A 5 pound turkey breast sits perfectly between Sunday dinner and a small holiday feast. The timing follows a simple formula once you understand it. Here’s exactly how long it takes and what temperature guarantees juicy meat with golden, crackling skin.
The Simple Answer: 1 Hour 40 Minutes
Your 5 pound turkey breast needs 100 minutes in a 350°F oven. The math couldn’t be clearer: 20 minutes per pound. That’s 1 hour and 40 minutes from oven to table, not counting the essential resting time.
Start checking the internal temperature around the 1 hour 30 minute mark. Every oven runs a bit differently. Some cook hotter on one side, others trap heat at the top. Your meat thermometer tells the real story, not the timer.
The final internal temperature must hit 165°F in the thickest part of the breast. This isn’t a suggestion. It’s food safety and the difference between tender meat and dry, chalky turkey that makes everyone reach for extra gravy.
Temperature Matters More Than Time
Time gives you a roadmap. Temperature tells you when you’ve arrived.
Where to Check Temperature
Slide your thermometer into the thickest part of the breast, usually right in the center. Angle it so the tip sits deep in the meat without touching bone. Bone conducts heat differently and gives you a false reading, sometimes 10 to 15 degrees off.
If you’re working with a whole turkey breast (both sides still connected at the breastbone), check both sides. One might cook faster depending on how your oven circulates heat.
Why 165°F Is the Target
The USDA sets 165°F as the safe temperature for poultry. At this point, any harmful bacteria are eliminated. But there’s more to it than safety.
Pull your turkey at 160 to 162°F if you want perfection. During the resting period, the internal temperature climbs another 3 to 5 degrees as residual heat moves through the meat. You hit 165°F without overshooting into dry territory.
Turkey breast has almost no fat marbling compared to dark meat. Every degree past 165°F squeezes out moisture. At 170°F, you’re chewing through sawdust no matter how much butter you rubbed under the skin.
Bone-In vs Boneless: Does It Change the Time?
Yes, and here’s how much it matters.
| Type | Time per Pound | Total for 5 lbs | Texture |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bone-in | 20 minutes | 1 hr 40 min | Juicier, more flavor |
| Boneless | 15 to 18 minutes | 1 hr 15 to 30 min | Faster, easier to slice |
Bone-in turkey breast takes longer because bone acts as an insulator. Heat has to work its way around the rib cage. But that same bone protects the meat from drying out and adds deep, roasted flavor to every bite. The skin crisps beautifully too, since it stays stretched over the natural shape of the breast.
Boneless turkey breast cooks faster and carves like a dream. No navigating around ribs with your knife. But it’s easier to overcook. Without bone as a buffer, direct oven heat hits the meat from all sides. Watch your thermometer closely.
For a 5 pound piece, bone-in or boneless, the difference is only 25 to 30 minutes. Choose based on what matters more: maximum juiciness or convenience.
Step-by-Step Cooking Method
Prep (10 minutes)
Remove your turkey breast from the fridge 20 minutes before cooking. Cold meat going into a hot oven cooks unevenly. The outside overcooks while the center stays raw.
Pat the skin completely dry with paper towels. Moisture is the enemy of crispy skin. Every drop of water has to evaporate before the skin can brown and crisp.
Season generously. For a 5 pound breast, use about 2 teaspoons of salt (more if it’s kosher salt), 1 teaspoon of black pepper, and whatever herbs make you happy. Thyme, rosemary, and sage are classic. Garlic powder and smoked paprika add warmth.
Gently lift the skin away from the meat without tearing it. Slide softened butter mixed with herbs directly onto the flesh. This seasons from the inside and bastes the meat as it cooks. Smooth the skin back down.
Place the turkey in a roasting pan, breast side up. Add a cup of chicken broth or water to the bottom of the pan. This creates steam that keeps the oven environment moist while the turkey roasts.
Roasting (1 hr 40 min)
Set your oven to 350°F and position the rack in the center. Too high and the skin burns before the inside cooks. Too low and everything takes forever.
