Easy Roasted Turkey Thighs recipe for tender juicy turkey with crispy skin. Perfect alternative to a whole turkey for a small holiday dinner.
This dish is meant to be an easier way to make your Thanksgiving turkey! I already have posts for Crispy Slow Cooker Turkey Breast and Crispy Slow Cooker Turkey Thighs that can help when you don’t have oven space, but this easy roasted turkey thigh is the perfect oven cooked option for a small Thanksgiving gathering.
Sabrina’s Turkey Thighs Recipe
These Easy Roasted Turkey Thighs are a great weeknight meal that is easy to make, and ready in under an hour! It is also a great Thanksgiving or holiday meal, if you are looking for a faster alternative to the classic whole Roasted turkey.
Cooking turkey parts instead of the entire bird serves a few purposes. First, it cuts way back on the cooking time. Second, it allows you to cook more of your favorite pieces. With turkey thighs, you’re able to have a deeper browning, without losing the moistness you’d want in your turkey.
Table of contents
Ingredients
- Turkey thighs: Bone in and skin on. 2 thighs should feed about 4 people.
- Butter: A little butter adds a lot of flavor and helps get the perfect, golden-brown and crispy turkey skin.
- Kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper: These simple spices enhance the natural flavors of the turkey. For more flavor options, see the variations below.
How to make
Time needed: 55 minutes.
- Prep
Preheat the oven and pat the turkey dry with paper towels.
- Season
Lift the turkey skin and stuff it with the softened butter, then pat it down in an even layer (gently). Season the turkey thighs with salt and pepper.
- Bake
Place the thighs in the baking pan skin side up. Roast the turkey thighs for 50-60 minutes or until the thermometer shows the turkey is cooked to 170 degrees.
Ingredients
- 2 turkey thighs , 1-pound each, bone in and skin on
- 1/4 cup butter, , softened
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt *
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.
- Lift the turkey skin and stuff it with the softened butter, then pat it down in an even layer (gently).
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Place the thighs in the baking pan.
- Roast the turkey thighs for 50-60 minutes or until the thermometer shows the turkey is cooked to 170 degrees.
Notes
- * Please see additional flavor options below for more variety.
Nutrition
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More Small Thanksgiving Meal Ideas
- For another easy Thanksgiving meal, try this Slow Cooker Turkey with Gravy, Candied Sweet Potatoes and Green Peas made with only 7 ingredients.
- I also have this recipe for a whole thanksgiving dinner in 1 slow cooker: Slow Cooker Thanksgiving Dinner (for 2!).
Variations
Looking to bump up the flavors? Yes, I stick to Kosher salt and pepper here for a reason, I want you to have the basics so you can decide how you want to season your turkey. Here are some flavor options for your turkey thighs:
- Lemon, garlic and rosemary: lemon zest, kosher salt, black pepper, minced fresh garlic and minced fresh rosemary are flavours that taste delicious added to this roasted turkey.
- Orange, cranberry: orange zest, minced cranberries, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, kosher salt and black pepper is another great flavor profile.
- Truffle Butter, fresh thyme: Kick up the flavor and slather the turkey in truffle butter, kosher salt, black pepper and chopped fresh thyme for a rich umami flavor.
- Bacon: Drape the turkey in bacon along with the Kosher salt and black pepper for a smoky flavor.
- Tarragon, Shallots, Lemon: Fresh minced tarragon and shallots with lemon zest, Kosher salt and black pepper, this dish will perfume the rest of the oven.
Classic Sides for Turkey
- Ultimate Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Mushroom Rice
- Slow Cooker Creamed Corn
- Roasted Garlic Butter Mushrooms
- How To Cook Spaghetti Squash (The Ultimate Guide)
Kitchen Tools
- 9×13 Pan: Keeps the liquids from the turkey in the pan instead of ending up on the bottom of the oven.
- Oven Thermometer: Easy to check if your turkey is done, and safe to eat, without opening the oven to check and slow down the cooking.
Related Posts
More Small Turkey Recipes for Holidays
I baked 3 turkey thighs in the oven using the Rosemary, Garlic and Lemon Zest recipe. OMGosh!! I baked them at 350 degrees for 1 hour since there were 3 of them and they turned out absolutely perfect!! Nice crispy skin (no oil used on it). I put the combo of ingredients above mixed with 1 T butter up under the skin. On the outside of the skin it sprinkled a little sage and an old mix I had of Emerils Essence. Such beautiful thighs – too bad no company to share and show them off to. I will be using this recipe for my Thanksgiving turkey thighs from now on.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Mary and thanks for the five star review!
