by Easy Roasted Turkey Roulade with butternut squash, kale and spicy Italian sausage makes a crowd-pleasing elegant meal for Thanksgiving or any special occasion.
I have a confession to make! I’ve never cooked a whole turkey and I really don’t know why, except maybe to say that I find it a little bit intimidating to cook a whole bird. I know…crazy right!
Mostly though, my family prefers white meat and if you do as well then you’ll appreciate how easy it actually is to make a turkey roulade such as this one.
Aside from being far easier to prepare, it’s also much healthier and made even more so by omitting the skin. But, I’ll have you know that there is no skimping on flavor here. This delicious turkey roulade is packed full of nutrient dense vegetables such as kale and butternut squash and livened up with some spicy Italian sausage.
For some aromatic allure I’ve added fragrant rosemary and sage to both the stuffing and the organic chicken broth.
My intent was to make this recipe more of a step by step tutorial for beginners. However, daylight savings time had other plans for me. I was quickly losing some valuable natural lighting here. But at least I get to show you how a butterflied turkey breast looks like.
Purchasing a deboned, skinless and butterflied turkey breast really simplifies the whole process. All I did was lay it out between two sheets of saran wrap and pounded the meat with a meat mallet to about 1/2 inch thickness. I then spread the stuffing onto the turkey breast to about 1 inch from the borders. Rolled it up…tied it up…and voila!
Here you have a succulent rolled up Easy Roasted Turkey Roulade!
The key to having a moist and tender meat is to baste the turkey every 15 minutes with the chicken broth.
You will be rewarded with a delicious, mouthwatering meal and will make you wish that you had doubled the recipe!
Buon Appetito!
Easy Roasted Turkey Roulade
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- 1 cup diced butternut squash
- 2 cups chopped kale
- 1 teaspoon fresh sage (chopped (plus a few whole sprigs for pan))
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (plus a few whole sprigs for pan)
- salt and pepper to your taste
- 8 ounces spicy Italian sausage (casing removed (about 1 cup measure))
- 1 2 1/2 pounds skinless turkey breast, bones removed and butterflied
- 2 cups (sodium reduced, organic chicken broth)
Instructions
- LETS MAKE THE STUFFING
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the onions for a few minutes till the onions are soft.
- Add in the garlic, butternut quash, kale, the fresh sage, thyme and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Stir the vegetable mixture and continue to sauté for about 5 minutes or till the butternut squash is soft and the kale has wilted.
- Set aside while you prepare the turkey breast.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Place the butterflied turkey breast between 2 sheets of saran wrap and pound the meat with a meat mallet to about a half inch thickness.
- Add the sausage to the vegetable mixture and stir very well until evenly combined, then spread this over the turkey breast to about one inch off the border.
- Starting at the shorter end, roll the turkey breast tightly together and tie with 4 equal pieces of butcher's twine at one inch intervals and one longer piece along the length of the stuffed turkey.
- Sprinkle the turkey breast lightly with salt and pepper.
- Place the stuffed turkey in a shallow oven proof pan (I used the same skillet in which I cooked the vegetables.)
- Pour in 3/4 cup of chicken broth into the pan with a few springs of fresh sage and thyme.
- Cook the turkey breast for about 1 hour and 10 minutes or until an instant-read digital thermometer reaches 155 degrees F.
- Baste the stuffed turkey every 15 minutes with the remaining chicken broth so that the meat does not dry out and retains moisture.
- When ready, transfer the stuffed turkey breast onto a cutting board and slice into 3/4 inch slices.
- (mine yielded 12 slices)
- Place the slices onto a serving platter.
- Strain the pan juices through a fine sieve and pour the juices over the sliced turkey breast.
- Serve while still warm.
Hi There – I’ve been ‘out of touch’ for quite a while due to some minor health issues AND getting my beloved yellow farmhouse ready for sale. In any event – THIS LOOKS FABULOUS!! I was thinking how I’d love to do some type of rolled turkey – so this recipe is perfect! I hope you had a good summer and that you’re having an equally good autumn. ; o )
Hi Cecile, it’s so nice to hear from you! I always thought how cool it was to have a Yellow Farmhouse! I am sure it must be bittersweet and sometimes life takes unexpected turns! Your health comes first and hope all goes well for you! Any chance you’ll head back this way……??
My health is finally improving… it turns out I have a low thyroid and also a bit of hypoglycemia. But I’m not selling my beloved farmhouse due to health, just in case I gave the wrong impression. I’m selling it so I can travel A LOT again like I used to with my husband when he was alive. As you said, it IS bittersweet. I have family here in western Massachusetts, including one of my twin sons, so I’ll always ‘be back’! I’m just not sure exactly when I’ll buy another place in this area. I do love that my life is so open-ended once again. Or, soon will be. ; o )
I am glad to hear your health is improving Cecile. Wherever your journey takes you, I wish you safe and happy travels. Hopefully you’ll be able to share your adventures with us on your blog….stay well! xxx
Pinned this in ‘chicken/turkey AND ‘Thanksgiving’ !! ; o )
Thanks Cecile?❤️
Looks so delicious!!! I will try it soon but my family insists on a whole stuffed turkey each Holiday, maybe part of the fun I think❤️ Have a lovely day!
Sometimes we simply can’t mess with tradition, Karen! I am sure your family loves and appreciates it…xxx
Such a gorgeous roulade you have here! Just perfect for the holidays. Love the filling. 🙂
Roasting a whole turkey is really like roasting a whole chicken – it just takes a bit longer. I recommend getting 2 smaller ones instead of one huge one – it makes roasting even easier and it’s less likely to dry out.
Hi Ronit, thanks so much! That sounds less scary and doable for sure as I often roast 2 whole chickens side by side! 🙂
I’m sure you’ll come up with something amazing! 🙂
That’s quite a confession but I assure you that you are not alone… neither have I… on Thanksgiving and Christmas, my husband takes over the kitchen. But this dish looks like something I would venture into!
lol…thanks Annika! I now know that I’m in good company
This is so pretty and the stuffing sound absolutely delicious. A very nice alternative, although I would miss leftovers… Maybe I’ll do both!
Making both would certainly satisfy everyone’s cravings! Enjoy your Thanksgiving Mimi?
To be honest, turkey is far from my favorite meal and I only prepare it once, for Thanksgiving of course. Your recipe brings together all of the flavors of Thanksgiving and I am certain it is moist and delicious. Thank you for the excellent alternative to the big bird.
I agree with you Paula, a turkey roulade is certainly a wonderful alternative for those who are not fans of the whole bird. There is definitely something for everyone 🙂
It looks so tasty!
Thanks so much 🙂
This looks so amazing Marisa!
Thanks Lynn…it is the only way I have ever cooked Turkey! I should expand my repertoire 🙂
yummmm
do you have nutritional information on this recipe?