Skinnytaste Air Fryer Turkey Breast Recipe

Last Updated on May 23, 2023 by Amanda P. Brown

A skinny taste turkey breast is one of the center items of any special occasion such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, or other holiday dinner party. 

As making this fantastic recipe at an air fryer has some benefits, most people prepare it by this simple and rapid method. 

However, you can prepare one day in advance and bake it just before meals. If you like the gravy in cooking, try this Skinnytaste Air Fryer Turkey Breast Recipe, as its skin makes the turkey juicier. 

In this article, you will learn the specialties of turkey breast, the benefits of making it in an air fryer, the making process, time ideas, tips, alertness, etc. Let’s know all factors in detail and ensure a tasty, juicy skinny Brest recipe at your dinner table.  

Benefits to Cook Turkey Breast in an Air Fryer

The air fryer does not require much oil to cook turkey; brushing or spraying the turkey with oil is enough to make it tender, crispy, and tasty. It’s even possible to use very little oil or fat. As a crowd-feeding alternative, turkey breast air fryers are great if you’re hosting Thanksgiving or need a little more in less time. 

An air fryer can handle up to 16 pounds of turkey breast at once. So if you are hosting a large gathering, you can easily cater to one or two turkey breasts. And for smaller gatherings, you can feed it smoothly. 

Skinnytaste Air Fryer Turkey Breast Recipe

Ingredients 

• Olive oil (1 tablespoon).
• Kosher (2 teaspoons).
• Dry turkey or poultry seasoning (½ tablespoon).
• Turkey breast, skin, and bone in (4 lb).

Preparation Tips 

Cooking a turkey in an air fryer is easier and a great way than in the oven. There’s no basting or checking on the turkey in an air fryer.

Moreover, the air fryer can cook up to 20 pounds of turkey, thanks to its large outdoor capacity. However, before you prepare the turkey, consider the following suggestions.

• Temperature also plays an important role in making your dish delicious, as too high a temperature can cause the turkey breast to burn or not cook properly. And too low a temperature will disrupt the cooking process. So it’s great to cook the turkey breast to a certain temperature, such as 165°F (74°C).
• Based on the size of the air fryer, a 4- to 5-pound breast can fit perfectly in a 5-quart or larger air fryer to ensure that it comes out juicy and flavorful for your Thanksgiving dinner or large dinner. 
• If the turkey breast is frozen, refrigerate it overnight to reduce cooking time. 
• To make it juicy and delicious like a bird, you can marinate the turkey breast in the same process. 
• Adding butter to a turkey can enhance the flavor of the turkey. But as compound butter, it’s great with other combinations such as fresh herbs, tangy citrus zest, spicy honey, and roasted or raw garlic.
• To get a crispy exterior on your turkey breast, dry it thoroughly with paper towels before seasoning it. Then, season the turkey well with pepper and salt to enhance its flavor. 
• Add juice, wine, or beer every hour to baste the turkey. Because these natural sugars will caramelize the turkey’s outer coating, giving your turkey a flavorful skin and crispiness. Additionally, apple juice or butter infused into the turkey will make the meat more flavorful and moist. 

Note: The time it takes to cook a turkey breast depends on its size, but an instant-read thermometer may help you be sure it’s done every time.

Process

• Brush the whole breast of Turkey with ½ tablespoon of oil. Add flavoring to the turkey with spices and salt, and then massage the residual half a tablespoon of oil on both parts of the skin.
• The air fryer must be preheated at 350 F and cooked under each side of the skin for less than 20 minutes. Then flip both sides and prepare through the inner temperature of 160 F. Utilize immediate-read temperature for more than 30 to 40 minutes and build on your breast shape. You have to relax for 10 minutes before serving. 

Read More: How to Cook Turkey Fillets in a Pan?

What Makes This Juicy Roasted Turkey Breast So Appealing?

Besides being delicious, tender and flavorful, juicy roasted turkey breast has some of the things you’ll love about it:

Perfect for Thanksgiving 

In addition to Thanksgiving, turkey is a great year-round option because of its tender, juicy flesh fried in a layer of caramelized onions. Even this roast turkey is extensive to make the holiday more precious. 

Mainly if you serve it with cranberry sauce, gravy, and mashed potatoes, it will be a gorgeous tasty combo meal. 

Excellent Texture

Cooking the turkey briefly at a high temperature yields a perfectly juicy turkey with a crispy skin. You can even follow the same procedure for roasting a whole turkey and observe the entire recipe for the turkey. 

Plan Ahead of Time

You can even prepare the turkey the day before and throw it in the oven when the big day arrives. Therefore, on occasion, you will have more time in your day.

Suitable for the Crowd

A 6lb turkey breast is easily suitable for 6-person. You can pick this excellent recipe if you host a short group party on Thanksgiving or other occasions.

Either Way, It’s Great

As an appropriate alternative to a large turkey, roasted turkey breast is a great and delicious option. Plus, as a roast, you can enjoy this juicy, moist, and tender turkey breast, either bone-in or boneless. 

Great for Beginners

Even for beginners, this roast turkey breast recipe is the easiest one.