So how long would I roast 2-1 1/2 # rolled & stuffed turkey thighs?
I am behind on my holiday comments. How did your Turkey Thighs turn out?
How do you get skin crispy if don’t run some oil or butter on the skin?
I was temporarily turkeyed out so made this with chicken quarters – lemon, garlic and rosemary version. Absolutely fabulous. I wouldn’t hesitate to commit a whole 12-pound bird to this recipe. Question, however. The post didn’t include nutrition info as usual. I need to know carbs for one person and cholesterol for another and DTD is a favorite since I feel I can trust the numbers. Is my computer messing up or are they no longer being posted?
This is what our Nutrition calculator came up with … please let me know what you think.Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 102kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.2g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 673mg | Potassium: 7mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.01g | Vitamin A: 356IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.03mg
Delicious without having to cook a whole bird! Happy to have found them, along with a JennieO breast tenderloin: perfection !
Great! Thank you Joanne for the 5 star rating!
if i double the recipe do i also have to double the cooking time?
Doubled recipes don’t require double the cooking time, but most cook times need to be altered. Generally speaking, you should check for doneness at the time indicated by your original recipe, then every 5 minutes following until the recipe is evenly cooked or baked. When you get a sec, let us know how your Turkey Thighs turned out 🙂
I made this today. Quick and easy. The only thing I did differently was to place 5 fresh sage leaves under the skin after the butter. A tip I picked up from Martha Stewart years ago for roasting a whole turkey. Also, I broiled for a few minutes to crisp the skin.?
I share Sabrina’s preference for dark poultry meat; there have been lots of 4 and even 6 legged turkeys served a my table. I made the recipe as written placing 4 large fresh sage leaves on the butter under the skin. The drippings made just enough gravy.
I’m looking forward to trying the bacon variation.
Thanks so much Deborah and thank you for the 5 star rating. We have a ton of turkey recipes on the site! When you get a sec, check’em out! https://dinnerthendessert.com/?s=turkey
I made these last night and they were amazing!!!!!
Delighted you enjoyed them Danine!
Great simple recipe! I heated my oven to 400 then once I put in the thighs turned it down to 350. Put under broiler to make it crispier.
I have been buying & oven roasting bone-in turkey parts for my family all my adult life (61 now) as my mom and grandmother also did for our family growing up. I can purchase the parts at my local grocery store; they sell thighs, drumsticks, breast and wings. I often roast the wings to make soup & stock and roast the other parts for supper meals. Roasting just the turkey parts are a delicious and easy alternative any time you want turkey but don’t want to cook a full turkey. I am roasting turkey thighs this evening with just salt, pepper and summer savory for the seasonings. I will make corn starch gravy from the turkey thigh drippings and have mashed potatoes and steamed carrots for the sides…delicious!! Hubby says his mouth is watering from the savory aroma of roasting turkey…mmmmm…can’t wait to have turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes and carrots for Monday night supper without all the fuss & muss of roasting a full turkey!!!
The recommended temperature is 165 and you can remove the turkey at 160 and upon resting it will reach the target of 165.
THIS!!!!! Tom is 100% correct. 170 will equal poor mouth feel and stringier meat than desired. Maybe not ruined, but drier than perfect.
We prepare these all the time. They always come out juicy and tasty. For a bit of a flavor variation we sometimes rub the skin with some smoked paprika, crushed fresh garlic and dried Rosemary in addition to the salt and pepper. An easy and flavorful dinner.
Turkey thighs and drumsticks are on the menu for Thanksgiving this year. Do I have to make any adjustments if I roast turkey drumsticks at the same time? Same temp and timing?
Thanks!
Can I freeze the cooked thighs ahead of time, and then thaw them the day before Thanksgiving & then warm them up on Thanksgiving Day? Thank you! This recipe sounds wonderful!!
Simply perfect.
I also added some soft butter on the outside of the skin too. Dusted with Greek Seasoning. salt and pepper. Went with more pepper than salt because of the Greek Seasoning. WOW good! Reached temp in 55 min.
Made this recipe for dinner tonight. Delicious! Hubby definitely approved. He loves mashed potatoes and gravy and there were plenty of good roasted bits on the bottom of the pan for some boiling water to loosen for gravy. If people think that 1 hour for 2 one pound thighs is not long enough, please advise them to get a good oven thermometer and check just how accurate their ovens are heating. Mine turned out beautifully browned and definitely fall off the bone done. Thank you for a great recipe!