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Turkey roasting & thawing planner calculator

Oven time and refrigerator/cold-water thawing time for a turkey, from its weight.

What this calculator does

Turkey roasting & thawing planner works out oven time and refrigerator/cold-water thawing time for a turkey, from its weight. Enter your own figures above and the answer updates as you type: nothing is fixed in the code, so the result reflects exactly the numbers you supply.

The formula this calculator evaluates is printed under the tool and explained below, so you can check the working by hand or reuse it in a spreadsheet.

The formula

FormulaRoast time ≈ 13 min/lb unstuffed or 15 min/lb stuffed at 325°F (rule of thumb, always confirm with a thermometer); fridge thaw = 1 day per 4 lb; cold-water thaw = 30 min/lb

The inputs explained

FieldWhat to enter
Turkey weight (lb)A number, measured in lb. Starts at 16.
Stuffed?Choose from Unstuffed, Stuffed.

Worked examples

Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.

How the answer changes with turkey weight

Every other input is held at the calculator’s starting values while turkey weight varies. Select any row to load that scenario into the calculator.

How the answer changes with turkey weight
Turkey weight (lb)Roasting time (325°F)Fridge thawing timeCold-water thawing time
81 h 44 min2.0 days4 h 0 min
122 h 36 min3.0 days6 h 0 min
163 h 28 min4.0 days8 h 0 min
245 h 12 min6.0 days12 h 0 min
326 h 56 min8.0 days16 h 0 min
4810 h 24 min12.0 days24 h 0 min