Turkey is the star of Thanksgiving, and it’s pretty important to get it right – I have you covered with this simple, failproof, and mouthwatering Roast Turkey Recipe. This has a crisp, salty skin with a flavor-packed, juicy center. You’ll love my trick for a tender turkey breast every time.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
You don’t need to be scared to try new things in the kitchen, like the Thanksgiving turkey which is the “year’s most important dish”. You can’t go wrong by adding this roast turkey recipe to your menu. It’s fantastic.
Juicy Roast Turkey Video
In this video, I’ll show you how to make this turkey, step-by-step. Then read on to learn everything you need to know for a perfect turkey. P.S. You can even make this turkey recipe a day in advance (see make-ahead tips below) if it makes your life easier, and it will taste even better! Plus, Turkey Brine is optional here, saving you a day of prep.
Turkey Recipe
I was so excited about this juicy roast turkey recipe every step of the way, and I think you’ll feel the same way when you try it. The first turkey I ever made was such a flop that I was discouraged for a few years to revisit it. When I set out to make this turkey recipe, I was determined to ensure you had success the first time and every time you made this recipe.
I spent days researching the best turkey recipes online and in cookbooks, with trusted advice from my Mom and you, my readers. This Turkey recipe has been gracing your holiday tables since 2014! I’ve also been perfecting it over the years, and I can confidently say this tender and delicious turkey will impress your dinner guests.
The turkey breast is so juicy and flavorful, and the skin is crisp and roasts to a beautiful golden brown. I invited all of my family over to help eat this turkey and received rave reviews from 10 adults and quite a few kiddos. I was so giddy and excited when I tasted the juicy bird.
P.S. Keep the turkey drippings to make the best Turkey Gravy; it’s super delicious and will be the talk of your Thanksgiving dinner!
Roast Turkey Ingredients
- 12 lb turkey (Anything from 11-15 lbs will work, but bake time will vary – see below)
- Salt & Pepper for the inside and outside of the bird
For the Flavored Butter
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 226 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 Tbsp light olive oil (not extra virgin), or other high-heat oil, plus more to drizzle the top
- 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon), plus 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
- 3 large garlic cloves, pressed
- 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
- 1/2 Tbsp salt (I used sea salt)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
For the Turkey Stuffing
I prefer to cook turkey stuffing separately from the turkey, so I stuff my turkey with aromatics instead (which makes the gravy taste awesome), but if you do stuff the turkey with traditional stuffing, make sure it reaches 165˚F in the center.
- 1 large onion, quartered (no peeling)
- 4 garlic cloves, halved (no peeling)
- 1/2 bunch parsley
- 1 lemon, quartered
Tools You Will Need for Roasting a Turkey
- Kitchen String
- Heavy duty foil
- A heavy roasting pan that accommodates your bird, but isn’t over-sized
- Oven-safe temperature probe (to ensure a fully-cooked turkey)
To Cook a Larger Turkey:
Many of you have asked about using a larger turkey. One of my readers, Shannon, shares her experience with a 23-pound turkey (Thanks Shannon!):
“Used this recipe last night with a 23 lb turkey and it was superb!! I used 3 sticks of butter, 1 cup of parsley, kept the zest and juice of 2 lemons and quartered them for the stuffing. Kept 1 large onion peeled & largely sliced, used about 8 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced in half. Cooked at 430 for 20 min and then 350 for about 5 1/2 hours, basting occasionally. I used the tin foil hat and had to made a couple other tin foil accessories for the legs that started to scorch. Took the tin foil hat off when it had 10 min of cook time left to ensure a nice browned top. Had tons of drippings to make a delicious gravy with. Will use this recipe every year! So flavorful and yummy. Thank you”
How to Prepare Your Turkey for Roasting
- Defrost the Turkey – If using a frozen turkey, defrost it in the refrigerator. Per the USDA guidelines, thaw in the refrigerator 1 day for every 4 to 5 lbs of turkey. This 12 lb turkey would take 3 days to thaw, while a 16 lb turkey would take 4 days. For a quick-thaw method, see our Spatchcock Turkey Recipe (you can defrost a 12 lb turkey in 6 hours).
- Optional Brine Step – once the turkey is thawed, you can Brine your Turkey if you prefer (it requires 1 hour per pound), although it’s not necessary for this recipe. Also, check the turkey packaging since some turkeys are pre-brined, so you don’t need to brine again if that is the case.
- Remove turkey from fridge about 30 minutes before you start working with it. If the turkey is closer to room temperature, it will bake more evenly. *Remove the neck and bag of giblets from the turkey.
