Crock Pot Turkey Breast with Cranberry Sauce is the BEST turkey recipe you will every try! This turkey breast is brined for 24 hours and slow cooked for another 4-8 hours for a wonderfully flavorful and crazy juicy piece of meat, all cooked on top of a cranberry sauce that makes itself in the slow cooker. The cranberry sauce gets it richness and flavor from the turkey drippings as well as Chambord and orange juice for a unique sauce that pairs perfectly with the turkey. Not only is this turkey delicious, but it is low-calorie, low-fat and low-carb for something you don’t have to feel guilty about enjoying this Thanksgiving and Christmas. I promise you, if you give this recipe a try, you will never look at turkey the same way again!
I have long dreaded the dried out and bland turkey that is too often served at Thanksgiving, but no more! This brine and the slow cooking process allow the meat to retain it’s juices in addition to absorbing some of the great flavors of the brine and cranberry sauce. Even after reheating the meat the next day, my husband was in awe at how great the turkey tasted. Please, I beg you, give this recipe a shot. While it may take a few extra steps, it is completely and totally worth it.
I have yet to get acquainted with brining ;). But I can barely handle the look of this amazing turkey breast, which definitely has me convinced that brining is the way to go. I just love Thanksgiving and all of the amazing food!!
Brining is soooo worth the extra effort. It is amazing the difference it makes!
When the turkey is done, the cranberry sauce is hot which makes it taste bad.
I made this turkey with the suggested cranberry pecan stuffing, and my husband would NOT stop raving about how good it was! I poured some of the cranberry sauce on the stuffing as well and it was FABULOUS! I think this will be THE thanksgiving turkey recipe. Thank you so much for sharing.
Rinne, thanks so much for the kind words! I’m glad you enjoyed your meal. I hope you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving!
What kind of wine do you suggest using?
Is fresh cranberries ok to use and where would I find Chambord?
Sorry for all the questions – going to attempt to make this for Christmas
Hi Krissy, normally when cooking you want to use a decent wine, but for brining you can use something cheap. A Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio would work well. Fresh cranberries would work just as good and Chambord can be found at any liquor store. If you don’t think you will use it beyond this recipe, be sure to check the tiny bottles, they often carry a small version of it. You could also substitute a Triple Sec for the Chambord if you are unable to find it. I hope you enjoy it!
When the turkey is done you have hot cranberry sauce which makes it taste bad.
I’m coming to your house for Thanksgiving or you can just come make it for me at my house while I hopefully cuddle the babe!
Hopefully the little one is here by Thanksgiving !
In the crock pot?? Why have I never even thought of this?? It sounds amazing Danielle!
Thanks Karen, this is my first time making it in a Crock Pot, but it definitely won’t be my last!
You can never go wrong with turkey breast and cranberry sauce.. this looks delicious and I love how it’s made in a crock pot! Super easy!
Thanks Thalia!
This recipe looks so comforting and savory! Thanks and enjoy a restful weekend, Danielle 🙂
Thank you!
My slow cooker has a high and a low setting. Which setting to use? Start on high and change to low after an hour?
I cooked mine on low the entire time, but you could certainly give it an hour on high to get it started.
This was AMAZING, the brining made such a difference in the finished result. Tonight’s dry run for Thanksgiving was a success.
I am so happy to hear you loved it Gwen! I hope the rest of your family enjoys it on the big day. 🙂
This looks soooo good! Question, is this made with a boneless turkey breast?
Thanks Marina! It is made with a bone-in Turkey breast.
Did the crockpot brown the breast, or did you need to brown it a bit in the oven?
The Crock Pot will not crisp the skin. Personally, I don’t eat the skin so I just enjoyed it as is, but you could certainly finish it off in an oven for a crispy skin.
This is genius! I’m so excited to try for Thanksgiving! Question: what about gravy? Did you make it separately or from a jar/base of some sort? Thanks so much!
