Cooking sous vide turkey breast bone in is one of the easiest ways to cook a perfect turkey, every time. Save room in your oven by utilizing Thanksgiving sous vide recipes like this one. Learn my tried and true sous vide turkey breast time and temperature, and how to finish the turkey in the oven for to get beautiful, roasted skin. Let’s sous vide!
This guide will teach you how to cook fresh turkey sous vide style. If you’re cooking turkey from the freezer, see how to sous vide frozen turkey breast.
We decided to sous vide turkey breast for Thanksgiving one year when I was super pregnant and we were having a cozy T-day, just my husband and I. We didn’t want to fuss over the turkey too much and loved the idea of saving room in the oven by sous viding turkey.
New to sous vide techniques? Learn why is sous vide so popular.
Since then, we’ve made sous vide turkey for other holidays and to make juicy, fresh turkey sandwiches.
Find more delicious recipes in my sous vide cookbook.
Ingredients for sous vide turkey
This recipe uses a 3-4 pound turkey breast on the bone. This is about a half turkey breast portion.
For seasonings, you’ll need garlic salt, black pepper, ghee (or butter), shallots, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, and half a lemon cut in slices.
How to sous vide turkey breast bone in – step by step
Start with adding flavor to the turkey breast.
Make a paste of the garlic salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and ghee. Season the outside of the turkey breast with half of the paste.
Place the turkey breast in a vacuum-seal bag, add lemon slices and vacuum-seal the bag.
Time and temperature for sous vide turkey breast
Sous vide turkey breast for 3 hours at 145ºF.
When done, remove the turkey from the hot water and shock the bag in an ice bath for 10 minutes. Remove turkey from the bag and pat dry.
Do you have to cook sous vide turkey to 165 degrees?
I found the discrepancy between general recommended cooking temperatures and sous vide cooking process super confusing when I started. Especially when I was pregnant and trying to follow safe food guidelines.
Cooking sous vide is more like pasteurization.
Since the sous vide bath cooks the turkey for a longer period of time than in the oven, it will be fully cooked at 145 degrees.
Longer cook time = safe at a lower temperature when it comes to sous vide cooking.
With that said, when I first made sous vide turkey at home and was pregnant, I still wanted to get that “safe” 165 degree internal temperature.
This is when sous vide was new to home chefs and I wanted to be 100% safe.
So I would sous vide turkey at 145 degrees, then stick it in the oven at 425 degrees until it reached 165 degrees internally. But – that’s not needed for this recipe! Sous vide cooking temperatures are different because they cook for a longer period of time.
How to finish sous vide turkey in the oven broiler
Preheat broiler to high. Coat the turkey with the remaining seasoning paste.
Broil turkey on high for 3 to 8 minutes, until golden brown. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.
You haven’t truly mastered sous vide cooking until you try this recipe for asparagus sous vide
What should sous vide turkey breast look like?
Like most proteins, sous vide turkey looks funny when it comes out of the sous vide bag.
The reason is that the turkey is cooked, but it hasn’t had the element of high heat to brown the outside.
When cooking turkey breast bone in with skin, you want the outside to take on a golden-brown color so you’ll broil the turkey in the oven after the sous vide bath.
It does not necessarily have to be even, but the entire skin should be colored.
The inside should be entirely white to ensure that your breast is fully cooked.
Looking for a new sous vide dish to try? Check out my butter poached sous vide asparagus.
Can turkey and vegetables sous vide at the same time?
Sous vide Brussels sprouts are a great side dish for this sous vide recipe.
But it’s important to note that vegetables and proteins cook at different times in the sous vide bath.
So you’ll want to sous vide the Brussels sprouts in advance, refrigerate them, then finish them in the broiler when the turkey is ready to be broiled.
What if my turkey is dry?
We’ve all been there!
It’s Thanksgiving and you’ve gone to a relative’s house and the turkey is sandpaper dry. So every time you make a turkey at home, you may cook in fear at the possibility it will turn out dry.
In theory, cooking turkey breast sous vide style should almost guarantee that it does not come out dry, since it can’t overcook in the sous vide bath.
