The BEST Thanksgiving Turkey recipe that packs all of the flavor and juiciness you expect from the perfect Thanksgiving turkey, with none of the stress! Plus a step by step tutorial for how to cook the perfect turkey.
Not only is this roasted turkey recipe fool-proof and easy to make, it will exceed expectations as the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving feast!
Thanksgiving Turkey
Why in the world do people stress so much over their Thanksgiving Turkey? Ok, I guess it IS the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving meal. And that usually means you have a table full of people not to disappoint. Ok, I get it. It's a big deal.
My hope is to squash any fears or insecurities you might have about cooking a perfect, beautiful Thanksgiving Turkey. This method is completely fuss-free and EASY. There’s no brining or basting the turkey, no cooking it upside down, or anything weird.
You don't even need an expensive roasting pan. I'm convinced that this recipe is not only the simplest way to cook a Thanksgiving turkey, it also yields a gorgeous, super juicy, perfectly cooked turkey.
The real KEY to baking a perfect Thanksgiving Turkey is not to overcook it–that's what dries out the meat, and you want to carve into a juicy, moist turkey on Thanksgiving! So, just plan ahead to get the timing right.
Let’s go ahead and go over the basics– the do’s, and the don'ts– for How to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey:
What size turkey to buy for Thanksgiving dinner:
First things first: Buy about 1.5 pounds of turkey per person. (So if you're feeding 6 people, buy at least a 10 lb. turkey). That way you'll have leftovers.
How to thaw your turkey:
Make sure and allow plenty of time for your turkey to thaw! A good rule of thumb is to allow one day in the fridge for ever 5 pounds of turkey. I always give myself one extra day, just to be safe. Set the turkey on a cookie sheet or pan, to catch any liquid the turkey may drip as it defrosts in the fridge.
Don’t wash the turkey.
If you wash your turkey in your sink you will just contaminate your sink. Remove the turkey from it’s packaging, dry it off with some paper towels, and then prepare it for the oven. Any bacteria on the turkey will be killed in the hot oven while it bakes.
Don’t brine the turkey.
If you buy a high-quality turkey from the store (like Butterball or Norbest), then brining the turkey is an unnecessary step. You can do it if you want, but you can still achieve a deliciously moist turkey without brining it. However, if the turkey is wild, you should brine it the night before to make sure it will be moist and flavorful.
Don’t baste the turkey.
Basting is really unnecessary to produce a beautiful golden brown turkey. It also requires you to constantly open the oven, which causes the oven to loose heat and the turkey to take longer to cook–which could lead to a dry turkey. By smearing an herb butter mixture over the outer and inner skin of the turkey you will ensure the skin will brown beautifully, and taste amazing.
Don’t cook stuffing inside the turkey.
If you try to put stuffing/dressing inside the cavity of the bird, the turkey will be overcooked by the time the stuffing reaches a temperature that’s safe to eat. Instead, cook your stuffing in a casserole dish. Then you can fill the cavity of the turkey with things that will give it flavor (and add flavor to the drippings/stock): salt and pepper and any mixture of onion, apple, carrots, celery, or citrus.
Do test the turkey with a thermometer.
The only way to really tell if the turkey is cooked (165 degrees F), is by using a thermometer (I love this one). Test the turkey right from the oven—if it reaches 160 degrees F, I take it out and tent it with foil. It will continue to cook inside the foil tent to make up that extra 5 degrees.
Do let the turkey rest.
After removing the turkey from the oven, let it rest for at least 15 minutes, or up to 40 minutes (that gives you some extra time if you need to bake or warm anything else in the oven). If you’re using the drippings for gravy, remove the turkey from its pan, to a cutting board and tent it with foil while it rests there. If you’re not using the drippings, then just leave the turkey in the pan and tent with foil.
You don't need an expensive roasting pan.
If you have a big metal roasting pan, great! If you don't, no worries. Just use a casserole dish big enough to fit the bird, or buy a $1 disposable foil roasting pan from Walmart (then you can throw it away after). Place a bunch of chopped veggies on the bottom of your pan. The veggies will act like the wire rack in a regular roasting pan by elevating the turkey slightly. Place the turkey right on top of the chopped veggies.
Do save the turkey drippings.