- Pat dry turkey with paper towels. Let turkey sit in over paper towels to soak up any excess water from the turkey.
- Fold the wings behind the turkey; if you don’t they are the quickest to scorch and dry out.
Seasoning, Stuffing, and Tying up a Turkey
- Season inside of turkey cavity generously with about 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
- Make the Flavored butter – In a medium bowl (it’s even easier in the bowl of a food processor), combine 2 sticks of softened butter, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest, 4 Tbsp lemon juice, and 3 pressed garlic cloves, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/2 Tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Mash/stir with a fork or process until well combined (the lemon juice doesn’t easily stir into butter, but keep mixing and it will happen after a few minutes). This mixture was adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s Christmas Turkey video and it’s wonderful. Take a whiff of it; you’ll fall in love with how fresh it smells!
- Separate the skin from the turkey breast by pushing your fingers under the skin. Do this from the front and the back of the turkey, being careful not to tear the skin.
- Stuff 2/3 of the butter mixture under skin, then spread the butter around by massaging over the top of the skin. This butter keeps the turkey breast tender and juicy and provides rich flavor.
- Pat dry the skin and rub the remaining butter over the outside of the turkey (breast, legs, wings). Drizzle all over the top of the turkey with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper; I just love a crisp, salty skin.
- Stuff the turkey cavity with a quartered onion, 4 halved garlic cloves, 1/2 bunch parsley and quartered lemon. Use kitchen string to tie the turkey base and legs together; crossing the legs to better close up the turkey cavity, plus it looks extra fancy on the table.
How to Roast a Turkey
- Prep: Pre-heat the oven to 430˚F on the bake mode. Place oven rack in the lower part of your oven (mine was on the second level from the very bottom) – this ensures that your large turkey roasts in the middle of the oven and keeps the turkey breast further from the top heating element.
- Here is a fantastic tip I picked up from Alton Brown to protect the turkey breast and keep it juicy: Fold a large square sheet of foil into a triangle. Rub one side of your triangle with olive oil and shape the foil (oil-side-down) over the turkey breast, then remove foil; it will shield your turkey breast and keep it from getting dry. You’ll apply this shield later in the roasting process.
- Insert Thermometer – Place an oven-safe meat thermometer into the bird; beneath the drumstick; deep into the dark meat. It’s ready for the oven. Start roasting uncovered at 430˚F for 20 min.
Just like that – it’s ready for the oven! Also, I love this sweet photo from 2014 when we filmed this video recipe. It’s hard to believe my son is a teenager now!
- Baste Turkey – Remove from oven; quickly baste with butter from the bottom of the dish. You can use a baster or tilt one side of the pan and collect drippings with a large spoon. Now apply prepared foil triangle to turkey breast area.
- Reduce oven to 350˚F and bake for another 2 hours 30 min for a 12 lb bird. (Once you have reduced the oven to 350˚F, you will bake about 13 min for every pound of turkey). The turkey thigh should register at 170˚F on the temperature probe and the breast at 160˚F to make sure it’s fully cooked through then remove from the oven (keep in mind the turkey temp continues to rise slightly after it’s out of the oven).
Pro Tip:
Temperature recommendations based on the USDA say the safe poultry temperature is 165˚F, but the deeper thigh parts should be at 170-180˚F to be fully cooked through.
- Rest the Turkey – Transfer turkey to a serving platter and cover loosely but fully with foil. Let turkey rest for at least 1 hour. It will become more tender and easier to carve, the longer it sits. Keep drippings from roasting pan for a most delicious turkey gravy. Decorate around your turkey and make it festive. I used kale for my greens, then added small apples, sliced oranges and quartered lemons.
Make-Ahead
- To Refrigerate: You can fully prepare your turkey a day ahead – stuff, butter it up, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the refrigerator one hour before baking the next day.
- To Freeze leftover turkey: Shred the meat and transfer it to freezer-safe zip-top bags or use a food saver to squeeze out as much air as possible, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
- To Reheat Leftovers: My secret to the best-tasting reheated turkey is our Leftover Turkey in Gravy. We make this every year on the day after Thanksgiving.
So many of you have made this roast turkey over the years, and it gives me so much joy to hear your success stories and see this turkey in photos from your Thanksgiving feasts.
Natasha’s Thanksgiving Menu
These are the classic Thanksgiving recipes that we can’t go without for our annual Thanksgiving feast. Only the best for the biggest cooking day of the year!
- Sweet Potato Casserole – my sister’s recipe
- Mashed Potatoes – buttery and ultra creamy
- Turkey Gravy – can’t miss this one!
