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This Herb Butter Roasted Turkey Recipe is the perfect centerpiece for your Thanksgiving feast. The secret to this no-brine turkey recipe lies in the delicious compound butter made with thyme, sage, onion and garlic.

The herb infused butter is then packed beneath the skin and spread on top, adding flavor to every bite. As the turkey slowly roasts, the skin crisps up and turns a nice golden brown, while the meat stays incredibly tender and juicy.

An aluminum pan with a butter basted turkey, fresh out of the oven.

Table of Contents show

Ingredients in Herb Butter Roasted Turkey

Ingredients laid out to make a butter roasted turkey - turkey, butter, chicken stock, herbs and spices.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Turkey: You will want to make sure that you give the turkey time to fully thaw. This may require taking it out of the freezer and placing it in the refrigerator 2 days before you are ready to cook it. (More Keto Thanksgiving Recipes)
Butter: For this recipe I used salted butter. You can also use unsalted butter, but you may want to add an additional teaspoon of salt to the compound butter mixture.
Chicken Stock: If you do not have any chicken stock on hand, you can also use vegetable stock, beef stock, or a mixture of water and chicken bouillon.
Herbs and Spices: This recipe calls for dried herbs, but you can substitute fresh herbs by tripling the amount. For example, 1 teaspoon of dried thyme would be substituted with 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme. (I use this brand of spices) Code kyndraholley for 10% off.

How to Make Herb Butter Roasted Turkey

A small mixing bowl with butter, thyme, sage, minced onion, salt, and pepper.

How to Make Compound Butter for Turkey

Add the butter, herbs and spices to a mixing bowl and mix until all ingredients are well combined. Set ⅓ of the mixture aside. This will be for the top of the turkey.

A small mixing bowl with butter, thyme, sage, minced onion, salt, and pepper all mixed up.

How To Pack the Turkey Skin

Place the turkey on an even surface and gently work your fingers underneath the skin, between the skin and the flesh of the turkey, to create a pocket. Take your time and work gently. The more you can loosen the skin without tearing it, the juicier your turkey turn out.

Once you have packed ⅔ of the butter under the skin, massage the turkey, on top of the skin, to evenly distribute the butter under the skin.

Using your fingers, scoop out the butter and pack it under the skin, pushing it as far back as you can, and covering the entire top of the turkey, beneath the skin.

Rub the remaining herbed butter all over the top of the turkey.

An aluminum roasting pan with a raw turkey in it that is covered with compound butter.

Cooking the Turkey

To cook this Herbed Butter Roasted Turkey, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place a roasting rack inside the roasting pan. Pour the chicken stock into the bottom of the pan.

Cook for 13 to 15 minutes per pounds, or until it has reached an internal temperature of 165°F.

Baste the turkey every 15 minutes to keep it super moist and tender.

Rest the turkey for 15 to 30 minutes before cutting into to it to retain the juices.

Retain the juices to make a keto gravy.

How Long Does it Take to Cook a Turkey?

When buying a turkey, plan for 1 ½ pounds per guest, and you should have enough for leftovers. Here’s a quick guide for cooking the perfect oven roasted turkey:

5 pounds: 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes
10 pounds: 2 hours and 10 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes
15 pounds: 3 hours and 15 minutes to 3 hours and 45 minutes
20 pounds: 4 hours and 20 minutes to 5 hours
25 pounds: 5 hours and 25 minutes to 6 hours and 15 minutes
30 pounds: 6 ½ hours to 7 ½ hours

Anything larger than that, roast 13 to 15 minutes per pound.

Do You Have to Brine a Turkey?

It’s not necessary to brine a turkey if you’re looking for amazing flavor and tenderness. Yes, brining is a great option, but for some people, it’s not realistic: keeping a huge turkey in a pot filled with salt water can take up valuable space in your fridge.

Massaging the turkey with butter and stuffing butter under the skin not only helps you achieve a deliciously tender result, but also infuses the turkey with herbs and buttery goodness, no brine required.

An Herb Butter Roasted Turkey fresh out of the oven, surrounded by fresh herbs and carving utensils.

How To Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey

There are many ways to cook a turkey. Whether you’re planning keto Christmas recipes or your low carb Thanksgiving, you’ve got quite a few options.

Ways to prepare a turkey before cooking:

Brine the turkey, or marinate in a salt solution to season and tenderize the bird
Dry brine the turkey, which has the same effect as a regular brine, only using dry seasonings and salt
Give your turkey a butter massage, like in this Herb Butter Roasted Turkey recipe, and season before cooking

Ways to cook a turkey:

Deep fry your turkey, which usually results in 1 or 2 family members going to the emergency room
Smoke your turkey, low and slow
Grill your turkey, or
Roast your turkey, like I did in this recipe

The herbed butter made with thyme, sage, garlic powder, dried onion, salt, and pepper melts into the meat as the turkey cooks at 350°F (your cook time will depend on the weight of your turkey). The result is a rich, buttery flavor highlighted by herbs, with a tender juiciness throughout the bird and a beautiful brown skin on the outside.

All of the juices and butter that cook out of the turkey will gather in the roasting pan, and you’ll use this to baste every 15 minutes to keep everything super moist and tender. The remaining juices are used to make a pan gravy, perfect for topping cauliflower mashed potatoes and any other keto Thanksgiving recipes you make this year..

How to Know if a Turkey is Done

The best way to know if your turkey is done is to use a meat thermometer. You’ll want your turkey to have an internal temperature of 165°F.

If you don’t have a meat thermometer, you can also pierce the thigh and check the juices. A cooked turkey will have clear juices, and if the juices are reddish pink, you’ll need to put it back in the oven and check again in 15 minutes.

It’s important to not check the turkey before it’s close to being done -- opening the oven lets out the warm air. Check your turkey when it’s at least ¾ of the way through its total cook time, and do this while you’re basting.

Necessary Kitchen Tools to Make This Keto Turkey Recipe

If you’re looking for recommendations to make cooking a turkey a little easier, here are some of my favorite kitchen tools:

Turkey Baster -- while basters are pretty straightforward, this one is angled to prevent any dripping.
Roasting Pan with Rack -- as I’m writing this blog post, this Cuisinart roasting pan and rack is on sale, and it’s a great deal for a quality roasting pan that will last you decades.
Meat Thermometer -- this one frequently goes on sale and it’s a great tool beyond holiday cooking. A meat thermometer makes it easy to cook everything from pork to beef to the perfect internal temperature.
Carving Set -- I prefer a manual carving set (versus the electric options) because they last for years and years, and you can sharpen them easily.

Herbed Butter Roasted Turkey - The perfect Keto Thanksgiving Recipes

More Keto Holiday Recipes

The Home for the Holidays eBook features 25 low carb, gluten free, and sugar free, holiday recipes. All of your favorite classic holiday recipes, recreated in healthier versions.

Grab a copy of Home for the Holidays - HERE

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Herbed Butter Roasted Turkey