The smells wafting through your home while this turkey breast is cooking in the slow cooker with a delicious cranberry sauce will make you so excited for your comforting meal!
1 - 2cupsfresh cranberriesenough to cover the bottom of the crock in a single layer
115-oz can jellied cranberry sauce, sliced into rounds
11-oz package onion soup mix (see below for homemade)
½cuporange juice
¼cupsugaroptional for a less cranberry-tart sauce
3 to 4poundboneless turkey breast
2tablespoonsbuttersliced
2sprigs fresh rosemaryoptional
Homemade Onion Soup Mix:
¼cupdried onion flakes
2tablespoonsbouillon granulesbeef or chicken both work
¼teaspoondried onion powder
¼teaspoondried parsley flakes
¼teaspooncelery salt
⅛teaspoonground paprika
⅛teaspoondried garlic powder
⅛teaspoonground black pepper
Instructions
Prep: Spray a 5-6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Place the whole cranberries inside and set the sliced cranberry sauce on top. Sprinkle with HALF of the onion soup mix. Combine orange juice and sugar (if using) and pour in the crockpot.
Season turkey: Place the turkey breast in the slow cooker and rub all over with the remaining onion soup mix, then dot with sliced butter. Nestle the rosemary sprigs next to the turkey breast.
Cook: Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour, then finish cooking on LOW for 4-5 hours or until the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F. Remove the rosemary sprigs before serving, and slice the turkey breast. Stir the cranberry sauce together with the juices and serve over the turkey.
Notes
Step by Step explanations:
To slice the cranberry sauce, I just open the can, pop it out on a plate and slice it into thin rounds.I place the whole cranberries underneath the jellied sauce, so that the jelly can melt over the cranberries as it cooks.Once the cranberries and cranberry sauce are in the crock, I just prinkle ½ of the onion soup mix over it and pour the orange juice (plus sugar) over it.I season the turkey breast right in the crockpot with my homemade onion soup mix. Dotting the top with butter is not optional ;-)I never need to thicken the sauce in the end - it's always nice and bubbly. My husband (the trained chef) says it's not necessary to rest slow cooked meat. If like me it makes you feel better, just do a 5 minute rest before slicing and serving with the cranberry sauce.
Side dish suggestions:
As you can see in the photo above, this is a great reacipe for a holiday meal! Some of our favorite holiday sides:
Frozen meat: Sorry, but you're going to have to thaw the turkey breast completely in the fridge before cooking it in the slow cooker. It's important for food safety! Read more about it on the USDA's website here.Internal temperature: The turkey breast needs to reach an internal temperature of 165°F to be safe to eat. Read more on the USDA's website here.Slow cooker setting: I cook the turkey breast on HIGH for 1 hour first, then on LOW for the remaining time. This is to give the crockpot a head start to heat up, so the food gets out of the unsafe temperature zone faster.Serving: If you're serving the sliced turkey breast on a platter, it looks so pretty to garnish with a few fresh rosemary twigs!