Moist and buttery herbes de provence roasted turkey is such a delectable main course for the holiday season or to enjoy throughout the year! The turkey is slathered with an aromatic herb butter and roasted to perfect to create a Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey that everyone will be raving over!
Tender, aromatic, and super buttery – my herbes de provence roasted turkey is full of wonderful flavor!
Elevate your Christmas or Thanksgiving spread with my incredible herbes de provence roasted turkey! It’s so packed with buttery, herb flavor! It’s also amazingly moist, because I rub the entire bird, inside and out, with a simple, yet delicious herbes de provence seasoned butter!
Herbes de provence is a French herb blend that originated in the southeastern region of France, or Provence. The herbs are aromatic, rustic, and pair perfectly with poultry!
Want to learn more about herbes de provence? Check out my full post about the amazing herb blend and how to make it!
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❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
Easy to Make! This majority of this recipe is just massaging the butter into all the nooks and crannies of the turkey. Even if you haven’t made turkey before, it’ll be so easy!
Perfect for Christmas! Not only will this turkey look incredible on a holiday table, but it’ll also taste so good that your family and guests will be asking for it every year!
Utterly Delicious! This turkey recipe is loaded with butter and aromatic herbs that really help to make this bird shine!
🥘 Ingredients
This roasted turkey recipe is so moist and delicious, especially when paired with the herbed butter! I recommend using my simple herbes de provence recipe for a tasty herb mix you can use on so many things!
- 20 pound Turkey – Make sure your turkey is thoroughly defrosted before roasting so it doesn’t take too long to cook! *Other weights will also work, the cooking times per pound (stuffed and unstuffed) are noted in the recipe card below.
- ½ cup Butter – ½ cup butter is equivalent to 1 stick. Salted butter is best here, to make sure the turkey is well seasoned! You also want the butter to be brought up to room temperature.
- 2 tablespoons Herbes de Provence – Herbes de provence is a delicious French herb seasoning blend that typically includes thyme, marjoram, rosemary, savory, oregano, and tarragon. You can make my recipe or purchase your favorite store bought.
- 2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil – You’ll use this to coat the turkey with the butter. It will help to brown your bird and ensure the butter doesn’t burn.
- ½ Medium White or Yellow Onion – You want this to be sliced so it can fit inside the cavity. Onion will help provide extra flavor to the meat of the bird!
- ½ Large Lemon – This should also be sliced to put inside the turkey. Make sure you wash any wax off the lemon very well.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 Instructions
Herbes de Provence Turkey is a delicious way to change up the average holiday roasted turkey! Making sure the turkey is thoroughly massaged with butter is so worth it – every piece of turkey is flavorful and tender!
Prepare & Season
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- Prep. Remove your thawed 20-pound turkey from the fridge and allow it to warm to room temperature for 30 minutes. You should also set out ½ cup (1 stick) of butter to soften. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C) and place a roasting rack or tray into a large roasting pan.
- Clean and pat dry. Once the turkey has thawed, remove it from packaging. Then remove any packages from inside the turkey (neck, gizzards, heart, and liver are usually inside—some turkeys also have a package of gravy base). Rinse your turkey inside and out, then place it onto the roasting pan (or a cutting board) with the breast side up. Next, pat turkey with paper towels until dry. Make sure to wash your hands!
- Make the herb butter. In a small bowl, combine ½ cup of softened butter with 2 tablespoons of herbes de provence (you can also add a teaspoon of paprika for color here if desired) and mix until evenly distributed.
- Coat the turkey. Using the butter herb blend, coat the outside of turkey as well as inside the body cavity. Then start massaging the butter into the breast and working over the legs, wings, back, and then the remaining butter inside the turkey (*I highly recommend using your fingers to loosen the skin from the breast meat to rub the herb butter under the skin to season).
- Seasoning. Once the whole turkey has been coated with the butter, use 2 tablespoons of olive oil to coat all the surfaces of the turkey. Next, place ½ sliced medium white or yellow onion and ½ sliced large lemon inside the cavity of the turkey. Leave room in the cavity for air to circulate! (Optional—Add additional fresh herbs inside the cavity for aroma and flavoring).
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Roasting the Turkey
- Roast your turkey. Place your turkey, uncovered, into the roasting pan and then put into the oven. Then, reduce the oven 350°F (175°C)and cook for 13 minutes per pound (without stuffing) or 15 minutes per pound (with stuffing).
- Baste the roasting turkey. Every 40 to 45 minutes, remove the turkey from oven and baste with the drippings and then return to the oven and allow to continue cooking. (*Be sure to close the oven while basting to keep your oven temperature steady—See Tips & Recipe Notes)
- Rest before serving. Remove your turkey from the oven when it reaches an internal temperature of 155-160°F (68-71°C). Carefully transfer the cooked turkey to a cutting board or your chosen serving platter. If desired, save the drippings to make gravy! Then, cover loosely with aluminum foil. Allow your turkey to rest for approximately 1 ½ hours before carving and serving. Enjoy!
My delicious, buttery Herbes de Provence turkey is so delightfully savory! It’s a perfect turkey recipe! I love to serve it with all the classic holiday sides: try serving with my creamy roasted garlic mashed potatoes, easy stuffing, and crispy roasted brussels sprouts.
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Your oven should remain closed whenever you’re taking the turkey out to baste or check the temperature! This way, your oven’s temperature will be kept at a steady temperature and will not drop. You don’t want the turkey to overcook by having to roast in a cold oven!
