This roasted turkey breast is coated with flavorful herbs and baked on a bed of stuffing, alongside hasselback sweet potatoes with a brown sugar pecan topping, and roasted Brussels sprouts, all on one sheet pan. It's perfect for a small, simple Thanksgiving dinner.
Steps for an easy sheet pan Thanksgiving dinner
This easy roasted turkey recipe is a great option serving for a small crowd of 4 to 6 people for Thanksgiving dinner. It features a moist and flavorful herb roasted turkey breast, a classic bread stuffing, sweet potatoes topped with brown sugar and pecans, and roasted Brussels sprouts. Just add cranberry sauce and a pecan pie, and it's everything you need for a traditional Thanksgiving menu.
Best of all it's made with just one sheet pan and one pot, so there is very little clean up required. You can easily double the recipe to serve a little larger crowd too.
It's so easy that with just a little planning ahead and a few make ahead tips you can make a full Thanksgiving dinner on a weeknight! There are just a few simple steps:
- Prepare the stuffing and add to the sheet pan.
- Prepare the turkey and add to the pan, then put in the oven. Return pan to oven.
- Prepare the sweet potatoes and add them to the pan. Return pan to oven.
- Prepare the Brussels sprouts and add them to the pan. Return pan to oven.
- Remove the turkey and let it rest while the veggies finish cooking.
- Enjoy!
What bread to use for stuffing
For the best homemade stuffing I recommend using a high-quality bakery bread and making your own bread cubes. Avoid mass-produced sandwich style bread.
To make bread cubes for a traditional stuffing, I like to use a rustic white bread. French bread, sourdough, and brioche are also good options. A mix of whole grain and white breads is a nice change up if you want something a little less traditional. Cornbread is also a great choice for a southern style cornbread dressing.
How to make bread cubes for stuffing
The bread cubes need to be extremely dry to make stuffing. You can let it sit out uncovered for around 48 hours, but I prefer to dry mine in the oven.
To do this, place slices of bread on a sheet pan with a wire rack and bake at 200°F until the bread is very dry, around 30 to 45 minutes, depending on your choice of bread. Make sure to flip the slices halfway through.
Then let cool for around 5-10 minutes and cut the bread into small cubes.
Can I use store bought bread cubes?
Packaged cubed bread will work in a pinch. I recommend Pepperidge Farm bread cubes. These are pre-seasoned so you may want to adjust the seasoning amounts. Around the holidays you can often find prepared bread cubes in supermarket bakeries as well.
MAKE AHEAD: If you're making this as a weeknight meal and want to save some time, you can make the bread cubes a day or two ahead. Allow them to completely cool and store them at room temperature in an airtight container.
How to make homemade stuffing
While the breadcrumbs are drying, dice the onion, celery, and carrot and sauté for 5-6 minutes until the vegetables are softened. Then remove from heat and add your chicken stock and stir in the herbs, salt, and pepper.
Make sure the vegetable mixture is cool before proceeding to the next step so you don't end up with scrambled eggs!
Beat 1 large egg in a large mixing bowl. Add your breadcrumbs and pour the stock and vegetable mixture over top, then toss until well combined. I usually use my hands to mix it to make sure everything is nice and moist.
1. Dice the veggies 2. Saute the veggies 3. Add stock and seasoning 4. Combine with bread cubes and egg
Spread the stuffing mixture in an even layer over about ⅓rd of the baking sheet.
MAKE AHEAD: The stuffing mixture can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated until ready to use. Remove from the fridge around 30 minutes before baking.
How to prepare the turkey breast
Cooking a turkey breast is much easier than cooking a whole turkey. You don’t have to worry about the different amount of time required for white and dark meat. And it’s obviously much smaller, so it doesn’t require nearly as long to cook. That means it’s much easier to keep the meat moist and juicy.
To prepare the turkey breast for cooking, simply coat it with olive oil then season with 1 teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, and around 2 tablespoons of chopped herbs. Set the Turkey breast on top of the stuffing on the sheet pan.
How to make hasselback sweet potatoes
These hasselback sweet potatoes are sliced thin and topped with brown sugar and pecans bring the traditional flavors of sweet potato casserole. The sweet buttery filling soaks in to coat and flavor all of the slices. They look fancy but only require a couple of minutes to prepare.
