tips and tricks

November 11, 2021 Main Course

How Much Turkey Breast Per Person?

Figuring out how much turkey breast to serve per person can be tricky, so we’ve done the math and made it easy for you! Whether you’re cooking for a large crowd, small group, or meal prepping ahead of a busy week – with very simple math, you’ll be able to figure out exactly how much turkey breast to make.

turkey breast sliced and served on three separate plates with serving utensils

Figure Out Who You’re Feeding

Adults will consume much more than, say, a 40-pound child will. Therefore, focus on how many full-grown humans you’ll have at your dinner table to then figure out how much turkey breast to prepare.
Remember, not all appetites are created equal. This guide outlines amounts for the average adult. But if you have a particularly hungry person coming over for Thanksgiving dinner, keep that in mind as well. For the people in your life with larger appetites, I recommend adding an extra quarter or half pound of uncooked turkey breast for just them.

Bone-In or Boneless?

Bone-In – Any bones in your meat will increase its weight. This probably goes without saying, but bones are not edible, and therefore should not contribute to how much turkey each person will eat. If you’re working with bone-in turkey breast, double the weight outlined below. To preface, if you’re cooking for 10 people, you’d aim for 5 pounds of boneless turkey breast, which would therefore equate to 10 pounds of bone-in turkey breast.

Boneless – The amounts in this post are for boneless turkey breast. The reason for this is because I highly recommend cooking boneless breast, over bone-in. Turkey bones don’t do much in terms of flavor, and in my opinion, just get in the way when it comes to eating. I’ve also noticed that boneless turkey breast is pretty easy to come by these days. Therefore, preparing boneless turkey breasts is a no-brainer.

close-up image of cooked boneless turkey breast

So, How Much Turkey Breast Per Person?

I recommend half a pound of uncooked turkey breast per person. The reason we measure by uncooked is so that you can have a precise number in mind when shopping for turkey.
So, in order to do the math for how much turkey breast to purchase per person, start with your number of guests. For this example, we’ll say you have 12 guests (don’t forget to include yourself!) attending dinner. Then, take that number of guests (12) and multiply it by 0.5, which will cut the number you started with in half. In this example, we multiply 12 by 0.5 and get 6. That means we’ll head to the store and purchase 6 pounds of uncooked turkey breast – easy!
To save you some time, I’ll also outline a few common guest amounts with the exact amount of how much turkey breast to purchase per person:

4 People = 2 Pounds Uncooked Turkey Breast

8 People = 4 Pounds Uncooked Turkey Breast

16 People = 8 Pounds Uncooked Turkey Breast

24 People = 12 Pounds Uncooked Turkey Breast

Things to Note

For little ones, I recommend reducing the amount of turkey breast for them by quarters or halves. Therefore, for one child, I’d add just a quarter (0.25) pound of turkey breast for them.
It’s always better to overestimate than underestimate! Let’s face it, turkey leftovers are great, there are so many delicious ways to use them. Therefore, if you overestimate your turkey breast amount by a couple pounds and end up with leftovers, no problem! After all, that’s better than not having enough food to feed everyone – yikes.
Add an extra half pound for particularly hungry people. Again, you’ll want enough turkey to leave everyone feeling super satisfied! And to maybe even send some people home with leftovers.

overhead image of turkey breast sliced and served on three separate plates with serving utensils

For Leftover Turkey, Try These Recipes

We hope you loved this recipe as much as we did! We’d love for you to give us a star ★ rating below, and follow us on Instagram! For more delicious, healthy recipes, be sure to check out 40 Aprons.

November 2, 2021 Easy

How to Thicken Mashed Potatoes (5 Ways!)

Cook confidently with a handful of tricks to easily and quickly thicken mashed potatoes! These methods take no more than a few minutes and just one ingredient.

overhead image of mashed potatoes in a pot with butter and a wooden spoon

What Makes These Methods So Good

They’re perfect for when you’re short on time! Simply and effectively use any of these five methods to thicken mashed potatoes and have them on the dinner table in no time.
Some require no additional ingredients. We include five options so that anyone with any ingredients or cooking equipment is able to salvage their potatoes.
They won’t affect the taste of your delicious mashed potatoes! The only thing these do is thicken the texture. Therefore, you can use any of these methods confidently, knowing they won’t at all ruin your potatoes.

