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5.0 from 6 votes

Easy Oven Roasted Citrus Turkey

🍋🍊🦃 This EASY turkey recipe makes the JUICIEST and most FLAVORFUL roast turkey that everyone loves! The cavity is stuffed with aromatics including a lemon, an orange, fresh herbs, and the skin is coated in a citrus herb butter so it's moist AND bursting with FLAVOR! This is a SIMPLE recipe that uses basic ingredients to create a PERFECT Thanksgiving or holiday turkey that your family and friends will rave about for years to come!

Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
2 hrs 30 mins
Thawing Time + Resting Time
3 d 20 mins
Servings: 8
Calories: 694 kcal
Cuisine: American , Canadian

Ingredients

Turkey
  • 10 to 12 pound whole turkey thawed from frozen or a fresh turkey (read the blog post for thawing tips, start 3-5 days prior to Thanksgiving in your fridge)
  • 1 whole white onion peeled and quartered
  • 1 medium lemon quartered (zest it for the butter below before you quarter it)
  • 1 medium orange quartered (zest it for the butter below before you quarter it)
  • 2 Fresh rosemary sprigs
  • 2 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 2 sprigs fresh sage
  • 2 teaspoons salt or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
  • 2 cups water or chicken broth
Herb Butter
  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
  • Zest of 1 medium lemon
  • zest of 1 medium orange
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves finely chopped (or about 1 1/2 teaspoons dried)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or about 1 1/2 teaspoons dried
  • 1 tablespoon fresh sage finely chopped (or about 1 1/2 teaspoons dried)
  • 4 garlic cloves finely minced
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
  • Garnishing
  • Extra fresh herb sprigs (or lemon/orange slices, cranberries, etc; optional and as desired for garnishing)

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Thawing - Read the blog post for more complete info about thawing a turkey from frozen, but the general rule of thumb in the refrigerator is 24 hours for each 5 pounds of turkey. Meaning a 10-pound turkey = 48 hours and a 15-pound turkey = 72 hours. I like to also add ~24 hours of cushion time in case things are going a bit slower than anticipated. Meaning, no later than Monday morning of Thanksgiving week I have my frozen turkey in my fridge, with a drip pan underneath it to catch the turkey water that's coming out as it thaws.
  2. Turkey - Preheat your oven to 350F and place the turkey on a large roasting pan (with a rack is preferrable) with the breast side up. Pat the turkey skin with paper towels to dry. Remove the neck and giblets from the inside of the cavity.
  3. Place the quartered onion, lemon, orange and fresh herb sprigs inside of the cavity of the turkey and season the outside of the turkey with salt and pepper.
  4. Herb Butter - To a small bowl, add the softened butter, lemon zest, orange zest chopped herbs, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and stir to combine. Tip - This is much easier with softened butter so make sure to set it out at least 30-45 minutes beforehand.
  5. Using clean hands (wear kitchen gloves if you'd like), rub the butter mixture both underneath the turkey skin and all over the outside of the turkey evenly. Tip - Use caution when lifting up the turkey skin to rub butter underneath it so you don't rip the skin. The butter does not have to coat or reach every single inch but the more you can spread it, the better.
  6. Tressing - Using cooking string or twine, tie the turkey legs together; called tressing or to tress the turkey. Alternatively, use a piece of the turkey skin pulled over the legs to hold together if you don't have twine.
  7. Roasting - Pour the water or broth into the bottom of your roasting pan. Roast the turkey uncovered for 13 minutes per pound, basting occasionally with the pan juices if desired. Roast until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the turkey meat is 160 to 165F.
  8. Resting - Remove the roasting pan from the oven and place a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the turkey to seal in the heat, during which time the internal temp will come up to 165F (the safe temp to eat dark meat) to 170F. juices. Allow the turkey to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving.
  9. Carving and Garnishing - Discard the herbs in the turkey cavity. Slice the turkey and serve warm, or garnish on a serving platter with additional herbs and citrus slices, and enjoy!

Notes

  • Gravy - If you want to make gravy with the pan juices, go for it. My Easy 15-Minute Perfect Gravy recipe is my go to. You can make the gravy while the turkey is resting. 
  • Storage - Leftover turkey will keep airtight for up to 5 days in the fridge and for up to 3 months in the freezer.
  • Leftover Turkey Recipes - Please see the recipes directly below this recipe card section for a variety of ways and recipes to use leftover turkey.

Nutrition Information

Serving 1serving Calories 694kcal (35%) Carbohydrates 6g (2%) Protein 88g (176%) Fat 34g (52%) Saturated Fat 13g (65%) Polyunsaturated Fat 6g Monounsaturated Fat 10g Trans Fat 1g Cholesterol 320mg (107%) Sodium 1329mg (55%) Potassium 1004mg (29%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 3g (6%) Vitamin A 693IU (14%) Vitamin C 19mg (21%) Calcium 81mg (8%) Iron 4mg (22%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 694

% Daily Value*

Serving 1serving
Calories 694kcal 35%
Carbohydrates 6g 2%
Protein 88g 176%
Fat 34g 52%
Saturated Fat 13g 65%
Polyunsaturated Fat 6g 35%
Monounsaturated Fat 10g 50%
Trans Fat 1g 50%
Cholesterol 320mg 107%
Sodium 1329mg 55%
Potassium 1004mg 21%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 3g 6%
Vitamin A 693IU 14%
Vitamin C 19mg 21%
Calcium 81mg 8%
Iron 4mg 22%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.