You can make this hands-free baking in 10 minutes without flipping or basting. For this, you can only use a baking sheet and roasting rack (which is optional). 

A Great Alternative for Baking

Especially compared to a whole turkey, turkey breast is one of the best baking options for dinner for two or a small gathering. It is small and manageable, so you can quickly bake it according to your requirement. 

It Takes a Short Time to Cook

To make it, you don’t need to stick it in the air fryer all day. These turkey breasts can take as little as 2 hours to prepare. 

Tender Moisture of Butter

Season your roasted turkey breast with melted butter, salt, and pepper to make it moist, tender, and delicious, which makes it worthy of everyone’s appreciation at your holiday, gathering, or functional day. 

Great Sources of Protein

Turkey breast is low-fat, completely white meat, high in protein processed in various ways for consumer and professional use. 

It is packed with B6, B12, and B-complex vitamins niacin and has an essential nutrient in choline. However, you can have it fully cooked, fresh, frozen, boneless, bone-in, skin-on, filleted, halved, or whole. 

At What Temperature Should a Turkey Be Air-fried?

Turkey cooked at high temperature keeps the breast meat moist, golden brown, and has a crispy skin. In an air fryer, set the turkey breast at 400° F with the turkey skin aside. Allow cooking for 45-60 minutes, approximately 7-10 minutes per pound, until a food thermometer registers at 165°F. 

Before carving, permit for 10 minutes. Moreover, be aware that if your turkey is cooked to a higher temperature than the specified temperature, the meat will not cook properly, and the skin may burn.

How Long Does It Take to Cook a Turkey in an Air Fryer?

The time needed to cook the turkey will change drastically depending on its dimensions and weight. According to the rule of thumb, it takes about 12 minutes per pound of turkey breast to cook in the air fryer and about an hour for a 5-pound turkey breast. 

Even if you want to cook a boneless small turkey breast, it will cook faster than a whole chicken. 

For example, air frying a boneless 2-1/2-pound turkey breast takes around 45 minutes, while a bone-in 4-pound turkey breast takes about 55-65 minutes. Turkey breasts that are thick and spherical require longer to cook than leaner and flatter ones.

21 Things to Consider When Air-frying a Turkey

Below are 21 things you should not do and what you can do while air-frying a turkey. Considering these things will lead you to a perfectly cooked and safe turkey. 

1. Don’t Overfill the Air Fryer Basket

Overfilling the air fryer basket during cooking will limit the shaking process and result in uneven cooking. So it would be best to try cooking in batches as the air circulates efficiently and the food gets crisp instead of steaming. 

2. Evenly Distribute the Ingredients

The food should be placed on an even surface to ensure that the heat circulates and makes the food crisp. And if the food is not evenly circulated, heat conduction through it will be hindered, and the food will not cook well.

3. Attempt to Cook Food on a Wet Batter

First of all, an air fryer is not considered a deep fryer. Therefore, the coating may slip through the basket if you put the coated ingredients in a wet batter (For example, to make tempura), resulting in a mess and producing some unsatisfactory cooking results. 

The food won’t get that crispy, crunchy coating and won’t set the way it does when immersed in oil. Accordingly, to prevent crumbs or cooking grease from spilling into your air fryer, you can now get a variety of air fryer liners. These are wise choices when preparing messier items.

4. Don’t Forget to Read the Manual

If you are new to using an air fryer, you can follow the manual that comes with the air fryer on how to use it and avoid any mishaps. It includes hotline numbers and social media accounts listed in its manuals as needed, along with tips you can follow to use it safely.

5. Don’t Leave Your Air Fryer Plugged in When Not in Use

Your air fryer may accidentally push a button when you didn’t mean it to. Therefore, when your air fryer is not in use, you should UN-PLUG your air fryer. 

6. Don’t Burn Yourself or Your Countertops

Air fryers have internal and external components that get very hot during cooking. 

So if you touch these hot elements with your bare hands, then there is a possibility of burning your hand. However, you can use a silicone trivet or heat-safe board/mat to help handle your hot air fryer basket and lid safely.

7. Do Not Prepare Food in a Closed-off, Unventilated Space.

Placing your air fryer in a closed corner can make operating difficult, and cooking in a non-ventilated area will not allow the hot temperature to escape easily. 

Therefore, the air fryer should be placed slightly away from the wall for easy handling, and open the window during cooking to allow the temperatures to escape easily. 

8. Don’t Let the Air Fryer Hot Air Ventilation Openings Blow Into Electrical Outlets 

For safe air frying, you should leave space for the vents to circulate the air fryer. 

9. Don’t Put the Air Fryer on the Stove

While your Stove is on, you may accidentally leave the air fryer on it, which could lead to a massive fire and melt the air fryer.

10. Never Place Perforated Parchment Paper Directly Over a Flame Without Covering It With Food.

If there isn’t enough food for the weight of your parchment paper, the hot air circulating will blow around and cover the food, causing the food to cook unevenly. 

It also has the potential to burn if the parchment flies around and hits the hot heating element. 

