• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Life is but a Dish

Easy, approachable recipes for the everyday home cook

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Cakes, Cupcakes & Cookies
    • Chicken
    • Dessert
    • Dinner
    • Drinks & Cocktails
    • Dressings & Sauces
    • Fish & Seafood
    • Gluten Free
    • Grilling
    • Healthy
    • Instant Pot & Slow Cooker
    • Lunch
    • Meat
    • Muffins & Quick Breads
    • Pasta
    • Pizza
    • Quick & Easy
    • Salads
    • Sides
    • Snacks
    • Soups & Stews
    • Turkey
    • Vegetarian
    • Veggies
    • Weekly Inspiration
  • Cook w/ Confidence
  • Shop
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Simple Oven Roasted Turkey with Gravy

November 12, 2019 by Life is but a Dish 4 Comments

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe
a full turkey oven roasted in a large pan with warm gravy poured all over

My Simple Oven Roasted Turkey with Gravy takes the stress out of Thanksgiving’s main dish!

Simple Oven Roasted Turkey with Gravy

This is it, guys! It’s November. Turkey roasting time. And I am here to guide you through the entire process with my Simple Oven Roasted Turkey with Gravy! Class is in session. The final exam is delicious. Your full syllabus is in my Stressed Out to Superstar Thanksgiving guide. Extra credit will be given for dancing in the kitchen (you know how we do!). Now let’s get to work!

Simple Oven Roasted Turkey with Gravy

Dry Brine

My Simple Oven Roasted Turkey with Gravy all starts with a dry brine. It’s so simple to do a dry brine. No big bin of messy liquid necessary! Once you get your turkey defrosted, then you can get a dry brine going.

  1. Start with a 14-15 pound fresh turkey and 3 tablespoons of coarse kosher salt (not table salt!). Your turkey should be thawed already, so if it’s frozen, it needs to be placed in the fridge on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
  2. 36-48 hours in advance (the Tuesday before Thanksgiving), remove the thawed turkey from the packaging and pull the giblets out of both the body and neck cavity. Check both!
  3. Give your turkey a little pat dry with paper towels, inside and out.
  4. Rub 2 tablespoons of salt inside the body cavity of the turkey, then the remaining tablespoon goes on outside of the turkey: breasts, legs, and thighs.
  5. Put that bird in a roasting pan or on a platter, cover it with foil, and then store it in the fridge until you’re ready to cook

See? Easy as pie! Actually, easier than pie. Easy as Apple Crisp! ? 

Simple Oven Roasted Turkey with Gravy

Before it goes in the oven, we’re going to stuff the turkey. But only with a few simple aromatics. My trick here: don’t be afraid to REALLY pack everything in. Look at this tasty list of turkey stuffings:

  • Lemon
  • Celery
  • Apple 
  • Fresh thyme, sage, and parsley
  • Freshly cracked pepper

Once it’s packed in there, pull the legs together and tie it with kitchen twine. Ready for the oven!

Simple Oven Roasted Turkey with Gravy

Simple Oven Roasted Turkey with Gravy

GRAVY. Is it the best part of a Thanksgiving meal? Not by itself, but it’s the sauce that makes everything else so tasty! A spoonful of gravy in your mashed potatoes? Drizzled over a couple slices of turkey? It’s heaven.  This gravy recipe uses drippings from the turkey pan, a little butter, some flour, broth, and a couple seasonings. That’s it! Simple is best when it comes to a classic like gravy.

Simple Oven Roasted Turkey with Gravy

More Thanksgiving Recipes

Let’s talk sides! Now that you’ve got a Simple Oven Roasted Turkey with Gravy, here are all my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes to go with it…

  • 4-Ingredient Homemade Cranberry Sauce
  • Easy Apple Crisp
  • Comfort Corn Bread with Whipped Honey Butter
  • Chestnut Herb Stuffing
  • Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranates
  • Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
  • Whipped Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble Topping

For the full lowdown on Thanksgiving with a timeline, grocery shopping list, and every recipe you need, check out my Stressed Out to Superstar guide with a Thanksgiving menu pack!

