Cooking turkey in a bag is a delicious way to get a moist flavorful turkey dinner without all the stress.

This turkey in a bag recipe is perfect for your Thanksgiving table right next to your favorite rolls and favorite appetizer.

I have made this turkey oven bag recipe for years. It is perfect for taking the chaos out of the holiday entertaining or just when you find a great deal on a turkey to roast to have along side your spiral ham.

I still remember standing in my friend’s small kitchen in college watching her pull a turkey out of a paper bag. While I know prefer cooking with a food grade oven bag that was when I was hooked with cooking turkey in a bag.

I was shocked at the flavor and novelty of it. The perfect main along side my favorite green been casserole recipe, delicious rolls, and yummy spinach artichoke dip.

I love making a enough to have leftovers and then I use freeze the turkey cut up ready to throw in my favorite enchilada recipe or other tasty meal.

What We Love About this Turkey in a Bag Recipe

There are so many things I love about this roast turkey recipe.

It is hard to overcook and stays moist turkeys cooked in a bag.
The turkey skin gets browned and crisp. I know it does seem like some kind of culinary magic!
Turkey in a bag cooking time is much quicker than traditional turkey roasting.
The mean locks in whatever flavors you want to use.
No basting turkey recipe. The bag does the basting for you so this is low maintenance leaving you plenty of time to tend to other dishes or to socialize.

Turkey in a Bag Recipe

This way to make turkey is so easy and with my tips and tricks it’s almost foolproof!

What You Need to Cook a Turkey In a Bag

I love herbs in my roast turkey but this recipe is so versatile you can easily change it up to suit your own preferences about ingredients

I will give you measurements for what I use but most of these ingredients can be swapped or used in varying amounts. I told you this way of cooking turkey is super forgiving!

Roast Turkey Ingredients

Turkey – 12-24 lbs fully thawed
Flour – 2TBS I use all purpose but you can use your favorite flour, yes gluten free options work
Celery – at minimum you want 2 stalks but ideally 5. Fun fact last year I forgot to buy celery but I had some from my takeout buffalo wings the day before and yup I totally used those lol.
Onion – 2 should do great. Whatever kind of onions you like. I usually just use yellow since that’s what I have on hand
Apples – 2 any kind but I stick to a more sweet type like gala or jazz as opposed to a tart one like Granny Smiths
Butter – Softened. I use salted but you can use unsalted and just season a bit more.
Herbs – I love Rosemary and some Italian seasoning blend, I’ve had success with both dried and fresh. My ideal combo would be a poultry pack of fresh herbs and some dried Italian seasoning.
Salt and Pepper
Garlic Salt – optional sometimes I use it sometimes I don’t
Garlic – I use the prechopped stuff I keep in my fridge at all times
Smoked Paprika

roasting pan with onions and apples in oven roasting bag

What You Need to Cook Turkey In a Bag

In addition to the ingredients, having a few simple kitchen tools can really make this easy on yourself. Here’s what I use when I cook my bag style turkeys.

Oven Bag – Make sure it is the large size big enough for turkeys sometimes they are called turkey size sometimes XL.
Roasting pan – a nice solid one is best
Roasting rack that fits in the roasting pan
Instant Read Thermometer – for years I didn’t use one of these and tried to get the pop out button turkeys but trust me for just a few bucks this tool will be a game changer in your chicken

Substitutions and Modifications

Paprika – yes you can absolute use regular paprika or even skip this. But I love the great color that it adds to the skin!

Skip the Garlic – If your family doesn’t like garlic, don’t use it. We love garlic but I have definitely made delicious turkey without garlic.

Herb Alternatives – Use the herbs your like. I love rosemary so I try to grab a fresh herb pack that contains that or use dried rosemary from my garden. And yes you can certainly leave the leave the herbs out if you like.

No Roasting Pan – If you don’t have a roasting pan my next preference is to use a one of those disposable roasting pans. If you have a large glass or ceramic dish that the turkey will fit in that will work great too but I don’t have one big enough.

I have also use a large jelly roll pan but you have to be much more careful removing the turkey and getting the liquids out can be a real pain (you need to be extra careful with the hot liquid in the bag) but in a pinch it does the job.

How to Cook Turkey In a Bag

Lets get to it. You’ll see making a moist flavorful turkey is so so easy when you use a bag. Also it cooks up much faster!

