This easy Crockpot Turkey recipe is for those who don’t want to be bothered with roasting! It’s slathered in garlic butter and cooks all day (or night!) in the slow cooker.
It’s not that I’m afraid of roasting a turkey, I promise.
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It’s just that it’s not something I’ve had a lot of practice doing, and so, how do you know if it’s going to be good or bad?
In all seriousness, I should probably make an attempt to learn how to roast a turkey well, but it’s hard to find the motivation when this Crockpot Turkey turns out so incredibly well with very little fuss.
My crockpot is where I turn when I need a moist roast, or chicken, or turkey, and I don’t want to have to babysit it.
I know that it’s going to be tender and juicy, even if I don’t really know what I’m doing 😉
Really, it’s a lot like this Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin or this Crockpot Shredded Chicken — what I like to call “stupid easy”. You can whip these up on a hectic day even with a one year old on your hip 😉
If you’re a big fan of your slow cooker, you might want to check out these Easy Crockpot Meals.
How to prep your Crockpot Turkey ahead:
Because we want things to be as easy as possible on the big day!
- Give your turkey adequate time to thaw. Whole turkeys require one day in the refrigerate for every 4 lbs to thaw completely, which means for this recipe (since you’ll need a small turkey), you’ll likely want to give yourself about 2 days.
- Make your garlic butter and slather it up under the skin and season the skin the day before — this will give your turkey so much flavour!
- You can thaw and season your turkey right in your crockpot, which means little clean up!
How to make a turkey in the crockpot or slow cooker:
- Know your crockpot. All cook differently, and will hold different sizes of turkeys. For this recipe, an oval slow cooker will work best, but all cook at slightly different temperatures. I use a large 6 quart slow cooker for this recipe.
- Because we want to be super safe when serving poultry, you always want to check the internal temperature of the turkey with a meat thermometer. It should read 180 degrees F in the thigh and 170 degrees F in the breast.
- When cooking a turkey in the crockpot, it’s not going to dry out as easily as it would in the oven if you go past the optimal temperature somewhat, so if you end up cooking 8 or 10 hours because you’re out of the house, your turkey will still be incredibly moist and juicy.
- If you like, you can brush on extra butter and crisp up your turkey under the broiler in the oven for 5-10 minutes (keep a close eye on it). This step is only essential if you serve the turkey with the skin on, as soggy turkey skin isn’t appetizing for anyone!
How to get crispy skin on a crockpot turkey:
There are two ways to get brown skin on a turkey made in the slow cooker:
- The crockpot: Follow the instructions in the recipe to drain most of the liquid, melt reserved garlic butter and brush over the turkey after it’s done cooking. Turn it to high to brown up the skin.
- The oven: Remove turkey from the slow cooker and place in a roasting pan. Melt reserved garlic butter and brush over turkey, then broil for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
For the sake of transparency, I’m going to tell you that I did not brown this turkey in the oven. I want you to see how golden and glorious a turkey can be straight out of the crockpot. Sure, it is not incredibly crispy but it’s not soggy either. It’s brown and beautiful and incredibly juicy.
Recipes for leftover turkey:
- Chicken Rice Soup — swap the chicken for turkey!
- One Pot Turkey Tetrazzini Soup Recipe
- One Pot Turkey Tetrazzini Recipe
- Creamy Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
Crockpot Turkey with Garlic Butter
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons seasoning salt (I use Lawry’s)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 8 lb whole turkey (about 3.5-4 kg)
- ½ cup water (optional)
Gravy
- ½ cup chicken, turkey or vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- additional seasonings as desired
Instructions
- To make the garlic butter, stir together the butter, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, seasoning salt and black pepper. In a small bowl, reserve 1-2 tablespoons garlic butter and set aside.
- Loosen the skin of the turkey and spread garlic butter under the skin and on top. If you can, do this the day before and let the turkey sit with the seasoning overnight.
- Add the water into the bottom of the crockpot (optional, but helps to keep it moist) and cook turkey for 3-4 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low, until an internal temperature of 170 degrees F is reached in the thickest part of the breast and 180 degrees F in the thigh.
- Move turkey to a roasting pan if desired. Melt remaining garlic butter and brush over the skin. Broil for 5-8 minutes (keep an eye on it!) for a golden exterior, or simply move to a serving platter and allow to rest.
- Strain the juices from the slow cooker into a small to medium pot. Whisk together broth and corn starch and whisk into the drippings. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium-high heat until slightly thickened. Taste and season as necessary.
- Let turkey rest for 10-20 minutes before slicing. Serve gravy with turkey.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Kaylee says
Do you have a recipe for gravy with the reserved liquid?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Kaylee, no specifically. There are several ways to make a gravy with this, it will depended if you want a cream based gravy or not. Cream based would be similar to the gravy in this recipe: https://www.thereciperebel.com/instant-pot-pork-chops-with-gravy/ You’ll just use the drippings instead of broth.
