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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. If you have a smaller group, try my Roasted Turkey Breast recipe!
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
- Green Bean Casserole
- Perfect Mashed Potatoes
- The BEST Stuffing
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Cranberry Fluff Salad
- Triple Berry Pie
- Other pie recipes
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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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below–I would love to hear your experience.
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My family is very particular about their turkey…they said this was THE BEST TURKEY! They said it was so juicy and extremely easy to make! Thanks for sharing! This will be my go-to turkey recipe from here on out!
I’ve been making this every year for 6 years now. Literally the best turkey ever 😋
This will be my third year using this recipe, and my family raves about it. The non turkey lovers have been converted because this turkey is so flavorful and moist!
This is my go to recipe since I started making my own turkey 5yrs ago! It comes out beautifully and full of flavor every time
This recipe is 🔥. I found this about 3 years ago and it never disappoints and my family are always pleased with how tender and juicy the WHOLE bird comes out! You don’t need to substitute or change anything! And the gravy that comes out of it is soooo good!
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!
I may very well be the world’s pickiest eater and granted I like turkey, this was the best Turkey I’ve ever had. I got a roaster oven to cook it so I could have the main oven free. Between that and in this recipe the meat was so tender, the flavor was divine. I am looking forward to the left overs!!! I actually used two apples. One green and one red.
I didn’t do the foil tent. Heavenly!
There was so much liquid in the center of the turkey from the lemon and apple that the turkey took many more hours than thought to cook through to a safe temperature. This turkey recipe ruined our thanksgiving, pushing our 5 PM dinner to 9 PM…
I’m so sorry your turkey didn’t cook as you anticipated. The juice inside the cavity of the turkey would not have been the problem, though. I’d calibrate your oven and make sure it’s heating correctly.
It was my first time doing turkey, as per my kinder’s request, and this recipe was a hit! Everybody was nervous that even my husband asked if we have a backup protein just in case. But this recipe didn’t dissappoint. It was so tasty and moist and no gamey taste at all, that there’s barely any left-overs. I used a 15lb Butterball and did the tent with foil at the start then let it brown during the last hour. It came out perfect! I had to tent it again once i took it out when the temp was at 160-162. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. It sure is for keeps!
I gave this recipe a try given its simplicity (no brining! no basting!) and the allure of fresh herbs. I followed it essentially verbatim and found it to be nearly without flaw. Importantly, the turkey turned out wonderfully. I have a convection oven so the timing was shorter than what was specified here. The two key elements are to loosely cover in foil after the turkey has a deep golden brown color and to accurately measure the internal temperature because that’s the truest indicator of doneness.
The drippings were more than ample for making turkey gravy. I did add a small amount of chicken stock in the pan at the start of roasting which I had seen elsewhere. I’m not sure if that helped with keeping things moist, but it couldn’t have hurt when collecting the drippings later. The resulting gravy was outstanding.
Here are the few observations I have that deviate from the recommendations:
– My 16.5 lb turkey’s internal cavity couldn’t possibly accommodate an apple, lemon, and onion no matter how it was cut. Two quarters of each were about all I could muster. Regardless, I love the idea of putting moist, fragrant things inside the turkey to infuse flavor and prevent dryness. This recipe reminded me that thyme should be a first ballot hall of fame herb.
– Making the herb butter is probably something better done the night before as it’s quite tedious to chop up all of the garlic and herbs. You won’t want to bother doing all of this in the flow of prepping your turkey. Also, one cup (two whole sticks!) of butter is flatly absurd. You’ll use, maybe if you’re ambitious, a quarter of that. There’s only so much you can get under the breast skin and coating the entire outer surface doesn’t require this kind of butter commitment. I’d also scale back on the garlic even though I’m a huge fan.
All in all, this was an excellent recipe and one in which my turkey looked almost exactly as the recipe promised. Given how easy this was, I would try this again in a heartbeat.
Made this today with green apples, onions, and lemons inside. My almost 16 lb turkey was AMAZING! Everyone said it was the best EVER! I can’t wait to make it again next year…….
I made this the first time during covid. Wanted something super easy. This was amazing! I never basted, never covered with foil etc. The skin was an amazing color and super crispy and the meat moist and yummy. I’m impressed that I didn’t mess it up. This will be going in my favs. Loved it!
It was SO good! Mine did not need to cook as long as it said, maybe the pounds include the neck? Anyway it was my first turkey and it turned out amazing! THANK YOU.
My first turkey and it came out absolutely perfect! The skin was roasted golden brown,tasty and was perfectly crispy. The inside was juicy.This may have been the best turkey I’ve ever had.
My husband doesn’t like white/breast meat because it is always too dry, but this recipe produce the best tasting turkey we have ever had, and I have never cooked a turkey before! Only thing I would say is don’t tinfoil tent it at 160, cook until 165 in the oven, and defrost it from frozen 4 days in advance for 10 pound turkey. I did 3 days and it was still frozen inside.
I’ve never cooked a turkey before, but this was very easy to do and absolutely the most flavorful and moist turkey I’ve every tasted. It was a BIG hit! Thank you for making it easy for those of us who cook very little without compromising the flavor. This turkey recipe is AMAZING!