Print
clock clock icon cutlery cutlery icon flag flag icon folder folder icon instagram instagram icon pinterest pinterest icon facebook facebook icon print print icon squares squares icon heart heart icon heart solid heart solid icon
Simple Oven Roasted Turkey with Gravy

Simple Oven Roasted Turkey with Gravy

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Description

My Simple Oven Roasted Turkey with Gravy takes the stress out of Thanksgiving's main dish!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 14–15 pound fresh turkey
  • 3 tablespoons coarse kosher salt (NOT table salt)
  • pepper (freshly cracked)
  • 1 stalk celery (chopped into thirds)
  • 1 lemon (quartered)
  • 1 apple (quartered)
  • 5 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 3 sprigs fresh sage
  • 1 handful fresh parsley
  • 6 tablespoon butter (melted)

Easy Gravy Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup turkey pan drippings
  • 2 cups turkey broth or chicken broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon fresh minced thyme
  • 1 teaspoon fresh minced sage

Instructions

  1. Dry brine should be done 36-48 hours in advance. Once the turkey is thawed, remove carefully from packaging and remove giblets from both the body and neck cavity. Don't forget to check them both!
  2. Use paper towels to pat the turkey dry, inside and out. Rub about 2 tablespoons of salt inside the turkey cavity and remaining tablespoon on the outside of the turkey all over the breasts, thighs, and legs.
  3. Place the turkey in a roasting pan or on a platter, cover in foil, and store in fridge until ready to cook
  4. On the day of roasting, take the turkey out and pat dry with paper towels. No need to rinse off the dry brine! Let it sit at room temperature for 60-90 minutes.
  5. Preheat oven to 425. Position rack on the lowest setting of the oven.
  6. Stuff the cavity: sprinkle freshly cracked pepper inside, then add celery, lemon, apple, sage, and parsley. Don't be afraid to shove everything in there tightly. Tie the legs together using kitchen twine.
  7. Place a V-shaped rack in the roasting pan and brush it with some melted butter.
  8. Brush the skin of the turkey all over with melted butter. Place the turkey on the rack in the pan, breast side down. Bend and tuck the wing tips behind the back so they don't burn.
  9. Roast for 40 minutes, basting with butter after 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees.
  10. Use clean rubber kitchen gloves to turn the turkey breast side up on the rack. Add 2 cups of stock or water to the bottom of the roasting pan.
  11. Continue to roast, basting with the remaining butter until it's used up and then using pan juices to baste every 30 minutes.
  12. Roast for 90 minutes more until golden. After about 2 1/2 hours total, begin testing for doneness by inserting an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the turkey breast away from the bone; it should register 165-170 degrees.
  13. Transfer to a cutting board and cover loosely with aluminum foil so it can rest for 30 minutes. Use the pan juices to make gravy.

Easy Gravy

  1. In a small saucepan over medium heat melt the butter. Whisk in flour and cook for one minute, stirring continuously. Whisk in pan drippings. If you have more than a cup of drippings, use it and reduce the amount of broth! If you don't have a full cup, use more stock.
  2. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
  3. Stir in salt, pepper, thyme and sage. Simmer for 5 more minutes, gradually adding more broth if gravy becomes too thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @lifeisbutadish on Instagram and hashtag it #lifeisbutadish

When you try a recipe, use the hashtag #lifeisbutadish on INSTAGRAM for a chance to be featured in my stories! Follow Life is but a Dish on PINTEREST | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM for all the latest content and behind the scenes!

Remember to subscribe to my free  Life is but a Dish Weekly Newsletter and receive easy recipes delivered to your inbox every week!

Filed Under: Dinner, Healthy, Turkey

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rachael

    November 28, 2019 at 9:48 pm

    I made this Turkey recipe for Thanksgiving! It was a HUGE success!!! Soooooo GOOD!! Everyone loved the Turkey. Thank you!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Becca

    March 18, 2020 at 4:28 pm

    Hi there! At home, social distancing amid the COVID Outbreak, and have a frozen turkey that I got for a super good deal after Thanksgiving. I’m ready to use it up! I don’t have heat-resistant rubber gloves to turn the turkey over so it’s breast facing up. Do you have any other recommendations? Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Life is but a Dish

      March 23, 2020 at 2:19 pm

      You could use oven mits or let it cool and use a large fork and spatula to do it carefully

  3. Lizzie

    November 28, 2020 at 4:40 pm

    So delicious!!! And so simple. Thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆
Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

About me

Welcome to Life is but a Dish! I create easy, approachable recipes for the everyday home cook. Behind every recipe, photo and blog post is me – just an everyday mom, home cook and girl who’s obsessed with food. Let me tell you a little bit about what makes me, me!

