This Oven Roasted Turkey is perfect for Thanksgiving or any other celebration! It has perfectly crispy skin on the outside and soft, juicy meat on the inside, and is actually pretty easy to make too. If you’ve always been intimidated by the idea of cooking a whole turkey when you’re hosting, this is the recipe to turn to get through it easily!
Holidays are super special in my household. I love going all out and cooking up a storm, and this Thanksgiving turkey is my absolute favorite. I usually team it up with my cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, Dr. Pepper Glazed Ham (Crock Pot and Oven) and some butter garlic carrots on the side to put together the ultimate Thanksgiving feast.
Truth be told, I make this more often than just over the holidays. That way, I get to use the leftovers to make my leftover turkey stuffing muffins and leftover stuffing patties.
Why You’ll Love This Oven Roasted Turkey Recipe
- Perfect for holidays: This versatile turkey is great for the holidays. Make it as a Thanksgiving turkey or a Christmas turkey! No matter when, it's sure to be a total crowd pleaser.
- Simple and easy: If you’re making a whole roasted turkey for the first time, this easy recipe is perfect. The instructions are super easy to follow, and it is really hard to mess it up. Be sure to check the Tips and FAQ section!
- Customizable: You can choose and tweak the seasonings and herbs of your choice to adjust the roast turkey to your liking.
Ingredients
For the Turkey
- Turkey: I used a whole, thawed turkey here, around 10-12 pounds.
- Aromatics: I used onions, garlic and celery here. You could use what you have at hand.
- Butter: To lend some moisture to the turkey and to help the skin crisp up nicely. Olive oil on turkey also works well if you want a dairy-free option.
- Herbs: Use your favorite dried herbs. Thyme, rosemary and sage are all great choices.
- Seasonings: To season, I just used some garlic powder, crushed black pepper and sea salt.
For the Gravy
- Turkey drippings: For all that savory flavor and deliciousness.
- Chicken broth: To adjust the consistency of the gravy.
- Butter: For rich flavors.
- Flour: To thicken the gravy. I used all-purpose flour, but you could use cornstarch or gluten-free flour too, if you want to make a gluten-free version.
- Seasonings: Just a dash of salt and pepper.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Make it lemony: Bake the turkey with some fresh lemon slices and add some lemon zest into the butter mixture to bring some citrusy flavor to the dish.
- Spice it up: Add a dash of cayenne pepper along with the other seasonings if you want to bring a bit of spicy flavor to the roasted turkey.
How to Make Oven Roasted Turkey
Prep by greasing your oven rack with cooking spray to keep the turkey from sticking to it and position it on the bottom third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and get your pan ready too.
- Step 1: Season the turkey. Discard the turkey giblets or reserve it for another recipe. Once the turkey is washed and dry, season the inside cavities and the outside with salt and pepper.
- Step 2: Stuff and close. In the empty large cavity, stuff the onions, celery, garlic and your choice of herbs. Use a metal skewer to close it up, so that they don’t fall out while they’re in the oven.
Step 3: Prepare flavored butter. In a small bowl, combine butter, garlic powder and dried rosemary.
Step 4: Rub and bake. Use a spoon or a basting brush to rub the herbed butter all over the turkey skin. Bake the turkey in the preheated oven for 15 minutes for every pound of turkey. Baste several times while cooking.
Step 5: Rest. Allow the cooked turkey to rest for at least 30 minutes or more before you begin carving. This helps the juices redistribute, and you’ll get the perfectly juicy meat instead of all the juices ending up on the board.
Step 6: Carve and serve. Carve the turkey, starting from the top, downwards on an angle, and reserve the drippings for the gravy.
Step 7: Prepare the roux. Heat butter in a saucepan, and add in the flour. Stir well and cook for a few minutes over medium heat, until light brown.
Step 8: Add drippings and broth. Now add the drippings and chicken broth and stir continuously until the mixture thickens. Bring to a boil, season, and remove from heat. Serve with your oven roasted turkey.
Storage Directions
- Storing: You can store your leftover roasted turkey for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Just make sure you use an airtight container for storage, and store the turkey within 2 hours of being cooked.
- Reheating: You can use your microwave or oven to reheat the turkey. It works great either way. If heating in the oven, add the turkey to a dish and add some broth. Cook covered at 350° F for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Adding some broth and covering will keep it moist as it reheats.
- Freezing: You can also choose to freeze your leftovers if you want to. They can stay good for up to 3 months. Just make sure you use a freezer-safe container to prevent freezer burn, and label the container with the date of storage. I like to portion out the leftovers to use them in different recipes, especially my favorite leftover turkey cranberry sliders.
Serving Suggestions
This oven roasted whole turkey is an easy Thanksgiving dinner for sure! Serve it with some crispy baby potatoes, roasted carrots and potatoes, or my favorite carrots lyonnaise.
I also love making my cranberry jalapeno jam to go with it all. Finish it up with some delicious homemade pumpkin praline pie or some cranberry sauce muffins.
You could also make it for Christmas and serve it with a side of mashed potatoes, some green beans, turkey stuffing and some dinner rolls.
Recipe Tips
- Cover up: To keep certain areas (like the breasts) from browning and overcooking, cover them up with foil.
- Start right: Once your turkey has completely thawed, get it out for about an hour and allow it to come closer to room temperature before you begin cooking it.
- Pat dry: Clean and pat dry the turkey before you start seasoning it. This will help the butter mixture cling to the skin nicely, and will help it get crispy too.
- Baste well: Basting is an important part of making roasted turkey in oven. Do it at least once every 40 minutes during the entire cooking time.
- Check internal temperature: Use a meat thermometer to check for the doneness of the turkey. If you don’t have one, pierce the breast with a knife. If the juices run clear, the turkey is cooked and ready to be served.
