Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast
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This flavorful, juicy bacon wrapped turkey breast recipe is covered in a balsamic garlic herb rub, then wrapped in a bacon weave. It’s delicious anytime of the year, or perfect as the main course for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner!
Table of contents
It’s the last day of “Thanksgiving Week” on the blog and I’ve saved the big kahuna for last! That’s right, the turkey, the center of the Thanksgiving table!
Since we have a small family, we started preparing a turkey breast a few years back, instead of a whole turkey. It’s the perfect size for 4-6 people and if you want to try a couple of different turkey recipes, this is a great way to do it!
We usually prepare a Cranberry Glazed Turkey Breast (my Mom’s favorite!) and an Herb Crusted Turkey Breast.
This year I decided we should throw in something new so I mimicked one of my most popular recipes, this Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin. This new turkey breast recipe is coated in a delicious balsamic herb rub, then wrapped up in crispy bacon goodness!
The turkey is tender and juicy, the bacon is perfectly crisp, and the entire dish is phenomenally flavorful! O-M-G, for real, this is the best bacon I’ve ever eaten in my life! Salty, garlicky, herb-covered, crispy, bacon goodness!
The great thing about this bacon wrapped turkey (besides the fact that it’s insanely delicious!) is that it only takes about 10 minutes of prep time and an hour to roast in the oven.
A quick and simple main dish will leave you plenty of time to prep those sides, like Sweet Potato Skins with Sage Pesto and Bacon (more bacon, yes please!), Mushroom Brussels Sprout Casserole and Crock Pot Creamed Corn!
Ingredients
- Balsamic vinegar
- Olive oil
- Fresh rosemary
- Fresh thyme
- Steak seasoning – click the link for my easy (and delicious!!) homemade steak seasoning recipe or pick up pre-mixed Montreal steak seasoning at the grocery store on the spice aisle. This delicious spice combination includes kosher salt, coarse ground pepper, paprika and more.
- Garlic cloves
- Boneless turkey breast – you’ll want what’s labeled a “turkey breast roast” at the grocery store. It should be around 3-4 pounds in weight. This recipe will unfortunately not work with a bone-in, or larger turkey breast, as the bacon will burn before the turkey is fully cooked.
- Bacon – you’ll want to use regular sliced bacon for this recipe, not thick-cut bacon.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Whisk the balsamic vinegar and olive oil together in a small bowl. Chop 4 sprigs of rosemary and 4 springs of thyme, add to the bowl with the steak seasoning and crushed garlic.
Brush this mixture over the turkey breast.
Place the two remaining sprigs of rosemary & thyme on top of the turkey.
Weave the bacon strips together over the turkey breast.
Wrap the bacon around the turkey, and tuck it underneath. Make sure the ends of the rosemary and thyme sprigs slightly stick out at the end for easy removal after the turkey has roasted.
Place the bacon wrapped turkey on top of a wire rack on a foil-lined baking sheet, or in a roasting pan with a tray.
Brush any extra herb rub on top of the bacon.
Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour, or until the internal temperature of the turkey breast reaches 165°F on a meat thermometer.
Remove the sprigs of rosemary and thyme from under the bacon and slice the turkey.
Recipe tips
- Keep an eye on the bacon after about 40 minutes. If it starts to look too dark, or like it might start to burn, loosely cover the turkey with foil. Continue roasting it until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165°F.
- Never use a bone-in turkey breast for this recipe. Because the turkey breast will be much larger, the bacon will not wrap fully around the turkey breast. And the bacon will burn before the turkey is fully cooked.
- If the turkey breast still has the skin attached, I recommend using a sharp knife to remove it before making this recipe. Since the skin is not exposed, it will not get crispy, and therefore the texture of the skin won’t be great.
- Always make sure to thaw the turkey breast completely before using it in this recipe. I recommend moving the turkey breast from the freezer to the refrigerator 2-3 days before making this recipe. This will ensure that it’s fully thawed before preparing this dish.
- If you don’t have steak seasoning available, replace it with 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper.
- This recipe is naturally gluten free and dairy free, using the ingredients listed in this post.
Storage and reheating
You can store leftover bacon wrapped turkey in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
You can eat the turkey and bacon cold, or reheat it in the oven or microwave.
To reheat it in the oven, I recommend wrapping it in foil. Place it in a 350°F preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until heated through.
To reheat it in the microwave, place a few slices on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 1-2 minutes.
What to do with leftovers
Sure, leftover bacon wrapped turkey is delicious in a sandwich, but you can also use it in all of these different recipes!
