Here is everything you need to know for how to roast a turkey! Making the Thanksgiving turkey recipe feels like a big deal if you’ve never made one (or if you’ve tried and failed), but roasting a turkey is like roasting a giant chicken. It’s totally doable with the right recipe and instructions. This turkey recipe is well loved by my readers (read the glowing reviews below).
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The flavored butter is incredible and inspired by Gordon Ramsay’s Christmas Turkey. This Thanksgiving turkey recipe is simple, thoroughly written, doesn’t require lengthy marinating and it can even be completely prepped and refrigerated up to 3 days in advance so all you have to do Thanksgiving day is roast the bird!
To make sure you succeed, I have a video tutorial below on how to make a juicy and flavorful turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas!
Watch How to Make the Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe:
Turkeys are not terribly expensive – this 12 pounder set me back $23 or so and that was before it went on sale pre-Thanksgiving, which they always do! Some grocery stores even throw in a free turkey with $X-amount spent on groceries. It’s an economical and beautiful way to feed a crowd for the holidays. Watch the video before you begin and you’ll be well on your way to impressing everyone at your table!
Tools You Will Need for Thanksgiving Turkey:
2 Feet of Kitchen String
Heavy duty foil
A heavy roasting pan that accommodates your bird, but isn’t over-sized
An oven-safe thermometer (to ensure a fully-cooked turkey)
Turkey baster (or a large spoon)
Keep the drippings in the pan to make this incredibly flavorful and EASY Turkey Gravy.
Here’s a super handy video for how to carve a turkey from the NY Times. Also, you’ll be amazed at how much turkey meat you can recover from a turkey carcass after everyone has picked it over. You’ll be glad you saved that leftover meat when you see these leftover turkey recipes.
⬇️ Print the Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe Below ⬇️
Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe (VIDEO)
Ingredients
Roast Turkey Recipe 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
- 1 large onion, quartered (no peeling)
- 4 garlic cloves, halved (no peeling)
- 1/2 bunch parsley
- 1 lemon, quartered
For the Flavored Butter:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, not extra virgin, 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
What you’ll need:
- Kitchen String
- Heavy duty foil
- A heavy roasting pan that accommodates your bird, but isn’t over-sized
- A temperature probe, to ensure a fully-cooked turkey
Instructions
Seasoning, Stuffing and Tying up a Turkey:
- Season inside turkey cavity generously with 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
- In a mixing bowl, 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 parsley, 1/2 Tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Mash/stir with fork until combined (lemon juice doesn’t easily blend into butter, but keep mixing a few minutes and it will happen).
- Separate skin from the turkey breast by carefully pushing your fingers under skin from the front and the back of the turkey. Do not tear the skin.
- Stuff 2/3 of the butter mix under skin then massage over the top of the skin to spread the butter around.
- Quickly pat dry the outside of turkey and rub with remaining 1/3 butter mixture. Drizzle turkey with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper for a crisp, salty skin.
- Stuff turkey with quartered lemon, 1/2 bunch parsley, quartered onion, and 4 halved garlic cloves, Tie turkey base and legs together with kitchen string; crossing the legs to better close up the turkey cavity.
How to Roast a Turkey:
Prep: Pre-heat the oven to 430˚F with rack in the lower part of your oven.
- Fold a square sheet of foil into a triangle. Rub one side of triangle with olive oil and place it (oil-side-down) over the turkey breast to shape it into a shield. Remove foil and set aside (you'll put it back on in step 3).
- Place oven-safe meat thermometer into turkey beneath the drumstick and deep into the dark meat. Start roasting at 430˚F for 20 min.
- Remove from oven; quickly baste with liquid from bottom of pan using a baster or large spoon. Re-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).
- Transfer to serving platter and cover fully but loosely with foil. Let turkey rest at least 1 hour for it to tenderize. Keep the drippings for a most amazing gravy!
Notes
*If using frozen turkey, defrost it in its original bag in refrigerator 3 days.
*Let turkey sit at room temp 30 minutes before you begin (it will bake more evenly). *Remove the neck and bag of giblets from the turkey.
*Rinse turkey under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Let turkey sit in on paper towels to soak up excess water.
*Fold wings behind/under the turkey or they will be the quickest to dry out.
*Cooking temps based on the USDA which now says the safe poultry temp is 165˚F but the deeper thigh parts really should be at 170˚ to be fully cooked through.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Yum yum!! All we need now is some cranberry sauce to go with that Thanksgiving turkey. If you have a great cranberry sauce recipe you could share, I’d love to hear about it in a comment below! 🙂
P.S. Turkey in gravy is my absolute favorite leftover turkey recipe – and it’s also well loved by my children, and parents and relatives. In other words, it’s a BIG WIN in our family :).
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
The BEST turkey recipe! The turkey is moist and tender with crispy deep brown skin. I made the gravy recipe too. Win Win! Thank you Natasha!
You’re very welcome, Ann!
Huge fan of every Natasha’s Kitchen recipe that I’ve ever tried and this one was no different. Simple to follow and was told this was the juiciest turkey they had ever had.