The 5 Methods

Use a Thickening Agent – Thickening agents such as corn starch or flour are super effective in, you guessed it, thickening recipes. I recommend corn starch when thickening mashed potatoes as it does very little to affect the taste of your side dish. Flour, on the other hand, can sometimes give potatoes a chalky taste/texture. To use a thickening agent to thicken mashed potatoes, simply add just one tablespoon at a time until you’ve reached your desired consistency.

Heat in a Pot – Place thin mashed potatoes in a pot over medium heat and stir every minute or so. Leave the pot uncovered to allow moisture to evaporate, until you’ve reached your desired consistency.

Add Dehydrated Potatoes – My personal favorite quick and easy method involves stirring one tablespoon of dehydrated potatoes into your mashed potatoes at a time until you’ve reached your desired consistency. Dehydrated potatoes not only do an amazing job at thickening mashed potatoes in mere seconds, but they enhance that delicious, smooth flavor.

Bake in a Shallow Dish – This method works similarly to heating the runny potatoes in a pot. By baking them, uncovered, in a shallow baking dish, we encourage moisture to evaporate out of the potatoes. To do this, transfer your mashed potatoes to a baking dish and place them in a 350° Fahrenheit oven. Leave them to cook for about 10 minutes or until you’ve reached your desired consistency.

Cook Additional Potatoes – Another one of my more preferred thickening methods is adding in extra cooked potatoes. For this trick, peel and boil/cook potatoes exactly how you would to make mashed potatoes. Once super soft, give them a quick mash before adding them straight into your thin mashed potatoes. Continue adding cooked potatoes until you’ve reached your desired consistency.

Chef’s Tips

Avoid over-mixing and mashing your potatoes! Over-worked mashed potatoes will cause them to take on a gluey and unappetizing texture.
Learn from your mistakes and avoid runny mashed potatoes next time you make them. My trick for this is to mash the potatoes before introducing any liquid. Boiled potatoes will hold on to a surprising amount of water that will only become visible once mashed. Therefore, give them a “dry” mash to determine their consistency before adding any milk or butter.
Whatever you do, don’t give up and throw away your mashed potatoes! Unsalvageable thin mashed potatoes can be turned into a delicious soup and/or added to a casserole.

Dehydrated potatoes being poured into a pot of mashed potatoes

Other Helpful How Tos

Print Recipe

How to Thicken Mashed Potatoes (5 Ways)

Cook confidently with a handful of tricks to easily and quickly thicken mashed potatoes! These methods take no more than a few minutes and just one ingredient.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: side dish, thanksgiving, tips and tricks

Servings:

Calories: 106kcal

Author: Cheryl Malik

Equipment

Medium pot
9×13 baking dish

Ingredients

4 cups runny mashed potatoes
cornstarch optional
dehydrated potatoes optional
additional potatoes peeled, boiled, and mashed; optional

Instructions

Method 1 – Use a Thickening Agent

Add one tablespoon of corn starch at a time until you've reached your desired consistency.

Method 2 – Heat in a Pot

Stir in a pot over medium heat, uncovered until moisture evaporates and you’ve reached your desired consistency. Stir every minute, but be careful not to over-stir as this can result in gummy mashed potatoes.

Method 3 – Add Dehydrated Potatoes

Add one tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

Method 4 – Bake in a Shallow Dish

Bake in a shallow baking dish at 350° Fahrenheit, uncovered for about 10 minutes, allowing moisture to evaporate.

Method 5 – Cook Additional Potatoes

Cook additional potatoes, then mash them and stir into your runny mashed potatoes until you’ve reached your desired consistency.

Notes

Recipe yields approximately 8 servings. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by 8. Result will be the weight of one serving.

