Apple Butter Glazed Turkey
Honestly, the smells that this healthy gluten free and dairy free apple butter glazed turkey recipe produces, always reminds me of my favorite holiday memories. The flavors of the apple butter, nutmeg, and thyme are the perfect pairing of savory and sweet when combined with the natural flavors of a roasted turkey.
Now depending on how big of a turkey you get for your dinner the cooking time will vary but for my 20 pd turkey it took me about 4 hours and 30 minutes. This recipe will produce a very delicious healthy and juicy turkey with not a whole lot of hands on cooking involved. I managed to prepare and cook my turkey, make homemade stuffing from scratch, green bean casserole from scratch, and my special purple mashed potatoes all in the same day without being stressed out. – Kara, The Accidental Chef
Serves 16
Ingredients:
- 20 pd turkey frozen or fresh, thawed completely
- 6 tbsp of Smart Balance Light Butter
- 3 tbsp of chopped thyme
- 2 tbsp of chopped parsley
- 2 tsp of black pepper
- 1 tsp of salt
- 5 small yellow onions, quartered
- 5 small (Fuji or pink lady apples), quartered
- 4 large carrots, cut into 3 inch pieces
- 2 cups of apple cider
- 1 1/2 cup of apple butter
- 1 package of poultry herbs
- 2 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
Directions:
To prepare the turkey, remove the giblets and neck; discard.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the 4 onions, 4 apples, and the carrots in the roasting rack.
Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of thyme, and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg over the veggies. And add 2 cups of cider to the pan.
Combine the butter, chopped thyme, parsley, pepper, and salt in a small bowl. At the neck, start to loosen the skin from the breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers and gently pushing between skin and meat. Rub the butter mixture under and over the loosened skin. Then rub the remaining herbs and 1 tsp of cinnamon to each side of the turkey.
Place 1 onion, 1 apple, 1 carrot, and the package of poultry herbs into the body cavity. Then tie the legs with kitchen twine.
Pour in 2 cups of apple cider into the pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.
(Place the turkey breasts side up for 45 mins,
flip the bird and put it back in for the last 45 mins)
Remove the turkey from the oven and using a baster take about half of the juice out of the roasting pan and set aside for later.
Brush the turkey with the apple butter and baste with a little bit of the remaining juice.
Return to the oven for 30 mins.
Flip the turkey. And glaze the other side with the apple butter + the pan juices, then place back into the oven for 30 mins.
Baste with the apple cider every 30 minutes until the thickest part of the turkey thigh registers to 160 degrees.
Once it’s cooked, let it stand loosely covered with foil for about 20-30 minutes. Reserve the pan drippings with half of the juice you took out of the pan earlier to make gravy if you so desire. Serve with the roasted apples and vegetables from the pan.
Serves 16| Calories per serving: 690 | Fat: 28 g | Protein: 88.5 g | Carbs: 17.3 g | Net Carbs: 15.7 g |
