Type the weight on the label. You get USDA’s time at 325 °F and the minute it goes in the oven for your dinner.
Oven at 325 °F, turkey on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.
| Turkey weight | Time at 325 °F |
|---|---|
| 4 to 8 pounds (breast) | 1½ to 3¼ hours |
| 8 to 12 pounds | 2¾ to 3 hours |
| 12 to 14 pounds | 3 to 3¾ hours |
| 14 to 18 pounds | 3¾ to 4¼ hours |
| 18 to 20 pounds | 4¼ to 4½ hours |
| 20 to 24 pounds | 4½ to 5 hours |
| Turkey weight | Time at 325 °F |
|---|---|
| 6 to 8 pounds (breast) | 2½ to 3½ hours |
| 8 to 12 pounds | 3 to 3½ hours |
| 12 to 14 pounds | 3½ to 4 hours |
| 14 to 18 pounds | 4 to 4¼ hours |
| 18 to 20 pounds | 4¼ to 4¾ hours |
| 20 to 24 pounds | 4¾ to 5¼ hours |
USDA’s chart stops at 24 pounds. Cooking from frozen takes at least 50% longer than the times above.
Send the oven schedule to a checklist the family can see.
The checklist is a free Online List Maker list: share the link with whoever is cooking, tick things off, and it updates on every phone. No sign-up.
USDA does not give a per-pound rate; it gives a chart by weight range. At 325 °F an unstuffed 12 to 14 pound turkey takes 3 to 3¾ hours and a 20 to 24 pound turkey 4½ to 5 hours, so the time per pound falls as the bird gets bigger.
A little: up to about half an hour more, depending on size, per USDA's chart. USDA recommends cooking the stuffing in a separate dish; if you stuff the bird, the stuffing's center must reach 165 °F too.
At least 50% longer than a thawed one, per USDA. Take the giblet packages out with tongs partway through.
165 °F, measured in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast.
Times and temperatures: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Let’s Talk Turkey: A Consumer Guide to Safely Roasting a Turkey. USDA’s times are approximate; the thermometer decides. Questions on the day: USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline, 1-888-674-6854.