What to serve with it
Pair this amazing turkey recipe with any of these delicious side dishes for Thanksgiving dinner, or an impressive meal, anytime of the year!
More bacon wrapped recipes
Love bacon as much as I do? Try all of these delicious bacon-wrapped recipes as an appetizer or main course!
Making this turkey for the holidays? Be sure to Instagram a picture, tag me @whitneybond and hashtag #WBRecipes! I can’t wait to see all of the WhitneyBond.com recipes come to life on your dining room tables!
Garlic Herb Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 sprigs fresh rosemary, divided
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme, divided
- 2 tablespoons steak seasoning
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 3-4 pound boneless, skinless turkey breast
- 10 slices bacon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Whisk the balsamic vinegar and olive oil together in a small bowl.
- Chop 4 sprigs of rosemary and 4 springs of thyme, add to the bowl with the steak seasoning and crushed garlic.
- Brush this mixture over the turkey breast.
- Place the two remaining sprigs of rosemary and thyme on top of the turkey.
- Weave the bacon slices together over the turkey.
- Tuck the bacon under the turkey.
- Make sure the ends of the rosemary and thyme sprigs slightly stick out at the end for easy removal after the turkey has baked.
- Place the bacon wrapped turkey on top of a wire rack on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Brush any extra herb rub on top of the bacon.
- Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour, or until the internal temperature of the turkey breast reaches 165°F.
Video
Notes
- Keep an eye on the bacon after about 40 minutes. If it starts to look too dark, or like it might start to burn, loosely cover the turkey with foil. Continue roasting it until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165°F.
- Never use a bone-in turkey breast for this recipe. Because the turkey breast will be much larger, the bacon will not wrap fully around the turkey breast. And the bacon will burn before the turkey is fully cooked.
- If the turkey breast still has the skin attached, I recommend using a sharp knife to remove it before making this recipe. Since the skin is not exposed, it will not get crispy, and therefore the texture of the skin won’t be great.
- Always make sure to thaw the turkey breast completely before using it in this recipe. I recommend moving the turkey breast from the freezer to the refrigerator 2-3 days before making this recipe. This will ensure that it’s fully thawed before preparing this dish.
- If you don’t have steak seasoning available, replace it with 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper.
- This recipe is naturally gluten free and dairy free, using the ingredients listed in this post.
- You can store leftover bacon wrapped turkey in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Nutrition Facts
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56 Comments on “Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast”
If you brine turkey breast would it be too salty with the bacon wrap
Hi Linda, I don’t think you need to brine the turkey breast for this recipe. Brining adds flavor and juiciness, which you already get with the bacon wrap. If you would really like to brine the turkey breast, you can, but I would swap out the steak seasoning for 1 teaspoon black pepper, to cut out additional salt in the rub.
This is the best turkey I have ever had!! Normally, I will force down a slice of Turkey on Thanksgiving just to be polite…I went back for seconds on this recipe!!! Next time I would tent it for the first half of cooking so my bacon didn’t get over done…otherwise this recipe is spot on!
The best turkey I have ever made!! I will never make turkey any other way. So moist and tasty!!
Can i make this with a bone in turkey breast? also whats the purpose of the wire rack can it be made on a baking dish on a bed of potatoes and shallots?
thansk! hosting a friendsgiving this weekend
Hi Chantalle, I don’t recommend making this with a bone-in turkey breast as it’s hard to carve around the bone and keep the bacon on the turkey.
The bacon wrapped turkey is placed on the wire rack so that the grease from the bacon drips under the wire rack onto the baking sheet and the the bacon gets crisp all the way around. I would recommend cooking the potatoes and shallots on another baking sheet.
Hope this helps! Happy Friendsgiving 🙂
Made this for dinner last night and it was really good.
So glad to hear that Kathryn!!
I made this today and it turned out great! The meat was moist and I usually always pick dark meat on a whole turkey but this breast meat was perfect. I loved the sauce and need to use it on everything! I made extra sauce for some roasted veggies and it was so good. Love the balsamic.
I did need to tent the breast after forty minutes because my bacon was getting too dark. I tented it for another hour and 20 minutes until it was cooked through. Thanks for the creative recipe!
Do you leave the elastic netting on the turkey or do you remove it before cooking?
Hi Karen, you remove and discard it before rubbing the turkey, wrapping it in the bacon, and cooking. Enjoy!
Do I cover the turkey while it’s cooking?
Hi Raymond, no, you don’t need to cover it while cooking.