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.
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Helpful Reader Review
“I have been making your turkey recipe for a couple of years now every Thanksgiving and Christmas. My family has gone from not looking forward to turkey to RAVING about how flavourful, delicious and moist this Turkey is!” – Jennifer ★★★★★
Juicy Roast Turkey Video
This turkey recipe is well-loved with hundreds of 5-star reviews over the years. It’s fantastic! 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.
In this video, I’ll show you how to make this turkey, step-by-step so you can feel confident making “the year’s most important dish.”
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. 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
- Turkey – this recipe is written for an 11-15 lb turkey. A larger turkey will work, but bake time will vary (see chart below). You’ll also need salt and pepper to season the turkey inside and out.
- Flavored Butter – unsalted butter, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper
- For the Turkey Stuffing – You can use my stuffing recipe, but I stuff the turkey cavity with onion, garlic, parsley, and a quartered lemon. 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 the stuffing reaches 165˚F in the center.
Don’t Forget to Thaw Your Turkey
Make sure you give yourself enough time to thaw and roast your turkey. A larger bird will take longer to thaw and roast, so plan according to the chart below.
Per the USDA guidelines, thaw your frozen turkey in the refrigerator 1 day for every 4 to 5 lbs of turkey. My 12 lb turkey took 3 days to thaw, while a 16 lb turkey would take 4 days. For a quick-thaw method, see my Spatchcock Turkey Recipe (you can defrost a 12 lb turkey in 6 hours).
How to Prepare Your Turkey for Roasting
- Defrost the Turkey – You should never cook a frozen or partially frozen turkey or it will cook unevenly. Follow the turkey thawing guide above, depending on the size of your turkey.
- 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 and set it on a roasting pan.
- 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.
- 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 170-180˚F on the temperature probe and the turkey breast at 165˚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 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. 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!
I’d love to hear what is on your Thanksgiving menu this year (scroll down to see my personal menu). And I’m so curious – do you make Turkey on Thanksgiving AND Christmas? My Mom sure does and I love it! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
Juicy Roast Turkey
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, peeled and quartered
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
- 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 then discard the paper towels. 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
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”
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
- Mashed Potatoes
- Turkey Gravy
- Cranberry Sauce
- Apple Pie
- Pumpkin Pie (or Pumpkin Cheesecake)
- Cheesecake
- Sweet Potato Salad
- Au Gratin Potatoes
- Stuffing
This made the best turkey I have ever fixed! And the gravy recipe was to die for! Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Beth! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Amazing! I’m still pretty new to cooking turkeys and have been searching for “the” recipe. I think this is it! I’m also a suckered for a salty crispy skin and this got to be the most beautiful crisp golden brown but still moist inside. Thank you so much!!!
Yay, fantastic news! I’m glad you found your new go-to recipe for cooking turkeys. Thank you for sharing that with us, Alyssa.
This is a great recipe. I never cooked or ate turkey for Thanksgiving in my country, but with this recipe my first-ever turkey received a lot of compliments! Thank you so much!
That’s awesome, Julia! I’m happy to hear that the recipe was a huge hit, good job to you too!
For the second year in a row I had a dry, flavorless bird. This was the first year I tried your recipe and I was sooo excited to get it right. I cooked my turkey in my new portable roasting pan and cooked our 14 lb bird exactly to your specifications and within just under 3 hours my bird was well over temperature. But the skin of the turkey breast wasn’t dark like I had hoped… so I stuck it on my broiler setting for about 5 minutes in my oven. Which made the skin browner but probably dried the bird out more. Not the recipe’s fault. So I figured I’d have a dried out bird because I was well over temp (over 190) before I stuck it in the broiler to brown the skin but I figured the flavor would be there. It surely wasn’t I am so disappointed in that. I followed this recipe to a T. I don’t know if I will try the recipe again.
Hi Jaimee, this recipe is not written for a portable roasting pan, but it’s good to know that it does not work well. Someone else had asked about that and your review will help others in the future. Also, broiling is risky for drying our turkey breast, especially if the temperature was already over 190. It sounds like some adjustments definitely need to be made for making this turkey in a portable roaster.
Just wanted to share that I made this roast turkey yesterday for Thanksgiving and it was a big hit! Juicy and very flavorful! It’s not the first or last recipe of yours I will be making. Love your videos. Easy to follow. Take care and God bless to you and your family.