Only broil it for the recommended amount of time in the oven after so it retains all the moisture and flavor.
Plating tips for sous vide turkey breast
Highlight the golden-brown of your turkey and garnish it with your favorite herbs for a warm, natural-looking plate.
If you’re also a fan of dark turkey meat, check out this recipe for sous vide turkey legs.
What to serve with turkey breast
- Gravy
- Herb butter
- Caramelized red onions
- Sous vide Brussels sprouts
- Cranberry sauce
- Mashed potatoes
- Green beans
- Garlic dill carrots
- Asparagus
Cooking for the holidays? Make these sprouts with Babe’s Chorizo Sausage Stuffing.
How to refrigerate leftover turkey
Cut turkey off the bone and store it in an air-tight container for up to four days.
Wine pairing idea for turkey
Pair savory, juicy sous vide turkey breast with a California Chardonnay.
Tips for sous vide turkey breast bone in
- Estimate 1-2 pounds of turkey per person.
- If you’re doubling this recipe to make two turkey breasts, seal each one in a separate vacuum sealed bag.
- Store leftover turkey for up to four days in the fridge.
- See these easy leftover turkey recipes for inspiration.
Check out my new cookbook – The Home Chef’s Sous Vide Cookbook. It’s packed with 100+ recipes to inspire any level sous vide enthusiast.
For a sneak peak of recipes in the book, see my long-cook sous vide brisket, super juicy bone in steak sous vide, and tips on how long to sous vide frozen steak.
Readers love these sous vide recipes
- Sous Vide T Bone Steak
- Sous Vide Wings
- Sous Vide Spare Ribs with BBQ Sauce
- Sous Vide Turkey Legs
- Sous Vide Pulled Pork
- Sous Vide Onions in Beer
- Sous Vide Corn
- Sous Vide Shrimp
- Sous Vide Lobster Tails
Share your sous vide cooking!
Find me on Instagram @sipbitego. I love seeing photos of delicious food.
Sous Vide Turkey Breast Bone In Recipe (Sip Bite Go)
When you don’t want to cook a whole turkey, try this recipe for sous vide turkey breast! It’s delicious for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and beyond… perfect for sous vide turkey sandwiches! This sous vide turkey time and temp can be adapted for turkey breasts between 3-4 LBs. You’ll finish off the turkey in the oven for a perfect, crispy skin.
Ingredients
- 4 lb skin-on turkey breast
- 2 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp ghee substitute butter
- 1 tbsp shallots diced
- 1 tsp rosemary diced
- 1/2 lemon sliced
Instructions
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Preheat sous vide machine to 145ºF.
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While the sous vide bath preheats, make a paste of garlic salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, ghee, and shallots. Season the outside of the turkey breast with half of the paste. Place the turkey breast in a vacuum-seal bag, add lemon slices and vacuum-seal the bag. Sous vide turkey breast for 3 hours.
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When done, remove the turkey from the hot water and shock the bag in an ice bath for 10 minutes. Remove turkey from the bag and pat dry.
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Preheat broiler to high. Coat the turkey with the remaining seasoning paste. Broil turkey on high for 3 to 8 minutes, until golden brown. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Estimate 1-2 pounds of turkey per person.
- If you're doubling this recipe to make two turkey breasts, seal each one in a separate vacuum sealed bag.
- These sous vide Brussels sprouts are a great side dish for this sous vide recipe, but it's important to note that vegetables and proteins cook at different times in the sous vide bath, so you'll want to sous vide the Brussels sprouts in advance, refrigerate them, then finish them in the broiler when the turkey is ready to be broiled.
- Store leftover turkey for up to four days in the fridge.
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Looks like I may need to find room for one more gadget. This is perfect because I like to cook just the turkey breasts, but they can get dried out in the oven. Thanks for sharing!
The flavor of this turkey breast looks amazing!!!
I have never tried sous vide but have always heard good things.
This turkey breast looks so moist and delicious! Will have to remember this for Thanksgiving!
Turkey is the one things that most people hate cooking for Thanksgiving because it gets dry, but this Turkey breast looks so moist and full of flavor! Yum!
