One Pan Turkey Dinner

One Pan Turkey Dinner includes a roasted breast of turkey, classic dressing, green beans with cranberries, and baked fruit, all in one pan.

If you are a fan of one-pan dinners you might think that you are out of luck in finding one that is special enough for a holiday dinner, especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas. But this one-pan dinner fits the bill with a beautifully roasted breast of turkey. It contains some of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes that I make every year.

This is a great recipe for a roast turkey dinner that gives you all the sides and trimmings in just one pan and easily serves six guests, which makes it perfect for small gatherings when you don't want to make the big turkey dinner.

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Are you short on serving platters and dishes? This dinner is so beautiful, you can leave the side dishes in the roasting pan and serve this dinner buffet style.

Additionally, if your oven space is limited, this is a perfect solution to being able to roast a breast of turkey and all of the Thanksgiving dinner sides at the same time. So, it really is an elegant solution to avoid using multiple pans and casseroles to create a festive dinner.

In addition to the easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions that are included in this recipe, I've also included a shopping list, and a timeline to help you know when to start making this easy Thanksgiving meal.

Ingredient Notes

Here's what you need to make this One Pan Turkey Dinner:

• 8 Pound Whole Turkey Breast - I prefer a bone-in breast but you can also use a boneless turkey breast, which will cook faster.

Classic Dressing:

• White Bread - You will need one loaf, cut into ½” cubes. I prefer Hearty French, Rustic Italian, and sourdough bread but you can use a sandwich bread.
• Salted Butter - Use your favorite brand of butter. I prefer to use salted butter but you can use unsalted butter and increase the added salt.
• Yellow Onion - Yellow onions are savory without being sharp and are the best choice for this dressing. In a pinch, red onion can be substituted for yellow onion.
• Green Celery - When buying celery I select one that has a lot of leaves. The leaves are delicious in dishes.
• Poultry Seasoning - I prefer to use poultry seasoning that does not contain salt so that I can easily control the salt. My favorite brand is Bell’s Seasoning, which is what my mom also used.
• Low Sodium Chicken Broth - Use a brand of broth that has good flavor. I prefer to use low sodium or "no salt added' broth so that I keep the dressing from becoming too salty.
• Salt - Just plain or iodized salt from the round blue box works consistently well.

Basting Sauce for Turkey:

• Unsalted Butter - I use unsalted butter for the basting sauce because most turkey breasts have been brined. But if you are roasting a fresh breast, you can use salted butter.
• Fresh Thyme Leaves - Fresh herbs are always a better choice but you can use dried thyme.
• Sweet Paprika - Paprika is made from all types of dried ground peppers that vary in heat and it comes in several varieties that include hot, smoked, and sweet. Use a paprika that is sweet rather than hot or smoked for beautiful color and a mild flavor.

Vegetable Side:

• Frozen French Style Green Beans - Frozen green beans have a much better flavor than canned and the texture is closer to fresh beans.
• Dried Cranberries - I've found that the store brands are just as delicious as the famous name brand. These generally are "sweetened dried" which is perfect to add to the green beans for flavor and color interest.

Special Note: This is an alternative to the classic green bean casserole and is lighter in calories and salt.

Fruit Side:

• Small Apples - I use small baking fruits that can fit in the pan with everything else. A small amount of baked fruit is delicious with roasted turkey.
• Small Pears - The pears do not need to be completely ripe since they will be baked.

Equipment

For this dinner, you will need the following:

• Large Baking/Roasting Pan
• Reynolds Wrap Heavy-Duty Aluminum Foil
• Extra Large Mixing Bowl
• Large Mixing Bowl
• Small Sauce Pan
• 10" Skillet
• Cutting Board
• Large Knife
• Large Spoon
• Dry Measuring Cups
• Liquid Measuring Cup
• Measuring Spoons

Your clean-up will be easy because everything but the roasting pan can be washed and put away while the dinner roasts.

The key to being able to roast everything in one pan is a roasting rack you make out of aluminum foil. A roasting rack keeps the turkey breast up out of the pan so that it browns nicely on its sides.

I've been making these disposable racks for years. The serpentine shape is exceptional for smaller cuts of meat, especially for roasting a whole turkey breast.

All you need is about 4 feet of heavy-duty aluminum foil to make this inexpensive and disposable rack. Just shape and roll the foil into a long 2" thick rope and coil it.

Food & Wine, my favorite source for great food ideas, has an excellent tutorial on how to make this aluminum foil rack.

Remember that you will also need aluminum foil to tent the turkey. I purchase a new roll of aluminum foil every year just for holiday cooking. This way I know I won't run short when making this dinner.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Part 1

Make the Classic Dressing

Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 325°. Then, dry out and lightly toast the cubed bread. (Please note this step can be done up to 5 days ahead of the day you serve your turkey dinner.)

Step 2 - Cook the aromatics. Sauté the chopped yellow onion and celery in butter until the onion is transparent.

Step 3 - Add poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper to the aromatics and continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes to bloom the herbs.

Step 4 - In a large bowl mix together the toasted bread cubes and the seasoned aromatics. Add broth to moisten the dressing. Set the dressing aside for later.

Roasting a Turkey Breast

Step 5 - Make a roasting rack from heavy-duty aluminum foil and coil it into one end of your roasting pan.

Step 6 - Remove the turkey breast from its packaging. Rinse turkey with cold water inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Place the prepared turkey breast on the coiled roasting rack.

Step 7 - Tent the turkey breast with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Do not let the foil touch the turkey breast. Place the tented turkey breast into the 325°F/163°C preheated oven. Be sure to roast at 325°, as this is how to safely cook a turkey.

Step 8 - Make the basting sauce from butter, paprika, and fresh thyme leaves. If you have trouble seasoning a turkey, give this basting sauce a try. This basting sauce will not only season the turkey, but it will give the skin a beautiful, caramel brown color.

As the turkey breast roasts, prepare the green beans by defrosting them. In a large bowl mix together the thawed and drained green beans with the dried cranberries.

Part 2

Adding the Side Dishes to the Pan

After the turkey has been roasted for about two hours you will remove the turkey breast from the oven and add the side dishes to the pan.

First, you add the dressing, placing it closest to the turkey breast and mounding it up slightly to create a dam for the green beans. Next, add the green beans with cranberries in the remaining space next to the dressing and fill the space to the edge of the roasting pan. Lastly, place the apples and pears around and near the turkey breast.

Re-tent the pan with the aluminum foil and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the turkey breast is 165° F, which will be about 1 hour or 1 hour and 15 minutes.

PRO-TIP - To get a true internal temperature make sure the thermometer does not touch the bone. 

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