Easy Roasted Turkey Thighs are tender, juicy, and perfectly crispy! An effortless alternative to a whole turkey. Great for just a few guests!
This recipe is meant to be an easier way to make your Thanksgiving Turkey! I already have recipes 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 Easy Roasted 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. You could also try my Roasted Turkey Breast Recipe.
Recipe Card
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 in the Variations section for more variety.
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note
For even crispier skin you can do a dry brine 1-2 days in advance. Use approximately 1 tsp of Kosher Salt per pound of meat. Rub it all over meat and under the skin. If you do this, don’t add extra salt when you go to cook the recipe or it will be overly salty.
Table of contents
About this Recipe
Cooking turkey parts instead of the entire bird serves a few purposes. First, it significantly reduces the cooking time. Second, it allows you to cook more of your favorite pieces. With turkey thighs, you can achieve a deeper browning without sacrificing the moistness you want in your turkey. 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. Looking to bump up the flavors? Check out my flavor options for your turkey thighs in the Variations section below.
Ingredients
- Turkey thighs: Bone-in with skin on. Two 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. Use unsalted butter as you are already adding salt to the recipe.
- Kosher salt and coarse-ground black pepper: These simple spices enhance the natural flavors of the turkey.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- 9×13 Pan: Keeps the liquids from the turkey in the pan instead of ending up on the bottom of the oven.
- Oven Thermometer: An easy way to check if your turkey is done and safe to eat, without opening the oven to check and slow down the cooking.
Can this be made ahead of time?
While these are best eaten fresh out of the oven, you can make this recipe ahead of time since these thighs will last great in the fridge for a few days. To reheat and crisp them back up, pop them in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. Cover the top with foil and add a splash of turkey broth to the bottom of the roasting pan.
Pairing Suggestions
These thighs will be the perfect main dish to serve along side Easy Candied Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows, easy mashed potatoes and Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy. Cranberry Goat Cheese Brussels Sprouts are also the perfect festive veggie side to add to this feast. Skip the pies and make this easy Pumpkin Sheet Cake to make your life easier.
How to Store
- Serve: You can leave thighs at room temperature for up to two hours before refrigeration
- Store: Store turkey thighs in the refrigerator, wrapped in foil or in an airtight container, for up to four days.
- Freeze: After turkey cools completely, remove the meat from the bones and place it in a freezer bag. Freeze up to 4 months.
Variations
- Lemon, Garlic, and Rosemary: lemon zest, kosher salt, black pepper, minced fresh garlic and minced fresh rosemary are flavors that taste delicious added to this roasted turkey.
- Orange and Cranberry: orange zest, minced cranberries, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, kosher salt, and black pepper is another great flavor profile.
- Truffle Butter and 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, and Lemon: Fresh minced tarragon and shallots with lemon zest, Kosher salt, and black pepper. This dish will perfume the rest of the oven.
Related Recipes
More Amazing Turkey Recipes for Holidays
These photos were used in a previous version of this post:
simple good to fix and eat so good! I like it with it is delicious with other variations.
Fantastic, thank you for the positive review, and thank you for enjoying.
Cooking time too long… wish I would have checked before 50 minutes. It was already up to 185..I I rubbed oil on skin and it was nice and crispy
Hi Paula, I’m glad the skin was nice and crispy. I haven’t had anyone else have an issue with them being overcooked, but I hope they were still delicious nonetheless.
Definitely doing this tonight. So simple and yet sounds so tasty.
How did your turkey thighs turn out?!
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!