- Buttermilk Biscuits
- Ambrosia Salad
- Roasted Butternut Squash
- Pumpkin Pie
- Cranberry Sauce Leftovers in Mini Jello Cups
- Homemade Stuffing or Dressing Recipe with Fresh Bread
- Creamy Homemade Mashed Potatoes
- Easy Apple Pie
- Chicken and Dumplings
- Lemon Herb Turkey Breast in the Instant Pot
- Classic Green Bean Casserole Recipe
I have to give this recipe a try. I love cooking with my instant pot, and I actually make turkey throughout the year.
I love lemon and herb on anything, but it’s my favorite on chicken and turkey. I can’t wait to make this!
Lemon sounds both unique and delicious. Nice to try something different for dinner!
Look and “taste” so refreshing and there’s nothing can go wrong with some lemon 🙂 Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe and I think my family will love this dish.
We were planning turkey for this weekend, and your recipe is just in time. Thanks!
This looks really good! Because we don’t really celebrate Christmas in our house, this would be a gorgeous meal to try making that’s still using turkey, but not the usual Xmas lunch.
I do like the sound of this. It would make a tasty and healthy dish to serve with veg or salad. I bet the turkey is really yummy with the lemon and herbs.
I love turkey and my Instant Pot. This lemon herb turkey breast sounds delicious to make all year long! It looks really yummy and the recipe is really easy to follow.
This turkey breast looks so tender and juicy. My husband prefers chicken, but I’m still trying to add some turkey to our menu. I`ll try your recipe.
The lemon turkey recipe sounds absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to give it a try.
Nnniiiiccceeeee….turkey breast with some lemon to it? I think this is good and very healthy! Turkey is a favourite of mine, after chicken and duck. I look forward to trying out your recipe.
I love lemon flavour on meat, chicken, turkey everything. I will for sure try this recipe.
This has such pretty presentation with the lovely lemon colour. I think this would look so good on a beautiful brunch spread x
The aftermath looks so yummy, we don’t have that pot but I can get it to try this yummy recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Your Lemon Herb Turkey Breast in the Instant Pot recipe was fantastic! Your clear instructions and personal tips made it a breeze to follow, and the flavors were amazing. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
I just got hungry all of a sudden. I totally want to get a bite out of that delicious turkey.
OK I tried it once and it was SOOOO dry! How do you keep it from drying out? What am I doing wrong!? LOL
You may need to lower the amount of cooking time if it’s getting overcooked. I’ve also found that adding a bit more liquid to an instant pot recipe can help keep the meat from drying out.