This easy Orange Rosemary Turkey is the perfect main dish for your holiday dinner. Tender and juicy on the inside, and crispy on the outside, this turkey is loaded with savory, aromatic flavors, and a bright kick of citrus.
Quick Look: Orange Rosemary Turkey
- ⏱ Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🔥 Cook Time: 3 hours and 20 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 3 hours and 35 minutes
- 🦃 Serving: 10 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 606 calories per serving
- 🍊 Flavor Profile: tender, juicy and a nice touch of citrus
- 👌 Difficulty: Easy, a perfect masterpiece for your holiday dinners
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS RECIPE ON:
When it comes to holiday recipes, nothing is more iconic than roasted turkey. Everyone love the moment you can smell the fresh roasted bird come strait from the oven, leaving those delicious smells to waft throughout the house.
This rosemary roasted turkey recipe is easy to make and hard to stop eating. It all starts with the bird getting slathered in an herbed butter mix to help create the ultimate, crispy texture. The oranges add in an extra touch of citrus that will have everyone loving this turkey recipe.
Pair it with your favorite sides like gluten-free mashed potatoes, air fryer asparagus, Green Beans with Bacon and Onions, this bacon smoked mac and cheese recipe, and a sweet treat like this festive gluten-free almond vanilla cake for a holiday feast!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: All you need is a turkey, butter, seasonings, and an orange to make this delicious dish.
- Blissfully Easy: All it takes is a few minutes of prep and some roasting, and your holiday bird is ready to go.
- Classic Flavor: The herbed butter, aromatics, and orange infusion creates a delicious bite of holiday flavor in every piece of turkey.
- Great for Leftovers: The extra flavor added from the herbed butter makes this perfect for leftover dishes like this turkey puff pastry pot pie or my Marry Me chicken soup.
Key Ingredients
You'll find a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Oranges and Juice: Oranges in the cavity of the turkey and orange juice in the herbed butter add a bright, citrusy note to the turkey.
- Onions and Celery: Onions and celery in the turkey cavity add aromatic flavor.
- Rosemary and Thyme: Fresh rosemary and thyme in the turkey cavity add a perfect touch of fresh herbs.
- Seasonings: A blend of garlic, paprika, and sage gives the turkey a wonderful, savory holiday flavor.
Variations
- Spicy: Add red pepper flakes to taste for a slightly warm or hot version.
- Chicken: Add the herbs, oranges, and aromatics to a chicken cavity. Then, coat it with olive oil and the seasonings here to make a rosemary air fryer rotisserie chicken.
- Garlic: Add fresh garlic cloves to the turkey cavity for a more aromatic flavor.
- Onions: White, yellow, and sweet onions all work well for this recipe.
- Sage: Add a sprig of fresh sage to the cavity of the turkey for more savory flavor.
- Fresh Herbs: If you don't have fresh herbs, use 1 teaspoon herbs per 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped herbs.
- Extra Veggies: Add carrots, onion, celery, potatoes, rosemary, thyme, and 2 cups of turkey or chicken broth to the bottom of a disposable roasting pan. Then, roast the turkey on an elevated rack.
How to Make Rosemary Turkey
- Coat the turkey with salt. Then, stuff the cavity with the orange, herbs, onions, and celery. Truss the legs.
- Mix the herbed butter ingredients until fully combined.
- Lift the turkey skin and spread the butter underneath it. Then, coat the outside of the skin with more butter, reserving ½ cup to baste the turkey later. Place on a rack in a roasting pan.
- Roast the turkey at 400°F for 15 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to 325°F and cook until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh registers 165°F. Halfway through cooking, baste the turkey with the remaining melted butter or inject it into the meat with a meat syringe.
Expert Tips
- Thaw a frozen turkey for 24 hours per pound.
- Bring your turkey to room temperature before roasting it for even cooking.
- Pat the turkey completely dry with paper towels before adding the salt.
- I love the Circulon Nonstick Roasting Pan for this and other similar recipes. It has great features like a U-shaped roasting rack and durable, heavy-duty construction. AND it's oven-safe to 450 degrees.
- To easily loosen the turkey skin, gently slide your fingers underneath it, slowly working your hand farther under the skin as you lift. Be sure to wear gloves!
- If your skin is browning too quickly, cover the turkey loosely with a foil tent or a moist cheesecloth.
Rosemary Turkey FAQs
Rosemary adds a piney, peppery, woody flavor with hints of lemon and sage, complementing turkey perfectly. It's also so darn pretty!
