It’s Not a Hack, It’s Just Smart Thinking: Stuffed Turkey Breast With Bacon + Caramelized Onion Gravy

The holiday season is certainly a time to celebrate good food, good friends, and bringing that all together. Sometimes, because of work, or distance, or a variety of reasons, your group may be smaller around the table and a full cooked turkey may not be on the menu for Christmas dinner.

My husband is a police officer and for the first 8 years of his career we spent 2 of them with family because of his work schedule and the hours of travel required to be with family. We didn’t cook our first full turkey until we were closer to family for the holidays but that doesn’t mean we spent Christmas alone (work families are a beautiful thing) or that we didn’t have some of the most delicious holiday items.

Here is a way you can incorporate a turkey dinner into your smaller gatherings – along with a delicious gravy recipe so you can jazz up the dish. Basically, you’re saving time and prep by picking up a frozen, already-stuffed turkey breast roast, and then adding your own personal touch to the table by making a caramelized onion gravy from scratch! You’ll save plenty of time in the kitchen this way (always helpful when you have little ones at your feet) but still bring that element of home, of tradition and a hearty Christmas meal, to your table.

Recipe: Stuffed Turkey Breast Roast with Bacon + Caramelized Onion Gravy
Serves 4 adults

Ingredients:
1 Stuffed Turkey Breast Roast
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and pepper
10 slices low-sodium bacon
1 large onion, diced
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
¼ cup flour
2 ½ cups low-sodium poultry broth

1. Prepare turkey breast roast for oven roasting as listed on the box itself. Typically I add 1 tbsp oil brushed all over the frozen roast, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. About 45 minutes before the roast is ready, prepare the gravy. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp, 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and crumble once cool. Reserve fat in skillet, add onions and cook, stirring occasionally until deeply golden and caramelized, 15 minutes or so.
3. Add thyme and all but 1 tsp crumbled bacon, then season with salt and pepper.
4. Add flour and stir until golden, about 3 minutes, then add broth and bring to a simmer. Cook, whisking often, until thick, about 10 minutes. If you find the gravy too thick, simply add more broth to get the consistency you like.
5. Serve in a gravy boat garnished with remaining crumbled bacon.

I know you’ll get rave reviews for this winning combination of turkey, stuffing, and gravy. You can always add additional stuffing (there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the boxed variety, I quite like it!) and while the holidays are about indulging in hearty food, you can also cut down the carb content of the stuffing by serving this meal like we do, with mashed cauliflower!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in partnership with Turkey Farmers of Canada. All opinions and commentary are my own.