This Whole30 turkey breast and gravy is epic: brined to perfection with an herb butter stuffed under the skin (using ghee, of course)! It’s my perfect Thanksgiving turkey made Whole30 Thanksgiving compliant, and it’s a must for any paleo Thanksgiving or Whole30 Thanksgiving! This Whole30 turkey breast and gravy might actually become your favorite turkey recipe…
I’ve been working on this ultimate turkey recipe for years.
Even before we hosted Thanksgiving on our own, I ended up on turkey duty years back. Having volleyed the task back and forth between them over the years, my parents had long tired of the weighty responsibility and scrutiny that comes with masterminding the primo dish at the biggest food-centric holiday in America.
Well, the white meat was so dry…
Well, if someone hadn’t deep fried the entire thing…
Well, if maybe the cook actually used a little salt now and again…
Well, if maybe you hadn’t lit the entire thing on fire…
Why’s the carpet all wet, Todd?
I don’t know, Margo!
You know, petty stuff. Back and forth between them, the non-cook never satisfied with their day of relaxation (Dear Thanksgiving Day of Relaxation, miss you always), always insistent on picking on the other out of defensiveness of their last year’s turkeys memories.
So eventually I took over, an impartial third party immune to poultry critique. I started with a simple recipe but was unsatisfied. As the years went on, I researched and researched, integrating new techniques and more key ingredients to produce the perfect bird. The recipe is in my free ebook The Complete and Total Guide to Thanksgiving, which you can download by joining my mailing list here!
It’s got absolutely everything you need to positively destroy Thanksgiving this year, from a weeks-out timeline to a minute-by-minute schedule the day of, what you can make ahead of time, what you need to make right then and there. Plus tried-and-true recipes for every single course, plus my epic turkey recipe. You’ve got to check it out!
So when I wanted to make a Whole30 turkey breast with gravy (or perfect paleo turkey breast!), I knew I had to take what makes my regular turkey so special and make it compliant (and, hey, smaller, since there are usually fewer of us on a Whole30 at Thanksgiving!).
Brine.
Truss.
Herb butter under the skin.
Perfection. Every time.
Don’t skip the brining with this Whole30 turkey breast and gravy! Poultry dries out when cooking pretty easily, since you cook it all the way through, and that’s especially true for larger pieces. And don’t skip the herb butter either! It imparts the entire breast with a moist and heady infusion, and the richness of the thyme is too good to pass up. It all goes perfectly with my Whole30 Thanksgiving recipes series, so check those out, too!
To make this Whole30 turkey breast and gravy, I used…
Whole30 Turkey Breast and Gravy (Paleo Turkey Breast)
Ingredients
For the Turkey Breast
- 5 tablespoons ghee divided
- 3 cloves garlic cloves minced
- 3 tablespoons fresh thyme chopped
- 1 whole turkey breast skin-on
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
For the Brine
- 9 cups water
- ½ cup salt
- 1 spring fresh thyme
- 3 cloves garlic mashed
For the Gravy
- ¼ cup drippings from pan or ghee
- ½ of one onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups turkey stock
- 1 cup chopped cauliflower fresh or frozen
- 4 tablespoons arrowroot
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos to taste
- sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Make the brine: Stir together all ingredients until salt is totally dissolved. Pour brine into large food storage container or Ziploc bag and place turkey breast in brine. Seal completely and refrigerate 12 hours.
- Drain brine and let turkey breast dry until very dry. Pat dry with paper towels if necessary.
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- Mix 3 tablespoons ghee, garlic, and thyme in food processor. Carefully, using your fingers, peel the skin away from the chicken breast and rub the butter mixture under the skin. If necessary, depending on your turkey breast, tie breast with kitchen twine to keep the breast tight. Rub the outside of the skin with the remaining 2 tablespoons ghee and season with salt and pepper.
- In a roasting pan, fitted with a rack, place turkey, breast side up. Roast 1 hour then baste with any drippings. Roast another 15-20 minutes or until internal temperature reads 160º F. Remove from oven, loosely tent turkey with foil, and let rest while you make the gravy.
- Heat drippings or ghee over medium heat, in your roasting pan or in a saucepan if desired. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened and start to brown. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in cauliflower, thyme sprigs, and turkey stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer until cauliflower is fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Remove thyme stems.
- Transfer mixture to blender and blend until smooth.
- In a small bowl, add arrowroot powder and a little water. Whisk until smooth, adding a little more water if needed. Return gravy to saucepan or roasting pan and stir in arrowroot slurry. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened. Add coconut aminos for color and taste, plus salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste.
Notes
- Add coconut aminos for color and taste, plus salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste.
Nutrition
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Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She’s been a blogger for 10+ years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of three who lives in Memphis, TN.
Linda says
The first step says to “stir together all ingredients until the Salt is dissolved” I can’t tell from the recipe if there are ingredients that are just for the brine or if I should in fact put “ALL” the ingredients in the brine….
I’m a novice at this- which ingredients go in the brine (salt, water….anything else??)
Amelia Camurati says
Oh, no! It looks like our recipe formatting has been removed! The brine ingredients are 9 cups water, 1/2 cup salt, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, and 3 cloves garlic mashed. We are working to get this updated for you and others! Sorry for the confusion, but thanks for asking!
Margarita Perez says
I am roasting a 10 pound turkey breast, on the bone. Would you increase/change any part of the recipe? I was going to use a 2 gallon ziplock bag to brine the breast.
Thank you
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Everything can stay the same, you can always the thyme.
L says
It just says arrowroot… is that powder, flour, the actual arrowroot…?
Cheryl Malik says
Arrowroot flour.
Michelle says
I made this today and it was perfect! Thanks for the recipe. I will definitely be making it again ❤️
Cheryl Malik says
So happy you liked it!!
Lacey says
What size turkey breast did you use?
Cheryl Malik says
I believe we used a 3 pound breast from Butterball
Angie says
Cheryl, where did you find a compliant turkey breast tenderloin? They all have sugar as one of the preservation additives. Hard to find without it.
Amelia Camurati says
Whole Foods is a good place to start!