- If you bring the turkey to room temperature for 30 minutes before roasting, it will yield the best results! This will help the bird cook evenly and will help the skin not to shrink, so it has the best appearance when finished roasting!
- Per USDA guidelines, poultry should not be cooked at temperatures less than 325°F (163°C) for best food safety practices. As well, even though the turkey should be rested for 1 ½ hours, the USDA recommends not leaving cooked turkey out for more than 2 hours. Make sure the turkey is eaten immediately and refrigerate the leftovers.
- Cooking for a smaller crowd? You can easily halve this recipe and roast a whole chicken instead of turkey. You should adjust the cooking time to 13-15 minutes per pound as noted in the instructions below, or according to your package instructions. The internal temperature should still reach 155-160°F (68-71°C) before resting.
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Making a leftover turkey sandwich the next day is a must whenever you roast turkey! Put the cooled leftovers in an airtight container and it will refrigerate for 3 to 4 days.
I recommend carving the turkey meat completely off the bones and then freezing the bones for a delicious stock. See my turkey noodle soup here using the carcass (turkey frame).
You can also keep roasted turkey in the fridge to better extend its shelf-life! Make sure it’s properly cooled and stored in airtight container or heavy-duty plastic freezer storage bag.
Frozen, cooked turkey will keep for 3 months for the best quality! You can easily defrost overnight when you’re getting ready to reheat!
Reheating Herbes de Provence Turkey
I highly recommend reheating this delightful turkey in the oven! The oven should be preheated to 300°F (150°C), then place the leftover or defrosted turkey in a baking dish.
Then, splash a little stock, gravy, or drippings onto the turkey and cover with a sheet of aluminum foil. Cook the turkey for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the turkey reaches your desired warmth.
Check out all of my tasty leftover turkey recipes on one page!
🦃 What To Serve With Turkey
I have a entire post for what to serve with turkey, but here are a few of my favorites!
❓ Recipe FAQs
My preference and recommendation are to use a salted, European butter. The salt will ensure the turkey is well seasoned. European butter is also much higher in butterfat, so it has a rich, deep flavor that works beautifully with the herbs and turkey!
This recipe makes for 16 servings of turkey! I’ve calculated each serving to be 1 ¼ pound of carved turkey per person. If you and your family eat less than that, then you’ll likely have a few more servings!
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📖 Recipe Card
Herbes de Provence Roasted Turkey
Ingredients
- 20 lb turkey (thawed)
- ½ cup butter (softened, at room temperature)
- 2 tablespoon herbes de provence (see recipe or use your favorite store-bought blend)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil (extra virgin)
- ½ medium white or yellow onion (sliced)
- ½ large lemon (washed and sliced)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Remove your thawed turkey from the fridge and allow it to warm to room temperature for 30 minutes. *This is also approximately enough time to soften butter.
- Preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C) and place a roasting rack or tray into a large roasting pan.
- Once the chill has been taken off your thawed turkey, remove it from packaging, as well as any packages in the cavity (neck, gizzards, heart, liver are usually inside - some turkeys also have a package of gravy base). Rinse your turkey inside and out, then place it into the roasting pan with the breast side up (or a cutting board). Pat dry using paper towels.
- In a small bowl, combine the softened butter with herbes de provence (you can also add a teaspoon of paprika if desired) until evenly distributed.
- Using the butter herb blend, coat the outside of the turkey as well as inside the body cavity. Starting with massaging the paste into the breast and working over the legs, wings, back and then the remaining paste inside the turkey. *Use your fingertips to loosen the skin from the breast meat to rub the herbed butter under the skin if desired. I highly recommend this!
- Once the whole turkey has been coated with the herbes de provence butter, use the olive oil to also coat all surfaces of the turkey.
- Place the lemon and onion slices inside the cavity of the turkey, leaving plenty of room for air to circulate throughout the cooking turkey. (Optional) Add additional fresh herbs inside the cavity for aroma and flavoring.
- Leave your turkey uncovered and place the roasting pan with seasoned turkey into the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and cook for 13 minutes per pound (without stuffing) or 15 minutes per pound (with stuffing).
- Every 40-45 minutes, remove the turkey from oven and baste with the drippings and then return to the oven and allow to continue cooking. Be sure to close the oven while basting, to keep your oven temperature steady for proper roasting time.
- Remove your turkey from the oven when it reaches 155-160°F (68-71°C).
- Carefully transfer the cooked turkey to a cutting board or your serving platter, then cover loosely with aluminum foil. Save the drippings for gravy (if desired). Allow your turkey to rest for approximately 1 ½ hours before carving and serving.
Notes
- Thawed turkey should be brought to room temperature for 30 minutes prior to roasting for even cooking and the best appearance (will minimize shrinkage).
- Servings are calculated at 1 ¼ pound of carved turkey per person for each serving.
- Poultry should not be cooked at temperatures less than 325°F (163°C) for best food safety practices.
- A 20-pound roasted turkey should be rested between 1 ½ hours to 2 hours, however, USDA says not to leave a cooked turkey out for more than 2 hours before refrigerating the leftovers.
Em says
Would it be ok to prep the turkey as directed the day before then leave in the fridge until time to roast?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes, that works quite well. Do try to take the chill off the turkey before roasting by setting it out at room temperature (1-2 hours). Happy Thanksgiving!