How long to cook a turkey, by weight
3 hr 45 min to 4 hr 15 min
In the oven at 12:25 pm to serve at 5:00 pm: 4 hr 15 min plus 20 min to stand.
Refrigerator: 4 days (FSIS: 3 to 4 days for 12 to 16 lb). Move it from the freezer by 12:25 pm, 4 days before.
Cold water: 7 hr (FSIS: 6 to 8 hours for 12 to 16 lb). Start at 5:25 am, changing the water every 30 minutes.
Still frozen: at least 5 hr 40 min to 6 hr 25 min (FSIS: at least 50 percent longer), so in the oven by 10:15 am. Pull out the giblet packages with tongs once they loosen.
Pounds, with decimals or fractions — 14.5 or 14 1/2. Kilograms work too.
A 14 lb unstuffed turkey takes 3 hr 45 min to 4 hr 15 min in a 325 °F oven, until the thigh reads 165 °F.
Source: USDA FSIS, Turkey Basics: Safe Cooking, read Oct 1, 2026. Thawing: USDA FSIS, Turkey Basics: Safe Thawing, read Oct 1, 2026. From frozen: USDA FSIS, Let's Talk Turkey: Roasting, read Oct 31, 2026.
The hours are the USDA FSIS roasting chart for a fully thawed bird in a 325 °F oven; the stuffed figures are a second chart, not an estimate. Dinner at 5:00 pm with a 14 lb unstuffed turkey means the oven at 12:25 pm: the top of the chart's range plus 20 minutes standing before carving. The thawing plan comes from the same source: 24 hours in the refrigerator for every 4 pounds, or 30 minutes a pound in cold water. Still frozen on the day? FSIS says it is safe to roast it straight from the freezer with at least 50 percent more time; the box gives that time and the earlier oven slot.
How the time is worked out
- Oven at 325 °F, never lower; FSIS says preheating is not necessary.
- The bird is completely thawed, at 40 °F or below, breast side up on a rack in a pan 2 to 2½ inches deep.
- Done at 165 °F in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast, and in the center of the stuffing.
- Standing time of 20 minutes before carving, counted into the oven time.
- The chart gives a range; the oven time uses the top of it. A turkey that is done early can stand tented with foil; a late one cannot.
- Weight band: the band whose lower limit is your weight, so a 12 lb bird reads the 12 to 14 lb row.
- Thawing days: 24 hours for each 4 pounds, rounded up to whole days, which lands on the upper figure of the FSIS thawing chart.
- Straight from the freezer: FSIS says a turkey is safe to cook from the frozen state and takes at least 50 percent longer than a fully thawed one, so the frozen times are the chart times × 1.5 and the oven time uses the top of that range. Pull the giblet packages out with tongs or a fork once they loosen. Only the unstuffed whole bird here: for a frozen pre-stuffed turkey FSIS says to cook it from frozen by the package directions.
USDA FSIS chart: turkey roasting times at 325 °F
Approximate cooking times in hours, as FSIS prints them. The breast rows are unstuffed.
| Turkey | Weight | Hours at 325 °F | Done at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole turkey, unstuffed | 8 to 12 lb | 2 3/4 to 3 | 165 °F |
| Whole turkey, unstuffed | 12 to 14 lb | 3 to 3 3/4 | 165 °F |
| Whole turkey, unstuffed | 14 to 18 lb | 3 3/4 to 4 1/4 | 165 °F |
| Whole turkey, unstuffed | 18 to 20 lb | 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 | 165 °F |
| Whole turkey, unstuffed | 20 to 24 lb | 4 1/2 to 5 | 165 °F |
| Whole turkey, stuffed | 8 to 12 lb | 3 to 3 1/2 | 165 °F |
| Whole turkey, stuffed | 12 to 14 lb | 3 1/2 to 4 | 165 °F |
| Whole turkey, stuffed | 14 to 18 lb | 4 to 4 1/4 | 165 °F |
| Whole turkey, stuffed | 18 to 20 lb | 4 1/4 to 4 3/4 | 165 °F |
| Whole turkey, stuffed | 20 to 24 lb | 4 3/4 to 5 1/4 | 165 °F |
| Turkey breast, unstuffed | 4 to 6 lb | 1 1/2 to 2 1/4 | 165 °F |
| Turkey breast, unstuffed | 6 to 8 lb | 2 1/4 to 3 1/4 | 165 °F |
Turkey cooking time by weight, with the thawing days
Whole turkey, 325 °F oven, to 165 °F. Thawing days in the refrigerator per the FSIS rule, rounded up. From frozen: the unstuffed time × 1.5, the FSIS minimum.
| Weight | Unstuffed | Stuffed | Refrigerator thaw | Cold water thaw | From frozen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 lb | 2¾–3 hr | 3–3½ hr | 2 days | 4 hr | 4 hr 10 min–4½ hr |
| 10 lb | 2¾–3 hr | 3–3½ hr | 3 days | 5 hr | 4 hr 10 min–4½ hr |
| 12 lb | 3–3¾ hr | 3½–4 hr | 3 days | 6 hr | 4½ hr–5 hr 40 min |
| 14 lb | 3¾–4¼ hr | 4–4¼ hr | 4 days | 7 hr | 5 hr 40 min–6 hr 25 min |
| 16 lb | 3¾–4¼ hr | 4–4¼ hr | 4 days | 8 hr | 5 hr 40 min–6 hr 25 min |
| 18 lb | 4¼–4½ hr | 4¼–4¾ hr | 5 days | 9 hr | 6 hr 25 min–6¾ hr |
| 20 lb | 4½–5 hr | 4¾–5¼ hr | 5 days | 10 hr | 6¾–7½ hr |
| 22 lb | 4½–5 hr | 4¾–5¼ hr | 6 days | 11 hr | 6¾–7½ hr |
| 24 lb | 4½–5 hr | 4¾–5¼ hr | 6 days | 12 hr | 6¾–7½ hr |
How long to thaw a turkey (USDA FSIS)
Refrigerator, at 40 °F or below: 24 hours for each 4 to 5 pounds. Cold water, in a leak-proof bag: about 30 minutes per pound.
| Whole turkey | Refrigerator | Cold water |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 12 lb | 1 to 3 days | 2 to 6 hours |
| 12 to 16 lb | 3 to 4 days | 6 to 8 hours |
| 16 to 20 lb | 4 to 5 days | 8 to 10 hours |
| 20 to 24 lb | 5 to 6 days | 10 to 12 hours |
A thawed turkey keeps 1 or 2 days in the refrigerator before cooking. In cold water the turkey goes in a leak-proof bag, the water is changed every 30 minutes, and the bird is cooked as soon as it is thawed.
Where these numbers come from
The chart is USDA FSIS, Turkey Basics: Safe Cooking (fsis.usda.gov), read on October 1, 2026; FSIS last updated that page on October 22, 2019. What this page takes from it: Approximate cooking times at 325 °F for unstuffed and stuffed turkey by weight, the 165 °F minimum and the 20 minute standing time. The figures are copied as printed; the calculator multiplies by your weight, rounds to 5 minutes and counts back from your serving time.
The thawing plan is USDA FSIS, Turkey Basics: Safe Thawing (fsis.usda.gov), read on October 1, 2026; last updated by FSIS on October 24, 2023. From it: Refrigerator thawing (24 hours per 4 to 5 pounds, and the chart by weight) and cold water thawing (30 minutes per pound, and the chart).
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