Total Time: 40 minutes
Published: November 22, 2021
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Take your turkey up a notch! Juicy and tender roasted turkey breast stuffed with a cream cheese, spinach, herb, and bacon filling that will knock your socks off. Perfect for Sunday dinners, special occasions, and holiday menus!
Want more turkey dishes? Try my popular posts for Best Ever Turkey Breast (Instant Pot), Turkey Enchiladas, Leftover Turkey Corn Chowder, and Cranberry Pecan Turkey Salad.
Just when I thought it was impossible for turkey to be any better – it’s happened! A friend mentioned to me this stuffed turkey breast she had on Thanksgiving at a restaurant once in Colorado and, well, the rest they say is history! I just had to try to recreate it myself.
Let me tell you, the combination of turkey breast with cheese, herbs, spinach, and bacon – you just may never go back to a boring old roasted whole turkey again!
Here’s How You Make It
- First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then, prep a small sheet pan or roasting dish with butter, oil, or cooking spray.
- Place the turkey breast in a Ziplock bag or between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound to an even 1/4-inch thickness.
- Now, take out a medium-size bowl and combine the cream cheese, spinach, garlic, bacon, salt, pepper, parsley, rosemary, and thyme all together.
- Spread this mixture all over the top of the pounded turkey breast, except for about ½-in around the edges.
- Now, take one of the long sides of the turkey and roll it toward the other side in a pinwheel fashion. Secure it with toothpicks or baker’s twine to keep it rolled up.
- Stir the spices together, then rub all over the rolled turkey bundles.
- Place this whole stuffed turkey breast in the oven for 15-25 minutes to bake. *Depending on the size of the turkey breast you may need more or less time. Internal temperature (when thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the turkey) should read about 160 degrees before moving onto the next step.
- Then, switch the oven to Broil and allow it to cook another 5 minutes or so till it’s nice and browned on the outside. (An internal thermometer should read about 160 degrees before you take it out as the temperature will rise another 5 degrees as the turkey is resting.)
- Transfer the stuffed turkey to a cutting board and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Why This Recipe Works
Something different – Are you tired of the same old, same old turkey preparation? Well, this roasted turkey will surely turn heads at Thanksgiving!Cheesy, bacony, herby, juicy, moist, delicious – what’s not to love?
Easy – Don’t be fooled by the name of this recipe. “Stuffing” a turkey is as easy as rolling up some yummy ingredients inside and baking. It’s really not complicated at all.
Quick – It only takes 40 minutes to make and bake this Thanksgiving turkey breast, instead of all day in the oven like most turkeys.
Great for a small crowd or Friendsgiving – Not everyone’s holidays are gigantic. Sometimes you have (or want) a small crowd, but you don’t want to have to fix up a giant turkey for just a couple people. Enter this delicious stuffed turkey breast!
Ideas for Customizing this Recipe
- No turkey? No problem. You could also use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You’d pound out about 4-5 of them, fill, and bake as directed.
- Other cheeses that would be yummy in this roasted turkey include white cheddar, gruyere, swiss, Monterey jack, or a combination of any of these with cream cheese (just be careful not to overfill).
- Diced pancetta would also be a yummy substitution for bacon if you prefer. Or skip the meat all together and just add the cheese and herbs.
- If you don’t have fresh herbs parsley, rosemary, and thyme, you can use dried, or substitute the same amount of Italian seasoning.
Serving Suggestions
My ideal meal to serve with this stuffed turkey on Thanksgiving would also include:
What Flavors Go Best with Turkey?
If the thought of Thanksgiving conjures up a certain aromatic smell in your mind, that’s for good reason. A lot of the preparations tend to have lots of similar herbs in common like thyme, oregano, rosemary, parsley, salt, and pepper. Onions, carrots, celery, lemons, and olive oil also frequent a lot of recipe ingredients lists. There are many ways to flavor a turkey though, including dry rubs, brines, and marinades. Whatever way you choose, I’m sure it’ll be delicious!
Expert Tips
- Note that a 5-pound turkey breast should feed about 6-8 adults, while a 7-pound turkey breast should feed about 8-10.
- This stuffed turkey breast will keep in the fridge for about 3 days.
- Reheat it carefully in the microwave – but be careful as the cheese will probably run out the middle if you cook too long. Or you could reheat by searing a slice or two on the stove.
More Recipes You’ll Love
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Stuffed Turkey Breast
Take your turkey up a notch! Juicy and tender roasted turkey breast stuffed with a cream cheese, spinach, herb, and bacon filling that will knock your socks off. Perfect for Sunday dinners, special occasions, and holiday menus!
Servings: 4 servings
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a small sheet pan or roasting dish.
Place turkey in a ziploc bag or between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound out to about 1/4-inch thickness.
In a medium bowl combine cream cheese, spinach garlic, bacon, salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and parsley.
Spread mixture over the turkey, leaving about 1/2 inch around the edge uncovered.
Gently, but firmly roll the turkey from one long side toward the other. Secure with toothpicks to keep it rolled OR tie with bakers twine and place in prepared baking dish.
Stir the spices together, then rub all over the rolled turkey bundles.
Place this whole stuffed turkey breast in the oven for 15-25 minutes to bake. *Depending on the size of the turkey breast you may need more or less time. Internal temperature (when thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the turkey) should read about 160 degrees before moving onto the next step.
Switch to BROIL and cook another 5 minutes or so until browned on the outside. (Internal temperature should read about 160 degrees – it will continue to rise a bit to read 165 while resting in the next step.)
Transfer to a cutting board and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Serve immediately – enjoy!
Notes
Cooking time: the cooking time completely depends on how large/thick your stuffed turkey breast bundle is. For two turkey breast tenderloins, I only baked for about 15 minutes before switching to broil. When using a full boneless turkey breast (about 2.75 pounds) I baked for about 30 minutes before switching to broil.
Nutrition
Calories: 183 kcal, Carbohydrates: 8 g, Protein: 2 g, Fat: 16 g, Saturated Fat: 6 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5 g, Trans Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 16 mg, Sodium: 432 mg, Potassium: 21 mg, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 1 g, Vitamin A: 610 IU, Vitamin C: 2 mg, Calcium: 50 mg, Iron: 1 mg
