How Long Should You Cook a Frozen Turkey Breast?

Cooking a frozen turkey breast can be a convenient and tasty way to prepare this versatile poultry for dinner. However, to achieve the best results you need to know how long to cook a frozen turkey breast properly.

Here is a complete guide to roasting times, temperatures, and techniques for cooking frozen turkey breast to juicy, flavorful perfection

Overview of Cooking Frozen Turkey Breast

Turkey breast can be purchased frozen pre-packaged from most grocery stores, It is usually sold boneless and skinless Frozen turkey breast provides an easy protein option you can just pop straight into the oven from frozen state,

However. frozen turkey breast does require some special handling compared to raw fresh turkey breast

It takes longer to cook through to safe temperature since it is rock solid frozen.
Seasonings may not penetrate as well into frozen turkey.
Skinless frozen turkey can dry out easier without gentler roasting.
Food safety is important with handling any raw poultry.

With the right timing, temperature, preparation and roasting techniques you can make delicious and moist oven-roasted frozen turkey breast perfect for meals any night of the week.

How Long to Cook a Frozen Turkey Breast

The cooking time for frozen turkey breast depends on a few factors:

Weight – A small 1-2 lb breast will cook faster than a large 5 lb breast.
Oven Temperature – Higher heat will shorten cook time but risks drying out the meat.
Cut Style – Boneless breasts cook quicker than bone-in.
Doneness – Cook to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165°F.

A good rule of thumb is to allow for about 30 minutes per pound of turkey. So, if you’re cooking a 4-pound frozen turkey breast, you’ll need to cook it for about 2 hours.

Here are general frozen turkey breast cooking times:

1-2 pounds: 45 mins to 1 hour 15 mins
3-4 pounds: 1 hour 30 mins to 2 hours
Over 5 pounds: Up to 2 hours 45 mins or longer

Always use a food thermometer to check doneness rather than relying solely on oven time. Let the turkey breast rest at least 10 minutes before carving for juicier meat.

Oven Roasting Frozen Turkey Breast

Roasting in the oven is the easiest hands-off way to cook a frozen turkey breast:

Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 325°F. Low temperature is ideal to allow frozen breast to cook through gently without drying out.
Prepare Turkey: Remove any wrappings but leave turkey in resealable bag. Place breast side up on a baking sheet with a roasting rack.
Season Turkey (Optional): If desired, season outside of bag with dried herbs or spices. Cracked pepper, rosemary, thyme and sage all complement turkey well.
Roast Turkey: Place prepared frozen turkey breast in preheated oven. Check for doneness after minimum cook time. Meat should register 165°F at thickest part.
Rest and Carve: Remove turkey from oven and let rest 10-15 minutes before slicing into thick cutlets.

Pro Tip: For added moisture and flavor, thaw turkey breast overnight in fridge in a brine before roasting.

Grilling Frozen Turkey Breast

You can also grill a frozen turkey breast with indirect heat on a charcoal or gas grill:

Thaw just until turkey can be pierced with a skewer to allow seasoning and smoke penetration.
Prepare grill for indirect cooking at medium heat 325-350°F. Use drip pan under breast.
Season breast all over with salt, pepper and spice rub.
Grill over indirect heat with lid closed until 165°F, about 18-25 mins per pound.
Rest, then slice and serve.

Grilling imparts delicious smoky flavor to turkey breast. Add a few wood chips to charcoal or gas grill for more smoke.

Sous Vide Cook Times

Cooking frozen turkey breast via sous vide immersed in hot water bath results in exceptionally tender and juicy meat:

Small Breasts: Cook at 140°F for 2 to 4 hours from frozen state.
Large Breasts: Cook at 140°F for 4 to 8 hours from frozen.

Sear or grill briefly before serving for browned exterior. Sous vide cooking times will vary based on thickness.

Food Safety Tips

Proper handling and cook temperature is crucial when working with raw poultry:

Defrost frozen turkey breast safely in the refrigerator, not at room temperature. Place on tray to catch drips.
Use separate cutting boards and utensils for raw turkey to avoid cross-contamination. Wash all surfaces thoroughly after.
Cook to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F as measured by a food thermometer at the thickest part.
Refrigerate all leftover turkey within 2 hours and use within 3-4 days. Reheat thoroughly to 165°F.

Following these simple guidelines will help you safely enjoy delicious oven-roasted turkey breast any night of the week.