After the turkey is finished cooking there will be juice and browned cooked bits at the bottom of your roasting pan. You can reserve all of it for making turkey gravy. You can also use the leftover neck and giblets you pull from the turkey when you remove it from the packaging, to make giblet gravy. The most flavorful gravy! Your grandma would be proud 😉
How to prepare a simple roasted Thanksgiving turkey:
First, remove the thawed turkey from it's packaging. Remove the neck (usually found in the large cavity of the bird) and the bag of giblets (sometimes found in the smaller neck cavity of the bird). Discard them, or save them for gravy. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.
Next, season the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper. Stuff it with the quartered lemon, onion, apple and herbs.
Tuck the wings of the turkey underneath the turkey and set the turkey on a roasting rack inside a roasting pan (or on top of a bed of chopped veggies —carrots, onion and celery work well—in a disposable roasting pan). Tucking the wings prevents them from burning, and helps the turkey sit flatter.
Use your fingers to loosen and lift the skin above the breasts (on the top of the turkey) and smooth a few tablespoons of the herb butter underneath. Use some twine to tie the turkey legs together. Then slather the outside turkey in the rest of the herb butter. That's it! You are ready to let your oven do the rest of the work!
You will want to check the turkey about half way through cooking. Use your oven light to see if the skin is golden, and then place a large piece of tinfoil over the breast meat of the turkey to help keep it from overcooking.
Whether this is your first time cooking a turkey, or you just decided to give this method I try, I would love to hear from you! Rate the recipe and comment below with your experience.
Consider Serving this With:
- Best Homemade Rolls
- Broccoli Casserole
- Perfect Mashed Potatoes
- Sausage Cranberry Pecan Stuffing
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Cranberry Fluff Salad
- Apple Cranberry Fruit Salad
- Triple Berry Pie
- Other pie recipes
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Recipe
Easy, No Fuss Thanksgiving Turkey
Ingredients
- 1 12-20 pound turkey*
- 1 onion , peeled and quartered
- 1 lemon , quartered
- 1 apple (your favorite kind), quartered
- .75 ounce container fresh rosemary*
- .75 ounce container fresh thyme*
- .75 ounce container fresh sage*
For the herb butter:
- 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6-8 cloves garlic , minced
- fresh chopped herbs
Instructions
- If the turkey is frozen: Thaw in the fridge, 24 hours for every 5 pounds of Turkey. I like to give myself 1 extra day, just to be safe.
- Remove the thawed turkey from the fridge 1 hour before roasting, to let it come to room temperature.
- Adjust your oven rack so the turkey will sit in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Make the herb butter by combining room temperature butter, minced garlic, salt, pepper, one tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary, one tablespoon fresh chopped thyme, and half a tablespoon of fresh chopped sage. (You’ll use the remaining fresh herbs for stuffing inside the cavity of the turkey)
- Remove turkey from packaging and remove the neck and giblets from the inside the cavities of the bird. (Reserve them for gravy, if you want, or discard them). Pat the turkey very dry with paper towels.
- Season the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper. Stuff it with the quartered lemon, onion and apple and leftover herbs.
- Use your fingers to loosen and lift the skin above the breasts (on the top of the turkey) and smooth a few tablespoons of the herb butter underneath.
- Tuck the wings of the turkey underneath the turkey and set the turkey on a roasting rack inside a roasting pan*.
- Microwave the remaining herb butter mixture for 30 seconds (it doesn’t need to be completely melted--just really softened). Use a basting brush to brush the remaining herb butter all over the outside of the turkey, legs and wings.
- Roast at 325 degrees F for about 13-15 minutes per pound, or until internal temperature (inserted on middle of thigh and breast) reaches about 165 degrees. I tent it with foil and let it rest on the counter then move it to a large cutting board inside a sheet pan to catch any extra turkey juices while carving.
- ***Check the turkey about halfway through cooking, and once the skin gets golden brown, cover the top of the turkey with tinfoil, to protect the breast meat from overcooking. Alternately, you could start cooking the turkey with it tented in foil, then during the last hour or so of cooking you can take the foil off to let the turkey brown.
- Allow turkey to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving. https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/how-to-carve-a-turkey/
- Reserve any drippings and juice remaining in your roasting pan to make turkey gravy.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below–I would love to hear your experience.