Roast uncovered. Covering traps steam, which makes skin soggy instead of crisp. If the skin browns too quickly in the last 30 minutes, tent it loosely with aluminum foil. Just the top, not sealed around the edges.
Don’t baste. I know it looks impressive. I know your grandmother swore by it. But every time you open the oven door, the temperature drops 25 to 50 degrees. Your turkey takes longer to cook and the skin never gets properly crispy because you keep interrupting the process.
At 1 hour 30 minutes, check the temperature. If it reads 150°F, you’ve got about 10 more minutes. If it’s still at 140°F, give it another 15 to 20 minutes and check again.
Resting (15 to 20 minutes)
When your thermometer hits 160 to 165°F, pull the turkey from the oven immediately. Transfer it to a cutting board.
Tent loosely with aluminum foil. Not wrapped tight. Just draped over the top to hold in some heat while allowing steam to escape.
The internal temperature continues rising during this rest. Juices that got pushed toward the center during cooking redistribute back through the meat. If you carve immediately, those juices run all over your cutting board instead of staying in each slice.
Fifteen minutes minimum. Twenty is better if you can wait. Use this time to make gravy from the pan drippings, reheat your sides, or just set the table.
Common Mistakes That Ruin Turkey Breast
Opening the oven door constantly destroys your timeline. Each peek drops the oven temperature and extends cooking time by several minutes. Resist the urge. Trust your thermometer over your eyes.
Skipping the meat thermometer turns cooking into gambling. Oven temperatures vary. Turkey sizes vary slightly even when the package says 5 pounds. The only way to know it’s done is to measure.
Not letting it rest is the fastest way to waste a perfectly cooked bird. Cut into it right away and watch all the juice pool on your cutting board. Every slice comes out dry even though the meat was moist when you pulled it from the oven.
Cooking straight from frozen adds hours to your cook time and guarantees uneven results. The outside overcooks into leather while the inside barely thaws. Always thaw your turkey breast in the fridge for 24 hours before roasting.
Using too high a temperature seems like a time saver. It’s not. At 400°F or 425°F, the skin burns before the center reaches 165°F. You end up scraping off blackened skin and eating pale, undercooked meat underneath.
What to Do If Your Breast Is Larger or Smaller
The 20 minutes per pound formula scales perfectly.
4 pound turkey breast: 80 minutes (1 hour 20 minutes)
5 pound turkey breast: 100 minutes (1 hour 40 minutes)
6 pound turkey breast: 120 minutes (2 hours)
7 pound turkey breast: 140 minutes (2 hours 20 minutes)
For anything over 7 pounds, start checking temperature 15 minutes earlier than the formula suggests. Larger pieces sometimes finish sooner per pound because they hold heat more efficiently.
Round weights work the same way. A 5.3 pound breast? That’s 106 minutes, call it 1 hour 45 minutes. A 4.7 pound breast? 94 minutes, round to 1 hour 35 minutes. Close enough that your thermometer handles the fine tuning.
How Much Turkey Per Person
Plan on ¾ to 1 pound of bone-in turkey breast per person. That sounds like a lot, but remember you’re weighing bone, skin, and some inevitable waste along with the edible meat.
A 5 pound turkey breast feeds 5 to 7 people comfortably, depending on appetite and how many sides you’re serving. If your crowd goes back for seconds or you want guaranteed leftovers for sandwiches the next day, aim for the higher end of that range.
For boneless turkey breast, calculate ½ pound per person. No bone means more edible meat per pound.
Kids eat less. Teenage boys eat more. Your mashed potato enthusiast uncle barely touches the turkey. Your sister who’s avoiding carbs loads up her plate with nothing but meat. These guidelines give you a safe middle ground that leaves everyone satisfied without mountains of waste.
A 5 pound breast gives you enough for dinner plus turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, or turkey hash for breakfast. In my opinion, that’s the whole point of roasting turkey outside of Thanksgiving. The leftovers might be better than the main event.