I didn’t make a gravy because this makes a cranberry sauce that I used for dunking the turkey. If you would prefer homemade gravy over a cranberry sauce, you could always leave out the cranberry sauce ingredients and only include the chicken broth. That would be a great base to a gravy. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving Emily!
Why do we not see any bones in your picture. Is your picture like sliced off the top of the bones?
I made this recipe for Thanksgiving and everybody loved it! Thank you! I now have a new way to make turkey and will use it again next year.
Glad everyone loved it, thanks Sonja!
I am not a fan of ginger, and unsure what exactly ginger paste is. Is there an acceptable substitute? Love everything else about this recipe.
Than you
Hi Candice, ginger paste is in a small glass jar often found near the minced garlic in the refrigerated section. If you aren’t a ginger fan, you can skip it and there are enough other flavors, you will still have a great tasting dish. Good luck!
Can I use fresh cranberries instead of frozen??
Absolutely!
This looks delicious and I think I will try this recipe this year. Any tips on how to crisp the skin at the end in the oven (temp, timing)?
You could add the turkey breast to an oven at 400° for 15-20 minutes at the end of the cooking process, but you may risk drying out the meat. It seems like it tends to be a trade-off, either super moist turkey meat or crispy skin.
Thanks!
Hello,
I see that you use a bone-in breast. I can’t find one in the grocery store. Can the recipe be made with a boneless breast and if so, what changes in timing would you suggest.
Thanks for your time.
I would imagine it would work, but I have never tried the recipe with one.
Thanks. I’ll try it and let you know how it goes.
Hello there,
I just wanted to follow up since Thanksgiving is fast approaching once again. Your recipe works just as well with a boneless breast. It is truly THE BEST turkey I have ever had. My only concern is the high salt content, but we’ve decided that 2X a year is worth it! Awesome recipe!
Thanks so much Monique! Yes, the salt is high, but a lot of that is discarded in the brine and doesn’t transfer into the end product. Either way, it’s a holiday treat right! 😉
Thank you! My family love this recipe so much!
I make this turkey every year, my husband is already excited for it next week! Thanks a million for this recipe, it’s seriously THE BEST turkey besides my dads smoked turkey 😉
So happy to hear you enjoy it!
Is the ginger paste measurement correct? 1/4 cup for the brine and 1/4 cup for the sauce seems like a lot for something so strong! Thanks for posting recipe, I’m going to make for Thanksgiving!!
Yes, that is accurate. If you aren’t a huge ginger fan, you could halve the amount in the cranberry sauce. Hope you enjoy it!
I’m excited to try this recipe this year! Question: in the brine when it calls for 1 tablespoon of black peppercorns, do you mean whole peppercorns, or ground pepper? Thanks for your help!
Whole peppercorns
Sorry for the last minute question!!! I decided to leave the cranberry sauce out so I can use the drippings from the crock pot for gravy. Question-can I just put all your cranberry sauce ingredients in a pan on the stove? Will that work?
Hi. Can I use fresh cranberries? Can you buy frozen cranberries? Thanks!
Absolutely, fresh or frozen are fine.
We had a small crowd for Thanksgiving this year, so I took a chance on this recipe. It was a hit and it definitely delivered on the juiciness. Even next day, the leftovers are still juicier than any other turkey I’ve had. The only problem I had with the recipe was I really didn’t like the cranberry sauce at all. I blended the cranberries with the drippings and it became an unappetizing pinkish brown color. I tasted it and it was more like a soupy, cranberry orange gravy. However, cooking the turkey with the cranberries did give it an excellent hint of sweetness. Next time I’ll probably take the cranberries out and try something else with the drippings. I’ll also use more and maybe try a different spice rub on the bird post-brine. All-in-all, even with some shortcomings, it was the best turkey I’ve had in a long time. I also followed someone else’s suggestion to make the pecan stuffing and that was a super great addition. I’ll be making both again.