Tara Burnside says
I won’t ever cook a turkey another way again after following this one. The meat fell off the bones so there was no need to carve it and I ended up with more meat. Plus it was so tender and juicy! My family raved over it! Thank you for sharing!!
Tracy Ballard says
Just made this today and it’s very moist. Unfortunately I can’t slice it because it fell completely apart so I’m not sure how you go about serving it at Thanksgiving, but I sure do have enough meat to put in the freezer in use for meals this winter. And good stock too!
The Recipe Rebel says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Beja W. says
If I have a 7 quart crock pot & a 13.5 pound turkey, do you recommend that I carve it before I cook it or will it fit the crockpot whole?
The Recipe Rebel says
I don’t think I would recommend that but if you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
Priscilla says
Would a 13.5lb turkey fit in an 8qt crockpot? If so , how many hours on low setting? Thank you in advance.
The Recipe Rebel says
I think you would need to pull out your crockpot and double check but I think it should. I’d go with a minimum of 8.
Melanie landi says
Do you think I can stuff the Turkey with stuffing for this method?
The Recipe Rebel says
I’d say no
Donna D. says
I haven’t tried it yet, want to try it but I also want to try it in the oven after to brown the skin, what oven temperature & how long to bake it?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Donna! The instructions were actually in the blog post under “How to get your skin crispy” section. “For the oven: Remove turkey from the slow cooker and place in a roasting pan. Melt reserved garlic butter and brush over turkey, then broil for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.” Enjoy!
Laurie Gilbert-Dowd says
How long in the crockpot for a 20lb turkey
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Laurie, I am not sure, I’ve only tested an 8 pound turkey.
Dan says
I’ve made this recipe the last two years and loved it both times. Since the first time is always a trial run I wait till the 2nd to comment. The kid and I don’t eat the skin, so next time I’ll remove it and let that glorious garlic butter get more cozy with the meat. Because so many delicious juices occur I’ll likely try to stuff it with a mirepoix (carrots/celery/onion) next time around.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Dan! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Amanda says
Does it have to be a whole turkey? What about the breast?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Amanda! You can do breast! Here is my recipe for that: https://www.thereciperebel.com/crockpot-turkey-breast/ Hope you enjoy it!
Amanda says
Thank you so very much!!!! 🙂
fabiolacutler@atlanticbb.net says
Need recipe for turkey breast in slow cooker
Thanks
The Recipe Rebel says
Here you go: https://www.thereciperebel.com/crockpot-turkey-breast/ Hope you enjoy it!
Meg says
I made this recipe last year for our small COVID Thanksgiving and now I’ll never go back to any other recipe I tried in years past — this is a clear winner! I didn’t have to keep checking or basting, could throw things in the oven without worrying if I had to add extra time. Hands down the best I’ve ever had 🙂
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Meg! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Jackie says
Would stuffing the turkey work in this recipe?
Ashley Fehr says
I haven’t tried so I can’t say for sure
Dan says
Likely not due to all the juices that will fill the crock: but maybe you could dry the stuffing in the oven later.
Ray says
Oh my goodness this is the best turkey I have ever made in my life. Popped it in the night before and let it cook overnight (12lb) for 12 hours. Fell right off the bone and had so much moisture. Would do this again every year.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Ray! I’m glad you liked it!
Candi says
You said cook a 12
Pound turkey for 12
Hours is that on high or low
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Candi, that actually wasn’t me, that was another reader and I am assuming he cooked it on low. Hope you enjoy it!
Kristina M Murray says
Making 12 to 14 pounder Thursday is it safe to say to start it the night before? And how many hours should it cook for? Also is putting vegetables inside the turkey ok?
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Kristina! It is safe to start it the night before! I would cook it about 12 hours, but a little longer won’t hurt.
Haike says
Hello….how big of a crock pot would one need for an 8lb turkey to fit?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Haike! I used my large 6 quart crock pot for this recipe. Hope you enjoy it!
Amy Dunn says
I love finding new ways to tackle a turkey. When I read this recipe, I had to try it! It was certainly easy. This is a great way of making the meat for stews, soups and cottage pies. It was a bit “gritty” but I should have place it in breast first. This would have kept it from drying out on the top. I also should have stopped it earlier than I did. So any problems are the error of the kitchen, not the recipe.
For Thanksgiving, I will stick to my standard bird-in-oven yearly saga but great to have an easier way of getting some fresh turkey salad in the summer time.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks for your feedback Amy! I usually do place mine breast up but I’ve never really had a problem with my turkey drying out in the slow cooker. I would make sure that your lid fits tightly or add tightly sealed tin foil underneath. I do love an oven-roasted turkey too! But sometimes you need something easy, and if you’re not eating the skin, I find this much more moist! 🙂
Dan says
I highly recommend a crockpot with a locking lid. You won’t experience dry meat in this recipe with one.
The Recipe Rebel says
Thanks for the tip Dan!
123 says
How long do you think it would take with a 20lb turkey?
Ashley Fehr says
I would cook a 12lb turkey for 10-12 hours