This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, Gerzsi earns from qualifying purchases. Read our disclosure. Tamás is a real head chef; Gerzsi is his beaver apprentice. The pounds-per-person rules below come from the USDA and Food Network, and the times from the USDA roasting chart, not from us.
🦃 Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. Count your guests first, then find your row below. It tells you what size bird to buy, the day to move it into the fridge and how long it roasts.
From the kitchen: Gerzsi set the table first, then counted the chairs. Twelve. He weighed the turkey: twelve pounds. He was very proud of this. Chef Tamás asked who was eating the leftovers sandwich on Friday. Gerzsi went back to the store.
The short answer
Buy 1 pound of whole turkey per person. That’s the USDA’s rule of thumb. Want leftovers? Buy 1½ pounds per person, which is Food Network’s general rule. So 12 guests means a 12 lb bird for dinner only, or about 18 lb with leftovers.
Buying boneless breast instead? Food Network says about 8 ounces per guest.
Whatever size you buy, the bird is done at 165°F in the thigh, wing and thickest part of the breast. A leave-in probe thermometer tells you when, without opening the oven. America’s Test Kitchen’s Best Buy is the ThermoPro TP16.
How much turkey per person: the guest-count chart
| Guests | Dinner only (1 lb each) | With leftovers (1½ lb each) | Start fridge thaw by | Roast at 325°F, unstuffed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 lb (a bone-in breast) | 6 lb | Sunday, Nov 22 | 1½ to 3¼ hours (breast) |
| 6 | 6 lb | 9 lb | Sunday, Nov 22 | 2¾ to 3 hours |
| 8 | 8 lb | 12 lb | Sunday, Nov 22 | 2¾ to 3¾ hours |
| 10 | 10 lb | 15 lb | Saturday, Nov 21 | 3¾ to 4¼ hours |
| 12 | 12 lb | 18 lb | Friday, Nov 20 | 3¾ to 4½ hours |
| 14 | 14 lb | 21 lb | Thursday, Nov 19 | 4½ to 5 hours |
| 16 | 16 lb | 24 lb | Thursday, Nov 19 | 4½ to 5 hours |
| 20 | 20 lb | 30 lb: two birds of about 15 lb | Saturday, Nov 21 | 3¾ to 4¼ hours each |
Why the 20-guest row is two birds: the USDA roasting chart stops at 24 lb. Above that you’re cooking off the chart, so this page splits the order into two birds that each fit it. Two birds also need fridge space for two, and from Saturday on.
Out of fridge time? Cold-water thawing takes about 30 minutes per pound, with the water changed every 30 minutes. The full thaw chart is in our turkey cooking time chart, and the hour-by-hour plan for the day is in the Thanksgiving cooking timeline.
🦫 Every row on this chart needs the same three tools
A 6 lb breast and a 24 lb bird have one thing in common: nobody knows when they’re done without a thermometer. Gerzsi learned this the year he tried to tell by smell. Here’s the short kit, all picked by America’s Test Kitchen’s testers, not by us.
- Leave-in thermometer: ThermoPro TP16, ATK’s Best Buy. It stays in the thigh and beeps at 165°F.
- Roasting pan: Cuisinart MultiClad Pro 16″ with rack, ATK’s winner. It held a 19 lb turkey in their test, so it covers most rows above.
- Carving knife: Victorinox Fibrox Pro 12″ Granton, ATK’s winner.
Black Friday is November 27, the day after. If you’d rather wait for it, put them in your Amazon cart now and check out whenever you like; nothing is bought until you do. Gerzsi is made up; the chart is real. Affiliate links (Amazon).
The 20-guest problem: two birds, one oven
Gerzsi’s first plan for two turkeys was to roast one, then roast the other. Chef Tamás pointed out that the second one would be ready around bedtime. The fix in our pellet grill guide: one bird in the oven, one on the grill outside, a probe in each. AmazingRibs gave the Traeger Woodridge Pro its Best Value Gold Medal, and it held steady on long cooks in the testers’ runs. A grill doesn’t follow the oven chart, so there the thermometer decides on its own.
Dottie the wild turkey asked us to add a ham column to this chart. We didn’t. Her plan is here, and she’d like you to read it slowly.
🥧 Not hosting this year? Last year Gerzsi showed up at Dottie’s with a birch log. This year he has a better plan: Thanksgiving host gifts that get used on the day →
How much turkey per person: quick questions
Why 1 pound per person when nobody eats a pound of turkey?
Because a whole turkey is part bone. The pound is what you buy, not what lands on the plate. Food Network’s 1½ pounds adds room for second helpings and leftovers.
How much boneless turkey breast per person?
About 8 ounces per guest, according to Food Network. A bone-in breast follows the breast row of the roasting chart.
How long do the leftovers keep?
We answered that, with what a head chef makes from the carcass, in Leftover turkey: how long it keeps.
I bought the bird already. Is it big enough?
Divide its weight by your guest count. One pound each or more and dinner is covered. Under that, add a turkey breast or a ham. Dottie would like it noted that she suggested the ham.
🛒 Shopping on Amazon for Thanksgiving anyway? Start your order through Gerzsi. It costs you nothing extra, and it helps keep this site going.
Read next
Sources
- USDA: Turkey for Two? A Feast for Four? Thanksgiving Comes in All Sizes
- Food Network: How Many Pounds of Turkey Should You Order Per Person?
- University of Tennessee Extension (developed by USDA FSIS): Take the Guesswork out of Roasting a Turkey
- Minnesota Department of Health: turkey roasting and thawing fact sheet
- FoodSafety.gov: Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures
- America’s Test Kitchen: The Best Leave-in Thermometers
- America’s Test Kitchen: Roasting Pans
- America’s Test Kitchen: Slicing Knives
- AmazingRibs: Traeger Woodridge Pro Review
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