Slow Cooker Turkey in Gravy

My son’s preschool teacher shared her super simple method for preparing a big turkey dinner for a crowd that requires almost no work – I’ve tweaked a few ingredients to make the all-time easiest Slow Cooker Turkey in Gravy dinner you could ever imagine with a flavor that is out of this world!

Shredded Turkey that is juicy and packed with flavor, cooked in gravy and served alongside mashed potatoes or even in a dinner roll – we serve this at Friendsgiving, as a new baby meal train dish, or for neighbor meals!

A bowl of chicken soup with a sprig of rosemary, topped with shredded turkey.

At Ajpal, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

How Make Slow Cooker Turkey In Gravy

This turkey recipe is perfect for big potluck holiday dinners, because it won’t dry out. The leftovers also freeze well – simply toss back in a slow cooker and let cook until piping hot! We use our Turkey Gravy Recipe, or store-bought gravy for this recipe.

Slow Cooker Shredded Turkey Ingredients

To make this recipe, you will need:

Turkey breast. We’re going to slow-cook a turkey breast in gravy, and then shred it and cook more for perfect, never-dry, juicy turkey that is hearty and rich.
Celtic sea salt. Use a high quality salt whose flavor you like.
Cracked pepper. I crack pepper freshly so the flavor is better – pepper that is ground before you use it often loses flavor, so try to crack it fresh just before using.
Oregano. You can use fresh or dried oregano for this recipe to bring a woodsy, citrussy kick to your turkey that helps balance out the buttery gravy flavor and enhance the lightly sweet turkey meat.
Cilantro. Cilantro has an herbal, light, earthy flavor that is great with turkey – but some people can’t eat cilantro because it tastes like soap to them! If you don’t like cilantro, you can swap for parsley, or skip it all together.
Rosemary. Rosemary has a woody, pine-like flavor and amazing aroma that enhances turkey’s flavor and gives it more dimension.
Paprika. Paprika brings out a smoky, lightly sweet flavor to turkey as well as a bit of a deeper red color to your gravy to make your dinner look as great as it tastes!
Gravy. You can use canned gravy, packets of gravy made according to it’s directions, ormake your own gravy – whatever you want to use works just fine for this recipe, as it will taste great! Honestly, I don’t love the flavor of gravy from a jar, but in this recipe, it works really well as it cooks with the turkey in the slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Shredded Turkey Process

Once you’ve gathered your ingredients we will use this method:

Prep

In a large crockpot, drizzle oil at the bottom to prevent sticking.Season turkey but rubbing herbs onto the skin. Roll up two sheets of aluminum foil into balls. Place the balls of foil on each side of the turkey, propping it up so the bony cavity is at the bottom and the fat is up top (this helps baste the bird in it’s own juices).

Cook

Cover and cook on high two hours. Remove foil. Add one package (or packet’s worth) of gravy. Add cover back and cook another two hours.

Shred & Simmer

When turkey is 175 degrees internally, and a bright opaque white, remove skin and shred with forks. Remove bones and carcass from slow cooker.

A bowl of slow cooker turkey gravy with mashed potatoes and sprigs of rosemary.

Enjoy

Serve! Great over mashed potatoes, in sandwiches, over rice, or on it’s own!

Slow Cooker Turkey In Gravy Recipe Tips and FAQs

This slow cooker turkey is great because it is so simple – it isn’t much work for a delicious dinner! This turkey in gravy recipe is perfect if you don’t have many guests coming over – it is simple, foolproof, and so delicious!

Plus you don’t need any previous cooking experience for a delicious homemade Thanksgiving dinner. We love the flavor of shredded turkey – it is loaded with gravy and amazing with mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, soft dinner rolls, and cranberrysalad!

This recipe uses a simple trick to shred turkey – a stand mixer!

We recommend shredding turkey breast by placing it in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment while steaming hot – start with a low speed to start breaking the meat apart, and work up to a medium speed.
It will only take about 30-40 seconds to shred turkey in stand mixer.

If you do not have a stand mixer, you can use forks to pull at the meat and shred it.

This trick also works with pulled pork, shredded chicken, and other pulled meats.

Slow cooker chicken with rosemary sprig.

Turkey is fully cooked when a thermometer reads 180 degrees in the thigh and 170 in the breast.

We love cooking turkey in a slow cooker in gravy – it keeps the turkey moist, juicy, and delicious – no dry turkey breast meat!

For a family of four, get a turkey breast of around 2-3 pounds, uncooked.
When planning Thanksgiving dinner, we go off uncooked turkey weight to plan how much meat to serve per person, so you know how much to buy.
For a bone-in turkey breast, plan on 1 pound of uncooked turkey breast meat per person.
For boneless turkey breasts, plan on 1/2 pound of uncooked turkey breast per person.
You’ll want an extra pound, uncooked, for seconds or leftovers, depending on your guests.

If the gravy is too thin, you can mix a small amount of cornstarch with cold water to create a slurry, then stir it into the hot gravy. Simmer for a few minutes until it thickens.

Yes, you can substitute chicken breasts or even pork loin for the turkey. Adjust the cooking time accordingly based on the type and size of the meat.

What To Serve With Slow Cooker Turkey In Gravy

For some of our favorite sides to serve with this turkey, visit our The Best Easy No Knead Bread recipe, our Bacon Ranch Potato Salad Recipe, The Best Keto Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts Recipe, Easy Apple Sopapilla Cheesecake Recipe, and our Perfectly Broiled Lobster Tails Recipe!

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picture of shredded turkey in a slow cooker with gravy and a sprig of rosemary

Slow Cooker Turkey in Gravy