Roulade is a show stopping, and surprisingly easy, way to serve turkey for a scaled down holiday dinner.
Sometimes roasting a whole turkey is doing entirely too much. This Thanksgiving Turkey Roulade is here for you. Boneless turkey breast pounded and rolled up with simple bread stuffing and roasted to perfection. It’s flavorful, easy to carve and so much more festive than just a plain roasted turkey breast. Also, the slices are absolutely perfect for those leftover thanksgiving sandwiches with all fixings people (not me, lol) love.
Turkey roulade looks complicated but it’s really easy to make. We’re using stuffing mix for this recipe as a shortcut but feel free to use any kind of stuffing you like! You’ll need about three cups depending on the size of your turkey breast. Any leftover stuffing, you just throw it in a small baking dish or ramekins and bake it to serve on the side. So easy!
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What do I need to make Thanksgiving Turkey Roulade?
The ingredient list is very simple. Here is everything you need.
Turkey Breast – doesn’t matter if it has skin or not, the most important thing is that you get a boneless turkey breast. Skin will give it a crispier exterior but don’t worry if you can only find skinless. It will come out juicy and delicious!
Stuffing Mix – I just grabbed a bag of classic stuffing mix. It comes pre-seasoned and we’re going to doctor it up a bit.
Onion and Celery – Adds more fresh Thanksgiving flavor to the stuffing.
Fresh Parsley and Sage – a little pop of freshness is always a good thing.
Butter – is it even Thanksgiving if you aren’t using at least one stick of butter per dish? I think not.
Chicken Broth or Water – Check the sodium content of your stuffing mix first. It it tastes really salty, use water. If it tastes like you can use a bit more flavor, use low sodium broth. I love these little containers of Pacific Foods Chicken Bone Broth. They’re just eight ounces and the perfect amount when you just need a little broth and not a whole 32 oz container. They are also unsalted so you can easily control the sodium levels in your recipes. I order them from my favorite online grocery store, Thrive Market.
Italian Sausage – This is totally optional but I love sausage in my stuffing and I think it adds great flavor to the roulade.
Salt and Pepper – That’s all she wrote!
Kitchen Twine – not an edible ingredient but kitchen twine is a must have for this recipe!
How to make a roulade
First you will prepare the stuffing. Super simple since we’re using stuffing mix. You just chop up some onion and celery and cook down in a few tablespoons of butter. Add in the sausage if using and cook until done. Stir in stuffing mix, fresh herbs and broth and let it hydrate a bit while you’re prepping your turkey breast.
If your turkey breast is super thick or uneven in parts, butterfly it by making a partial horizontal cut through the breast. Lay some plastic wrap on top and then pound it out until its about ⅓ of an inch thick. Try your best to get it even and to keep a rectangle-ish shape.
Once your turkey breast is pounded out, spread the stuffing mixture out on the flattened breast, leaving a bit of a border. Don’t mound it up too thick or it will be difficult to roll. Roll the turkey breast up like a jelly roll, flipping so the seam is facing down. Tie it up securely by sliding kitchen twine underneath and tying it around the rolled breast every 1-2 inches. If some stuffing pops out of the ends while you’re rolling, don’t worry, just squish and tuck it in. I also like to tie it around the whole roll vertically just to make sure it all stays together.
Brush the roll with melted butter and bake on a rack on a baking sheet till golden brown and the internal temperature reads 165 degrees. I highly recommend using a meat thermometer to make sure that you reach the proper temperature at the center of the roll. Just makes it less stressful and takes the guess work out. Once it comes out of the oven, let it rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing and serve. A full on festive turkey for a small crowd from start to finish in about two hours. You will be so impressed with yourself.
Thanksgiving Turkey Roulade
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and fit a parchment lined baking sheet with a wire rack.
- In a heavy bottom sauce pan or dutch oven, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Add diced onion and celery and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add in sausage, and break up any large chunks. Cook for another 7-10 minutes or so until sausage is cooked through.
- Remove from heat and stir in stuffing mix, broth, parsley and sage. Cover and let sit while you prepare turkey breast.
- If necessary, butterfly the turkey breast on a cutting board. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and then carefully pound out to about ⅓ inch thickness, skin side down if your breast has skin.
- Spoon stuffing onto the flattened turkey breast and spread it around, leaving about a ½ inch border on all sides. Make the layer no more than about ½ an inch thick. If you have any left over, add it to a baking dish or ramekins to bake and serve on the side.
- Starting at one of the short ends, carefully roll up the turkey breast with stuffing like a jelly roll. Make sure to tuck and stuff any filling that comes out of the sides. Keep rolling and finish with the seam side down.
- Cut pieces of kitchen twine and tie snugly around the roll every 1-2 inches. Tie one long piece of twine around the length of the roll for extra security.
- Transfer to baking sheet fitted with wire rack. Brush with remaining butter and sprinkle with a little bit of salt and some freshly cracked pepper. You don't need to add much salt as the stuffing mix, broth and sausage are salty and add a lot of flavor.
- Bake for 90-120 minutes until internal temperature reaches 165. Basting 2-3 times with the remaining melted butter.
- Transfer to cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for 15-20 minutes. Cut through twine and carefully remove.
- Slice into one inch slices and serve.
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