Preheat the oven. Set your oven to 350 F
Prep your turkey. Make sure your turkey is fully thawed, plastic is removed, bags of giblets are out. If your turkey is not totally thawed I have tips below for dealing with that. Don’t worry I’m always having to deal with a partially frozen turkey.
Pull the skin away. Gently run your hand understand the skin of the turkey to pull it away from the meat without ripping the skin. I usually do all of this prep work on a jelly roll pan or large cutting board.
Coat with butter. Soften the butter and mix in the chopped garlic, dried herbs and chop up any fresh herbs you want. I typically just use dried plus butter for this step. Using your hand, yes this can be messy, grab your butter mixture and slather it all over the turkey under the skin. No need for perfection, just do the best you can.
Season the skin of the turkey. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt all over the turkey skin. This will depend on your family’s tastes. Treat it like you are season that amount of meat. If you are using garlic salt use half garlic salt and half table salt. Add a light sprinkle of pepper and then top with the smoked paprika.
Chop the veggies. Core the apple and chop into halves or quarters. Quarter the onions and chop the celery in 2-3 inch pieces. Take 2 pieces of celery and one quarter each apple and onion and chop into smaller pieces. This will be for inside the turkey. The rest will go under the turkey and help to lift it off the bag.
Season the inside of the turkey. Throw a generous pinch of salt and pepper inside the turkey. Add some chopped up celery, apple and onion and fresh herbs (or a couple pinches dried herbs). This is not stuffing this is just for flavor. You don’t want to fill the turkey cavity make sure it is spread out and has breathing room. You want it only about 1/3 full so a totally of 1/2-1 cup filling stuff.
Prep the pan. Place the roasting rack in the pan then place the bag opened up on the pan, add in 2 TBS flour and shake around. Then add in the apples, onions, and celery. Spread along the bottom. you will place the turkey on top.
Bag the turkey. Add the turkey into the bag and seal with the plastic closure that comes with the bag or tie with a string. Snip a few holes in the bag along the top making sure to have a hot by each breast in thigh where you can insert the thermometer when it is time.
Bake. Stick the turkey in the oven and bake. Test for doneness. Remember that the turkey will continue cooking when you remove it from the oven so I take it out when it reads 165 F in the breast and the thigh reaches 170-175 F.
Let it rest. You only need to let it rest 15 minutes in the bag. Another awesome perk. You can let it rest for longer once you remove the bag if you need more time before you are ready to eat though.

Carve the turkey and enjoy. Make sure to check out my favorite method for carving a turkey or chicken. It makes it so you get as much meat as possible and it still looks awesome!

How Long To Cook a Turkey in a Bag

Here are a rough guideline of times for cooking your turkeys. Keep in mind that they cook FAST. If this is your first turkey in a bag you may be doubtful but all but one year my turkey was done sooner than these times. Most of the time they are right on schedule and one year it needed a little more time.

That being said, I highly recommend to start testing for doneness around 30 minutes from the beginning of your timeframe. The last degrees go FAST.

12-16 lbs 2-2.5 hours
16-20 lbs 2.5-3 hours
20-24 lbs 3-3.5 hours

Can I Make This Without Butter?

YES if you’re grossed out by having to rub in between your turkey skin you can absolutely just brush it on the outside or skip the butter step.

If you want to make it lighter you can skip the butter all together just sprinkle the seasoning on the outside of the skin. I did that for years until I found a traditional recipe with butter under the skin and then I tried it in the bag and I was hooked.

How to Cook a Turkey in a Paper Bag

I swear by the these oven bags but if your market is all out and you don’t have time to order online you can certainly use a few paper bags.

I don’t love using a paper bag to cook a turkey in because turkeys are heavy and it’s easy to tear the bag so it feels a little trickier than the food safe plastic oven bags. That being said if you are cooking a smaller turkey it can certainly work.

The best bet is to only use this method to cook turkeys that can easily sit in a the bottom of the paper bag and have the bag be folded around it. You will prep it the same way as I describe below but to close the bag just roll the top down a few times and staple.

How to Defrost a Turkey

Whether you are trying to figure out when to move your turkey to the refrigerator so that it’s ready for back or if you find yourself ready to bake but reach in to find some icy bits, here are some helpful tricks and guidelines for thawing a turkey.

When to Start Defrosting Your Turkey

The general rule is that for every 4 lbs of turkey you you need one full day to thaw in the fridge. So if you have a 12 pound turkey stick it in with 3 full days at the least. 16 pound turkey? You will want 4 days.

How to Defrost a Partially Frozen Turkey

Are you freaking out? Did you go to pull the bag out of the turkey and realize it’s still frozen? Don’t worry, this happens to me at least half the time.

Now whether you allowed enough time in the fridge and it’s still frozen or like me you kind of forgot and it wasn’t in the refrigerator for the full one day per 4 lbs if you find yourself with a partially frozen turkey you are NOT out of luck.

First off take an oven safe bag (make sure you still have another ready to cook with, the boxes usually include 2 bags). Give it a soak in cool water. Change the water every 15 minutes. For a fully frozen turkey it should take 20 minutes per pound but if your turkey is just mostly frozen this will speed things up and if it’s still a little frozen you can can still cook it just make sure to use the thermometer to confirm doneness not simply time. I advice that regardless to whether you’re dealing with a frozen turkey or not.

