Rachael Ray Shares Her 'Simplest Thanksgiving Meal' That You Can Make in One Roasting Pan

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As people across the U.S. prepare for a more scaled-down Thanksgiving holiday amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Rachael Ray is here with some expert help.

As part of the "12 Days of Thanksgiving" on The Rachael Ray Show, the celebrity chef shared her recipe for a full Thanksgiving meal that you can make all in one roasting pan—plus gravy and cranberry sauce, of course.

“We’ve had to reinvent what Thanksgiving is this year. A lot of us are doing small groups, or just whoever we’ve been with for the last several months, and we’re going to be Zoom-visiting with our families and larger groups," says Ray. "This is the simplest Thanksgiving I have made in the 20-something years I have been making Thanksgiving dinner for our family.”

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The dish uses a full turkey breast instead of a whole turkey, which gets a tangy, umami-packed marinade. The meat cooks over a bed of root vegetables, creating a hearty side dish all on their own. Get the full recipe below!

Rachael Ray's Turkey Breast and Roast Veggies with Cider Gravy

For the turkey and marinade:

1 cup packed herbs like parsley, sage and thyme

Juice of ½ lemon

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, finely chopped or grated

About ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)

One 4- to 5-pound boneless, skin-on turkey breast

Salt and pepper

For the veggies:

3 lb. root veggies (beets, turnips, carrots, parsnips, parsley root, large radishes) and potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges (all should be similar sizes)

2 large shallots or small onions, roots attached and sliced into wedges

About ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)

2 tsp. lemon zest

2 tsp. orange zest

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

¼ cup white wine

¼ cup turkey or chicken stock

For the Worcestershire-Cider Gravy:

4 Tbsp. butter

4 Tbsp. flour

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire

1 Tbsp. black pepper

½ cup cloudy cider

1½ cups turkey or chicken stock

For the Cracked Cranberry Sauce:

One 12-oz. bag fresh cranberries

Peel from 1 large orange

¾ cup sugar

1 cup water

1. For the turkey and marinade, in a food processor, combine herbs, lemon juice, Worcestershire, soy, Dijon, garlic, and EVOO and pulse several times to combine. Add to a bag with a well-seasoned turkey breast coated with salt and pepper, coat the breast evenly and refrigerate 1 hour to several hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350˚ with rack at center oven.

3. For the veg, in a large bowl, combine vegetables and potatoes, EVOO, zest, rosemary, and salt and pepper, arrange in roasting pan or on large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment, and sprinkle with wine and stock. Place marinated turkey breast on top of the vegetables. Roast 2 to –2½ hours to 165˚F on breast, raise heat to high/broil to brown skin a bit, then remove and rest 20 minutes.

4. For the gravy, in a saucepot or skillet, melt butter over medium to medium-high heat and whisk in flour, then add Worcestershire, pepper, cider and stock and thicken to coat spoon.

5. For the Cracked Cranberry Sauce, combine cranberries, orange peel, sugar and water in a small saucepot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat a bit and let berries bubble away until they burst and form a sauce, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove orange peel and cool to room temperature or chill.

6. Slice turkey across breast, arrange a few slices on bed of veg and potatoes and bathe them in gravy. Serve with cracked cranberry sauce.