Baked & Roasted Turkey Recipes

Here's the best roast turkey recipe for your holiday festivities. To make the gravy, use instant flour (aka Wondra), which is flour that has been steam-treated then dried. You can use it straight from its package to thicken gravy for your Thanksgiving turkey without making a slurry, as you would have to with regular flour, to get lump-free results every time.

Blueberries have just the right mix of acid and pectin so that they're terrific in both sweet and savory dishes. They work especially well with thyme--and so this easy turkey sauté can be a delight whenever the berries are in season. To make this dish into a meal, dress some quick-cooking barley with lemon and pepper and offer steamed green beans on the side.

This is a slimmed-down recipe makeover of the famous St. Louis breakfast hangover cure. The healthy turkey chili is sans beans, but feel free to add a can of rinsed beans during the last 20 minutes in Step 1 if you like.

This gorgeous herb-rubbed turkey--complete with luscious gravy--is the quintessential holiday centerpiece. It is particularly fitting for Thanksgiving because Madeira, a fortified wine from the Portuguese island of the same name, flowed like water through the Colonies, having arrived here as ballast in ships. Sweet and mellow, reminiscent of sherry, Madeira beautifully enhances a turkey gravy.

Fennel has sweet flavor notes that pair vibrantly with tart lemon in this juicy Thanksgiving turkey recipe. A rub of herbs mixed with olive oil and lemon juice infuses the meat with flavor without all of the space needed to soak the turkey in a liquid brine. Making the giblet gravy in a large saucepan rather than in the unwieldy turkey roasting pan is way easier to manage on the stovetop--plus it frees up a burner.

Turkey and stuffing sounds like a Thanksgiving meal, but it doesn't have to be! This main dish--roasted turkey tenderloin, stuffed with dried apples, cranberries and cheddar cheese--is something your family will enjoy any time of the year.

Simmer antioxidant-rich cherries in a quick pan sauce spiked with whiskey and cranberry juice; it's luscious on turkey tenderloin (a lean but flavorful, quick-cooking cut you might have overlooked in the poultry case). Make it a meal: Serve with egg noodles.

Mellow white miso paste is the secret ingredient in this amazing roast turkey rubbed with Meyer lemon and roasted garlic. The miso gives the turkey a mildly salted taste without the hassle of brining.

During the autumn season in Italy, turkey is often deliciously paired with a stuffing of chestnuts and sausage. The wild turkey was brought to Europe from the New World, and once domesticated, returned there to breed as the classic festive bird. It also became one of the large courtyard fowl animals in Lombardy. With Italy being one of the largest producers of chestnuts, it was expedient to put the two together in another happy marriage of New and Old World.

These turkey tenderloins are sliced and stuffed with a delicious herb mixture, wrapped in bacon, browned in a skillet and then roasted in the oven. Don't forget to drizzle some pan juices on each serving!

Pair turkey cutlets with roasted fennel and a rich pomegranate pan sauce for a simple yet elegant dish. Garnish with jewel-like fresh pomegranate seeds if available--they are in season from September through January. Turkey scallopini (thinner and smaller than cutlets) will also work in this recipe, but will need to be cooked in batches. Make it a meal: Nutty-tasting bulgur is delicious with this.

This Ethiopian-spice-rubbed turkey recipe has just the right amount of curry-like seasoning to make it exciting but still at home on a Thanksgiving table. There's enough au jus left in the roasting pan for any traditionalists to drizzle over their turkey; use the citrus aioli for dipping or for turkey sandwiches the next day.

Potatoes, leeks and turkey burst with intense flavor when roasted with honey, mustard and curry. Serve with: Steamed snow peas and carrots and a glass of white wine.

Why not add a little bit of island flair to your next holiday meal? This basic herb-rubbed turkey recipe is brushed with a sweet orange and sage sauce and served with a Jamaican jerk seasoned sweet potato stuffing. Your guests may just request a side of reggae music!

A glaze of bourbon and mustard is sweetened with brown sugar and is rubbed under and brushed over the turkey skin to infuse the roasting meat with a subtle richness.

Bay leaves in the dry rub and fresh sage guarantee that this easy turkey recipe has tons of flavor. Leaving the turkey uncovered in the fridge creates the crispiest skin. Look for a heritage, organic or natural turkey, which won't contain the sodium solution that's pumped into most conventional turkeys.

This cranberry-glazed turkey breast recipe, which uses a split bone-in turkey breast, is the perfect thing to make if you're serving a smaller crowd or if everyone wants white meat. The wild rice pilaf recipe is delicious on its own so you can make it even if you don't prepare the turkey.

Plan ahead to make this succulent turkey recipe--brining the turkey for 12 to 18 hours before roasting makes the meat super-juicy and flavorful. The gravy, made silky-smooth in a blender (no lumps!), is thickened with potatoes instead of cornstarch or flour.

This roast turkey recipe is flavored with sage and served with gravy made extra-tasty with the lemony pan drippings from the turkey and bay leaves in the giblet stock. The salt rub in this recipe acts as a “dry brine,” plumping and seasoning the meat for moist, juicy, flavorful turkey.

The spice crust for the turkey cutlets is based upon a Berber blend from North Africa. The honeyed grapefruit relish provides a lively contrast to the richly spiced turkey.

Here we fill a boned turkey breast with roasted plum tomatoes, fresh breadcrumbs and prosciutto then bake it for a pretty dish for entertaining. A creamy basil sauce is the perfect counterpoint. Boning a whole turkey breast is not difficult, but if you are daunted by the prospect, ask the butcher to bone it for you.

This elegant entrée is a refreshing change of pace from heavier holiday foods. Serve it on a cool bed of fresh salad greens.