How long to cook a turkey: roasting times, thawing and safe temperatures

At 325 °F (163 °C), a whole unstuffed turkey takes roughly 3 to 3¾ hours for a 12 to 14 lb (5.4 to 6.4 kg) bird, and a stuffed one 3½ to 4 hours. Those are estimates from the USDA roasting chart. The turkey is actually done when a food thermometer reads 165 °F (74 °C) in the thickest parts, so treat the time as a plan and the thermometer as the answer. The turkey roasting calculator gives the time range, thawing time and a timeline back from when you want to eat.

Roasting times by weight

The USDA chart assumes a fully thawed bird roasted at 325 °F in a conventional oven. Unstuffed:

• 8 to 12 lb (3.6 to 5.4 kg): 2¾ to 3 hours
• 12 to 14 lb (5.4 to 6.4 kg): 3 to 3¾ hours
• 14 to 18 lb (6.4 to 8.2 kg): 3¾ to 4¼ hours
• 18 to 20 lb (8.2 to 9.1 kg): 4¼ to 4½ hours
• 20 to 24 lb (9.1 to 10.9 kg): 4½ to 5 hours

A stuffed bird takes a little longer: 3 to 3½ hours for 8 to 12 lb, 3½ to 4 for 12 to 14 lb, 4 to 4¼ for 14 to 18 lb, 4¼ to 4¾ for 18 to 20 lb and 4¾ to 5¼ for 20 to 24 lb. Ovens, roasting tins and the bird's starting temperature all shift the real time, which is why the ranges are wide. If your recipe is in kilograms, Metric vs imperial: how we got two systems has the conversions, though the calculator accepts either.

How to tell it is done

Colour and clear juices are not reliable signs, and neither is a pop-up timer on its own. Use a food thermometer and check several places: the thickest part of the thigh without touching the bone, the thickest part of the breast, the wing joint and, if the bird is stuffed, the centre of the stuffing. All of them should reach 165 °F (74 °C), the safe minimum for poultry in US guidance. Start checking at the low end of the time range, then every 15 minutes or so. Follow the official food safety guidance where you live; some countries phrase the target differently, but a thermometer is the common thread.

Thawing safely

A frozen turkey takes far longer to thaw than most people expect. There are three safe ways, and leaving it on the counter is not one of them:

• In the fridge: allow about 24 hours for every 4 to 5 lb (about 2 kg). A 6 kg (13 lb) bird needs around four days, so a Thursday meal means moving it to the fridge by the weekend before.
• In cold water: about 30 minutes per pound in its wrapping, submerged, changing the water every 30 minutes, then cook it straight away.
• In the microwave: only if it fits and the manufacturer's instructions cover it, and cook it immediately afterwards.

Planning the day

Work backwards from when you want to eat. Say a 6 kg unstuffed turkey, 3 to 3¾ hours, and dinner at 17:00. Allow a 30-minute rest under loose foil, which keeps the meat juicy and frees the oven for potatoes, so it comes out at 16:30. For the longest estimate it goes in at 12:45; start checking it from about 13:30, since a well-behaved bird may finish early, and a rested turkey stays hot for a good while. Take it out of the fridge shortly before it goes in, and preheat the oven fully. The party food calculator helps with everything else on the table, and a whole bird serves about one person for every 1 to 1½ lb (450 to 700 g).

Stuffing, crowns, fan ovens and leftovers

Stuffing inside the bird slows cooking and must itself reach 165 °F (74 °C), which can mean overcooking the breast; many cooks bake it in a separate dish instead. A breast or crown alone cooks faster, and the calculator trims its estimate by about a quarter. In a fan oven, cook at about 145 °C, roughly 20 °C below the conventional setting, or keep the setting and check earlier; the oven temperature converter covers gas marks and fan settings. For other roasts, the meat cooking time calculator gives times and internal temperatures. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking, sliced off the bone so they cool quickly, because bacteria multiply fastest between about 4 and 60 °C (40 and 140 °F).