READ MORE…

This dinner guide will save you countless hours of headaches and stress.

28 Day Dinner Guide Buy Button

lifeisbutadish

Laney Schwartz
Spoiler Alert:🚨It’s never the right time. ⁣ Spoiler Alert:🚨It’s never the right time. ⁣
⁣
There’s never gonna be the perfect time to go after your goals, make the change, take the leap or do that one scary thing you’ve been thinking about. Life will keep happening. There will always be a reason to not.⁣
⁣
But what if? What if you decided right now to make it work? What if you decided to prioritize that thing you KNOW will change your life (and the lives of others) forever? ⁣
⁣
What if I told you that in 8 weeks (think about how short that is in the grand scheme), you could feel confident enough in the kitchen to feed yourself and your family healthy, delicious meals that they begged for over and over again. ⁣
⁣
How would that make you feel? Truly... I want you to take a second to think about how you would feel knowing that you and your family were actually excited about the next meal. So excited that they go back for seconds and request it again the next night. Feels pretty good, huh? ⁣
⁣
Feels pretty awesome to put yourself first for a change because guess what? When you put yourself first, everybody wins. ⁣
⁣
When you shine, everybody lights up. Confidence is something we all have within us, sometimes we just need a little help finding it. ⁣
⁣
If you are someone who feels overwhelmed, lost or anxious in the kitchen, I am here to help. In fact, my gift in life is helping people overcome those feelings in the kitchen which ultimately bleeds into other areas of their life, lighting up the people around them. ⁣
⁣
Cook with Confidence is my 8-week high touch, virtual program that helps busy home cooks build confidence in the kitchen and learn how to cook delicious meals without being tied to a recipe. This is NOT your average cooking program. ⁣
⁣
This is NOT a program that hands you a list of ingredients or meal plans and sends you on your merry way. ⁣
⁣
This IS a program that dives deep into the fundamental skills that it takes to achieve ultimate kitchen freedom. Everything from kitchen essentials, to knife skills, to chicken, fish, soup, pasta and more. This IS a program that will change your life. ⁣
⁣
Applications open on Monday for waitlist only so get on it! Stop waiting, the time is now. ♥️
SWIPE FOR THE AFTER ➡️⁣ ⁣ Wanna know the g SWIPE FOR THE AFTER ➡️⁣
⁣
Wanna know the good news? ⁣
⁣
You might already have all these ingredients in your kitchen! ⁣
⁣
Bad news? ⁣
⁣
You haven’t tried this recipe yet.⁣
⁣
Say hello to this Salmon and Asparagus Sheet Pan Dinner! Yeeeerrrrr gonna luuuuv it!⁣
⁣
https://www.lifeisbutadish.com/salmon-and-asparagus-sheet-pan-dinner/
Making my famous Egg Toast 🥚 🍞. Quick live h Making my famous Egg Toast 🥚 🍞. Quick live how-to of making my daily egg sandwich!
Swipe to see how fast this muffin tin snack tray c Swipe to see how fast this muffin tin snack tray came together ➡️⁣
⁣
Then leave a comment with your favorite thing to add to a snack/lunch tray for your kiddos! ⬇️⁣
⁣
Here’s what’s in mine:⁣
@traderjoes 1,000 Day Gouda cheese⁣
Golden Round Crackers⁣
Strawberries⁣
Blueberries⁣
Cucumber sticks⁣
Green grapes⁣
Sumo oranges ⁣
@sietefoods potato chips⁣
Dark Chocolate Non-Pareils ⁣
After 14 months, 5 cancelled trips and 2 vaccines After 14 months, 5 cancelled trips and 2 vaccines later Mimi finally made her way back to California for a 10 day visit! ⁣
⁣
We ate ALL the snacks, went on adventures, made a big Passover dinner and simply just enjoyed time together. ⁣
⁣
Covid took away a lot of our time but it’s also been the best teacher and reminder of what’s important. ⁣
⁣
Back to our party of 4 plus 1 🐶 but don’t worry, the snack queen will be back again soon!
THE BEST CARROTS OF ALL TIME 🥕🤩⁣ ⁣ Serio THE BEST CARROTS OF ALL TIME 🥕🤩⁣