Aw, thanks so much for sharing, Anne! I’m
so glad this was enjoyed!
I went to prep the turkey ahead of time and part of the inside was still frozen. Can I prep the outside with the butter mixture and then in the morning prep the inside once it’s thawed?
Hi Kelly! That may work! I hope it fully thaws for you!
I brined my turkey with fresh herbs, Rosemary, thyme and sage. Is it still ok if Use the fresh herbs to roast it or would it be too much?
Hi Mary! That would be fine.
So I went ahead and prepped my turkey tonight. My fiancé had to help me separate the skin and he didn’t hear me when I told him do not let the skin rip. It did. Will it be ok to use tooth picks to keep the skin together? I don’t know what to do. Thanks.
Hi Kay, toothpicks will work. Arrange the skin the best you can so it aligns again to protect the breast from drying out.
My turkey turned out really good. Everyone loved it! Thanks again! This recipe will be the one I make every year going forward!
I’m so glad to hear that, Kay!
Can I use avocado oil instead of olive oil?
Also, do I brine the turkey and then use the juicy roast turkey recipe? or is it one or the other?
Hi Kristin, reading our reader comments I’m seeing avocado oil works well in this recipe. I hope you love it.
Natasha, am I basting this turkey only once? Thanks in advance!
Hi Ken! That’s correct. I hope you love the recipe!
Hi Natasha. I am going to try this recipe next week. I am allergic to garlic so I was going to substitute shallots instead. I am wondering if I should omit the whole onion for the inside since shallots have the flavor of both garlic and onion. Thanks!
Hi Chris! I think that would work fine.
looking for your stuffing with turkey dinner, can’t find it. Thank you,
Hi Millie! I don’t have a recipe for stuffing at the moment. Something I’m working on though.
Do you recommend using a fresh or frozen turkey? Also, if it’s frozen, how long do you need to defrost it for in the fridge?
Thank you
Hi Madeline, I address that in the recipe, I require seeing the Notes section under the instructions. I hope this helps.
I apologize if this question has been asked before, but do you have a recipe for cooking the Turkey in the instant pot?
Hi Fivi, I haven’t tried a turkey in an Instant Pot, mainly because the turkey tends to be a tad larger and harder to fit, but if you find a smaller one I bet it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Do you have a stuffing recipe? I searched under stuffing on your website and couldnt find one. I am on a quest to find a good one. If not, could you provide one in the future. Thank you.
Hello Jan, I don’t have a recipe for that yet but we get that request a lot so we’ll make sure to share if we find an awesome recipe!
Love the information about prepping Turkey. So clear in video as well as detailed instructions. I have used since first you 2019 printed I have made one change. I begin by roasting Turkey breast side down in roaster. It is not only the best tasting Turkey people have ever tasted but the most melt in your mouth tender. I love your recipes. Thankyou
Hi Michele! Thank you for your love and support. I appreciate it. So glad you loved this recipe.
So I had never roasted a turkey, mom has always been the one to cook holiday meals. This year, no special occasion but roasted a turkey today following your recipe (went with the home made stuffing). I also brined it the night before. Loved your recipe, covering with foil really helped the turkey breast not dry up. thank you for sharing your recipe and tips, loved it.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Rosie!
Is covering the turkey with a roaster lid okay, or is it better to use foil?
Hi Jen, Here’s what one of my readers wrote regarding the roasting lid: ” So delicious! My first time making turkey and it was phenomenal( 16 pounds). The turkey had amazing flavour and was so juicy! We let it rest for 1-2 hours before serving it just kept it covered and it was still warm! Instead of the foil cover we used a roasting pan with a lid. Also I didn’t have virgin olive oil so I used avocado oil” I hope this helps!
Hi Natasha. Love your cooking style. I guess using a brined turkey doesn’t change this recipe??
Hi Holly, using a brined turkey will work for this roasted turkey recipe.
I can only think that my oven temperature is of sometimes. My turkey – at least according to my digital thermometer – is always ready too early and this time was no exception. It seemed to be done 1 hour earlier than the suggested roasting time but I left it in an extra half hour just in case. The turkey was OK, nothing special and the legs were definitely overdone. I think I’ll go with spatchcock next time.
Hi Melisende, I recommend ensuring your oven is calibrated and you’re using regular bake mode and not convection mode.
Hi I’m just wondering about using the oil, I only have extra virgin olive oil and canola oil. Not sure why just regular olive oil is called for, but will canola be ok?
Thanks!
Hi Leslie, I recommend olive oil but canola oil will also work.
Hi Natasha,
So excited to try this recipe!
Does it matter if I use a convection oven or not?
P.S. I have made so many of your recipes and they are the BEST!!
Your videos are so fun to watch 🙂
Really appreciate your recipes!
Hi Johanna, we used a standard, not convection. I don’t have a convection oven to advise on temperature adjustments, but I recommend a google search or your oven’s manual.
This year it will be the fourth Thanksgiving when I am going to use this recipe! There is no reason for me to look for something better.
Thank you very much!
You are very welcome! I hope you’ll enjoy all the recipes that you will try from us.