Sweet potatoes vary greatly in size and shape. So selecting the sweet potatoes is important here. You want to look for fairly long, evenly shaped sweet potatoes that are small to medium in size. If you get them too large they will not cook through in time.
With the thin slices, it's difficult to remove the skin when eating these, so make sure to wash them thoroughly and scrub off any dirt before you begin.
Lay a sweet potato on your cutting board. Starting about 1 inch from the end make thin slices, around ¼ inch thick, crosswise almost all the way through, but stop around ¼ to ½ inch from the bottom. Continue making slices along the sweet potato until you are about 1 inch from the opposite end.
If you have some spare takeout chopsticks laying around those work great to stop the knife from going all of the way through. Just lay 1 on each side of the sweet potato and cut down until you hit the chopsticks.
Brown Sugar Pecan Topping for Sweet Potatoes
To make the topping, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and stir in 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon. Finely chop about 3 tablespoons of pecans.
Line the open portion of the sheet pan with foil and fold of the end next to the stuffing. Arrange the sweet potatoes on the foil, leaving room to add your Brussels sprouts later.
Pour or spoon the butter and brown sugar mixture over the sweet potatoes. Then sprinkle the chopped pecans on top. I like to take some small pieces of the pecans and wedge them between some of the potato slices to help the topping get down into the cracks while they cook. Cover the sweet potatoes with another piece of foil over the top.
Reserve another 2 tablespoons of brown sugar for topping towards the end of cooking.
Prepare the Brussels sprouts
Cut the stem ends off of your sprouts and remove and damaged or discolored outer leaves. Then slice each one in half lengthwise.
Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then toss until they are all coated.
Make another little foil tray for your sprouts to fit the open section of your sheet pan then add the Brussels sprouts to the pan.
How to cook the meal
Note: This recipe calls for a 2 pound bone-in turkey breast. If you use a different size turkey you will need to adjust the cooking time by about 15 minutes per pound.
Preheat your oven to 375°F. The turkey breast will require around an hour to cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Use an instant read digital thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the meat to check the temperature. It then needs to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.
The sweet potatoes will take around 1 hour as well, but don't need the rest time. So I go ahead start the turkey and stuffing in the oven while I prepare the sweet potatoes. Then I add those in after the turkey has been cooking for 10 minutes or so.
The Brussels sprouts take around 30 minutes to cook so after you've put in the pan with the sweet potatoes, prepare your Brussels sprouts then add those in.
When the turkey is done, transfer it to a cutting board and tent with foil. Remove the foil covering the sweet potatoes and sprinkle on the remaining 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Return the stuffing and vegetables to the oven to finish. This way the vegetables are nice and hot when we're ready to serve.
If your stuffing or turkey begins to get too brown while cooking you can cover it loosely with foil.
How to carve the turkey
Since we are just using a turkey breast the carving task is much easier. Simply cut the bone away from the meat and then slice the turkey into ¼ inch slices.
Make sure to use a very sharp knife when slicing and, if needed, carefully hold the skin in place with your opposite hand so that it stays on each slice you make. You don't want to lose that crispy flavorful skin!
Where's the gravy?
With this recipe you won't get drippings for gravy since the Turkey is baked on top of the stuffing. For a quick and easy turkey gravy without drippings you'll need:
- 1 cup Chicken or Turkey stock
- 2 Tbsp Butter and 2 Tbsp Flour
- 1 cup diced onion
- Seasonings - 1 tsp chopped sage, 1 tsp chopped thyme, salt and pepper to taste
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat then saute the onion for 4 to 5 minutes until softened. Add the flour and stir continuously for 1 to 2 minutes until lightly browned.
Slowly pour in the stock while whisking and continue whisking for another minute. Then stir in the seasonings and simmer until thickened, around 5 minutes.
Can I double this for a larger crowd?
Yes! If you have a little larger crowd of around 8 people for Thanksgiving you can easily double this. You will need to use two sheet pans to double the recipe. Use one of the pans to hold the stuffing and two turkey breasts. Use the other pan to make the sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts.
