Our tender and juicy Herb Butter Turkey is full of flavor and perfect for your next holiday meal! Use our easy Herbed Butter for Turkey to take your Thanksgiving turkey to the next level. A tried-and-true family favorite that we have enjoyed for years!
The Best Herb Butter Turkey
This holiday season, you have to make our herb butter turkey recipe to make the most juicy turkey meat you have ever tasted! With the option to stuff with fresh vegetables and herbs and delicious pan juices that can be used for basting the turkey and learning how to make turkey gravy for serving with creamy mashed potatoes and sausage stuffing. Just follow our step-by-step guide below to make a mouth-watering bird that everyone will love!
Looking for More Turkey Recipes?
If you love turkey as much as we do, you should try moving it out of the oven and making a Smoked Turkey, Grilled Turkey, or learn How to Deep Fry a Turkey!
What You Will Need
- whole turkey – just pick-up a frozen turkey at your local grocery store and follow our guide on how to thaw a turkey before prepping it to roast in the oven.
- softened butter – some for under the turkey skin and some for the herb butter to spread on top.
- chicken broth – pour into the bottom of the roasting pan to keep everything moist, use for basting, and making the best turkey gravy.
- yellow onion, carrot, and celery – fresh veggies added to the basting liquid for so much great flavor.
- salt and pepper – simple seasonings that are always a must!
- fresh thyme, sage, and rosemary – highly recommend this combination of fresh herbs.
- fresh garlic – everything is always better with some garlic cloves in the mix.
- quartered orange – a fresh, juicy orange placed inside the turkey brings moisture and a wonderful citrus flavor.
How To Make An Herb Butter Turkey
The first steps to making this delicious turkey recipe are to put the broth, onion, carrots, & celery in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the roasting rack in the bottom of the pan and place turkey on top. Option to put an onion, orange, fresh thyme, and any other fresh herbs inside the cavity of the turkey and tie the turkey legs together with kitchen twine.
Option to make our Turkey Injection Recipe to insert flavored butter directly into the turkey meat. This herb butter turkey recipe will be delicious either way, but this process will bring your large bird to the next level.
Now gather all of the herbed butter ingredients and place them in a small bowl. Mix to fully combine.
Use your hands to rub the butter mixture on all parts of the turkey. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bring oven to a high heat of 450 degrees F, once it is preheated, place the entire pan in the oven. Then turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees F and let it bake for 13-16 minutes of cook time per pound of turkey. Use a basting brush to baste the turkey every 30-40 minutes. Pull the turkey from the oven when it reaches an internal temp of 160 degrees F at the thickest part of the meat (use an instant-read thermometer). Let the turkey rest, carve, and serve.
Best Ways To Serve Herb Butter Turkey
Highly recommend this amazing turkey recipe with all your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes! A few of our favorites are Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes, Crock Pot Stuffing, Easy Green Bean Casserole, Bourbon Cranberry Sauce, & a Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust. Any of those traditional holiday classics would be a great addition to your next holiday table!
Storage & Freezer
Any leftover turkey can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. Or place in a large plastic bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe FAQs
- What herbs go well with turkey? Fresh sage is typically a very traditional herb flavor that always goes well with turkey. We also love the flavors of fresh thyme and rosemary.
- Should I rub butter or oil on my turkey? Feel free to use your personal preference here, but we highly recommend butter. It brings so much flavor and creates a perfect golden brown skin.
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Other Recipes You Might Like
Herb Butter Turkey
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 24 servings 1x
- Category: Turkey
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Our juicy and tender Herb Butter Turkey recipe is perfect for your next holiday gathering or special occasion!
Ingredients
Turkey + Basting Liquid:
- 1 (12-15 lb) fresh turkey, fully thawed
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 small yellow onion, sliced
- 2 celery stalks, cut into large chunks
- 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into large chunks
- kosher salt and ground black pepper
- optional: fresh sprigs of rosemary + thyme or a splash of white wine.