⁣
Seriously, if you’re not eating carrots this way, you’re doing it all wrong.⁣
⁣
Roasted with olive oil, salt, pepper and cumin and drizzled with a garlic butter sauce 🤤 you can’t imagine how good (and easy) these are.⁣
⁣
Perfect for your Passover or Easter table and even better for any night of the week! ⁣
⁣
https://www.lifeisbutadish.com/cumin-roasted-carrots-with-garlic-butter/
LOOK WHAT I MADE! My first 6-braid challah! 😍⁣
⁣
I’ve been super inspired by this new book JEW-ish by @jakecohen. ⁣
⁣
I love his story, the why behind the book and of course, the recipes!⁣
⁣
Jew-ish is the perfect way to describe how I grew up. Sure, I was raised Jewish, we celebrated all the big holidays and I had a Bat Mitzvah, but I never really built a strong connection with Judaism itself. ⁣
⁣
I’ve learned most everything I know about Judaism through having kids and learning alongside them. It’s been a beautiful journey for me and this book has inspired me to continue learning, celebrating and being proud. ✡️⁣
⁣
@jakecohen writes about making Shabbat and Jewish traditions whatever you want them to be without the pressure of making it perfect. He also teaches you how to make this challah! For me, food is what brings us all together and BOOM CLAP it doesn’t get more Jewish than this big ass challah! ⁣
⁣
Let’s do a GIVEAWAY to celebrate! ⁣
⁣
Enter for a chance to win a copy of @jakecohen book JEW-ISH.⁣
⁣
1. Tag a friend you love and tell them you love them! Let’s spread joy! ♥️⁣
⁣
That’s it! I’ll pick a winner tomorrow night. Shabbat Shalom friends!
SAVE THIS POST FOR ST. PATTY’S DAY ☘️ ⁣ Sp SAVE THIS POST FOR ST. PATTY’S DAY ☘️ ⁣
Spinach Breakfast Muffins your kids will actually like! ⁣
⁣
Head to my stories for the play-by-play.⁣
⁣
https://www.lifeisbutadish.com/spinach-breakfast-muffins/
Sunday Farmer’s Market days have quickly become Sunday Farmer’s Market days have quickly become my favorite. ♥️⁣
⁣
One of the best things about living in California is the year round amazing produce. Nothing makes me happier. 🙌⁣
⁣
Food is love and man-oh-man this just fills me up. Literally and figuratively. ✨⁣
⁣
DO NOT MISS next week!! I’ll be shopping with a very special guest! Any guesses? 🤔 ⁣
RECIPE OF THE MONTH CHALLENGE! ⁣ ⁣ In case you RECIPE OF THE MONTH CHALLENGE! ⁣
⁣
In case you missed it, I’m starting a new challenge every month where you have the opportunity to make dinner and easily enter for a chance to win a $100 gift card to the grocery store of your choice! 🎉⁣
⁣
This month the recipe is my Honey Glazed Salmon and truuuuust me you’re gonna wanna make this simple dish because everybody loves it. ⁣
⁣
Head to my stories for the step-by-step on how to make it (also saved to a highlight). ⁣
⁣
How does it work? Glad you asked 👇⁣
⁣
1. Make the recipe of the month.⁣
⁣
2. Leave a star rating/review on the blog post. ⁣
⁣
BONUS ENTRY: Take a pic and share on IG. Tag @lifeisbutadish so I can see/share! If you’re private or don’t want to post but want the bonus entry, DM or email me a pic. ⁣
⁣
That’s it! ⁣
⁣
I’ll pick a winner on the first of every month for the previous month. ⁣
⁣
Love seeing your creations so far! Have fun and happy salmon making! ⁣
⁣
https://www.lifeisbutadish.com/honey-glazed-salmon/⁣
When I tell you these are the best cookies of all When I tell you these are the best cookies of all time, you should believe me. 🍪 ⁣
⁣
Are you team sea salt on your cookies no?⁣
⁣
https://www.lifeisbutadish.com/dark-chocolate-chunk-oatmeal-peanut-butter-cookies-w-sea-salt/
Happy Birthday to the kindest person I know. 🥳I Happy Birthday to the kindest person I know. 🥳I have never met anyone who loves like you do. Your sweet, gentle soul lights up the world around you. Keep shining bright my baby girl. 💫
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework · Privacy Policy

5 Days of Dinner Meal Plan Button to push to learn more