- Cranberry Sauce – just 3 ingredients
- Apple Pie – with a flaky crust and best filling
- Pumpkin Pie (we alternate with Pumpkin Cheesecake)
- Cheesecake – always on the menu
- Sweet Potato Salad – a crowd favorite
I’d love to hear what is on your Thanksgiving menu this year in the comments below! And I’m so curious – do you make Turkey on Christmas as well? My Mom sure does! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
Juicy Roast Turkey Recipe
Ingredients
For the Turkey
- 12 lb turkey, (Anything from 11-15 lbs will work, but bake time will vary), thawed*
- Salt & Pepper, for the inside and outside of the bird
For the Flavored Butter
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened, (2 sticks)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, not extra virgin, plus more to drizzle top
- 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, from 1 large lemon, plus 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
- 3 large garlic cloves, pressed
- 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
- 1/2 Tbsp salt, I used sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
For the Stuffing
- 1 large onion, quartered (no peeling)
- 4 garlic cloves, halved (no peeling)
- 1/2 bunch parsley
- 1 lemon, quartered
Instructions
Prepping your Turkey
- Remove thawed turkey* from the fridge about 30 minutes before you start working with it. If the turkey is closer to room temperature, it will bake more evenly. Remove the neck and bag of giblets and pat dry turkey with paper towels. Let it sit in a roasting pan lined with paper towels to soak up any excess water. Fold the wings behind the turkey so they don't scorch in the oven.
Seasoning, Stuffing, and Tying up a Turkey
- Season inside of turkey cavity generously with about 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
- Make Flavored Butter – In a medium bowl or in a food processor*, combine: 2 sticks softened butter, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest, 4 Tbsp lemon juice, 3 pressed garlic cloves, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/2 Tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Mash /stir with a fork until well combined (the lemon juice doesn't easily stir into butter but keep mixing and it will happen after a few minutes).
- Separate the skin from the turkey breast by pushing your fingers under the skin. Do this from the front and the back of the turkey; being careful not to tear the skin.
- Stuff 2/3 of the butter mixture under skin then spread the butter around by massaging over the top of the skin. This butter keeps the turkey breast tender, juicy and provides rich flavor.
- Pat skin dry and rub remaining butter over the outside of the turkey (breast, legs, wings). Drizzle all over the top of the turkey with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper; I just love a crisp, salty skin.
- Stuff turkey cavity with quartered onion, 4 halved garlic cloves, 1/2 bunch parsley and quartered lemon. Use kitchen string to tie turkey base and legs together; crossing the legs to better close up the turkey cavity, plus it looks extra fancy on the table.
How to Roast a Turkey
- Prep – Pre-heat the oven to 430˚F on the bake mode. Place oven rack in the lower part of your oven (mine was on the second level from the very bottom).
- Make Foil Shield – to protect the turkey breast and keep it juicy: Fold a large square sheet of foil into a triangle. Rub one side of your triangle with olive oil and shape the foil (oil-side-down) over the turkey breast, then remove foil; it will shield your turkey breast and keep it from getting dry. You'll apply this shield later in the roasting process.
- Place an oven-safe meat thermometer into the bird; beneath the drum stick; deep into the dark meat. Start roasting uncovered at 430˚F for 20 min.
- Baste – Remove from oven; quickly baste with butter from the bottom of the dish. You can use a baster or tilt one side of the pan and collect drippings with a large spoon. Now apply prepared foil triangle to turkey breast area.
- Reduce oven to 350˚F and bake for another 2 hours 30 min for a 12 lb bird. (Once you have reduced the oven to 350˚F, you will bake about 13 min for every pound of turkey). The turkey thigh should register at 170˚F on the temperature probe and the breast at 160˚F to make sure it's fully cooked through then remove from the oven (keep in mind the turkey temp continues to rise slightly after it's out of the oven*).
- Rest Turkey – Transfer turkey to serving platter and cover loosely but fully with foil. Let turkey rest for at least 1 hour. It will become more tender and easier to carve, the longer it sits. Keep the drippings from roasting pan for turkey gravy. Now you can decorate around your turkey and make it festive. I used kale for my greens, then added small apples, sliced oranges and quartered lemons.
Notes
*A food processor makes it much easier to blend the lemon juice into t he flavored butter, saving time and effort.
*Final Temperature – As the turkey rests, it will continue to rise to a final temperature of 165˚F at the breast and 175-180˚F at the thigh.
