Garlic Herb Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast
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This bacon wrapped turkey breast is covered in a balsamic garlic herb rub then wrapped in a bacon weave for a flavorful, juicy turkey recipe. Delicious anytime of the year for a weeknight meal or perfect as the main course for Thanksgiving dinner!
It’s the last day of “Thanksgiving Week” on the blog and I’ve saved the big kahuna for last! That’s right, the turkey, the epicenter of the Thanksgiving table!
Since we have a small family, we started preparing a turkey breast a few years back instead of a whole turkey. It’s the perfect size for 4-6 people and if you want to try a couple of different turkey recipes, this is a great way to do it!
We usually prepare a Cranberry Glazed Turkey Breast (my Mom’s favorite!) and an Herb Crusted Turkey Breast.
This year I decided we should throw in something new so I mimicked one of my most popular recipes, the Bacon Wrapped Rosemary Balsamic Pork Loin and created a new turkey breast recipe that’s coated in a delicious balsamic herb rub, then wrapped in crispy bacon goodness!
The turkey is tender and juicy, the bacon is perfectly crisp and the entire dish is phenomenally flavorful!
The great thing about this bacon wrapped turkey (besides the fact that it’s insanely delicious!) is that it only takes about 10 minutes of prep time and an hour to roast in the oven.
A quick and simple main dish will leave you plenty of time to prep those sides, like Sweet Potato Skins with Sage Pesto and Bacon (more bacon, yes please!), Mushroom Brussels Sprout Casserole and Crock Pot Creamed Corn!
Table of contents
Ingredients you’ll need
- Balsamic vinegar
- Olive oil
- Fresh rosemary
- Fresh thyme
- Steak seasoning – click the link for my easy (and delicious!!) homemade steak seasoning recipe or pick up pre-mixed Montreal steak seasoning at the grocery store on the spice aisle.
- Garlic cloves
- Boneless turkey breast – you’ll want one that’s around 3-4 pounds.
- Bacon – you’ll want to use regular sliced bacon for this recipe, not thick-cut bacon.
Step by step instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Whisk the balsamic vinegar & olive oil together in a small bowl. Chop 4 sprigs of rosemary & 4 springs of thyme, add to the bowl with the steak seasoning & crushed garlic.
Brush this mixture over the turkey breast.
Place the two remaining sprigs of rosemary & thyme on top of the turkey.
Weave the bacon slices together over the turkey.
Tuck the bacon under the turkey. Make sure the ends of the rosemary and thyme sprigs slightly stick out at the end for easy removal after the turkey has baked.
Place the bacon wrapped turkey on top of a wire rack on a foil-lined baking sheet.
Brush any extra herb rub on top of the bacon.
Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour (or until the turkey breast reaches 165°F inside).
Remove the sprigs of rosemary & thyme from under the bacon and slice the turkey.
O-M-G! For real, the best bacon I’ve ever eaten in my life!
Salty, garlic, herb, crispy, bacon goodness!
What to serve with it
Pair this amazing turkey recipe with any of these delicious side dishes!
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Corn Casserole
- Garlic Parmesan Broccolini
- Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts
- Broccoli Cheese Casserole
- Smashed Potatoes
More bacon wrapped recipes
Love bacon as much as I do? Try all of these delicious bacon-wrapped recipes as an appetizer or main course!
- Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf
- Grilled Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
- Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken Breast
- Cheesy Bacon Wrapped Meatballs
- Bacon Wrapped Dates
- Garlic Herb Bacon Wrapped Brie
Making this turkey for the holidays? Be sure to Instagram a picture, tag me @whitneybond and hashtag #WBRecipes! I can’t wait to see all of the WhitneyBond.com recipes come to life on your dining room tables!
Garlic Herb Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 6 sprigs fresh rosemary, divided
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme, divided
- 2 tbsp steak seasoning
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 lb boneless, skinless turkey breast
- 10 slices bacon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Whisk the balsamic vinegar & olive oil together in a small bowl.
- Chop 4 sprigs of rosemary & 4 springs of thyme, add to the bowl with the steak seasoning & crushed garlic.
- Brush this mixture over the turkey breast.
- Place the two remaining sprigs of rosemary & thyme on top of the turkey.
- Weave the bacon slices together over the turkey.
- Tuck the bacon under the turkey.
- Make sure the ends of the rosemary and thyme sprigs slightly stick out at the end for easy removal after the turkey has baked.
- Place the bacon wrapped turkey on top of a wire rack on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Brush any extra herb rub on top of the bacon.
- Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour (or until the turkey breast reaches 165° inside).
Video
Nutrition Facts
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56 Comments on “Garlic Herb Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast”
Just wondering if I could prep the turkey breast / bacon wrap the day before and wrap in plastic wrap or would that be a bad idea?
Also, should I remove the skin or leave it on?
You can definitely prep it the day before. Leaving the skin on or removing it is a personal preference. I’ve made it both ways and either way it works!
HI! Does the bacon carve up easily or does it fall off the breast whwn you start to cut it?
Most of it will stay on the breast, a few pieces will fall off the sides when carving, but you can just place them on or around the turkey when serving.
Great recipe! I am doing a 3lb boneless turkey breast this year. Would it be possible to do this in a convection oven? My main oven will be busy with the typical 10lb whole turkey and desserts.
Hi Toni, I haven’t tried the recipe in a convection oven, but I’m sure it would work just fine!
What is steak seasoning? Is it like a salt and pepper blend? Do you have a brand you prefer?