I’m so glad this was a hit, Roy! It’s our go-to each year! Happy Thanksgiving, and God bless you and yours!
Thank you so much for this incredible recipe! I made it for this Thanksgiving, and it was the best turkey I’ve ever had and compliments all around from the whole family. The lemon parsley butter was amazing too! Actually, I only made 1/2 of the amount of your flavored butter for the 12-lb turkey, and it was enough in my experience. But we wish we had more of this butter as a side for the table, to be served with the meal! So next time, I will make more of the flavored butter, use some on the turkey as you suggest, and serve the rest!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me, Denis! I’m glad it was a hit!
First time making a turkey and this recipe was perfect. Turkey was absolutely so juicy I did however double up on the seasoned butter I put the first portion all over the turkey and I put the second portion in the pot so it could melt for my basting! Everyone loved it !
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Jackie!
okay, I’m just “piling on” here :0)
but wanted to leave a review nonetheless.
my husband made the turkey this year using this recipe (only his 3rd time ever) and the step by step instructions were so easy. the turkey came out, not only beautiful looking, but moist and delicious!
thank you for the wonderful recipe and all the tips.
this will be our family turkey recipe from now on.
I’m so glad the recipe was easy and healthy! Happy Thanksgiving!
This turkey was not only delicious, it was beautiful! It should have been on the cover a magazine! Everyone loved how moist and flavorful it was! Thank you!
Wow! That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
I have made my turkey this way the past two years. Both times it turned out AMAZING!! This will likely be how I always make them 🙂 Thank you!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Abbey! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Love your commitment to help people. I became a celebrity overninght with my friends. With absolutely no background in cooking I could roast the juiciest turkey for thanksgiving. I owe it to you, thanking the almighty for creating wonderful people like you 🙂 , I am thankful.
That’s amazing! I’m so happy you all enjoyed that, Akheel. Thank you for sharing that with us!
The juicy turkey recipe was an enormous hit for our 2021 thanksgiving meal. Everyone loved it and so I have recommended your blog to them. Thank you for making our thanksgiving do memorial!!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Sandra!
The juicy turkey recipe was so easy. My turkey was moist and tasty. I had made my turkey on Wednesday and sliced up. I had used my crock pot to reheat on Thursday. I had kept the juices and poured it over the meat. It was just perfect Thanksgiving. Thank you so much.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Cindy! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Hi Natasha, followed your recipe for Thanksgiving roasted turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, and turkey gravy. Everything was AMAZING!!! This is my new turkey recipe. I made (2)-8 pound turkey breasts in a Reynolds cooking bag, they came out moist and juicy and flavorful and the skin was perfect. I didn’t have an actual closed-in cavity to stuff so I tucked all the ingredients for stuffing the cavity under the turkey breasts and baked it. OMG, PHENOMENAL!!!! Thank you so much for sharing.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Linda!
Absolutely the best turkey recipe I’ve made! The dark meat was prefect, the breast meat was very moist and the skin was crisp & delicious! Thank you Natasha for sharing this recipe.
Thank you for that wonderful review, Shelly!
Hi Natasha, I got a turkey from Whole Foods (Young Turkey) that says soaked, Salted and rinsed. Does that mean it’s already brined? And would that mean I can salt it the exact same way you did that?
Hi Batool! I believe so. You can still follow this recipe for the herbed butter but you may not want to add any salt or it could be too salty.
We tried this recipe this year, and it was by far the best turkey we have ever cooked, and best looking as well.
Very juicy, tender and flavorful
That’s wonderful to hear, Chuck! Thanks for sharing that with us, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
This year i decided not to cook the dressing in the turkey. I followed the suggestions for the 23# bird. My entire family raved about the flavor and juicyness! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Sounds perfect! Thanks for sharing that with us, Carolyn. That makes me happy!
Omg this is best turkey recipe ever! It made our Thanksgiving GREAT! Thank you!
Sandy from northern MN
Thanks for the awesome feedback, Sandy. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
My very first successful turkey. I followed the recipe step-by-step and it turned out perfect. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Marilyn! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
This isin my oven as I type this and Holy cow my kitchen smells amazing. I’m also making your sweet potato casserole! My turkey is a 14lbr so I’m hoping It doesn’t dry out. I’m always anxious making a turkey
I can only imagine how great it smells! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review! Happy Thanksgiving!