Cooking Times for Other Frozen Turkey Cuts

Besides breast, other turkey parts like drumsticks, thighs and wings can also be roasted straight from frozen state. Here are approximate oven cook times:

Turkey Wings: 60-90 mins
Turkey Legs or Drumsticks: 90 mins – 2 hours
Bone-in Turkey Thighs: 90 mins – 2 hours
Boneless Turkey Thighs: 45 mins – 1 hour

Again, use a food thermometer to test doneness and allow all parts to rest before serving. Adjust cook times as needed for smaller or larger pieces.

Delicious Ways to Use Cooked Frozen Turkey

Once you’ve mastered cooking frozen turkey breast and parts, you can start getting creative with how to use it!

Slice turkey breast for easy sandwiches, wraps, pitas or salads.
Dice or shred turkey meat for casseroles, soups, pasta dishes, omelets and more.
Top cooked turkey with gravy or sauce for an easy protein.
Meal prep turkey by saving portions for quick lunches and dinners throughout the week.

Let cooked frozen turkey take center stage or play a supporting role in all kinds of healthy and delicious meals your family will love.

With this handy guide to minimum cook times, temperatures and proper handling, you can confidently cook frozen turkey breast and parts to perfection. Just remember to always monitor temperature instead of only relying on cook time for safety and enjoy juicy, flavorful oven-roasted turkey breast any night of the week.

how long to cook frozen turkey breast

Is It Safe to Cook a Frozen Turkey?

The good news is, you CAN cook a turkey thats still frozen. In fact, a study by an MIT-educated food safety consultant describes how it can be done in accordance with the FDA Food Code.

Indeed, from a certain standpoint, its a safer method, since a frozen turkey wont drip salmonella-laden juices all over your sink and countertop.

Moreover, the breast, which is the most prone to overcooking and drying out, cooks more slowly when it starts off frozen, so your white meat may turn out juicier than usual.

On the other hand, you wont be able to brine the turkey, or season it with your famous spice rub. Stuffing it will also be problematic.

Remember though, and this is important: At this point, you are looking to salvage your Thanksgiving. Whatever hopes and dreams you nurtured for the accolades this turkey would earn (So flavorful! Juiciest one ever!) must now give way to cold, hard reality.

Youll have a turkey, and itll be fully cooked. It will probably not win turkey of the year. But when you pull this off (and you will), you will have reason to be proud.

After all, anyone can cook a turkey when nothing goes wrong. Its overcoming adversity that makes what youre about to accomplish so special. Ready? Lets go.

Don’t Forget the Bag of Giblets!

Obviously, with the turkey frozen solid, you wont be able to pull the bag of giblets out of the cavity. Dont worry about it right now. Set the turkey on the rack and put it in the oven. Do not open the door of the oven for two hours.

After two hours, you should be able to work your meat thermometer into the deepest part of the thigh. What works best is the digital kind that you can set to alert you when your meat or poultry reaches its target temperature. Ideally the thigh will make it to 175 to 180 F, but for now, itll probably read 90 to 95 F.

Once you have the probe into the thigh, brush the skin with melted butter, season with salt and pepper and return it to the oven for another hour. By then you should be able to get the bag of giblets out. Fortunately these days it seems like they come wrapped in paper rather than plastic, but either way, you definitely dont want to leave it in there.

At the three-hour mark, the thigh reading should be around 140 F, but it depends on whether you got the thermometer all the way in or not. It can be tricky when its frozen, and you may not realize if youve hit bone.

Under normal circumstances, making multiple holes in a turkey with thermometers would not be recommended. But these are not normal circumstances.

Therefore, ideally, in addition to your probe thermometer, you will also have an instant-read thermometer. That way you can leave the probe thermometer in the thigh while using the instant-read thermometer to take temperature readings elsewhere, like the breast, and within the body cavity.

How long to cook frozen turkey breast in oven?

FAQ

Can you cook a turkey breast from frozen?

Remove the wrapping and place your completely frozen turkey breast side up on a roasting pan. Cook on the middle or bottom rack of the oven at 325 degrees. The turkey will take longer to cook (at least 50% longer than thawed). But it will be done on time with some simple math.

Is it better to cook a turkey breast at 325 or 350?

For the best roast turkey breast, roast at 325℉. You’ll get juicy meat and crispy skin with an incredible flavor. If you need to cook it a little faster, you can raise the temp to 350 degrees and cook for about 15-18 minutes per pound.

Can you cook a frozen turkey without thawing?

“Actually, from a food safety standpoint it’s safer to cook the turkey when it’s still frozen. A frozen turkey will not spread raw juices around the kitchen, will not waste water as you try to thaw it and will produce an excellent and juicy cooked product.”