The Best Oven Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey Ever [+Video]

A classic turkey recipe for making the best oven roasted Thanksgiving turkey ever! It starts with a brine, gets smothered in lemon herb butter, and ends with a perfectly roasted whole turkey to feed your Thanksgiving crowd!

I’ve done it all. Over cooked, undercooked, bland, you name it. Thanksgiving has always been a stitch lame to me because the turkey was absolutely never exciting, hence why I loved the leftover sandwiches the best!

Mmmmm, potato rolls, mayo, turkey and a little cheese! Or, lately I’ve been doing a little cream cheese, poppyseed dressing, cheese and turkey on a roll and oh my goodness it’s life-changing.

But back to the turkey, you guys I’m serious I have spent every year for the past 15 years trying to figure out the best Thanksgiving turkey recipe and this is it. The secrets are for sure brining and proper herbs and rest time three things to make the perfect combo.

Turkey Basics

Before we jump in to making this roasted whole turkey, I want to cover a few of the basics:

• A frozen turkey will need thaw 24 hours per every 5 pounds.
• Turkey will need to cook for 13-15 minutes per pound.
• Safe internal temperature for a turkey is 175 degrees F the thigh and 165 degrees F in the breast.

So let’s assume you are going to roast a 12 pound turkey that is frozen when you purchase it and you want to have your meal on Thursday afternoon. Here is your brief timeline:

• Remove turkey from freezer to thaw in the fridge: 4 1/2 days ahead of time (Sunday morning – Tuesday afternoon)
• Brine: 24 hours (Tuesday afternoon – Wednesday afternoon)
• Turkey rests in fridge: 4-12 hours (overnight Wednesday to Thursday morning)
• Turkey rests at room temperature: 1 hour
• Turkey roasts in the oven: 3 hours
• Turkey rests: 30 minutes

Now the turkey is ready to carve and eat Thursday afternoon! Now here are those same steps in a little more detail…

How to Roast a Whole Turkey

Roasting a whole turkey starts with a 24 hour brine. Head to our favorite turkey brine recipe for all the details of why to brine, how to brine and what goes into the brine.

Turkey Prep

After the turkey brines, remove the turkey from the brine, pat it dry with paper towels and put it on a baking sheet uncovered. St

These garlic roasted carrots are caramelized carrots with slightly crisp edges cooked in a garlic honey butter sauce. This carrot side dish will steal the show on your plate.

Garlic Roasted Carrots

Who would have thought to combine Sriracha, garlic, honey, and pepper with carrots?

Rebecca Lindamood of Foodie with Family, that’s who. Rebecca’s new cookbook, The Ultimate Guide To Vegetable Side Dishes is truly the ultimate guide and it’s perfect for all your holiday dinners too. If you haven’t already, you will want to get this in your hands just as soon as possible.

One of my favorite perks to food blogging is getting my hands on the latest cookbooks before they’re released. And this is one that I’ve been impatient to finally have at my fingertips! This book is crammed with wonderful vegetable recipes that go beyond simply simmering them in a pot.

Honey Garlic Roasted Carrots

My family loves almost every sweet and spicy flavor combination, so these honey garlic roasted carrots were an easy first choice to try from Rebecca’s cookbook. I wasn’t wrong, every last carrot was devoured.

I love the smell of the fresh sweet carrots that are available at Farmer’s Markets right now. But don’t worry. Even the blandest grocery store carrot can taste great when it’s drenched in this Garlic Butter glaze and roasted.

This easy side dish recipe uses a simple cooking method and supporting ingredients to enhance every bit of flavor in the carrots.

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My Favorite Turkey Brine Recipe [+Video]

Looking for the perfect turkey brine recipe? Look no further! This delicious brine not only adds flavor to your turkey, but also keeps it moist and juicy. Watch our video tutorial and try it out for yourself!

Every year I test, and test and test recipes for Thanksgiving. But not my simple turkey brine recipe. It’s perfect, and I use the same one every single year regardless of how I make my bird.

Whether your roasting turkey or making Thanksgiving turkey in a slow cooker, I use the same brine on both of them.

There’s nothing quite like a perfectly cooked turkey and that 100% starts with a turkey brine. You CANNOT skip it. Trust me, I’ve tested enough to know that it really is a game changer.

Turkey Brine Basics

Brining a turkey needs two specific ingredients and then the remaining ingredients vary based upon your own individual recipes.

1. Liquid- Your turkey breast (or whole turkey) will sit in a liquid anywhere from 8-24 hours. The kind of liquid does in fact make a difference as they will help to flavor the meat. Brining, as well as marinating, is not made to soak into the center of the meat, but to flavor the outside so well that as it cooks that flavor emerges.
2. Salt- It’s preferred that you use Kosher salt for brining as it’s a more coarse salt which will help to break down the meat, soak in the liquid for a more juicy meat and finally, the salt helps to flavor the meat more than just a rub later on.

