How Long to Cook Your Turkey on Thanksgiving

When you’re in charge of cooking the turkey for Thanksgiving, it can feel like the pressure is on — and for good reason. You have to know when to thaw the bird, what temperature to cook it at, and whether or not you need to brine the turkey beforehand.

However, the single most important detail of the day is how long to cook the turkey. Undercook and it’s a safety issue, but overcook and you’ll be left with a dry, tough piece of meat that you spent hours on. Luckily, we have a cheat sheet for turkey cook times as well as prudent advice you’ll need to win the big dinner. 

How long you’ll cook your turkey for depends on whether you decide to roast it unstuffed or stuffed (meaning you’ll be putting your stuffing — or dressing if you’re from the South — directly into the turkey) and how large it is. But no matter how you’re preparing it or how large your turkey is, you’ll need to cook it until the meat reaches an internal temperature of at least 165°F so that it’s safe to eat per the USDA. 

The best time to check the temperature of the turkey is about 30 minutes before the timer is set to go off (be sure to keep the oven door closed to keep the heat in while you’re checking!). 

The rule of thumb for an unstuffed turkey is that it cooks at a rate of 13 minutes per pound in a 350ºF oven. At this rate, a 6-pound turkey will take 78 minutes (or 1 hour and 18 minutes). A 15-pound turkey will take 195 minutes (or 3 hours and 15 minutes). 

• 6-8 pounds: 1 hour and 15 minutes – 1 hour and  45 minutes
• 9-11 pounds: 2 hours – to 2 hours and 30 minutes
• 12-14 pounds: 2 hours and 45 minutes – 3 hours 
• 15-17 pounds: 3 hours and 15 minutes – 3 hours and 45 minutes 
• 18-20 pounds: 4 hours – 4 hours and 30 minutes

We generally prefer to cook stuffing separately from the turkey, but if you decide to cook it inside, know that a  stuffed turkey will take a little bit longer to cook through than an unstuffed turkey. A stuffed turkey cooks at a rate of 15 minutes per pound in a 350ºF oven. At this rate, a 6-pound turkey will take 90 minutes (or 1 1/2 hours). A 15-pound turkey will take 225 minutes (or 3 hours and 45 minutes).

• 6-8 pounds: 1 hour and 30 minutes – 2 hours
• 9-11 pounds: 2 hours 15 minutes –  2 hours and 45 minutes
• 12-14 pounds: 3 hours – 3 hours and 30 minutes
• 15-17 pounds: 3 hours and 45 minutes –  4 hours and 15  minutes 
• 18-20 pounds: 4 hours and 30 minutes – 5 hours

Be sure to check that both the stuffing and the turkey reach an internal temperature of at least 165°F to prevent food-borne illness. 

Thawing a turkey correctly is key to having it cook evenly (and more quickly!). Spoiler alert — it can take quite a bit of time. There are two ways to safely thaw a turkey:

• In the refrigerator
• In cold water

If you thaw a turkey in the refrigerator, it will take roughly 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey to thaw. A 20-pound turkey will take four days to thaw in the fridge. If you thaw a turkey in cold water, it will take 30 minutes for every 1 pound of turkey, so the same 20-pound turkey will take 600 minutes (or 10 hours) to thaw. 

Thawing a turkey in the refrigerator is the safer method (because the refrigerator keeps the meat at a temperature too cold for bacteria to grow), but thawing in cold water can be done in a pinch when you forgot to take the turkey out of the freezer. 

Yes, you can cook a frozen turkey (procrastinators rejoice!). This is perfectly safe to do according to the USDA, but the only downside (of course) is that it will take much longer to cook. In fact, it’ll take roughly 50% longer to cook a frozen turkey than a thawed one. 

Here are our recommended cook times for a frozen turkey:

• 6-8 pounds: 2 hours – 2 hours and 45 minutes
• 9-11 pounds: 3 hours – 3 hours and 45 minutes
• 12-14 pounds: 4 hours – 4 hours and 45 minutes
• 15-17 pounds: 5 hours– 5 hours and 45 minutes
• 18-20 pounds: 6 hours – 6 hours and 45 minutes

According to the USDA, poultry — including turkey — needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F to be safe to eat. Check the turkey’s temperature with an instant-read thermometer at the meatiest part of the thigh.