Plate of thanksgiving dinner with turkey sweet potatoes green beans cranberries mashed potatoes and a roll

What to Serve With Turkey

Here are some of my favorite dishes to serve with turkey!

Green Bean Casserole – the very best recipe with one secret ingredient
Cornbread – 3 simple ingredients and so so good!
Mashed Cauliflower – a great swap if you want something more healthy than mashed potatoes
Rosemary Roasted Potatoes – delicious and easy
World’s Best Mac and Cheese – this is such a good recipe and for a great twist you can use the cheese sauce on broccoli and cauliflower and it’s oh so good.

What to Do With Turkey Leftovers

One of the best things about baking up a big turkey are the leftovers. Here are some of my favorite ways to use turkey leftovers but see her for even more leftover turkey recipes.

I love chopping turkey up and throwing it in a gallon size bag spread in one layer so I can break pieces of to throw in ramen or on homemade pizza or really any time you would normally use cooked chicken.

Turkey in a Bag

Delicious recipe for roasted turkey cooked in an oven bag

Ingredients

Turkey 12-24 lbs fully thawed
2 TBS Flour
5 Stalks Celery
2 Onion
2 Apples
1/4 to 1/2 C Butter Softened
Herbs 1-2 tsp
Salt and Pepper to your preferences
Garlic Salt optional to your preferences
1 TBS Garlic chopped
Smoked Paprika

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Set your oven to 350 F
Prep your turkey. Make sure your turkey is fully thawed, plastic is removed, bags of giblets are out. If your turkey is not totally thawed I have tips below for dealing with that. Don’t worry I’m always having to deal with a partially frozen turkey.
Pull the skin away. Gently run your hand understand the skin of the turkey to pull it away from the meat without ripping the skin. I usually do all of this prep work on a jelly roll pan or large cutting board.
Coat with butter. Soften the butter and mix in the chopped garlic, dried herbs and chop up any fresh herbs you want. I typically just use dried plus butter for this step. Using your hand, yes this can be messy, grab your butter mixture and slather it all over the turkey under the skin. No need for perfection, just do the best you can.
Season the skin of the turkey. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt all over the turkey skin. This will depend on your family’s tastes. Treat it like you are season that amount of meat. If you are using garlic salt use half garlic salt and half table salt. Add a light sprinkle of pepper and then top with the smoked paprika.
Chop the veggies. Core the apple and chop into halves or quarters. Quarter the onions and chop the celery in 2-3 inch pieces. Take 2 pieces of celery and one quarter each apple and onion and chop into smaller pieces. This will be for inside the turkey. The rest will go under the turkey and help to lift it off the bag.
Season the inside of the turkey. Throw a generous pinch of salt and pepper inside the turkey. Add some chopped up celery, apple and onion and fresh herbs (or a couple pinches dried herbs). This is not stuffing this is just for flavor. You don’t want to fill the turkey cavity make sure it is spread out and has breathing room. You want it only about 1/3 full so a totally of 1/2-1 cup filling stuff.
Prep the pan. Place the roasting rack in the pan then place the bag opened up on the pan, add in 2 TBS flour and shake around. Then add in the apples, onions, and celery. Spread along the bottom. you will place the turkey on top.
Bag the turkey. Add the turkey into the bag and seal with the plastic closure that comes with the bag or tie with a string. Snip a few holes in the bag along the top making sure to have a hot by each breast in thigh where you can insert the thermometer when it is time.
Bake. Stick the turkey in the oven and bake. Test for doneness. Remember that the turkey will continue cooking when you remove it from the oven so I take it out when it reads 165 F in the breast or 170-175 F in the thigh.
Let it rest. You only need to let it rest 15 minutes in the bag. Another awesome perk. You can let it rest for longer once you remove the bag if you need more time before you are ready to eat though.

Video

Notes

How Long to Cook a Turkey In a Bag?

I recommend using an instant read thermometer and to start testing 30 minutes before your expected done time.

12-16 lbs 2-2.5 hours
16-20 lbs 2.5-3 hours
20-24 lbs 3-3.5 hours

Partially Frozen Turkey?

First off take an oven safe bag (make sure you still have another ready to cook with, the boxes usually include 2 bags). Give it a soak in cool water. Change the water every 15 minutes.

For a fully frozen turkey it should take 20 minutes per pound but if your turkey is just mostly frozen this will speed things up and if it’s still a little frozen you can can still cook it just make sure to use the thermometer to confirm doneness not simply time.

Equipment

Oven Bag Turkey Size
Roasting Pan with Rack
Instant Read Thermometer

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How to Cook Turkey in a Bag

What We Love About this Turkey in a Bag Recipe

Turkey in a Bag Recipe