This slow cooker boneless turkey breast sandwich meat requires very little prep before cooking to perfection in the slow cooker for a few short hours. The results are a homemade turkey deli meat that's full of flavor and perfect for slicing up for the best turkey sandwiches during the week. While I love it for meal prep, it's also great served hot for dinner or even Thanksgiving and other holidays.
Recipe Price: $11.97 | Per Serving: $0.99 | Makes: 12 (3.5-oz servings once cooked)
I first made this recipe for our Expat Thanksgiving in Estonia to add turkey to the table when whole turkeys were impossible to find. Ultimately, it was delicious and super simple, so I dialed in the dried herbs a bit and started making this as a deli meat replacement.
The ingredients are so simple, and other than the turkey, you probably have them all in the house already. I throw it in the slow cooker on the weekends, so we have turkey meat for the week and beyond!
Meal prepping your proteins is a great way to ensure you have ingredients on hand to make a meal quickly and easily when life gets busy! Besides this turkey breast sandwich meat, I often have this slow cooker shredded pork and my slow cooker pulled chicken for burrito bowls ready and waiting in my freezer.
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Why You Will Love This Boneless Turkey Breast Recipe
- Versatile Recipe. It's perfect for your holiday bird, especially for smaller groups but it also makes the best turkey sandwich meat you can make any time of year!
- Freezes Great. Cook up the turkey for your weekly meal prep for sandwiches and other meals throughout the week and beyond!
Ingredients
- Onion: The onion is what creates a slightly elevated barrier between the turkey and the slow cooker insert, which helps the turkey cook more evenly and not get scorched on the bottom.
- Seasoning: Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper are rubbed over the turkey so they infuse the meat with flavor as it cooks.
- Turkey Breast: This recipe is written for a boneless, skinless, and uncooked turkey breast. Turkey breast isn’t always the easiest thing to find in US stores. I found boneless turkey breast at Wegmans during the off-season, but you’ll see more in-store options closer to Thanksgiving. (See notes below for using bone-in turkey.)
How to Cook Turkey Breast in a Crock Pot
Step 1: Prep the onion. Wash and peel it before slicing it into wedges, about ¼ -½ an inch thick. Place these in the bottom of your slow cooker.
Step 2: Mix the spices. Combine the salt, pepper, Italian herbs, garlic powder, and onion powder in a small bowl.
Step 3: Cut slits. Use a paring knife, make shallow cuts all along the top of the turkey breast.
Step 4: Season. Cover the entire turkey breast (top and bottom) with the spice mixture.
Step 5: Cook. Place the seasoned turkey breast into the slow cooker atop the onions. (Slits up!) Cook on low heat for about 3 hours and 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 165ºF.
Step 6: Serve or store. Serve warm right away (such as for Thanksgiving dinner) or refrigerate it until fully cooled to thinly slice for sandwiches.
PRO TIP: You want to pull the turkey out of the slow cooker as soon as it reaches 165ºF, otherwise it will dry out. At about the 3 hour mark, I use the extender on my thermometer to put it into the turkey without having to keep taking the lid off, and then I check it every 5-10 minutes so I can pull the turkey right away!
Serving Suggestions
This turkey breast makes the best homemade deli turkey for sandwiches! It works great on my toasted buckwheat bread or your favorite sandwich bread piled high with yummy toppings and avocado oil mayo. So good!
Serve up your sandwiches with a simple side salad like this Moroccan carrot salad, purple cabbage slaw, or cabbage crunch salad to add a boost of veggies.
Serve up slow cooker boneless turkey breast with all your favorite holiday trimmings for Thanksgiving or Christmas, or even for a simple Sunday supper or weeknight meal. It goes great with twice baked mashed potato casserole and some charred Brussels sprouts.
Expert Tips
- Change the Seasoning! There's so much you can do here depending on the flavors you enjoy. From Cajun seasoning to garlic blends and all-purpose seasonings blends there are so many to choose!
- Cut Slits in Your Turkey. This helps the salt and other seasonings permeate the meat better. If you really don’t want to do this, you can skip it, but it does taste better this way!
- Store: Place your sliced turkey for sandwiches in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to four days. You can extend its shelf-life by freezing it for up to three months. I really like to divide it up and freeze it in smaller portions so I can pull it out when Zac and I need it for the week. The same applies to the whole turkey breast after it has been cooked, though I do recommend slicing it before freezing.
Recipe FAQs
Sure thing! Be sure to put the seasonings under the skin before cooking it. You can choose to eat the skin or remove it. (For me, I would cook it with the skin, then remove the skin and crisp it in a skillet on the stove before serving it.)
That works! Though I find the boneless much easier to make homemade turkey meat for sandwiches. If you use bone-in, the cooking time might be a little longer, and you’ll want to remove the bone before cooling it in the fridge. I will say that the bone-in turkey was easier to find than the boneless. I found bone-in turkey breast available year-round at Safeway/Albertsons (Open Nature brand), at Wegmans (Wegmans brand and Wegmans Organic brand), and also online at D’Artagnan Foods.
The key to making thin slices that are great for turkey sandwiches is refrigerating the turkey until it is completely cold. Then, using a very sharp knife, carefully slice the turkey as thinly as you’d like!
If you want to reheat the turkey to enjoy as a hot meal instead of for sandwiches place the turkey in a baking dish and cover with a bit of broth or water. Cover and heat in the oven at 325° F until heated through, about 15-20 minutes.
More Slow Cooker Recipes
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Slow Cooker Turkey Breast Sandwich Meat
Ingredients
- 1 large onion
- 1 ½ teaspoons fine salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Italian herb blend
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 3 pounds skinless boneless turkey breast uncooked
Instructions
- Wash and peel the onion, then slice it in half from root to stem. Slice each half into wedges, about ¼ -½ an inch thick. (Wedges are also from root to stem.) Place these in the bottom of your slow cooker.
- Combine the spices (salt, pepper, Italian herbs, garlic powder, and onion powder) in a small bowl.
- Using a paring knife, carefully make shallow cuts all along the turkey breast - I made about a dozen slits on the top only.
- Then cover the entire turkey breast (top and bottom) with the spice mixture.
- Place the seasoned turkey breast into the slow cooker atop the onions. (Slits up!) Cook on low heat for about 3 hours and 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 165ºF. (You want to pull the turkey out of the slow cooker as soon as it reaches 165ºF otherwise it will dry out! At about the 3 hour mark, I use the extender on my thermometer to put it into the turkey without having to keep taking the lid off, and then I check it every 5-10 minutes so I can pull the turkey right away!)
- If desired, you can serve right away while its warm (which is what I would recommend for Thanksgiving!). However, you can also thinly slice this for deli sandwiches! To make thin slices, I recommend refrigerating the turkey until it is completely cold. Then, using a very sharp knife, carefully slice the turkey as thinly as you’d like!
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