This is a turkey breast with all the flavor! This recipe is perfect for those who want big flavor without the fuss of a full turkey—whether it’s for a smaller holiday gathering or a weeknight treat. Turkey breasts are so easy to make, and they take so much less time to cook, too. We also absolutely love the flavor that you get from our Cajun twist on the typical roasted turkey breast.

Serve your turkey breast with our slow cooker jalapeno scalloped potatoes, jalapeno cranberry sauce, and bacon gravy for an unforgettably flavorful meal!

Why Our Recipe

  • A bold blend of Cajun spices ensures this turkey breast will be ultra flavorful.
  • Minimal prep and hands-off roasting keeps everything nice and simple.
  • Juicy meat and perfectly crisped skin every time!
A cajun-spiced roasted turkey breast in a roasting pan. A fork and knife are showing you the sliced interior.

Minimal prep and hands-off roasting make this recipe as easy as it is delicious. A little butter on top keeps the turkey juicy while uncovering the turkey for the last few minutes gives you a crisp, golden skin that’s irresistible with all those Cajun spices on it. You might never go back to regular turkey after trying this!

Ingredient Notes

An overhead view of the ingredients needed to make a cajun roasted turkey breast.
  • Turkey Breast: These come in varying sizes, and you can also choose to get it bone-in or boneless. All of these factors just depend on your budget and your preference. Both will work great in our recipe!
  • Spices: You might see Cajun spice mixes in the stores, but we recommend using our homemade spice mix to get that perfect balance of flavor. Those store-bought options are not all the same!
  • Salted Butter: The butter helps keep the meat juicy and adds flavor as it melts over the turkey. Unsalted butter works too.

Bone-in or Boneless

For this recipe, a bone-in turkey breast is recommended for the best flavor and juiciness. Bone-in turkey breasts tend to be larger and contain both sides of the breast and the bone helps it cook more evenly.

Boneless turkey breasts can also work with this recipe, though they may cook faster. If you go with boneless, check for doneness sooner—typically around 15-18 minutes per pound.

Cooking Time

It can be frustrating to look at a recipe and see that there isn’t an exact cooking time, but when it comes to cooking meats, especially poultry, it’s really all about temperature and not time! This is especially true with poultry since it can dry out easily. And because all turkey breasts will differ in size and shape, you will definitely want to use a meat thermometer to check the doneness of your turkey breast.

Servings of sliced cajun roasted turkey breast on a plate.

Thawing Your Turkey

Turkey breasts are generally between 4 and 6 pounds and are typically sold frozen so remember to plan ahead. The general advice is to plan on 24 hours of thawing in the fridge for every 5 pounds of turkey, but we actually recommend planning on 2 days in the fridge for a turkey breast to fully thaw. Why? We’ve simply found that 24 hours just isn’t reliable for us and we want to be sure our turkey doesn’t have any frozen spots for even cooking.

To Baste or Not to Baste

Basting requires you to open the oven door repeatedly, losing a ton of heat! You do not need to baste, and we actually recommend not basting with this recipe. If you do decide to baste, you will need to plan on some additional cooking time. 

Storage and Reheating Instructions

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Freeze leftover portions in an airtight container or resealable plastic freezer bag. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

Reheat portions in the microwave on high in 30-second increments.

More ways to cook turkey…