*This post contains affiliate links. I love sharing my favorite products with you!
This post contains affiliate links.
This will be my 3rd time making turkey for Thanksgiving!! This is my go-to recipe. I follow the exact recipe. No changes needed. Turkey is always juicy, tender, and flavorful!!
SO good – the BEST Thanksgiving turkey. Guests were raving about the smell as it cooked (and the taste when it was time to eat!).
Delicious! I was looking for an easy turkey recipe as the last time I made turkey, it came out awful. This recipe was super easy and the turkey came out juicy & flavorful! Thank you for your easy, detailed instructions as well as your video. This is my new go-to Thanksgiving turkey recipe!
Can I get the turkey ready the night before (follow all the steps up until cooking the turkey) and then cook it in the morning?
Yes, but don’t let it come to room temp when you prep it, and make sure to pat the skin as dry as you can. The butter will need to be pretty soft to get it to stick to the colder turkey skin. Allow it rest on the counter for at least an hour the morning of cooking.
If you prep the turkey the night before how do you store it in the fridge?
You’ll have to make sure you can fit it in the fridge- I prep mine ahead and put it in a smaller disposable pan so that it will fit better in the fridge and then Thanksgiving morning I move it to my larger roasting pan that I bake it in.
Hi! Everyone is telling me to season the turkey today for tomorrow. Is it fine to make the herb butter today and prep the turkey today, only put it in the oven tomorrow?
Yes, but when prepping, don’t let the turkey come to room temp, pat it as dry as you can since it is cold, and really soften the butter so you can get it to stick to the colder skin. Then the morning of cooking, let it sit at room temp for an hour or so before roasting.
I use this every year! Love how easy the directions are to follow and it honestly yields a great turkey! Thank you for literally simplifying the Thanksgiving chaos for me, every year!
Thank you so much Jen! I’m so happy it has been helpful! Happy Thanksgiving! <3
Looking forward to making my first turkey. Would it be okay to prep inside of the the turkey the day before? Then add the herb butter while the bird is sitting out for the hour prior to cooking?
Yes, sure!
I have a 19.5 pound turkey – how long do you recommend cooking it? And which side of the bird should be facing up when it is put in the oven? Thanks!! Excited to try this recipe!!
Hi Jennifer, all of those details are in the recipe and the post. You don’t ever flip the bird–it’s always breast-side up. It cooks for about 13-15 min per pound (until it reaches 165 degrees F).
ok – my apologies, I re-read it, but must have missed it. Thank you!
Can it be placed in an oven bag instead of foil? If so does this affect the cook time?
Yes, you can, but the skin wont get as crisp.
Hey there! So excited to try your recipe but I have one question. I’m a little confused because in your recipe you say 13-15min per pound cooking at 325 but you told Kristin who is roasting a 26lb turkey to bake it for 4.5-5hours but if I’m calculations are correct she would need to roast it around 6hours give or take according to your recipe?
I’m asking because I have a 22lb turkey and when I did the math that would be around the 5hour mark but if a 26lb turkey is going to roast in a shorter amount of time, then I need to rethink my start time on Thanksgiving.
I’d suggest Kristen checks hers around the 4.5-5 hr mark. I’d suggest you check yours for the first time around the 4 hour mark. It likely wont be done yet, but every oven is a little different, and I’d hate for anyone to overcook it. You can always put it in for longer.
Ok thank you 👍🏻
I make this turkey every year. Always works out great! I have an issue this year though, I’ll be making it the night before and reheating it in the morning to take on a trip a town over as that house does not have a working oven. Any ideas to keep it moist and reheat properly?
Thank you as always!
Hi there!
I made this recipe last year and it was so great! I bought a fresh turkey this year though. I saw the comment below that brining a fresh turkey ahead of time is a good option. I was planning to dry brine my turkey a couple days ahead of time. Should I do this in addition to the herb butter portion of your recipe, or use the herb butter as the brine a couple days ahead of time?
Thank you so much!
This will be the 3rd year making this Turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas. My family and in-laws love it and it comes out golden and crispy every time! Every 45-60 minutes or so I pull the turkey out, baste it with more herb butter. There will be a revolt if I don’t make the turkey for the holidays.