Sage, rosemary, thyme, and parsley are classic pairings for any poultry. Adding aromatics like garlic and onion also adds more classic flavor, working perfectly with the herbs.
Roast your turkey at 400 degrees for the first 15 minutes to quickly begin browning the skin. Then, reduce the heat to 325 degrees to cook the meat slowly. This results in a turkey with crispy brown skin and tender, juicy meat.
Adding extra broth to the bottom of your pan when roasting rosemary turkey helps keep the turkey tender, prevents the drippings from burning, and adds more liquid for gravy later!
📖 Recipe
Orange Rosemary Turkey
Video
Ingredients
Turkey
- 1 turkey 10 to 13 pounds
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 onion peeled and quartered
- 1 orange quartered
- 4 celery stalks
- .5 oz rosemary sprigs
- .5 oz thyme sprigs
Herbed Butter
- 3 cups butter softened
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoon sage
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon orange juice freshly squeezed
Instructions
Turkey
- Bring the turkey to room temperature and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Pat the tukey dry with paper towels and rub salt all over the skin.
- Stuff the cavity with the rosemary, thyme, orange, onion, and celery. Then, truss the legs with cooking twine.
Herbed Butter
- Mix the butter, orange juice, salt, garlic powder, paprika, sage, and black pepper until fully combined.
- Loosen the skin with your fingers, lifting it up as you go. Then, spread the butter mixture underneath the skin and all over the outside of the turkey with a spatula, reserving ½ cup for basting later.
Roasting
- Add any vegetables you prefer to the bottom of the pan, along with 2 cups of turkey broth. This is optional.
- Place the turkey on a rack in your roasting pan. If you don't have a rack, you can place the turkey directly on top of your vegetables or into the pan.
- Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to 325 degrees, and continue roasting for 13 to 15 minutes per pound until the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees. Melt the remaining butter and baste the turkey or inject it with a meat syringe about halfway through cooking.
Notes
- Thaw a frozen turkey for 24 hours per pound.
- Bring your turkey to room temperature before roasting it for even cooking.
- I love the Circulon Nonstick Roasting Pan for this and other similar recipes. It has great features like a U-shaped roasting rack and durable, heavy-duty construction. AND it's oven-safe to 450 degrees.
- To easily loosen the turkey skin, gently slide your fingers underneath it, slowly working your hand farther under the skin as you lift. Be sure to wear gloves!
- If your skin is browning too quickly, cover the turkey loosely with a foil tent or a moist cheesecloth.
Ana says
This orange rosemary turkey came out juicy and so easy, with a lovely citrusy note and herby aroma throughout.
Nicole Kendrick says
This turkey is always the talk of the holiday table! Enjoy!
Nora says
My family loved this! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Nicole Kendrick says
I appreciate you giving it a try! Thanks so much, Nora!
Draden says
Thank you for sharing this recipe
Nicole Kendrick says
Thank you for the 5 star review!!
Chloe says
Such a great combo of flavors! This was the hero of our Thanksgiving meal!
Nicole Kendrick says
OMG! I love hearing this. So glad you had a lovely holiday!
Katy says
A simple and delicious recipe to roast turkey. Orange and rosemary add tons of flavor to the meat. Love it!
Nicole Kendrick says
Everyone LOVES this holiday turkey. But don't be afraid to make it all year long!
Lila says
This was AMAZING, such a different flavor profile and we really liked it!
Nicole Kendrick says
So glad you enjoyed. Thanks so much for the love, Lila! Have a great day! -NK
Celia says
This worked exactly as written, thanks!
Nicole Kendrick says
I love to hear that we were able to help you out. Thanks so much!
Swathi says
Orange rosemary turkey is so delicious I made it for our Thanksgiving dinner. I enjoyed making it.
Nicole Kendrick says
I love to hear you were able to enjoy great food AND great company! Have a happy Thanksgiving!
Teresa says
I loved everything about this Turkey. Will make it again next year!
Nicole Kendrick says
Thanks so much for your kind words! I hope you have a great day!
Trish says
The tip about lowering the temperature after the first fifteen minutes of high-heat baking was incredibly helpful, the orange rosemary turkey came out perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy, tender on the inside. The blend of herbs made it wonderfully aromatic as well.
Nicole Kendrick says
So glad my experience was able to help save you time while getting food on the table. It sounds like a perfect turkey!