Size Matters—Here's How To Know What Size Turkey You Need For Thanksgiving (2024)

Buying the wrong size turkey for your Thanksgiving dinner is like buying the wrong size underwear. Stay with us here! If it's too small, you feel a sense of awkward desperation, but if it's too big you feel like you're swimming in it. To avoid either scenario, we've come up with a fool-proof equation to calculate how much turkey you'll need based on the number of people you're serving.

And because no one wants to scroll through a bunch of long articles while grocery shopping, we made this easy-to-read chart:

Here at Delish we believe in hitting the sweet spot. While 1 pound per person could feel like too little, and 1 1/2 pounds for each guest might be over-doing it, 1 1/4 pounds of turkey per mouth is the perfect balance.

At that rate, feeding a large party of 15 or more people requires 20+ pounds of turkey. Rather than trying to fit a 25-pound monster in your oven, you might want to cook two smaller birds. If preparing more than one turkey seems like a ton of work, well, it kind of is! So we also recommend preparing a few bone-in breasts to achieve the right amount of turkey for your group.

Once you acquire your perfectly sized turkey, we suggest doing a few cranberry sauce or holiday pie Jell-O shots as a celebration. You're officially on your way to the best Thanksgiving dinner ever. Now get cookin'!

In the end, if you do end up with extra, we have some creative ways to put your leftover turkey to use. If you're tired of all the cooking, try out an easy turkey noodle soup or Thanksgiving sandwich. We're also big fans of a hearty casserole or pot pie.