Smoked Boneless Turkey Breast on a Traeger Pellet Grill

Learn how to smoke a boneless turkey breast roast on a Traeger pellet grill, and why it is one of easiest, and most delicious, ways to smoke turkey!

We take you step-by-step through preparing your boneless turkey breast, setting up your Traeger for the cook, and smoking your turkey to perfection.

We love smoking turkey around here.

We've previously done our classic Pellet Grill Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey, a full Bone-in Smoked Turkey Breast, an Electric Smoker Turkey, as well as the juicy and fast cooking Spatchcocked Turkey on a Pellet Grill.

And for some extra fun who could forget our caveman style Easy Smoked Turkey Legs and the ever popular Trash Can Turkey.

Yes, you read that right.  A whole turkey cooked in a metal trash can in under 2 hours.  You've got to check that one out!

But we thought, when you are just in the mood for some good turkey on a busy weeknight, what could be simpler than a smoked boneless turkey breast right on our trusty Traeger pellet grill?

So let's get started!

Jump to:

• Remove Packaging and Season
• The Best Rub for Turkey Breast
• The Best Wood Pellets
• Add the Hardwood Pellets
• Start Up the Traeger
• Smoker Temperature
• Cook Time
• Remove the Netting
• Target Internal Temperature
• Carving the Turkey Breast and Serving
• 📖 Recipe

Remove Packaging and Season

Open up the packaging and remove any giblet bags, gravy starter packets, or any other items that may be packed in with the boneless turkey breast roast.

Don't remove any cooking twine or netting around the raw boneless turkey breast as this will help the turkey initially hold its shape while it smokes on the Traeger.

Because there is not that much skin on a boneless turkey breast, we are not going to mess with any dry brining like we might with a whole turkey or a whole chicken where we are trying to get crispy skin.

We are going to simply coat the outside of the boneless turkey breast with one of our favorite BBQ rubs.

If you are having a hard time getting your BBQ rub to adhere, use a little bit of cooking oil such as regular olive oil to help it stick.

The Best Rub for Turkey Breast

We have a great BBQ Rub Recipe from scratch in the recipe card at the bottom of the article, but if you want something easy right off the shelf, check out Three Little Pigs Kansas City Championship BBQ Rub.

It's got a great flavor of not only typical BBQ seasonings but also onion, garlic, and even a little cayenne for some heat.

We love it on turkey...and chicken too!

The Best Wood Pellets

You will need to take a minute to think about what type of pellets you want to use to smoke the boneless turkey breast on the Traeger.

Straight mesquite and hickory will give a very aggressive smoke flavor on turkey and should be used only in small amounts mixed in with another type of pellet.

We suggest going for a milder smoke flavor by choosing oak or fruitwood pellets.

We especially like applewood pellets on turkey.

Pecan, apple, beech, alder, and cherry will all give great results.

For fun, you can choose your woods seasonally, using beech and cherry in spring and summer and pecan and apple into the fall and winter.

Also. there is no reason you can't mix a few different kinds together in your Traeger!

For the best results, store your unused pellets in a sealed room temperature container like this 20 lb pellet container rather than in the Traeger hopper outside.

Traeger pellets do not last forever, but will definitely last a LOT longer if stored indoors in a quality airtight container.

Add the Hardwood Pellets

First, you add hardwood pellets into the side hopper.

The Traeger pellet grill automatically feeds these small wood pellets via an auger mechanism to a fire pot where they are burned up, providing both heat and smoky flavor.

The pellet grill automatically controls the flow of pellets depending on your temperature setting so that you maintain an even temperature throughout the entire cook.

Start Up the Traeger

We've previously covered how to start a Traeger, how to season a Traeger, how to change the pellets in a Traeger, and even how to troubleshoot a Traeger that won't ignite.

There is a specific start up process for the Traeger brand pellet grills you can read all about in depth here if you aren't sure how to fire it up the first time.

Otherwise, here is the basic process for how to start a Traeger before throwing on your food:

• Plug in the grill.
• Flip the power switch to ON and turn the dial to "Smoke".
• You will hear the fan kick on and the auger start to move and begin to kick pellets into the fire pot.  Your fire rod will begin to heat up as well.
• Leave the lid open for about 5-7 minutes until you start to see white billowing smoke come out of the grill.  This happens when the pellets are first igniting.
• Once a smoke is being produced, close the lid and change the temperature dial to your desired temperature setting.
• Allow about 10-15 minutes to preheat the grill.
• While you are waiting, make sure you've got the drip pan in place and the grease bucket hanging to catch any grease that comes out during the cook.  Use a grease bucket liner to minimize cleanup later.
• Put your grates on if they aren't already in place.
• Using a good bristle free grill brush, clean off the grill grates if there is any leftover stuck on food from the last cook.
• When the pellet grill comes up to temperature go ahead and put on your food!

