Turkey is something many of us only eat once a year (more than once if you’re counting all the meals from leftovers!) But if you don’t want to cook a huge turkey, you might prefer this sheet pan turkey breast dinner instead. You still get all the flavor and deliciousness of cooking a whole bird and sides, but with a simpler method.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see the privacy policy for details.
If you only like dark meat, you might want to make a more traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but if you’re looking for all the flavor of this dish but something simpler to make, this sheet pan Thanksgiving dinner with turkey breast is perfect!
Why You’ll Love It
Easy: There are so many different dishes that can be cooked on a sheet pan, and they’re popular because they’re so simple. If you can put your ingredients on a sheet pan and put that in the oven, then you can make delicious sheet pan recipes such as this easy Thanksgiving dinner or something else like sheet pan ham dinner or one of these popular sheet pan dishes.
Tasty: Thanksgiving is largely about the food, and this sheet pan Thanksgiving dinner means you can expect a wealth of flavor and all the classic Thanksgiving dinner ingredients including homemade stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes and, the star of the day, turkey!
Versatile: You can change any of the components of this sheet pan Thanksgiving dinner you want, to customize it perfectly to everyone’s taste. Perhaps you want regular potatoes instead of sweet, or another kind of vegetable instead of green beans. It’s your recipe so make it your way!
Ingredients for a Sheet Pan Turkey Dinner
The turkey breast is flavored with butter, sage and garlic, and then you have green beans and a splash of olive oil.
For the sweet potatoes, you will need the potatoes themselves plus butter, maple syrup and mini marshmallows.
The stuffing is a tasty mixture of brioche bread cubes, butter, onion, celery, chicken broth, sage, and thyme.
How to Make Sheet Pan Turkey, Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Dry out the brioche bread: Bake the bread cubes (for the stuffing) in the oven until dried out. You can omit this step if your bread is a bit stale since it will be dry already.
Cook the turkey breast: Coat the turkey breast with butter, sage, garlic, and some salt and pepper, then cook for 45 minutes.
Prepare the stuffing: Melt the butter in a pan and sauté the onion and celery, then mix in the bread, broth, sage, thyme, and some kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, and put the prepared stuffing on the baking sheet next to the turkey.
Prepare the green beans: Toss the beans in oil and add then to the sheet pan, then bake for 15 minutes.
Cook the sweet potatoes: Microwave the sweet potatoes (pierce them first!) until tender, then cut into halves.
The finishing touches: Brush the butter and maple syrup over each sweet potato and add marshmallows on top. Add them to the sheet pan, cook until the marshmallow are golden, and then serve.
Substitutions and Variations
Feel free to make changes, such as chicken in place of turkey. You might like to omit the maple syrup and/or marshmallows from the maple glazed sweet potatoes if you prefer them less sweet, or you could swap the green beans for Brussels sprouts or another vegetable.
How to Serve this Sheet Pan Meal
This is a meal in one, so all you have to add is your condiments, such as cranberry sauce and so on. Perhaps you want to offer a second vegetable option like sheet pan roasted carrots (if you have enough sheet pans!) or gouda cream cheese corn.
How to Store Sheet Pan Thanksgiving Dinner
Store: Leftovers will keep for three days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Freeze: Freeze leftovers for up to 3 months if you like, preferably in portions so you can only thaw what you need.
Reheat: The microwave is the easiest way to warm your Thanksgiving dinner back up.
Turkey Breast Sheet Pan Dinner FAQs
It depends on the size of your sheet pans (here), so one large one or maybe two medium sized ones (one for the turkey and the other for the rest). Also, ensure you’re using sheet pans with a deep rim. You don’t want the juices from the meat spilling over a low rim and making your oven messy.
To reduce the carb count, you can omit the marshmallows and swap regular maple syrup for the sugar-free kind. You could even swap the sweet potatoes for Brussels sprouts or another vegetable side.
The best way to figure this out is to give the turkey 30 minutes per pound, and then check it’s 165 degrees F in the center.
Sheet Pan Turkey Dinner Recipe
Sheet Pan Turkey Breast Dinner
Ingredients
For The Stuffing
- 4 Cups bread cubes brioche, dried in the oven – see notes
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ white onion medium, diced
- 2 Ribs celery diced
- ¼ Cup chicken broth
- 1 Tablespoon sage chopped, fresh
- 1 Tablespoon thyme chopped, fresh
- Kosher salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
For The Turkey Breast
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 ½ Tablespoons sage chopped, fresh
- 3 Cloves garlic minced
- ¼ Teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ Teaspoon black pepper freshly cracked
- 2 boneless turkey breast 2 to 3 pound, skin-on,
For The Green Beans
- 1 Pound green beans
- 1 ½ Tablespoons olive oil
- ½ Teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ Teaspoon black pepper
For The Sweet Potatoes
- 4 sweet potatoes small to medium
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 Cup mini marshmallows
Instructions
For The Turkey
- For The Turkey
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray 1 or 2 large-rimmed baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, combine butter, sage, garlic, salt and pepper. Using your fingers, carefully spread the butter mixture on top and under the skin of both turkey breasts. Place them onto a prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
For The Stuffing
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add diced onions and celery, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the onion and celery mixture, dried bread crumbs, chicken broth, sage, and thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir until the chicken broth is absorbed and well combined. Place the stuffing mixture onto one side of the prepared baking sheet with the turkey breasts.
For The Green Beans
- Place green beans in a single layer onto the baking sheet. Toss in olive oil, salt, and black pepper.
- Place the sheet pan with the turkey breasts, stuffing, and green beans back into the oven for 15 minutes.
For The Sweet Potatoes
- Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork and place into the microwave for 10 to 12 minutes or until tender. Cut the potatoes down the center lengthwise.
- In a small mixing bowl, stir together the melted butter and maple syrup. Brush the inside of each sweet potato with the melted butter mixture and place marshmallows on top.
- Place the sweet potatoes onto the sheet pan in a single layer. Place into oven and bake until the marshmallows just start to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Slice the turkey and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Notes
- Before you start cooking, place the bread cubes in the oven at 300 degrees F and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. This is an easy way to quickly dry out your bread cubes.
- You can use 1 or 2 sheet pans to make this meal, If you use 2, I recommend using one for the turkey breasts and the other one for the rest of the ingredients.
- Depending on the size of your turkey breasts, you may need to add more cooking time. A general rule is 30 minutes per pound.
- I recommend using an instant-read internal thermometer to ensure proper cooking. Turkey should be cooked to 165 degrees F.
- Real maple syrup works best for the sweet potatoes.
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
This year, why not make your whole Thanksgiving dinner on a sheet pan? All the delicious components are there, the turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and green beans, and both prep time and cleanup afterwards are reduced. This recipe would be great for Thanksgiving, Christmas or whenever you’re in the mood for a comfort food style dish with turkey breast.
Other Recipes to Try
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti of xoxoBella is a storyteller, food lover, dog mom and adventure seeker living on the Pacific coast. She shares her passion for recipes, dogs, sustainability, adventures, travel and philanthropy, in hopes of encouraging followers to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places and stand for a cause. Bella lives with Type 1 Diabetes and Celiac Disease.
Bella Bucchiotti is a freelance food, travel, and lifestyle writer for MSN and the Associated Press Wire.