Nutrition

February 11, 2021 Air Fryer

Frozen Egg Rolls in the Air Fryer

Cooking frozen egg rolls in the air fryer is a total game changer! Once you try this quick and easy method, you’ll never cook egg rolls any other way!

4 air fried egg rolls on a black plate with a ramekin of soy sauce for dipping

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

You’ll get perfectly crispy egg rolls every single time with the literal least amount of effort possible.
No need to thaw your egg rolls or preheat your air fryer, which cuts way down on your total cooking time!
You can use this method with frozen egg rolls AND to reheat leftover egg rolls!

Ingredients

Frozen Egg Rolls – This method works for any brand or variety of frozen egg rolls you like! The recipe below has instructions for cooking 4 egg rolls, but you can absolutely cook more than that. You just might need to do them in multiple batches depending on how many you’re making.

Spray Oil – You can use any oil you like for this recipe! It’ll work with vegetable, olive, coconut, avocado… pretty much any oil you can think of. You only need a little to keep the egg rolls crunchy. See the “Chef’s Tips” section for an important warning about aerosol spray oils!

Chef’s Tips

If you want your egg rolls extra crispy, spray them again (lightly) with oil when you flip them over.
Depending on the egg rolls you use, you may need to adjust the temperature or the cook time. Mini egg rolls may cook faster in your air fryer than full size egg rolls. Pay attention when you flip them over and pivot as you need to!
Don’t use aerosol spray oils in your air fryer basket! Aerosol sprays (like PAM) have harsh ingredients that can damage the coating on your air fryer basket. Instead, put your oil-of-choice in an oil mister or spray bottle and use that.
Place your frozen egg rolls in the basket in a single, flat layer, without any of the egg rolls touching or overlapping. They need to be spread out so the air can circulate around them on all sides – otherwise they won’t cook evenly!

What Do We Mean By “Healthy?”

Our recipes focus on real ingredients and homemade elements. We try to avoid processed flour and sugar, like white flour or white sugar. Our recipes often swap less healthy options (like a commercial, deep-fried tostada) for an easy homemade version.

Our recipes are not necessarily low fat or low calorie, and we aren’t afraid of fat or carbs! Some of our recipes will be “skinny,” low carb, keto, paleo, dairy free, grain free, gluten free, Whole30, or vegan, and they will be labeled when they qualify for any of these diets. All our recipes are easy and family friendly!

Overhead photo of 4 air fried egg rolls on a black plate with a ramekin of soy sauce for dipping

More Easy Air Fryer Recipes

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Frozen Egg Rolls in the Air Fryer

Cooking frozen egg rolls in the air fryer is a total game changer! Once you try this quick and easy method, you'll never cook egg rolls any other way!

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time12 mins

Total Time17 mins

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: 2 ingredients, easy to make, less than 20 minutes

Servings:

Calories: 180kcal

Author: Cheryl Malik

Equipment

Air Fryer

Ingredients

4 frozen egg rolls
spray oil see Notes
green onion for garnish, optional
sesame oil for garnish, optional
soy sauce for dipping, optional

Instructions

Spray air fryer basket lightly with oil. Place frozen egg rolls in a single layer in basket. Spray egg rolls lightly with oil. Insert basket into air fryer.
Turn heat to 340° Fahrenheit. Cook for 5 minutes. Flip egg rolls, then cook an additional 5 minutes.
Finish egg rolls by toasting at 400° Fahrenheit for 2 minutes. Remove from air fryer. If desired, drizzle egg rolls with sesame oil, garnish with green onions, and serve with soy sauce.

Notes

Make sure the spray oil you use is safe to use in the air fryer. Never use aerosol sprays! They can damage the coating on your air fryer basket.

Recipe yields 4 servings. Nutritional information shown reflects the values for one serving of Pagoda brand pork egg rolls. For this purpose, one egg roll is one serving. Macros will vary depending on the specific brand and type of egg rolls you use.

Nutrition