Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Blackened Turkey Breast: Nutrition & Labelgrade C+ (67/100)

The short answer

Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Blackened Turkey Breast delivers 9g of protein for 59.9 calories in a 2 oz (56g) serving — lean, low-fat sandwich meat with no sugar and no saturated fat. As a macro play it’s hard to fault: roughly two thin slices give you 9g of protein at 6.7 calories per gram of protein, in the same ballpark as plain chicken breast. It earns a C+ (67/100). The macros aren’t what hold it back — sodium and the additive list are, and both are baked into what deli meat is.

Why the C+

The fiber “F” is structural — no sliced turkey has fiber, and the formula doesn’t pretend otherwise. The two grades that actually cost it a letter are sodium and ingredient quality, and they’re worth taking seriously rather than waving off.

The sodium math is the whole story

560mg in a 60-calorie serving is a lot of salt for very little food. To put it in body terms: that single 2 oz portion is about 24% of a full day’s sodium (2,300mg) before you’ve eaten anything else. The catch is that nobody eats one serving on a sandwich. One serving is roughly two thin slices; a normal sandwich runs three to four. Stack four slices and you’re near 1,100mg of sodium from the turkey alone — then add bread (another ~200–400mg), a slice of cheese (~180mg), and a swipe of mustard or pickles, and a single sandwich can clear half your daily sodium.

That’s not a reason to avoid it — it’s a reason to budget for it. If this is your everyday sandwich protein, the easy fix is to dial back salt everywhere else that day (skip the chips, lighter cheese) rather than swearing off the turkey.

”Lean” and “processed” are both true here

This is the honest tension in the product. On one hand, the macros are clean: 9g protein, 1.5g fat, 0g sat fat, 0g sugar. On the other, the ingredient line is 26 items long and tells you exactly why the grade is a C, not a B+:

• Sodium phosphates — a moisture-retention and texture additive (and a second source of sodium beyond the salt).
• Cultured celery juice + cultured dextrose — a “natural” nitrite source. This is the tell that the turkey is cured, the same preservation role sodium nitrite plays in conventional deli meat. Marketed cleaner; chemically similar.
• Carrageenan, modified cornstarch, caramel color, oleoresin paprika — binders, fillers, and color to hold the slice together and give the “blackened” edge its look.

None of this is alarming in a normal diet, but it’s the difference between whole roasted turkey breast you carved yourself and a formulated deli product. The blackened seasoning blend (garlic, oregano, thyme, cayenne, black and white pepper) is the genuinely nice part — it’s a real spice coating, not just flavoring, and it’s what you’re paying the premium for over plain oven-roasted slices.

How it stacks up as a sandwich protein

Against its shelf neighbors, this is the leanest-but-lightest of the three. Boar’s Head Turkey Breast carries the most protein per serving at 13g, and Hillshire Farm Ultra Thin Oven Roasted sits at 10g — both edge out the 9g here on raw protein. Where Oscar Mayer competes is flavor (the blackened coating) and the convenience of a sealed, ready-to-stack pack. If your priority is maximum protein per slice, Boar’s Head wins; if it’s a seasoned, no-prep weekday sandwich, this earns its spot.

Who it’s for

A fine, genuinely lean grab-and-go protein for quick sandwiches, wraps, and lunchboxes — the kind of thing that makes a 30g-protein lunch a two-minute job. The macros do their part; just go in clear-eyed that it’s a cured, processed meat and that the sodium is real. The shopper who should think twice is anyone on a low-sodium plan (blood pressure, heart) — for them, a lower-sodium roasted turkey or home-cooked chicken breast is the better default.

Ingredients

Turkey breast, water, cultured dextrose, modified cornstarch, salt, sugar, vinegar, cultured celery juice, sodium phosphates, carrageenan, cherry powder, lemon juice solids, and a blackened seasoning coating (garlic, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, oregano, thyme, white pepper, dried parsley, dried basil, salt, cayenne pepper, red bell peppers, caramel color, oleoresin paprika). (Verbatim list from the USDA Branded Foods entry, FDC 1592874, shown below.)

TURKEY BREAST, WATER, CULTURED DEXTROSE*, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, SALT, SUGAR, VINEGAR*, CULTURED CELERY JUICE*, SODIUM PHOSPHATES, CARRAGEENAN, CHERRY POWDER, LEMON JUICE SOLIDS, COATED WITH SEASONINGS (GARLIC, ONION POWDER, GARLIC POWDER, BLACK PEPPER, OREGANO, THYME, WHITE PEPPER, DRIED PARSLEY, DRIED BASIL), SALT, CAYENNE PEPPER, RED BELL PEPPERS, CARAMEL COLOR, OLEORESIN PAPRIKA.

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Scope: This page applies specifically to Oscar Mayer, Deli Fresh, Blackened Turkey Breast · UPC 044700079201. Other sizes, flavors, or formulations may differ.