How to Brine a Turkey

Brining a turkey might sound fancy or complicated but it’s as easy as dunking a turkey in salty liquid with some extra flavors if desired and letting it sit. Easy peezy! The brine is used to lock flavor and moisture into the turkey.

A few simple ingredients is all you need for my best turkey brine recipe:

• Apple Cider – apple juice can be used if you can’t find cider
• Water
• Brown Sugar
• Kosher Salt
• Bay Leaves
• Garlic Cloves
• Fresh Rosemary
• Orange Peel
• Lemon Peel

Grab a large stock pot and pour all the ingredients into the pot. You can also use a brining bar if you want. They are great! Stir everything together until the sugar and salt dissolve. Place the turkey carefully into the brine, put the lid on the pot, and set it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

PRO TIP: If your stock pot doesn’t fit into your fridge, put it in a cooler and surround the pot with ice. It will store great for 24 hours.

How to Make A Turkey Brine

Roasted Pear and Prosciutto Treasure Cave Blue Cheese Dip

Get ready for the most decadent and irresistible blue cheese dip of your life! I never thought I’d see the day that I would say the secret is in the blue cheese, but in fact, the key to this recipe is the Treasure Cave Blue Cheese!

The other secrets are the crispy prosciutto, roasted pears and the other 3 cheeses in the dip, but with everything combined and that unique flavor of blue cheese, this dip recipe is one that will have everyone asking for more!

This tasty blue cheese dip is the next recipe in my partnership with Treasure Cave. Have you tried the blue cheese gratin potato casserole yet? If that didn’t make a blue cheese lover out of you, then this dip surely will!

Treasure Cave is a brand that embraces bold and fun flavors and adventures, and that 100% describes everything I want out of life. So, I partnered with them to create a recipe inspired by my favorite adventure, a trip to Italy that reignited a love for combining flavors in beautiful yet approachable ways.

All haters of blue cheese, I welcome you to the table and challenge you to give this easy blue cheese dip recipe a try and let it make a blue cheese lover out of you! The combination of flavors and textures is so dreamy, I’m so confident you’ll love this creamy blue cheese dip, I’m willing to buy you a new car if you don’t love it! Ok, just kidding, but you absolutely have to give it a try!

Ingredients for Blue Cheese Dip

I took the blue cheese dip basics of sour cream, blue cheese and mayo and augmented them a little to elevate the flavor and make it even more gooey and cheesy. Here is everything you will need:

• Prosciutto: Adds crunchy texture and a salty, smoky flavor to the dip.
• Pear: Slice them thin and roast them until brown. They add sweetness and delicious flavor.
• Olive Oil: Helps roast the pears.
• Cream Cheese: I prefer the flavor and texture of full fat cream cheese and make sure it is softened so it isn’t clumpy in the dip.
• Sour Cream: Avoid the light or fat free stuff for the best texture and flavor.
• Mayonnaise: Use a good quality brand of mayo and choose whatever your favorite brand is.
• Spices: Ground Cardamom and Ground Nutmeg
• Salt and Black Pepper: for flavor
• Treasure Cave Blue Cheese: You can also use Treasure Cave Gorgonzola Cheese if you just can’t get past the blue-ness of the blue cheese.
• Fontina Cheese: Buy a block if you can find it and shred it yourself.
• Parmesan Cheese: I like to use a microplane to grate the parmesan myself.
• Herbs: Thyme and Chives are our favorites, and parsley is also a great option. Be sure to use fresh herbs!

Scroll down to the end of the post for all the measurements for each ingred

Holiday Oatmeal is filled with fresh apples, dried fruits, nuts, creamy oats, and brown sugar to create a deliciously filling hot breakfast. Less than 15 minutes from start to finish and a piping hot, warm, and creamy breakfast can be on your table.

This breakfast is a great way to start a fun day of cooking and eating during the holidays or any other day of the year. Thanksgiving or Christmas, holiday morning or not, it’s a delicious way to start the day year-round.

This oatmeal requires minimal fuss and it will keep the family full until the main eating event of the day. Over the years, this has become a tradition for our Thanksgiving breakfast.

Oatmeal with Fruit

We’ve been making our oatmeal recipes with fruit for about as long as I can remember and we’ve been making this particular fruit-filled oatmeal for over 10 years now. Holiday Oatmeal is a huge favorite with both the adults and the kids in our home.

Every guest we’ve ever served this to has requested the recipe. With plenty of fresh apples, sliced bananas, dried fruits, and nuts, cooked into creamy oats with a bit of brown sugar, this is a memorable oatmeal for everyone.

You can make this (and most other oatmeal recipes) with milk or with water and the oatmeal turns out great both ways. When I make oatmeal with water, I top each bowl with a pat of butter when I’m serving it.

Whenever we have an abundance of fruit in the kitchen, it’s a sure bet that some of it will make its way into our oatmeal in the morning. Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal is solid proof of that and my boys love that one too.

My own favorite quick breakfast year-round is Blueberries and Cream, but classic Peach Oatmeal and Peach Baked Oatmeal trump that when peaches are in season.

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