Herbed Butter:
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 5–6 tablespoons butter
- pinch of kosher salt
Optional Stuffing:
- 1 small yellow onion, quartered
- 1 small orange, quartered
- fresh thyme
Instructions
- Thaw + Room Temp: Ensure turkey is fully thawed. Remove turkey from packaging. Remove the turkey neck and any giblets out of the turkey cavity. Place turkey on a plate or on a roasting rack in a roasting pan (breast side up) and let sit out at room temperature for approximately 60 minutes (why: this will help the oven get a jump start on raising that internal temp + allowing the skin to dry out, results in a crispier, more delicious skin).
- Oven + Roasting Pan: preheat oven to 450 degrees F. (we will reduce later) and ensure you have a roasting pan + rack (which lifts the turkey off the bottom of the pan and allows it to cook a bit faster). Add chicken broth and onion to the bottom of the roasting pan. Ensure turkey is sitting in the roasting pan on top of the roasting rack, breast-side up.
- Prepare the Turkey: Combine the Herbed Butter ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Pat turkey dry (outside and inside the cavity) with paper towels. Season the inside of the cavity with salt and pepper. If stuffing, add the onion, orange and thyme to the cavity. Tie the turkey legs together with kitchen twine or aluminum foil. Using your fingers gently separate the skin from the turkey breasts as much as you can. Push 3-4 tabs of butter underneath the skin. Take the Herbed Butter mixture and spread all over the outside of the turkey skin. (sprinkle a little extra salt and pepper all over the turkey, on top of the butter)
- OPTIONAL Turkey Injection: option to make our Turkey Injection Recipe to insert flavored, melted butter directly into the turkey meat at a few different places.
- Place Turkey in Oven: place seasoned turkey inside the preheated oven and turn the temperature down to 325 degrees F. Do not cover the turkey initially with aluminum foil – allow it to cook and once it starts to turn brown, tent a large piece of foil over the top, as-needed.
- Roast: Let turkey roast for 13-16 minutes per pound. For example, a 10 pound turkey would take about 130-160 minutes of total cook time.
- Baste: Use a basting brush to base the outside of the turkey with the basting liquid in the bottom of the roasting pan. Baste the turkey every 30-40 minutes.
- Internal Temp: A turkey is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. at the thickest part of the meat (usually the thigh + breast). About halfway through the estimated cook time, start checking the internal temperature, so you can project how much longer will be needed. Again, if you notice certain parts of the turkey skin browning too quickly feel free to place a piece of foil over a specific area or tent the whole turkey if the whole thing is browning.
- Rest: Once the turkey has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. remove from oven. Lift the roasting rack up and out of the roasting pan and place on a cutting board. Cover with aluminum foil and let rest 20-30 minutes. The turkey will continue cooking and residual heat will continue to raise the internal temperature 5 degrees. Transfer any liquid remaining in the bottom of the roasting pan to a glass measuring cup or fat separator and follow our tutorial on how to make turkey gravy. Don’t forget to save the turkey carcass to make homemade turkey stock.
- Carve + Serve: Follow this tutorial to learn how to carve a turkey, then serve with homemade turkey gravy and all of your other favorite holiday side dishes!
Notes
- Roasting Rack/Foil Roasting Pan: if using a disposable roasting pan, then I would recommend using either carrots or celery stalks as the “roasting rack” – just line them up in the bottom of the pan and place the turkey with the breast-side up on top of them.
- Tin Foil: you can start with the foil tented over the turkey and then remove it halfway through the cooking process, if you prefer, but we tend to favor starting without it and adding it as the turkey browns.
- Storage: store leftover turkey in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Leftovers: we love making these quick and easy Turkey Cranberry Wraps or this Leftover Turkey Noodle Soup!
- Servings + Cook Time: the servings + cook time listed in the recipe card are assuming you are using a 12 pound turkey. Prep time also assuming you are not brining your turkey, which would take additional time to complete.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6oz
- Calories: 400
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 242.6 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Carbohydrates: 0.2 g
- Protein: 66 g
- Cholesterol: 240.5 mg
Ally says
This was delicious. It’s the second year we’ve made this recipe and it works every time. Such a crowd pleaser!
Erin says
That makes my day to hear, Ally!!