Recipe FAQs
The best way to thaw your frozen turkey is to leave it in the refrigerator for 24 hours for every 4-5 pounds of turkey. If you have a larger turkey that is around 10-12 pounds, it should take 2-3 days to completely defrost.
You can use either butter or olive oil for this recipe. I used butter, but you could get a perfectly moist and juicy turkey even if you used olive oil. Just remember to baste it well to get that nice and crispy skin.
To make the turkey skin extra crispy, I would recommend basting it with olive oil instead of butter.
Yes, you can definitely spray Pam cooking spray on the turkey instead of using olive oil or butter. It can work wonderfully in getting that crispiness on the skin.
Carving the turkey is easy! You need to do it just as you would carve a chicken. Place it breast side up, begin with the wings and then carve the thighs legs and breast meat. Reserve the carcass to make some delicious leftover turkey carcass soup.
Roastinng a Turkey Video
More Turkey Recipes
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
The Best Oven Roasted Turkey
Equipment
- turkey pan
Ingredients
- 1 10-12 pound whole turkey thawed
- 1 medium onion quartered
- 3 stalks celery halved
- 5 cloves garlic
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature or olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons rosemary sage or thyme, dried
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- fresh parsley & cranberries, to garnish, if desired
Homemade Turkey Gravy (Makes 3 ½ cups)
- 1 cup turkey drippings
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup flour
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Position your oven rack in the bottom third of your oven.
- Prepare your roasting pan and rack. Spray the rack with cooking spray to help the turkey not stick to it. If you are not using a rack just spray the inside of your pan but I highly recommend using a rack underneath your turkey for the best results.
- Rinse thawed turkey inside and out with water. If you see some turkey feathers pull them out! Use paper towels to pat the entire turkey dry. Coat the inside of the large and smaller cavity with sprinkles of salt and pepper and rub it in. Place in a roasting dish or shallow baking dish. Tie the legs together with butcher twine (optional) and tuck the wings underneath the bird for roasting.
- In the large empty bird cavity, place in the celery sticks with leaves, garlic cloves and quartered onion. Sometimes I add a few sprigs of fresh thyme, rosemary, parsley or sage into the large or small cavity and cover the opening with the extra turkey skin. If you are using dried spices add a tablespoon or so of your favorite. Use a metal skewer to close it up completely.
- In a small bowl, mix the butter, garlic powder and dried rosemary together. Mix until well combined.
- Rub the herbed butter evenly over the turkey skin. You can use olive oil instead of butter to coat your turkey but I prefer using butter. Sprinkle turkey with salt and pepper.
- Bake in the preheated oven for roughly 15 minutes per pound or until the turkey reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Baste outside of turkey every 45 minutes using a brush with juices from the pan. Basting is not required but it helps make the skin crispier.
- When your turkey close to done, check the turkey's temperature in a few places where the meat is thickest. The meat should be at least 160 degrees in all places you check before you remove it from the oven. If not cook another 20 minutes and check again. If you don't have a meat thermometer pierce the breast with a knife. Our bird was done roughly around 2 hours. If your bird is browning too fast, please tent with a piece of foil.
- Once the turkey is cooked and you remove it from your oven, place it on a large, suitably sized cutting board and loosely cover or tent it with foil. Let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes before slicing. Make sure the turkey is breast side up before you carve it. Carving a turkey is just like carving a big chicken. Remove the wings first, then thighs, legs and breast meat. Slice, starting from the top of the turkey downwards, on an angle, through the breast. Keep slicing until you get to the bones. This will get a bit messy.
- Serve with our favorite turkey gravy recipe. The drippings in the pan, left behind after you remove the turkey, is perfect to make homemade gravy! Make the gravy while the turkey is resting, covered in tinfoil, on your cutting board.
Homemade Turkey Gravy
- Remove drippings from the bottom of your turkey roasting plan. Let it rest for 10 minutes to allow the fat to rise to the top. Using a spoon, gently spoon off the fat from the top.
- In a medium saucepan, add the butter. Stir until melted. Add the flour to the melted butter. Stir constantly to make a roux. Cook for about 1 minute until lightly brown, stirring occasionally.
- Add the turkey drippings and broth to the roux. Turn the temperature to high and bring to a boil.
- Once the gravy reaches a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until thickened. Serve warm.
- Serve your turkey with mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and any other side dish you desire!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally posted in October 2016. It has been updated with new content and images.
Barrington says
I made the gravy today and I have to say, it was incredible. It makes more than enough to support a 6kg turkey. I strongly recommend this recipe.
Karin and Ken says
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! It means the world to me. Thank you for your kind words! We’ve been making this turkey for such a long time. You made my day. All the best. Karin
Sasha says
My mom and grandmother made the Turkey this year and they did and excellent job. We got the recipe on Kitchen Divas. Thank you Karin and Ken For making our thanksgiving turkey great. We will be using your recipe next year too. Thx KD
Karin and Ken says
I’m so happy to hear you all enjoyed this Turkey recipe. You made my day! Hopefully you find some other recipes on this site that you enjoy just as much. All the best. Karin
Mel says
WE LOVED THIS EASY RECIPE. OUR TURKEY TURNED OUT GREAT THANKS TO YOU. ILL NEVER STUFF A TURKEY AGAIN. LOVED HOW QUICKLY OUR TURKEY COOKED AND THE SIDE DISH FULL OF STUFFING WORKED OUT SO MUCH BETTER. IT TASTED GREAT AND I WASNT EXHAUSTED FROM DOING TURKEY DUTY THROUGHOUT DINNER. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR SHARING THIS. ❤️
Karin and Ken says
I feel the exact same way. Glad you agree! My son always says work smarter not harder and I wish I started cooking unstuffed turkey years ago. Take care and all the best. Karin