*Nutrition label is a rough estimate – remember that most of the butter and oil will remain in the pan when the turkey is done roasting.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Great method and clear instructions, very helpful!
Thank you so much Delia for your great feedback! 🙂
This turkey was amazing!!! Great success on thanksgiving. Very grateful for this recipe. Cooked my first Thanksgiving diner for my family and they loved it!!!
That’s so great! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m happy to hear it was a great success for you 🙂
nice recipe ! I am making it ! do you add no water or wine at the bottom of the roasting pan ? I typically do that to start it steaming a bit, but was wondering if you just start it dry, maybe the butter makes it create juice so not an issue… comments appreciated!
Marie, that is exactly right, I start it dry and the butter provides plenty of moisture 😀 . Let me know how it turns out and have a great Thanksgiving!
Made this turkey today, absolutely amazing! I did season it, stuff it with the butter mixture, and inject it with a different butter mixture. I let it sit overnight in the fridge… Absolutely amazing!
Joy, I love your ideas of injecting the seasoning in to the turkey. What tool did you use? Thank you for the great review and have a great Thanksgiving!
Hi, I used this recipe to make my turkey this year. For some reason it turned out very dry and not very flavorful.
I followed the directions step by step.
Are there any suggestions you can give me that might help it turn out right next time?
Hi Lena, is there anything you may have missed in the instructions? Did you use the foil shield over the turkey after the first 20 minutes? Also, did you let it rest in foil afterwards – that makes a big difference in the tenderness of the bird if you let it rest. What size turkey did you use? Finally, did you use a thermometer to gauge when the turkey was done? I hope that helps for next time. I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!
Hi, my turkey was 13.8 lbs and I baked it for 3 hours. I did use the foil.
Do you think that I might have over baked it? I checked the temp Only after 3 hours, maybe it was done long before?
I did let it sit Inclosed for about half hour… Hope maybe you can help me out if any of these were done wrong. Lol
Do you recall what the temperature reading was after 3 hours? Not all ovens are created equal and that’s why I always use my thermometer. Ideally, you should let the turkey rest covered in foil for at least 1 hour. I can’t recall the exact science behind it, but it relaxes and becomes more tender. And don’t worry about letting it sit that long. I’ve done 2 hours and it was still plenty warm at the table. I sure hope that helps!
My first time making thanksgiving dinner. I chose this recipe after searching forever for a good one. Loved all the amazing reveiws and the fresh ingredients! Smells amazing! Hope it turns out great!! Thank you! Happy thanksgiving!!
You are welcome Christina. I hope you’ll love it! Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!
I am trying this recipe today, I won’t even lie, I’m super nervous. But I’m also super excited. The last time I made a turkey that was a hit I used a brining process (about two years ago) but I lost the recipe I used and it hasn’t been the same since. Oh, and you’re right, the butter smells amazing. I guess I should get off the internet and out of bed if we’re eating by 4! Thank you for sharing! Happy Thanksgiving all!
Daphene, thank you and happy Thanksgiving to you as well! I hope you and your family are super impressed with this turkey 😀 .
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have used it for the last 2 years on my big birds (23lb). Family & I love it. Never fails to produce a beautiful & tasty Turkey.
Happy Thanksgiving!
You’re the second person to write in saying it works well with a larger bird. Thank you so much for sharing that with me! A happy and blessed Thanksgiving to you also! 🙂
Can I substitute rosemary for the parsley? And light tasting olive oil for olive oil?
I haven’t tried with rosemary so I can’t say for sure, but I imagine it would still taste nice. Also, yes a light olive oil would work great 🙂
Our family celebrates Thanksgiving twice per year. We do a Thanksgiving in the summer, then the traditional Thanksgiving. I used this recipe for our summer Thanksgiving and it was amazing. I’m looking forward to sharing this turkey with the other side of my family tomorrow. I just know my mom will approve 😉 Thank you so much. Happy Thanksgiving!!
I hope you all love it! Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
Did you brine this turkey before the whole cooking process??
No, it is not necessary with this recipe.
I only have extra virgin olive oil…. Is it a big no-no to use it or is there a substitute?
Extra virgin is not ideal because it doesn’t tolerate high eat well and the turkey is on high heat for the first 20 minutes. You an use canola oil or even better is avocado oil if you have it.
I don’t have olive oil, but I do have extra virgin olive oil and canola oil cooking spray. Would either of these work, which one would be better to use?
That’s a tough one. What are you planning to mix into the butter spread? If all you have is extra virgin, I guess it could work. My concern with it is that it’s not really suitable for high heat cooking and the first 20 minutes are on high heat.
