Defrost time calculator
Type the weight, say whether it is a whole turkey or a smaller package, and pick the method. The calculator gives the thawing time USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service publishes for that case, and, if you add when you want to cook, the day and time to start. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Where the times come from
FSIS names three methods it describes as acceptable — the refrigerator, cold water and the microwave — and publishes times for the first two on two pages: The Big Thaw and its turkey thawing page. Where the agency prints a range, the calculator shows the range. Where it prints nothing for a weight, the calculator says so instead of borrowing a rate from another case.
The longer write-up of all three methods, and what may be refrozen afterwards, is in how to thaw frozen food safely.
A whole turkey in the refrigerator. FSIS says to "allow approximately 24 hours for each 4 to 5 pounds in a refrigerator set at 40 °F or below", and prints a table: 4 to 12 pounds, 1 to 3 days; 12 to 16 pounds, 3 to 4 days; 16 to 20 pounds, 4 to 5 days; 20 to 24 pounds, 5 to 6 days. The calculator shows the row your turkey falls in. A weight on the line between two rows (12, 16 or 20 lb) is read in the row it ends, which is also what the rate gives, and the result names the next row too. Above 24 pounds, where the table stops, it applies the rate as a range of whole days, each end rounded up. The table starts at 4 pounds, so below that the calculator points you to the package option.
A whole turkey in cold water. FSIS says to "allow about 30 minutes per pound", with a table for the same rows: 2 to 6 hours, 6 to 8 hours, 8 to 10 hours and 10 to 12 hours. The rules come with it: the turkey goes in a leak-proof plastic bag, the bag is submerged in cold tap water, the water is changed every 30 minutes, and the agency says to "cook the turkey immediately after it is thawed".
A smaller package in the refrigerator. Here the rate is from The Big Thaw: "at least a day (24 hours) for every 5 pounds of weight", and "even small amounts of frozen food — such as a pound of ground meat or boneless chicken breasts — require a full day to thaw". So the calculator never gives less than a day. A refrigerator set at 35 °F thaws more slowly than one at 40 °F, so this answer is a floor, not a promise.
A smaller package in cold water. FSIS gives two examples and no rate: a package of about a pound "may thaw in an hour or less", and "a 3-to 4-pound package may take 2 to 3 hours". The calculator gives those two. For a package of any other weight it says the agency publishes no cold-water figure, because the 30 minutes a pound is stated for whole turkeys only.
In the microwave, there is no rate, because ovens differ. FSIS says food thawed in a microwave is cooked immediately afterwards.
Planning back from the meal
| Whole turkey | Refrigerator | Cold water |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 12 lb | 1 to 3 days | 2 to 6 hours |
| 12 to 16 lb | 3 to 4 days | 6 to 8 hours |
| 16 to 20 lb | 4 to 5 days | 8 to 10 hours |
| 20 to 24 lb | 5 to 6 days | 10 to 12 hours |
The table is FSIS's. Fill in "When do you want to cook?" and the calculator counts back from it for both methods. The refrigerator date uses the long end of the range, so a 20 lb turkey for 2 PM on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26, 2026, goes into the refrigerator by 2 PM on Saturday, November 21. The cold-water time is the latest start, because the turkey is cooked as soon as it has thawed: 4 AM on Thanksgiving morning for the same bird.
Five days is the arithmetic most people get wrong in November. FSIS also says a thawed turkey can stay in the refrigerator for 1 or 2 days before cooking, which is the slack the long end leaves.
After it has thawed
FSIS gives times for what comes next, too: ground meat, stew meat, poultry and seafood thawed in the refrigerator keep another day or two before cooking, and red meat cuts 3 to 5 days. Food thawed in the refrigerator can go back in the freezer without being cooked, though the agency notes some loss of quality.
The food storage time lookup has the refrigerator and freezer times from the FoodSafety.gov chart, and how long does food last in the fridge prints the same chart for the kitchen door.
Common questions
How long does a turkey take to thaw in the fridge?
FSIS allows approximately 24 hours for each 4 to 5 pounds, in a refrigerator at 40 °F or below. Its table gives 1 to 3 days for 4 to 12 pounds, 3 to 4 days for 12 to 16, 4 to 5 days for 16 to 20 and 5 to 6 days for 20 to 24. Plan on the long end.
How long does a 20 lb turkey take to thaw?
4 to 5 days in the refrigerator and 8 to 10 hours in cold water, from the 16 to 20 pound row of the FSIS table. The next row, 20 to 24 pounds, starts at the same weight and says 5 to 6 days and 10 to 12 hours, so a bird of exactly 20 pounds sits on both rows.
When should I start thawing a turkey for Thanksgiving 2026?
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. At the long end of the FSIS table, a 12 to 16 lb bird goes into the refrigerator by Sunday, November 22, a 16 to 20 lb bird by Saturday, November 21, and a 20 to 24 lb bird by Friday, November 20. Put your dinner time into the calculator for the exact hour.
Why is there no cold-water time for my 2 lb package?
FSIS publishes cold-water times for a package of about a pound (an hour or less) and for one of 3 to 4 pounds (2 to 3 hours), and a rate of about 30 minutes per pound for whole turkeys. It gives no figure for other package weights, and the calculator does not make one up. The refrigerator has a figure for every weight.
Can you thaw meat on the counter?
FSIS says perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter or in hot water, and must not be left at room temperature for more than two hours. The reason it gives is that the outer layer could be between 40 and 140 °F, the range it calls the Danger Zone, while the middle is still frozen.
How much faster is cold water?
About 12 times, by the FSIS turkey table: 8 to 10 hours in cold water for a 16 to 20 lb bird, against 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. It needs attention, though — the water is changed every half hour, and the turkey is cooked as soon as it is thawed.
Can you cook from frozen?
Yes. FSIS says cooking from the frozen state takes approximately 50% longer than the recommended time for fully thawed or fresh meat and poultry.
Is anything I type saved?
Only in your own browser, so the form remembers your last answer, and in the link if you copy one. The calculator runs in the page and sends nothing to Duneed.