Hi Cindy! It is a blend of different seasonings, you can find it with the salt and pepper at the grocery store. I usually use McCormick brand Montreal Steak Seasoning.
Looks delicious! What if I do a 7-10# turkey? Any suggestions?
Hi Michelle, I’ve never made this recipe with a whole turkey vs. a turkey breast. You’d definitely want to double up on the herb rub and add some more bacon. The only problem would be carving it without all of the bacon falling off, but you could always serve the bacon on the side. Your other option is to make two turkey breasts, that would get you at around 7-8 lbs of turkey!
Wht brand of steak seasoning do you recommend?
Hi Kim, I use McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning. Enjoy!
I made this for Thanksgiving 2016 and I’m making it again for Easter this Sunday. We’re a family of 3, so it’s perfect. And it’s SO dang good! Thank you for the recipe!
Yay! Thanks so much for sharing Melissa! It makes me so happy to hear that your family loves the recipe!
This might be a silly question, but I’ve never cooked a turkey before, so please excuse my ignorance. The turkey’s package says it can be cooked frozen, but I assume for this recipe that the turkey should be thawed. Is that a correct assumption?
Hi Shawna, I’m so sorry that I’m just seeing this. I would have thawed the turkey before cooking this recipe. Hope you enjoyed it and had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
the bacon doesnt burn or smoke cooking it for that long? (i dont mean good crispy bacon, more set off the fire alarm burn)
Hi Kim, I’ve made this recipe for several years now and never had a problem with the bacon burning or setting the fire alarm off 🙂 If you want your bacon less crispy, you can always cover it in foil for half of the cooking time. Enjoy!
What a delicious sounding recipe, cant wait to try it. Thanks very much.
yum yum yummly
Thanks so much Victoria! Enjoy!
I’ve made this recipe….and it’s AWESOME!!!
Uh oh! So I bought a turkey breast roast to try this recipe and I believe I bought the wrong thing. The one I bougly is fully cooked already. Would that work or do I need to buy a raw one? Help!
Hi Erin, you would need a raw turkey. If you made this recipe with a fully cooked turkey, the turkey would be way overcooked & dry out.
Thank you! I guess I didn’t think it through initially. I found the kind pictured and bought it last night. Should it be fully thawed. I noticed the packaging indicates freezer to oven. Thanks in advance!
One more question….is it easy to slide the rosemary and thyme out from under the bacon once it is cooked? It seems to me that would ruin the pretty presentation of the weaved bacon.
Hi Lise,
Just be sure to leave the ends of the rosemary and thyme sprigs sticking out a little from under the bacon, then they’re super easy to pull out after cooking without ruining the presentation at all!
Beautiful looking recipe, Whitney! I am planning to make for Christmas dinner. I would like to make a pan gravy. Do you suggest I don’t use the foil to line the pan, and should I cook it less time to allow for resting (and continuing to cook during resting)? If that is case, what temperature do you recommend I should cook it to in oven with hope that 10 mins of resting or so will bring to 165 degrees internal temp?
Thank you Lise!
You could still line the pan with the foil, then just pour the bacon grease and turkey drippings from the foil into a pan to make the gravy.
I would cook it to 160 degrees so that it will be at 165 after resting for 10 minutes.
Enjoy and Merry Christmas to you and your family!! 🙂
Beautiful looking recipe, Whitney! I am planning to make for Christmas dinner. I would like to make a pan gravy. Do you suggest I don’t use the foil to line the pan, and should I cook it less time to allow for resting (and continuing to cook during resting)? If that is case, what temperature do you recommend I should cook it to in oven with hope that 10 mins of resting or so will bring to 165 degrees internal temp?
Have you tried this with turkey bacon? If so do you suggest a brand or type? I’ve purchased everything for this recipe except the bacon. Look forward to hearing back and Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Lindsay, I have not tried turkey bacon for this recipe. In other recipes on the blog I’ve used Jennie-O turkey bacon. Let me know how it turns out 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving!!
Hi! I am going to attempt making this recipe this weekend! Do you think I could use a bone in turkey breast for this? I am having trouble finding boneless turkey breast. Would this change the cooking method at all? Thanks so much!
Hi Rosanna, that should work fine. The only problem I foresee is that a bone in turkey breast is usually larger and might take longer to cook, and the bacon on the outside might burn before the turkey is cooked through. To remedy the situation, I would cook the bacon wrapped turkey for an hour, check the temperature inside the turkey, and if it does not reach 165 degrees, cover the turkey in foil for the remainder of the cooking time to make sure the bacon doesn’t burn, and check the turkey every 10-15 minutes until it reaches 165 degrees. Hope this helps! Enjoy and happy Thanksgiving!!
I’m excited to try this! Do you use regular-cut bacon or thick-cut bacon?
Hi Marci! I use regular-cut bacon in the recipe. Enjoy 🙂
I assume that one should remove the web wrap from the Turkey breast?
I am going to try this next week as it looks so good.
Hi Joe, yes, remove the web wrap from the turkey breast first. Enjoy!
Thanks Whitney. Have a happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks Joe! You too!!
Hi!
This looks delicious! But I have a question: you cook the turkey breast with its skin on, right?
Here in Europe we don’t usually cooki turkey breast, that’s why I’m not familiar with the cooking methods..
Thanks 🙂
Hi Patricia,
Yes, you do cook the turkey breast with the skin on! Enjoy 🙂
Oh my goodness, this could not possibly look any tastier!! Beautiful!
Thanks so much Karly! I can vouch for it tasting as good as it looks 😉