Free Printable Turkey Cheat Sheet, Napkin Wraps + Recipe Cards

The thought of roasting a Thanksgiving turkey used to intimidate me. What size should I buy? How long do I cook it? Brine or no brine? So many questions! But over the years, I’ve learned a few tricks (and made a few mistakes along the way!). That’s why I created this free printable Turkey Cheat Sheet with useful extras: Thanksgiving recipe card and napkin wrap templates. That’s everything you need to cook a turkey with confidence, prep the rest of your holiday spread, AND have a pretty table!

What I love most about this cheat sheet is that it takes the stress out of Thanksgiving dinner. No more frantic Googling for cooking times or second-guessing the brining process. It’s all right here, in one handy place.

Yes, Thanksgiving is mostly about spending time with loved ones and creating wonderful memories, but hey….a delicious turkey certainly doesn’t hurt!

📝 What’s Included

✔️Turkey Cheat Sheet – Servings formulas, a brining guide, and cooking times for a flawlessly roasted bird with juicy, flavorful meat.

✔️Thanksgiving Recipe Card – Easily organize all your family favorites and plan the perfect spread! This is a full-page recipe card template so there’s enough space even for the more elaborate dishes.

✔️Napkin Wrap Template – These are super easy to cut and an effortless last-minute decoration for your Thanksgiving table. Sized at 4.25 x 11 inches, there are two napkin wraps per sheet, and you only need to cut once to separate them.

🦃 Turkey Cheat Sheet

Assuming you know how many guests are coming, you will need to calculate how big the bird should be to feed everyone. If you have some people who are still undecided, you might want to leave a bit of wiggle room.

🔢 Turkey Per Person Formula

With this free printable turkey cheat sheet, calculating how much turkey you need per person is a breeze! Here are the magic formulas:

No leftovers: # Of guests x 1.25 = x Pound turkey

Some leftovers: # Of guests x 1.5 or 1.75= x Pound turkey

It’s okay if you actually want some leftover turkey. With so many delicious and easy recipes using them, I always plan for leftovers. And I have no regrets!

🥣 Turkey Brining Guide

Once you figure out how big the bird should be, it’s time to make the brine. This will ensure your turkey will be extra flavorful and tender.

Do not skip this step! It’s one of those low effort high reward tasks that make all the difference.

This is the basic brine formula:

1 Gallon water + 1 cup of salt + ½ cup of sugar + 1 cup aromatics/flavorings

Customize it with your favorite herbs and spices and try different combinations for every turkey you make. Here are some of my favorite aromatics for the turkey brine, but feel free to experiment with others too. This is the fun part!

• Sage
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Orange or lemon peel
• Garlic (the universal flavor enhancer!)
• Peppercorns
• Red pepper flakes
• Bay leaves
• Star anise pods

⏳ Turkey Cooking Times

Last, but not least, you should find the perfect cooking time for your turkey based on its final weight.

Turkey Weight (lbs.)	Stuffed	Unstuffed
8	3 hrs	2 hrs + 45 mins
10	3 hrs + 15 mins	2 hrs + 55 mins
12	3 hrs + 30 mins	3 hrs
14	3 hrs + 45 mins	3 hrs + 45 mins
16	4 hrs	4 hrs
18	4 hrs + 15 mins	4 hrs + 15 mins
20	4 hrs + 30 mins	4 hrs + 30 mins
22	4 hrs + 45 mins	4 hrs + 45 mins

🍗 Family Favorite Thanksgiving Recipe Card

I printed this sheet in multiple copies and wrote down the Thanksgiving recipes my family loves most. I recommend you do the same and you will have a much easier time planning your Thanksgiving dinner!

This sheet will allow you to write down all the essential information you need for a recipe: number of servings, prep time, cook time, ingredients, and directions. I also added a “notes” section where you can write down any other relevant details.

Tip: Once you figure out the recipes you will be making, grab our free printable Thanksgiving Planner and write them down on the menu plan sheet. Also, use the included shopping list to make sure you have all the ingredients before you get to work.

🍴Thanksgiving Napkin Wraps

I’m a big fan of effortless decor and one of the easiest ways to do it is with the help of printables. The printable utensil wraps are a great last-minute decor idea for your festive table setting, and they assemble in seconds!

How To Use

👉After printing the page, cut it lengthwise on the dotted line to separate the two napkin wraps.

👉Now, here’s the fun part! Fold the wrap along the shorter dotted line.

👉See that long, blank section? Tuck it inside the fold you just made. This creates a neat little pouch with the design facing out.

👉To secure it, apply glue to the underside of the top flap (the one with the design) and press it down onto the section below. Let it dry completely, and voilà! You’ve got a festive pocket for your Thanksgiving napkins and cutlery.

Feel free to print as many as needed!

Tip: These free printable and editable fall place cards will complete your Thanksgiving tablescape, and you can personalize them for each guest to celebrate in style!

🍽️ Turkey Cooking Expert Tips

A tender roasted turkey will be the highlight of your Thanksgiving dinner so going through all the steps is definitely worth the effort. Here are some practical tips that will ensure your bird turns out just right.

💦 Thawing

Thaw your turkey in the refrigerator or cold water. The first option is the best, but it does take longer so be sure to plan for it. Thaw your turkey in its original wrapping, breast side up. Allow for one day of thawing for every 4 pounds of turkey.

Thawing in cold water is much faster. In this case, you should thaw the bird breast side down and make sure there’s enough water to cover it completely. Change the water every few hours and allow for 30 minutes of thawing per pound of turkey.

Read our turkey thawing guide for more info on how to properly defrost the bird so it’s ready to cook on Thanksgiving day.

🥣 Brining

Once the turkey is thawed you can brine it. I recommend brining for at least six hours, but 12 hours is even better, especially for larger turkeys.

Rinse the turkey well after brining and I mean really well! Otherwise, you can end up with overly salty meat, and nobody wants that!

🍗 Roasting

In the oven, bake the bird breast-side down for the first hour. This will ensure the turkey remains moist as most of the juices will collect in the breast during that time. After you flip it, keep an eye on it and cover it loosely with foil if it starts to brown too fast.

Internal temperature needs to be 180°F for thighs, 170°F for the breast, and 165°F for the stuffing according to Butterball.

🕒 Resting

The resting time also depends on the size of the turkey and you can check out our turkey resting guide for detailed info on the topic.

Even a small bird will need around 30 minutes of rest, and this is the final step to enjoying juicy, and tender meat.

♨️ Keeping The Turkey Warm

For the first 30-60 minutes after roasting the bird will maintain a lot of residual heat, and you will need to let it rest anyway. It’s a good idea to plan your turkey to be ready for dinnertime also taking the rest time into account.

But what to do if your turkey is ready well ahead of time? Well, there are some great methods for keeping a turkey warm, and you can visit my detailed post to find out which one works best for you!

🖨️ Grab It Now

Get ready for Thanksgiving with our free printable Turkey Cooking Cheat Sheet, Family Favorite Thanksgiving Recipe Sheet, and Thanksgiving Utensil Wraps. Enter your name and email in the form below and the file will appear in your inbox shortly.

Open the PDF using the free Adobe Reader (or your preferred PDF reader app). To print on U.S. Letter paper, leave the Scale set to “100%” or “Actual Size”. You can adjust the Scale setting but only if printing on other paper types like A4 or A5.

Enjoy!