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This herbed mayonnaise roasted turkey is the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table. Full of orange, sage, rosemary, and thyme it’s super moist and totally easy!
Over the years, I have made everything from an Adobo Butter Turkey to a Thanksgiving Turkey Meatloaf for Thanksgiving.
And don’t get me wrong—I love turkey and Thanksgiving, from traditional to non-traditional.
But this mayonnaise roasted turkey is one of my all-time favorites!
It’s spiced with lots of fresh herbs, kosher salt, and black pepper, stuffed with oranges, then slathered in delicious mayonnaise!
Now, I know some of you might not be mayonnaise fans, but please trust me when I tell you that it makes an incredibly juicy bird!
If you have been around for a while, you might remember when I made my Meyer Lemon Mayonnaise Roasted Chicken!
Ingredients needed
- Thawed fresh turkey
- Mayonnaise
- Orange zest
- Fresh rosemary, thyme and sage
- Orange juice
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Whole oranges
Why you should put mayonnaise on your turkey
Mayonnaise roasted turkey is a cooking method that uses mayonnaise as a critical ingredient in roasting a whole turkey.
This technique is popular because it can add flavor and moisture to the turkey and create a beautifully browned and crispy skin.
That’s because mayonnaise is fat, and fat gives you crispy skin! It’s like using butter or oil, which you might see in more “traditional” Thanksgiving turkey recipes.
I paired the mayonnaise with orange and fresh herbs, but you could easily use fresh lemon in place of orange.
My Pro Tips
Whole turkey cooking tips
Thaw your turkey in the refrigerator, giving yourself 24 hours of thawing time for every 5 pounds of turkey. For a 14-pound turkey, you’ll need almost three full days.
Make sure to remove the giblets from the inside of your turkey cavity!
When you’re ready to cook your turkey, preheat your oven! This ensures that the turkey will cook evenly. This is very important for such a large piece of meat.
Set your turkey on the rack of the roasting dish. This will help the juices to drip down and give you extra crispy skin.
The most accurate way to cook your bird is with a meat thermometer. My favorite is an instant-read thermometer.
Let your turkey rest for at least 30 minutes before craving. This will help keep it super juicy!
What to serve alongside
Do you need a few ideas for what to serve with your turkey? Look no further—I’ve got you covered!
- Texas Toast Stuffing
- On The Stalk Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- The Best Baked Sweet Potato
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Corn Casserole
More turkey recipes
Herbed Mayonnaise Roasted Turkey
Equipment
Ingredients
- 14 pound fresh thawed turkey
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt, to taste
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 whole oranges, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and set out a roasting dish with rack.
- Remove giblets from the inside of the turkey and add turkey to your roasting pan sitting on top of the rack.
- Using a paper towel lightly pat dry the turkey skin.
- In a small bowl whisk together mayonnaise, orange zest, rosemary, thyme, sage, and orange juice.
- Rub the mayonnaise mixture over the entire turkey and inside the cavity. I use my hands for this job because it is the easiest way to coat the entire turkey.
- Sprinkle the turkey with kosher salt and pepper on top and inside.
- Stuff the cavity with orange wedges and any remaining fresh herbs you might have.
- If you're using a popup timer simply place it into the meaty part of the breast. Press down into the turkey until the timer is flush with the skin.
- Add turkey to the oven and cook for 30 minutes at 400 degrees F.
- Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and cook until the timer pops up or the internal temperature is 165 degrees F, about 3 hours.
- If the top of your turkey gets too browned while cooking simply tent it with foil for a bit then remove the foil to continue browning until fully cooked.
- Let your turkey rest for at least 30 minutes (I usually let mine rest for about an hour) then carve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
That is one beautiful bird! I love flavoring mayo and slathering it on things and roasting it! The addition of the orange and sage is so seasonal! You go, girl!
I’ve never been a huge mayo on my sandwich kinda girl but for some reason, slathered and roasted on a turkey sounds divine!
this is actually the second mayo turkey I’ve seen this year! It must be a thing. A very good thing.
Hi
How do you order those pop-up cooking thermometers.
Would love to hear results from the people who tried this. Anyone?
I have not tried it with the addition of the orange but the herb mayo covered turkey is the only way I will cook turkey from now on! It’s delicious & so moist it’s crazy! I hope you made it!