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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!
First time cooking a turkey and I used this recipe. Usually my mom cooks Thanksgiving Day but this year was different. Every member of my family told me that it was the best turkey they had ever had. I have to say… I was impressed!
I moved to Texas 8 months ago, and for the first time in my 35 years was responsible for making our Thanksgiving turkey. Prior to this year, I had ALWAYS had Thanksgiving dinner with my grandparents who always insisted on cooking the main courses. For 35 years, I’ve eaten dried out, flavorless turkey (thank goodness my family is old school and doesn’t go searching for recipes online!), so I’ve never really been a fan of the meat and only eat it that once a year.
So this year, I’m searching online for recipes because SURELY something has to exist that looks and tastes better than the stuff I’ve been eating, and I came across this recipe. It looked absolutely amazing, and I figured if I could produce a turkey that looked half as good as the one here it was bound to taste better.
I followed this recipe (almost) to the letter. I was rushing while making a bunch of different things and forgot to melt the butter before spreading it over the top (I didn’t even read that part to be honest!), so I ended up just spreading it all in more of a thick paste with my hands. It came out absolutely amazing, and was a HUGE hit with my boyfriends family and my children who all said they haven’t tasted a turkey this good before. I was so proud of it!
This recipe was so amazing Im making another turkey for my family tonight! Thank you for this amazing recipe!!
This recipe was a A+!!! Will definitely make again! It is so simple to make and tasted outstanding! I usually prepare my turkeys with wine and a cheesecloth but wanted to try something different! I will be making this recipe again!
Best turkey I have ever cooked….and I have been toasting turkeys for more than 50 years!! I have always brined my turkey, washed it, and basted it. Yes, all the things you say DON’T DO. I did use a cooking bag because I had just cleaned my oven. The turkey was very moist, gravy was delicious and not salty. I used all of the drippings and did not have to open a can of broth. Thank you. It just goes to show, no matter our age, we can still learn something new..Peggy, age 74.
I used this recipe when roasting my first turkey this past Thanksgiving. Usually my mom/aunts cook the turkey for big holiday meals, but we all stayed home this year so I (terrifyingly) decided to make my first turkey. Your step-by-step directions, videos, and tips were so helpful! My son and fiance went wild for the turkey, it was moist, flavorful, and perfect!! Thank you so much!
Delicious! I followed the directions exactly. The whole family loved it! My extremely picky 10 yr old son couldn’t get enough. Thank you!
Hi! Lauren – Last Christmas I roasted my first ever turkey using your recipe. Strange? Not really – I live in Malaysia. It’s not part of my cultural celebrations BUT with this on-going pandemic, we decided to roast a turkey to celebrate being alive and to give thanks for the year. Anyways, followed ALL your instructions (the frozen turkey was from the U.S.A so defrosting was a fun step too), even made the giblet based gravy. Everything turned out fantastic, turkey was perfect, gravy delicious (roast potatoes, veg). Thank you so much for the recipe. I searched through the internet and thought yours was clear and straightforward. We had so much fun, took lots of photographs. We will always remember our home-made roast turkey dinner of Christmas 2020.
What a sweet story. Amazing how food brings people togehter – even across continents!
I was excited to try this but hit bumps along the way. I couldn’t get the skin separated to place the butter under the skin. Even my strapping son couldn’t separate it. The turkey was just under 13 pounds. I thawed it for 4 days and I placed the veggies inside and cooked it for 3.25 hours. The timer popped up , I checked the meat thermometer, all was good. Removed it to the platter to rest and after 5 mins, the platter was full of pinkish-red juice. I checked inside the bird, the vegetables were not soft and there was a pool of the same pink juice. I had removed the neck from the cavity easily and it was thawed. I don’t know what happened. I popped it back in the oven and had to put everything else on hold. Not the “easy” delicious turkey I was anticipating. So disappointed.
Hi Pat I’m sorry this happened, but you really need to properly check the turkey with a thermometer in several places (both sides thighs, legs, and breasts). Use the thermometer as your guide for when to take it out of the oven. If he vegetables were not even soft after 3.25 hours in the oven, then I’d most definitely get your oven calibrated as well to make sure it’s cooking at that temperature.
I only used herbs and whole garlic cloves, I just used this recipe for the timing and cooking instructions. No lie, I ate most of the perfectly browned skin before my husband even saw the bird. Definitely perfected the turkey time and temp with this recipe! Thank you! 15 min times 15 pounds at 325 was delicious!
Unbelievably tasty and easy! I’ve been frying turkeys for almost 30 years. We had an extra turkey from Thanksgiving and decided trying to roast it. This recipe did NOT disappoint!