Can I use other vegetables?
You can easily swap out the vegetables in this dish if you prefer. Diced butternut squash is a great substitute for the sweet potatoes or baby yukon gold potatoes work well too. Those will both take about 30 minutes to cook, so add them in later in the cooking process.
Roasted green beans or asparagus are a good substitution for the brussels sprouts if you want a green vegetable. These both will take around 20 to 30 minutes, so add them in later in the cooking process.
Don't forget those Thanksgiving desserts!
- Classic Pecan Pie
- Chocolate Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
- Apple Crisp
- If those don't suit your needs check out this awesome Thanksgiving roundup on Sally's Baking Addiction for more ideas.
Sheet Pan Roasted Turkey with Stuffing and Vegetables
Ingredients
For the turkey
- 2 pound turkey breast, bone-in
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the stuffing
- 6 cups bread cubes
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1½ cups chicken stock, or turkey stock
- 1 Tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg, beaten
Sweet potatoes
- 4 medium sweet potatoes
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 4 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons pecans, chopped
Brussels sprouts
- 1½ pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Prepare the Stuffing
- Set your bread slices on a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet the dry them in a 200°F oven for 30 to 45 minutes. Then cut into small cubes and set aside.
- While the bread is drying, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a pot over medium heat then add the diced onion, celery, and carrots and cook for around 5 minutes until the vegetables are softened. Remove from heat, then add the chicken stock, salt, pepper, and chopped herbs.
- Beat the egg in a large mixing bowl the add the bread cubes and pour in the vegetable and stock mixture. Toss until combined then spread the stuffing in an even layer on about ⅓ of the sheet pan. Line the other ⅔ of the pan with foil and fold up the end next to the stuffing to make a lip to divide the sheet pan.
Prepare the Turkey
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the turkey breast and rub to coat. Season with Kosher salt, pepper, and herbs.
- Set the turkey breast on top of the stuffing and place in the oven.
Prepare the Sweet Potatoes
- Wash the sweet potatoes to remove any dirt, then dry with a towel. Lay a potato on a cutting board horizontally. Beginning about 1 inch from the end and stopping 1 inch from the opposite end, make ¼ inch slices going almost all the way through but stopping around ¼ to ½ inch from the bottom. A set of wooden chopsticks set on each side of the sweet potato works well as a guide for stopping your knife. Repeat with the remaining sweet potatoes.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter then combine with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon. Pour or spoon the mixture over the sweet potatoes then sprinkle on the chopped pecans. Remove the sheet pan from the oven and add the sweet potatoes, leaving an open area for your brussels sprouts. Cover the sweet potatoes loosely with foil then return the sheet pan to the oven.
Prepare the Brussels Sprouts
- Trim the stem ends off of the sprouts and remove any damaged or discolored leaves. Then slice them in half lengthwise.
- Toss the sprouts with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper then remove the sheet pan from the oven. With a small sheet of foil, fold up the edges to make a little tray to fit the open section of the pan then add the Brussels sprouts to that and return the pan to the oven.
- When the turkey reaches and internal temperature of 165°F remove it from the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Tent loosely with foil and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing. While you have the pan out, remove the foil covering the sweet potatoes and sprinkle on the remaining 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar. If the stuffing is getting too brown cover it with foil. Return the pan to the oven while the turkey rests.
- Slice the turkey into thin slices, around ¼ inch thick then remove the vegetables and stuffing from the oven and serve.
Nutrition
* All nutrition information we provide are estimates based on third party calculators. We encourage you to calculate these on your own for accurate results.
Moya
How long does the turkey needs in the oven to cook?
Scott
The turkey itself will take around an hour to an hour and 15 minutes for a 2 pound bone in split breast. The most important part is to cook it to an internal temperature of 165°F. You will remove the turkey 2 times to add in the vegetables and then you'll take the turkey off when it's up to temp and let it rest for 15 minutes while the vegetables finish off. The total cook time for everything is about an hour and a half.
film
I am so grateful for your blog. Thanks Again. Awesome. Aubrey Loy Wilda
Scott
Thanks so much!
Kate
I made the potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Thumbs up! Next time I will try the full dinner.