Used this recipe last night with a 23 pound turkey and it was superb!! I used 3 sticks of butter instead of the 2, about 1 cup of parsley, kept the zest and juice of 2 lemons and quartered them for the stuffing. Kept 1 large onion peeled & largely sliced, used about 8 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced in half. Cooked at 430 for 20 minutes and then 350 for about 5 1/2 hours, basting occasionally. I used the tin foil hat and had to made a couple other tin foil accessories for the legs that started to scorch. Took the tin foil hat off when it had 10 minutes of cook time left to ensure a nice browned top. Had tons of drippings to make a delicious gravy with. Will use this recipe every year! So flavorful and yummy. Thank you ^-^
That’s awesome!!! I didn’t think it would work for such a large bird. Thank you! Thank you so much for sharing and your details of how you modified it. I’ll be sure to update the recipe with your tip. Thanks again!!
Definitely trying this recipe! Thanks for sharing! When do you put the “shield” on?
I put the shield on after baking the first 20 minutes. So the majority of the time the turkey is in the oven, it has the shield on.
Do you think this would work for two 7 pound turkeys?
Yes I do think it would work but you will probably need to adjust the bake time to ensure they don’t over-bake. I’d definitely put a thermometer in one of them. 🙂
My turkey is 15 pounds and a half. Would this recipe still work?
Yes just adjust the bake time to the weight of the turkey per the recipe instructions 🙂
Looking forward to making this on Thursday. Other than the foil on the breast do you cover it with a lid at all
I don’t cover it besides the foil. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!
I had absolutely no interest in figuring out how to cook up a turkey carcass until reading this recipe. It sounds tasty and now I think I want to try it. Thanks for the inspiration. ( :
You are welcome Liz, I have a turkey in the oven right now 😀 .
I agree with Liz!!! Planning to buy turkey today to try this recipe!
Unless you are buying a fresh (non-frozen turkey), make sure it’s fully thawed before starting the process. It takes 3 days in the fridge or you can do it the speedy cheat method that I used just last night. If you live in a cold area (our outdoor temps are about refrigerator temps right now), you can put your turkey in a cooler, fill with cold water and put a press over it to keep the turkey submerged. I put the cooler in my cold garage. It should thaw within a day. Food safety regulations say you should change the water every half hour but I just kept it in a very cold place to prevent bacteria growth.
Natasha, isn’t it internal temperature should be registered for the tight 161 F and for the breast 181 F? Because as I know breast is closer to heat and it should have higher temperature comparing to a tight.
Yeah, I have tried to do the same trick with chicken as Dr. Brown did for his turkey, and it came out delicious. as a result I am doing the same way this time. and totally agree it becomes so juicy and skin is so crispy. I am baking similar way chicken with butter and olive oil and my favorite spices and I really love it.
One thing only that I am struggle is salt. I under salted last time. Did you put a lot of salt in the cavity?
Plus, did you use fresh turkey (not previously frozen) or thaw turkey ? So as I understand cooking time for the thaw turkey is the same as for fresh. Right?
The temperature readings that I shared came from multiple sources that I found in cookbooks and online so that is what I went with. I do add salt to the cavity and generously salt the exterior of the turkey because I love the salty skin. The cooking time is the same but be sure your turkey is fully thawed.
Here are the various temperatures and related conversion factors:
One pound = 16 ounces = 454 grams
One kilogram = 2.2206 pounds
Convert C degrees to F degrees:
C Degrees X 1.8 + 32 = F Degrees.
Baking time for a turkey is equal to one-half hour per Kilogram. of the bird when thawed completely.
Resting time for a roasted turkey should be equal to the time that it took to bake it.
Further to my earlier comment about roasting the turkey, Natasha is correct: After the bird has been buttered and stuffed, put the bird into an oven pre-heated to 428 Degrees F, for 10-20 minutes. Then pull out and cover the bird with smokey/Maple Bacon, and put back into oven. Reduce the heat to 180 degrees C or 356 degrees F.
I found that a frozen 6.58 Kilo bird will take about 7-8 hours to thaw completely in cold water in a sink. Roasting time will be about 2.8 – 3 hours, depending on your location altitude and the quality of your oven.
DR
Love your juicy turkey recipe!! Will it still work for a 19 lb turkey???
Hi Tricia. Thank you! I think it’s best if it’s 15 lbs or less. With a 19lb turkey, you’d probably be better off with a brining recipe to ensure that the turkey is flavorful, or if you want to try this one, let it sit in the fridge longer with the flavored butter to let it “marinate.” Of course you will have to bake it longer.