A 12 to 14 pound turkey takes about 3 to 3¾ hours at 325°F unstuffed, and 3¾ to 4½ hours stuffed. Pull it when the thigh hits 170°F and the breast hits 165°F, because the clock only gets you close.
The chart below shows you approximate times for a bird anywhere from 10 to 24 pounds, stuffed and unstuffed, plus what throws the timing off. Planning the whole dinner? Start with our Thanksgiving turkey recipes, or see how to cook a turkey in the oven for the full method.
Table of Contents
- 🦃 Turkey Cooking Time Chart for a 325°F Oven
- 🔍 How to Determine Turkey Cook Times
- Size of the turkey
- Cooking Times for Fresh Turkey vs. Frozen Turkey
- Turkey Cooking Times for Smoker
- Turkey Cooking Times for Oven
- How long to Cook Spatchcock Turkey vs. Whole Turkey
- Oven Temperature
- 💡 Meat Nerd Tips
- 🔗 More Turkey Guides
- Quick Summary
- ❓ Turkey Cooking Time FAQs
🦃 Turkey Cooking Time Chart for a 325°F Oven
Times are for a thawed whole turkey roasted at 325°F. Use them to plan your day, then confirm with a thermometer. A frozen bird needs at least 50% longer.
| Pounds of turkey | Cooking Times (Unstuffed) | Cooking Times (Stuffed) |
| 10 | 2 ½ – 3 Hours | 2 ¾ – 3 ½ Hours |
| 11 | 3 – 3 ½ Hours | 3 ¾ – 4 ½ Hours |
| 12 | 3 – 3 ½ Hours | 3 ¾ – 4 ½ Hours |
| 13 | 3 to 3¾ Hours | 3 ¾ – 4 ½ Hours |
| 14 | 3 to 3¾ Hours | 3 ¾ – 4 ½ Hours |
| 15 | 3¾ to 4¼ Hours | 3 ¾ – 4 ½ Hours |
| 16 to 18 | 3¾ to 4¼ Hours | 4 to 4¼ Hours |
| 18 to 20 | 4¼ to 4½ Hours | 4¼ to 4¾ Hours |
| 20 to 24 | 4½ to 5 Hours | 4¾ to 5¼ Hours |
Bands from 16 pounds up follow USDA FSIS roasting times. Bigger birds run longer and dry out faster, so start checking early.
🔍 How to Determine Turkey Cook Times
You’ve seen recipes before that say “cook time will vary depending on size.” That’s probably the biggest obstacle to mastering cooking a whole bird to a safe temperature every time. Whether cooking a turkey in the oven or mastering smoked turkey on the grill, the size of the bird does matter and we’re breaking down why.
Size of the turkey
The size of the bird and the temperature you’re cooking at are the 2 main factors for determining how long to cook a turkey. A turkey breast will cook faster than a whole turkey. A smaller bird will cook faster than a larger one and stuffed turkeys take longer than an unstuffed bird.
- A general rule of thumb is 13 minutes for every pound of turkey at 350 degrees F.
Cooking Times for Fresh Turkey vs. Frozen Turkey
- A fully thawed turkey can take anywhere from 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours of cook time, depending on the size of the turkey.
- A frozen turkey may take 1-4 days to thaw, depending on the size turkey you have, and you want to make sure you’re turkey is completely thawed before cooking. See our guide on How to Defrost a Turkey.
Turkey Cooking Times for Smoker
- The cooking method you use to cook your turkey can also affect turkey cook times.
- For example, this Smoked Turkey with Stuffing takes around 5-7 hours as it’s slow-cooked at a lower temperature in the smoker. This Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey has a similar cooking time of 6 hours.
Turkey Cooking Times for Oven
- On the other hand, roast turkey in the oven only takes 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours.
This page gives you the numbers. How to cook a turkey in the oven gives you the method: prep, seasoning, and how to get crisp skin.
How long to Cook Spatchcock Turkey vs. Whole Turkey
- The way the turkey is cut can also affect how long it cooks. Cutting the turkey open, butterflying it, and laying it out flat is called spatchcocking. We break down How to Spatchcock a Turkey step-by-step which speeds up the overall cooking time.
- For example, this Spatchcock Turkey only takes 1 hour and 20 minutes, whereas this Oven Roasted Turkey takes around 2 1/2 -3 hours.
Spatchcocking cuts these times by roughly a third, and our spatchcocking guide carries its own full time chart.
Oven Temperature
The higher the oven temperature, the faster the turkey will cook, and vice versa. However, we recommend a lower temperature of 325-350 degrees F and a weight between 12 to 14 pounds for a perfectly cooked bird.
💡 Meat Nerd Tips
- The chart plans your day, the probe calls the shot. Pull at 165°F in the breast and 170°F in the thigh.
- Start checking 45 minutes early. Ovens run hot or cold, and birds vary.
- Ignore the pop-up timer. It trips late, and the breast is usually overdone by then.
- Stuffing adds 30 to 45 minutes, and the stuffing itself must hit 165°F.
- Carryover adds 5 to 10 degrees. Rest the bird 30 minutes, loosely tented, before carving.
- A cold bird lies to the chart. Thaw in the fridge at about 24 hours per 4 to 5 pounds so the center is not still frozen.
🔗 More Turkey Guides
- Thanksgiving turkey recipes: every method in one place, plus a turkey day schedule.
- How to cook a turkey in the oven: the full roasting method behind this chart.
- How to spatchcock a turkey: faster, crispier, with its own timing chart.
- How to brine a turkey: the step before cooking that keeps the breast juicy.
Quick Summary
A 12 to 14 pound turkey takes 3 to 3¾ hours unstuffed at 325°F, and 3¾ to 4½ hours stuffed. Pull it at 170°F in the thigh and 165°F in the breast. Start checking 45 minutes early and trust the thermometer over the clock.
❓ Turkey Cooking Time FAQs
At 325°F, a thawed 18 to 20 pound turkey takes about 4¼ to 4½ hours unstuffed. A 20 to 24 pounder runs 4½ to 5 hours. Start checking early and go by the thermometer.
We cook at 325°F for even cooking and a juicier breast. 350°F trims the time a little but browns the skin faster, so check 30 minutes earlier and tent with foil if it darkens too fast.
Uncovered, for crisp skin. If the breast browns before the thigh reaches 170°F, tent it loosely with foil.
Rest it 30 minutes, loosely tented with foil. The temperature climbs another 5 to 10 degrees and the juices settle.
A 4 to 8 pound bone-in turkey breast takes roughly 1½ to 3¼ hours at 325°F. Pull it at 165°F in the thickest part.
Yes! Let your turkey sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before cooking to ensure even cooking.
Yes. A stuffed turkey takes about 30 to 45 minutes longer, and the stuffing has to reach 165°F too.
165 degrees F for the thickest part of the breast and 170°F for the thickest part of the thigh. Use a meat thermometer or instant-read thermometer to check the internal temperature. If you have a stuffed bird, the temperature of the stuffing should also be 165 degrees F. Remember, the temperature will continue to rise 5 to 10 degrees while the bird rests.
Once your turkey is done, it’s time to carve it up using our How to Carve a Turkey guide!
Nope! Brining is simply a technique where you load up a thawed turkey with seasoning for a dry brine or submerge it in water for a wet brine. It doesn’t affect the cooking times, only the turkey meat and skin. Our turkey brine guide walks through both methods.
If you’re not using fresh turkey, you’ll need to factor in the thawing time for a frozen turkey into the total cooking time. Depending on the size turkey you bought, give at least 1-4 days for total thawing time. You can check out our How to Thaw a Turkey guide for more info.
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