Herb-Roast Turkey Breast, Then Noodle Soup
A bone-in turkey breast gives you a Sunday-style roast without a whole bird, and its leftovers plus the pan juices make a noodle soup with real depth in twenty minutes.
Herb-Roast Turkey Breast with Pan Gravy
1 hr 40 min- 1 bone-in turkey breast, about 5 lb
- 4 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 onion, quartered
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon flour
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mash the butter with the herbs and salt and rub it under and over the skin.
- Set the breast on the onion and carrots in a roasting pan and pour in 1 cup of broth.
- Roast 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, until the thickest part of the breast reads 165 degrees F. Rest 20 minutes before carving.
- Strain the pan juices, set aside 1/2 cup for night two, and whisk the rest with the flour and remaining broth over heat for a quick gravy. Serve half the turkey.
Carve all the remaining meat off the bone once dinner is done rather than refrigerating the whole breast — carved meat cools far faster. Refrigerate it and the reserved pan juices in shallow covered containers within two hours. Both keep 3 to 4 days.
Turkey Noodle Soup
20 min- About 3 cups leftover turkey, shredded
- The reserved 1/2 cup pan juices
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 6 oz egg noodles
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Chopped fresh parsley
- Bring the broth and reserved pan juices to a simmer in a large pot. The pan juices are what give this soup its depth.
- Add the carrots and celery and simmer 8 minutes.
- Add the noodles and cook according to the package, usually 6 to 7 minutes.
- Add the shredded turkey for the last 2 minutes until heated through to at least 165 degrees F, then finish with lemon and parsley.
Save the pan juices. They are the difference between a soup that tastes of broth from a carton and one that tastes like it simmered all day, and they cost nothing — they are already in the pan.
*Approximately 450 calories per serving on night one and 380 on night two. Calories are estimates from standard ingredient databases; actual values vary by brand and portion. See our disclaimer.