How Long to Cook a Turkey: Times by Weight and a Calculator
Enter a weight and a dinner time to see the whole schedule.
Data updated September 2026.
How long to cook a turkey comes down to weight, whether it is stuffed, and the temperature you cook it at. At 325 degrees F an unstuffed bird needs roughly 13 to 16 minutes per pound, so a 16-pound turkey takes 3 hours 45 minutes to 4 hours 15 minutes. Stuffed, add 15 to 30 minutes. On a 250 degree F smoker, figure 25 to 30 minutes per pound instead. The calculator above counts backward from the hour you carve and tells you when the bird goes in.
How long to cook a turkey, by weight
This is the USDA roasting chart in full, at 325 degrees F, which is the lowest oven temperature USDA will publish times for. The first two rows are turkey breast, not a whole bird.
| Turkey size | Unstuffed | Stuffed |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 6 lb (breast) | 1.5 to 2.25 hours | Not usually applicable |
| 6 to 8 lb (breast) | 2.25 to 3.25 hours | 3 to 3.5 hours |
| 8 to 12 lb | 2.75 to 3 hours | 3 to 3.5 hours |
| 12 to 14 lb | 3 to 3.75 hours | 3.5 to 4 hours |
| 14 to 18 lb | 3.75 to 4.25 hours | 4 to 4.25 hours |
| 18 to 20 lb | 4.25 to 4.5 hours | 4.25 to 4.75 hours |
| 20 to 24 lb | 4.5 to 5 hours | 4.75 to 5.25 hours |
Every one of those times ends the same way: 165 degrees F, measured in the innermost part of the thigh, the innermost part of the wing and the thickest part of the breast. All three have to reach it.
Turkey cooking time per pound, by method
Per-pound math is the quick version. It is close enough to shop and plan by, and it breaks down at the small end, which is why the chart above wins for anything under 12 pounds.
| Method | Time per pound | 16-pound bird | Pull at | Skin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oven, 325 degrees F | 13 to 16 min | 3 hr 45 min to 4 hr 15 min | 165 F | Crisp |
| Smoker, 275 degrees F | 20 to 25 min | 5 hr 20 min to 6 hr 40 min | 165 F breast, 170 to 175 F thigh | Crisp |
| Smoker, 250 degrees F | 25 to 30 min | 6 hr 40 min to 8 hours | 165 F breast, 170 to 175 F thigh | Softer |
| Smoker, 225 degrees F | 30 to 35 min | 8 to 9 hr 20 min | 165 F breast, 170 to 175 F thigh | Rubbery unless you finish hot |
The smoker figures come from our own smoking times and temperatures chart. Below about 250 degrees F the skin never renders, so if you are smoking low, plan to finish the last half hour hot or serve the skin to somebody who does not mind.
How the calculator works out your start time
Starting at the hour you carve and counting backward:
- Rest, 20 minutes. USDA sets no rest requirement for poultry. Twenty minutes is our allowance, and it is what makes a bird carve cleanly instead of flooding the board.
- Cook. The longer end of the published range for your weight and method, so the plan holds when the bird runs slow.
- Cushion, 30 minutes. Ovens run cold, doors get opened, and a stuffed bird is slower than a hollow one. This is our allowance too.
- Heat on, 30 minutes before that. The bird comes out of the refrigerator and the oven or pit comes up to temperature together.
Finishing early is easy to fix: tent it and hold it above 140 degrees F. Finishing late is not fixable, which is why the plan uses the slow end of the range.
A worked example, done by hand
A 16-pound unstuffed turkey, carved at 3:00 PM on Thanksgiving.
- USDA gives the 14 to 18 pound row as 3 hours 45 minutes to 4 hours 15 minutes at 325 degrees F.
- Rest 20 minutes, so it comes out of the oven at 2:40 PM.
- Add the long end plus the cushion: 4 hours 15 minutes plus 30 minutes is 4 hours 45 minutes.
- Counting back from 2:40 PM, the turkey goes in at 9:55 AM, and the oven goes on at 9:25 AM.
- Start probing when the short end runs out, about 1:40 PM.
How long to cook a turkey: questions people actually ask
How long to cook a turkey at 350 degrees F?
Roughly 15 percent faster than the 325 degree F chart, so a 16-pound bird lands around 3 hours 15 minutes to 3 hours 45 minutes. USDA does not publish a 350 degree F table, so treat that as an estimate and lean harder on the thermometer. What USDA does say is never to go below 325 degrees F.
Does a stuffed turkey take longer?
Yes, 15 to 30 minutes on most weights, and it carries a second temperature check: the center of the stuffing has to reach 165 degrees F as well. If the meat gets there first, take the stuffing out and finish it in a dish.
Can I cook a turkey from frozen?
You can, and it takes at least 50 percent longer. Nothing can be stuffed into a frozen bird, and the giblets have to come out partway through once the cavity loosens.
Why is my turkey done an hour early?
Usually the thermometer is in the wrong place or the oven runs hot. Check all three points before you believe it, and remember the published times are a range, not a promise. That is what the 30-minute cushion absorbs.
What temperature is a turkey done at?
165 degrees F everywhere USDA names. Many cooks pull the thigh at 170 to 175 degrees F because dark meat tastes better a little past done, which is safe, just not required.
More turkey planning on Popular BBQ
- Thanksgiving dinner planner — the whole meal, with the sides scheduled around the bird and a shopping list.
- Turkey thawing planner — the step before this one, back-planned to the hour the bird leaves the freezer.
- BBQ meat calculator — how many pounds of bird to buy for your headcount.
- Smoking times and temperatures chart — every cut, if the turkey is going on the pit.
- All Popular BBQ tools — the planners and charts in one place.
Sources
- FoodSafety.gov, meat and poultry roasting charts, for the 325 degrees F turkey roasting table and the 165 degrees F minimum. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
- FoodSafety.gov, safe minimum internal temperature chart, for poultry and for stuffing cooked inside poultry. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
- Smoker times and pull temperatures from our own smoking times and temperatures chart, compiled from ThermoWorks, Smoked BBQ Source, Smoking-Meat.com and Hey Grill Hey.
Data updated September 2026. The 20-minute rest, the 30-minute cushion and the stuffed-bird smoker allowance are our own planning figures and are marked as such. Every other number on this page comes from the sources above.