11. Avoid Use Perforated Parchment Paper at High Heat Without Having Food Over It

These sprays contribute to coating breakdown on many trays and non-stick baskets. So, in this case, you can apply a high-quality flash point oil spray or pump, which is helpful. 

12. Be Careful Not to Create Smoke in the Air Fryer 

When cooking dry ingredients such as breadcrumbs in your air fryer, the impact on the heating element will cause Smoke. In this case, you need to spray the breadcrumbs with oil to cover the breading spots so that the cooking is not tough and dry; it will be crisp. 

13. Don’t Forget to Check on the Food So It Doesn’t Burn

All air fryers do not work the same: some cook slowly, some cook hot, and some have only medium or super powerful fan power. So, you can use a timer to ensure the duration of shaking and flipping time. 

14. Don’t Season the Food With Salt While It’s in the Air Fryer

The non-stick interior of the air fryer basket casing may break and peel off if salt is spilled on food. So, in this case, you have to season the food on a cutting board or by the bowl, and then you can safely take it to the air fryer. 

15. Do Use Accessories and Inserts That Are Made for Your Air Fryer

Using ingredients that are not acceptable for air fryers creates various problems. So using the right accessories and inserts for your air fryer will help the air fryer fit well and minimize the cooking space. 

16. Don’t Clean the Racks or Air Fryer Basket With Harsh Metal Scouring Pads

Avoid using a hard metal scouring pad to clean the rack or air fryer basket. Otherwise, this abrasive pad will damage the racks. 

You can easily remove crusted food from the air fryer. For better, you can safely clean dirty racks and baskets by soaking them in hot soapy water for up to 20 minutes. 

17. Do Not Preheat the Air Fryer

Many foods are not pre-cooked, such as vegetables (vegetables like potatoes), fish, and meat, which need to be preheated in the air fryer to maintain the correct temperature at the beginning. By doing this, the food starts to cook and crisp up immediately, preventing it from getting stuck. 

18. Do Not Use a Pot Lid

When frying your turkey, using a lid on the pan poses a serious risk of burns, as the lid and handle on the sides of the pan get too hot. That’s why you should use turkey fryers outdoors to avoid fire hazards. 

19. Do Not Spray Water

Avoid splashing water when your turkey air fryer catches fire, as this may splash flammable oil, causing a fatal accident. 

20. Do Not Leave Hot Oil or a Pot

After cooking or during cooking, hot fryers, oil, or utensils should never be left unattended as this can cause burns. Therefore, disposing of it, you should let your oil or pan cool thoroughly. 

21. Don’t Brine Your Turkey

When you air fry a brined turkey, it will turn into an overly salty turkey that will spoil the taste, which is not great.

Read More: How to Use Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey?

Can You Get Juicy Turkey From an Air Fryer? 

An air-fried turkey retains its moisture, yes. The FDA recommends cooking turkey breast to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius). But if you remove the turkey from the air fryer when it reaches that temperature, carryover cooking may make it taste dry.

Furthermore, turkey breast be juicier at 150°F (66°F) (specifically if you dry brine it). Although turkey has a similar texture to chicken, it has a richer, moister, juicy, and stronger flavor than chicken. 

After cooking in an air fryer, it comes with golden and crispy skin. Additionally, its dark meat tastes like a Cornish hen or duck.

How Much Turkey Breast Per Person?

A simple calculation can determine how many turkey breasts are needed per person. Mostly recommended is half a pound of turkey meat per person. To ensure you get the right size turkey, you need to multiply the number of people who are present for dinner by 0.5 (and be sure to include yourself in the calculations).

Therefore, you might need 8 pounds of meat at the dinner table if you have 16 people attending. Below I have included typical guest amounts with specific numbers for the convenience of how many turkey breasts to buy per person.

However, if you enjoy leftovers, estimate around 1 pound of turkey meat per person. After the holidays, you can enjoy this delicious leftover turkey for several days. 

Also, if you choose between a bone-in and a boneless turkey breast, get 3/4 pound of bone-in turkey breast per person and 1/2 pound of boneless breast per person. 

How to Use Leftover Roasted Turkey Breast?

If you have leftover roasted turkey breast, it has several uses. Use it for sandwiches like this Thanksgiving Sandwich or casseroles like this Simple Turkey Tetrazzini. 

Therefore, check out our whole collection of leftover recipes. 

Moreover, if your turkey is treated correctly, you will keep it for up to 4 days. But try to have between in 3 days, which is considered good. For the optimum texture and flavor, you need to freeze it as quickly as possible once cooking. 

FAQs

Final Verdict

One of the favorite aspects of the skinny taste air fry’s turkey breast recipe is that you can prepare it quickly and in less time without any hassle. So, for your holiday nights, you can pick this item. You can serve this delightful soft turkey with your favorite salad, sauce, or cream.  Hope, the above tips will help you make a juicy Skinnytaste Air Fryer Turkey Breast Recipe. While making it one air fryer consider the 21 things mentioned above. 

For a finished turkey meal, you can supply it with cranberry sauce and home-based baked delicious potatoes and stuffing also. 

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