How to Reheat a Cooked Turkey (Whole, Sliced or Breast)

To reheat a cooked turkey, carve it off the bone first, lay the meat in a baking dish, add a few tablespoons of broth, cover tightly with foil and heat at 325°F until the thickest piece reaches 165°F. As a starting point, allow about 15 to 25 minutes for slices and 25 to 35 minutes for thick breast pieces or legs straight from the fridge. Reheating a whole cooked turkey on the bone is the slow, uneven way to do it, and food-safety guidance is to take the meat off the bone before it goes in the fridge anyway.

The times in this post are our typical starting points, not figures from a published source. How thick you sliced it, how cold your fridge runs and how full the dish is all change them, so the thermometer decides.

Don’t reheat it whole: carve first

University of Illinois Extension’s turkey FAQ is direct about the leftovers: “Remove stuffing from the cavity, cut turkey off the bone and refrigerate or freeze all leftovers for later use.” A whole bird is too big to cool quickly, and the same bulk works against you on the way back up: the outside of a reheated carcass dries out long before the middle is hot.

That also answers the make-ahead question. If you want to roast the turkey the day before Thanksgiving, roast it, carve it, and refrigerate the meat in shallow containers. On the day, you are reheating slices and pieces, which takes half an hour rather than half the afternoon, and it frees the oven for the sides.

Keep big pieces big, though: a breast half reheats juicier than thin slices.

Turkey reheating methods compared

Method	Heat	Rough time from the fridge	Result	Best for
Oven, covered with broth	325°F	Slices 15–25 min; breast pieces and legs 25–35 min	Moist, most even	A platter for the family
Stovetop, lidded skillet	Low to medium, simmering broth	5–8 min, turned once	Moist, quick	Two to four servings
Microwave	50% power, covered	1-minute bursts, stirred or turned	Soft, can go rubbery	One plate
Air fryer	350°F	4–6 min for slices or a leg	Crisp skin, firmer meat	Dark meat with skin
Slow cooker	Not for reheating	Holding only	Keeps hot turkey hot	Buffets, after reheating

All times are ours and are starting points. Every method finishes at 165°F in the thickest piece.

How to reheat turkey in the oven

Heat the oven to 325°F. Spread the turkey in a single layer, or close to it, in a 9x13 dish such as a Pyrex Basics 3-quart baking dish. Spoon over 3 to 4 tablespoons of chicken or turkey broth for a family-size dish, or a little leftover gravy thinned with broth. Cover tightly with foil. The liquid turns to steam under the foil, and the steam is what keeps the meat from drying.

Check the thickest piece after the shorter time. Once it reads 165°F, take the foil off for the last few minutes if you want the edges to colour. Pieces with skin can go under the broiler for a minute or two. Watch them, because turkey skin goes from crisp to burnt quickly.

How to reheat turkey breast

Breast meat is the part that dries out, because it has almost no fat to protect it. Three things help:

Reheat it in one piece if you can. Wrap a breast half in foil with a couple of tablespoons of broth, heat at 325°F until the centre reaches 165°F, rest it for a few minutes, then slice. Thick pieces need the longer end of the oven time, and sometimes more.
Already sliced? Keep the slices thick and stacked in the dish, overlapping like shingles, so less surface is exposed.
Serve it with hot gravy. Even well-reheated breast is drier than it was on Thursday. Hot gravy at the table covers the difference.

If you are roasting a turkey breast instead of a whole bird this year, our turkey per person chart has the bone-in and boneless breast amounts by headcount.

Stovetop and microwave, for a plate or two

Stovetop. Bring a quarter cup of broth to a simmer in a skillet, add the turkey in one layer, cover and heat for about 5 to 8 minutes, turning the pieces once. This is the best way to get a couple of sandwiches’ worth hot and moist in a hurry.

Microwave. Put the turkey on a plate, add a spoonful of broth, cover and heat at 50% power in 1-minute bursts. NC State’s Safe Plates program, in its Thanksgiving leftovers advice, says to stir halfway through because “microwaves often leave cold spots where bacteria can survive”, and to cover the dish “to help food reheat evenly and to trap moisture”. With slices, turn and rearrange them instead of stirring, and check the thickest one with a thermometer.

Dark meat and the air fryer

Legs and thighs reheat better than breast because of their fat, and a skin-on drumstick or thigh is the one piece worth putting in the air fryer: about 4 to 6 minutes at 350°F, turned once. Check the meat next to the bone, which heats through last.

Gravy, stuffing and the rest of the plate

Turkey rarely gets reheated alone. Safe Plates gives the rules for the two sides that need the most care:

Gravy “should be brought to a rolling boil when reheated.” Do it in a pan on the stove, whisking, and thin it with a splash of broth if it has set thick in the fridge.
Stuffing and casseroles need to reach 165°F throughout. Reheat stuffing covered in a dish, with a little broth, and check the middle, not the edge.

Mashed potatoes have their own tricks, including how much milk to add per pound, in our guide to reheating mashed potatoes.

Reheating turkey for a crowd

For a big Friday lunch or a second family dinner, reheat the turkey in the oven in covered dishes and then hold it. Illinois Extension’s holding guidance is for a freshly cooked bird, but the target is the same: keep it covered so it does not dry out, at 200°F in the oven, and make sure the turkey stays at 140°F or above.

Do not use a slow cooker to reheat cold turkey. Bring it to 165°F in the oven, on the stove or in the microwave first, then hold it in a preheated slow cooker on warm. Our guide to keeping food warm for a party covers the holding options for a long buffet.

Food safety for leftover turkey

University of Illinois Extension’s guide to storing turkey leftovers says to get leftovers into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking, in shallow containers, and to use cooked turkey within 3 to 4 days. Its general leftovers page gives the reheat figure: a minimum of 165°F.

Two more rules from Safe Plates are worth keeping. Reheat leftovers only once: “If there are still leftovers after reheating, it’s safest to discard them.” So warm what you will eat and leave the rest in the fridge. And check the temperature with a thermometer rather than by feel. An instant-read thermometer in the thickest piece, away from any bone, settles it in a second.

If you froze some turkey, thaw it in the fridge overnight and then reheat it the same way. Illinois Extension’s turkey FAQ advises using frozen leftover turkey, stuffing and gravy within one month.

FAQ

What is the best way to reheat a cooked turkey?

Carved, in a covered baking dish with a few tablespoons of broth, at 325°F until the thickest piece reaches 165°F. As a starting point, that is about 15 to 25 minutes for slices and 25 to 35 minutes for breast pieces and legs.

Can you reheat a whole cooked turkey?

It is not the way to do it. Food-safety guidance is to take the meat off the bone before refrigerating, and a whole bird reheats unevenly, drying out on the outside before the centre is hot. Carve it, then reheat the meat.

How many times can you reheat turkey?

Once. Safe Plates advises reheating leftovers only once, so take out just what you will eat.