Why Bristle Free Grill Brushes? 

Check out our Ultimate Guide to How to Keep your Family Safe by using ONLY Bristle Free Grill Brushes, along with a selection of some of our favorites!

Smoker Temperature

Set the Traeger temperature to 250°F, and let the grill come up to temperature.

If you used a rub or seasoning combination with NO sugar, feel free to bump the temperature to 300°F or even 325°F if you are crunched for time.

Because we want to impart as much smoky flavor as possible and also keep our Three Little Pigs Rub from burning, we are opting for a lower and slower cooking temperature.

Cook Time

Put your boneless turkey breast roast in the cooking chamber and let the Traeger do its thing!

Place a temperature probe, if you have one, in the center of the boneless turkey breast.

Otherwise, you can spot check later with an instant read thermometer.

Always use good insulated grilling gloves when rotating or moving the turkey around.

Pro Tip: We like combining insulated cloth liner gloves with black BBQ disposable gloves over them much like the BBQ competition cooks use to protect their hands and limit constant hand washing or fumbling with BBQ tongs and spatulas when handling big roasts or briskets in their smokers.

You can rotate and flip the boneless turkey breast over during the cook so that it smokes and cooks evenly in the Traeger.

Even though the Traeger provides INDIRECT heat like an oven, we find there is still increased heat coming from the bottom, even at lower smoking temperatures, which tends to cook that side of the meat faster than the top.

So it's always good practice to occasionally rotate and flip whatever you are smoking in your Traeger when you can.

A 3 lb boneless turkey breast roast will take about 3 hours to smoke on a Traeger pellet grill at 250°F. 

Again, you can raise the temperature up to 300°F if you don't want as much smoke flavor or want to be finished faster.

Keep the lid closed as much as possible when you aren't rotating or flipping, and use the temperature probes to tell you when the turkey is close to done.

Remove the Netting

Pro Tip: Take a minute to remove the cooking twine or netting on the turkey breast when it is about halfway finished cooking.

We found it much easier to remove it at this point vs. waiting until the turkey breast was fully cooked and the twine became more stuck to the meat.

If some seasoning comes off with it, simply sprinkle some more on and then place the turkey back on the Traeger.

At this point halfway through the cook, the boneless turkey breast should be cooked enough to hold its shape without the need for the netting any longer.

Target Internal Temperature

You'll want to monitor the internal temperature of the turkey breast roast as it cooks on the Traeger for doneness.

Your Traeger smoked boneless turkey breast is ready to eat when it hits an internal temperature of 165°F on your instant read thermometer.

If you don't yet own an instant read thermometer, it's going to be hard to really know exactly when that turkey is done cooking on the pellet grill.

One of our go-to and very affordable favorites is this affordable one from ThermoPro.

If you prefer a leave-in thermometer you can just monitor from your phone while visiting with guests or doing other stuff, then check out our newest favorite, the MEATER leave in thermometer.

It is extremely accurate and has an incredible 165 foot bluetooth range and works right with your smartphone so you don't need to carry a separate controller around with you like many other remote thermometers require.

It's got a great free app that is constantly being updated and even has an algorithm to predict how much longer your type of meat will take to cook based on cooking temperature, target temperature, and current internal temperature.

It's like a GPS for your meat!

Carving the Turkey Breast and Serving

Let the smoked boneless turkey breast rest for about 15 minutes before carving and serving so that the juice stays in the meat where you want it.

Carefully remove the cooking twine or netting from the turkey if you didn't already before slicing and serving.

Slice the smoked turkey using a good meat slicing knife like our favorite from Mairico.

Make sure to cut in nice thick slices and only slice as much as you are serving at once to keep the rest of the meat from drying out.

Always store any unserved boneless turkey breast in its whole form to reheat later.

Smoked boneless turkey breast is great on its own with a little gravy, or you can pair it with our smoked twice baked potatoes and smoked green beans for a full meal prepared right on the Traeger!

Smoked broccoli, smoked asparagus, smoked carrots, and even smoked cauliflower are great if you're eating healthy.

If you want something a little richer, check out our Sticky Smoked Sweet Potatoes or maybe some Smoked Mac and Cheese or Traeger Smoked Baked Beans done in a cast iron skillet to cook and serve alongside your Traeger smoked boneless turkey breast.

And of course for dessert...smoked peach cobbler, smoked chocolate chip cookies, or smoked apple pie!

Enjoy!

📖 Recipe