How long to cook a turkey
The calculator gives you a choice of two well-known UK guides. Both are for a whole, oven-ready bird; for a crown, a boned and rolled joint or a frozen turkey, follow the instructions on the pack.
British Turkey (the default): roast at 190°C, 170°C fan or gas mark 5.
4kg or under: 20 minutes per kg + 70 minutes
over 4kg: 20 minutes per kg + 90 minutes
Food Standards Scotland: roast at 180°C, 160°C fan or gas mark 4. It's a lower temperature, so the times are longer.
under 4.5kg: 45 minutes per kg + 20 minutes
4.5kg to 6.5kg: 40 minutes per kg
over 6.5kg: 35 minutes per kg
If you stuff the bird, weigh it after stuffing, or add the weight of the stuffing in the calculator, because it takes longer to cook through.
Turkey cooking times by weight
| Weight | British Turkey (190°C / 170°C fan) | Food Standards Scotland (180°C / 160°C fan) |
|---|---|---|
| 3kg (6.6lb) | 2 hours 10 min | 2 hours 35 min |
| 4kg (8.8lb) | 2 hours 30 min | 3 hours 20 min |
| 5kg (11lb) | 3 hours 10 min | 3 hours 20 min |
| 6kg (13.2lb) | 3 hours 30 min | 4 hours 0 min |
| 7kg (15.4lb) | 3 hours 50 min | 4 hours 5 min |
| 8kg (17.6lb) | 4 hours 10 min | 4 hours 40 min |
Worked example
A 5kg turkey, unstuffed, using the British Turkey guide: 20 × 5 = 100 minutes, plus 90 minutes = 190 minutes, or 3 hours 10 minutes at 170°C in a fan oven. If you want to eat at 2pm and rest it for 30 minutes, it needs to come out at 1:30pm, so it goes in at 10:20am.
Add 500g of stuffing in the neck end and it becomes 5.5kg: 110 + 90 = 200 minutes, or 3 hours 20 minutes.
Is my turkey cooked? The 75°C check
Times are only a guide, because ovens vary and a full oven cooks more slowly. Food Standards Scotland and the Food Standards Agency advise checking that the thickest part of the bird, between the breast and the thigh, has reached 75°C or above. Use a clean food thermometer and don't touch the bone. If you don't have one, pierce the thickest part with a skewer and check that:
- the meat is steaming hot all the way through
- there's no pink meat left
- the juices run clear
If it's not ready, put it back in the oven and check again every 15 to 20 minutes.
Resting the turkey
Resting lets the juices settle so the meat is moist and easier to carve. Most cooks rest a turkey for at least 30 minutes, and up to an hour for a large bird, covered loosely with foil and a clean tea towel. It stays hot for longer than you'd think, and the rest frees up the oven for roast potatoes and the stuffing.
Defrosting a frozen turkey
Follow the pack instructions if there are any. If not, Food Standards Scotland says to allow about 10 to 12 hours per kg in a fridge at 4°C. That means a 5kg turkey needs 50 to 60 hours, so moving it from the freezer to the fridge on the morning of 22 December gives it plenty of time for Christmas Day. Defrost it covered, in a large dish on the bottom shelf, and check there are no ice crystals inside before cooking.
Food safety tips
- Don't wash the turkey. It splashes germs such as campylobacter around your kitchen. Cooking it properly kills them.
- Cook the stuffing separately in a roasting tin. It's safer and cooks more evenly. If you do stuff the bird, only stuff the neck end.
- Keep raw turkey away from other food, and wash your hands, boards and knives after handling it.
- Get leftovers into the fridge within two hours, and eat them within two days or freeze them.
Following an American recipe? The cooking conversion calculator turns cups into grams and °F into gas marks. To see how many sleeps are left until the big day, try the days until calculator, or work out what your oven costs to run with the energy cost calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a 5kg turkey take to cook?
Using the British Turkey guide, a 5kg turkey takes 3 hours 10 minutes at 190°C (170°C fan, gas mark 5): 20 minutes per kg plus 90 minutes. Then rest it for at least 30 minutes.
How long to cook a turkey per kg?
Allow 20 minutes per kg plus 70 minutes for a bird of 4kg or under, or plus 90 minutes if it's over 4kg, at 190°C or 170°C fan.
What temperature should turkey be when cooked?
The thickest part, between the breast and the thigh, should reach 75°C or above. The juices should run clear with no pink meat.
How long does a turkey take to defrost?
Allow about 10 to 12 hours per kg in the fridge, so a 5kg turkey needs 50 to 60 hours. Always check the pack instructions first.
Should I cook the stuffing inside the turkey?
It's safer to cook stuffing separately in a roasting tin. If you stuff the bird, only stuff the neck end and include the stuffing in the weight when working out the time.
Last reviewed October 2026 using 2026/27 figures. This calculator gives an estimate for guidance only.