I had a catering company for two decades, and one of my specialties was maple-glazed turkey breast.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can make it ahead, and all you have to do is warm it before serving. Cooking the breast alone allows the meat to cook evenly. After cooking and slicing the meat soaks up all the yummy flavors of the maple glaze and stays juicy and moist.

Maple Glazed Make-Ahead Turkey Breast

Ingredients

Turkey Breast

  • 1 3 lb single turkey breast
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground pepper-combined
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Glaze

  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 stick salted butter
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp white wine
  • 1 tsp Worcester sauce

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400
  2. Pat turkey breast dry and rub all over with brown sugar mixture. Let sit at room temperature for an hour. Rub turkey with olive oil.
  3. Place turkey breast on a roasting rack over a roasting pan. Add 1/2 cup of water to the roasting pan under the turkey breast.
  4. Roast for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325 and continue roasting. Add 1/2 cup of water to the roasting pan as needed; do not let the pan get dry.
  5. Combine glaze ingredients and baste turkey breast as it cooks at 325 every 10 minutes. The breast will cook for over an hour total time, depending on size. Use a meat thermometer and test the thickest part of the breast. It should be 150.
  6. Let the breast rest at room temperature. Add the remaining glaze mixture to the roasting pan, cook, scrape the browned bits, heat through, and strain.
  7. After 30 minutes, slice the turkey breast across the grain, keeping the breast shape intact. Place the sliced breast in an oven-proof dish just large enough to hold the breast. Pour the glaze over the breast, cover, and refrigerate.
  8. Preheat oven to 325, and bring foil-covered turkey breast to room temp for 20 minutes. Place foil-covered turkey breast in the oven for 20 minutes or until warmed through. Remove foil and serve.

I am a passionate advocate for food as medicine, life navigator and culinary coach. This is my space for sharing what excites, inspires and motivates me to live my best life. It began as a recipe blog for nourishing, simple, weekday meals and has become something much bigger… a guide to resilient wellness. I am excited to share my knowledge of how daily habits can cumulatively help you to live like you mean it and age like you want to.