This sounds ideal for us. We only like the white meat, but don’t like how it gets dried out in the oven. Thanks for the tips and step by step directions. Going to give it a try.
Such a perfect timing for this recipe. I am always curious to learn about Sous vide technique. Thank you for the detailed information and step by step instructions.
The turkey looks moist and full of flavour ! I might just need a sous vide cooker for this perfection !
The skin looks like it is cooked perfectly! I have never thought to use a sous vide for the turkey but this is a great idea for freeing up some oven space.
Curious as to why you need to roast it to 165 after having cooked it 3 hours sous vide at 145. While I understand the desire to crisp and color the skin, roasting to 165 seems to defeat the main reason for cooking sous vide. Isn’t it safe at 145 after 3 hours sous vide?
Yes! This cooking method is more like pasteurization. No need for the 165 degree internal temperature. Just brown the skin
That looks so moist and delicious… sometimes a challenge with turkey breasts! Love the citrus included too. 🙂
Oh my, this really looks like the perfect turkey!
I’ve never tried sous vide cooking but keep hearing about it. This turkey looks delicious! I’m going to have to add a sous vide machine to my wish list!
This turkey breast looks so juicy and delicious! I can’t wait to try it!
I need to try sous vide cooking…you make it look so easy 🙂
Interesting about the ghee. I bet it adds great flavor. I’d love to try sous vide.
This sous vide turkey breast looks so delicious! So tender and juicy – and love the crispy skin too!
That is it, I am coming over for Christmas dinner at your place, haha, this looks sooo good!! Yum, good stuff. I like that it is on the bone too, also like the idea of the turkey sandwiches. Cheers
This looks so flavorful – delish!
Lovely ideas and lovely looking dish. So Yummy and Moist. Good for this festive season.
I have never tried this way of cooking, but I have heard such great things about it.
The breast look great. So many great flavors. Can’t wait to try or.
You say to measure the internal temp of the turkey after removing from the sous vide bath for a temp of 165. There is no way the turkey will ever measure 165 if it was cooked sous vide at 145. Please explain what you meant.
If you want to know, cooking sous vide turkey to 165 isn’t needed – the whole point of sous Vide is precision if you cook it at 145 it’s never going to come out at 165.
This step by step is PERFECT for me. I need lots of instruction. How does this change with turkey breasts without bones? That’s why we have at home right now and I want to try this!
I haven’t done much with sous vide, but this looks great!
This looks like the absolute perfect turkey breast! I can’t wait to try it!
I’ve heard that using a sous vide gives great results. No dry food in sight.
BEST turkey breast I have ever eaten …. bar none! I had a 4 lb bone in breast that I cooked for 3 hours at 145. I did need to put it in the oven for 15 minutes to get it to the safe 165F temp, but did not need to put it under the broiler. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Honestly the moistest, tenderest, turkey ever. Will leave it in the water bath a little longer to save the oven time.
Judith, I’m SO THRILLED your turkey turned out amazing!! If you happened to take any pics please tag me on Instagram @sipbitego! I’d love to see!
I love love love my sous vide, but I’ve never used it to cook fowl before. I will definitely give this recipe a try.
Looks so delicious and healthy! I love the use of sous vide!
Nice! I will share this recipe with my neighbor..she was looking for a turkey recipe!
Mmmm, thank you for this recipe it turned out so delicious and juicy!
This sounds absolutely delicious! My family would love this recipe, I need to make it sometime!!
Kileen
I have never tried to sous vide before but this looks so amazing. That turkey looks so moist!
This is amazing and tender and moist! I like to cook turkey year round so will def be trying this recipe again soon.
Great suggestions in this recipe! I love turkey but NEVER had made it sous vide before trying this! Cooking it via sous vide is definitely a great idea for smaller portions. The turkey is simply amazing this way!
You mentioned shallots in the ingredients but never mentioned them in the instructions. Am I missing something?
Hi John, add it to the paste with spices in the beginning.
I don’t usually respond but had to try something with your recipe. Don’t know how it will turn out but instead of butter or ghee , I using bacon fat🤪. Figured it would have to be good. Will let you know.