Turn the star of your holiday dinner into a delicious Leftover Turkey Salad with this quick and easy recipe. This protein-packed salad is healthy, flavorful, and ready in just 15 minutes!
Whether you plan to cook a beautiful whole roasted turkey or maybe just a turkey breast for two, this recipe is perfect for using up holiday leftovers. This is a new twist on the usual leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwich. It has a lot of flavor and textures that make it even better.
Why You’ll Love Leftover Turkey Salad Recipe
Quick & Easy – This tasty recipe is easy to make. With just a little chopping, you can have it ready in about 15 minutes, and it’s so much better than a store-bought sandwich.
Perfect with leftovers – This recipe ensures that none of your delicious holiday turkey goes to waste. And if you don’t have leftover turkey, you can easily make it with rotisserie chicken or chicken breast instead.
Customizable – You can customize the simple ingredients any way you like. Try fresh dill or other fresh herbs of your choice, chopped fruit like apples, nuts like almonds, pumpkin seeds or your favorite spices to make this recipe uniquely yours.
Key Ingredients You’ll Need
- Leftover turkey — I prefer to dice the turkey into bite-sized pieces for a heartier texture. You can also shred it in the food process to save a little time, it’ll just have a more creamy consistency.
- Salad dressing — You’ll need 3 ingredients – mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and fresh lemon juice. This simple dressing adds lots of flavor and helps bring everything together.
- Add-ins — These are so easy to customize based on your taste. I enjoy using a mix of crisp veggies like celery and onion. I also add dried cranberries and pecans for different textures. Of course, I include salt and pepper too.
Just 4 Easy Steps
Step 1: Whisk the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl until it’s smooth.
Step 3: Season it with salt and black pepper to taste.
Step 2: Stir in the leftover turkey, celery, red onion, dried cranberries, and chopped pecans.
Step 4: Top it with fresh parsley or green onions. Serve as is, or enjoy it in a bun or on a slice of bread.
White Meat Vs. Dark Meat Turkey
When you go to remove the meat from your turkey, you’ll find the dark meat on the legs and thighs and the white meat on the turkey breast and wings.
Now, you may end up with more dark meat or more white meat leftover depending on your family’s preference.
But, not to worry! This delicious recipe works great with both kinds of turkey meat.
My Favorite Ways To Enjoy this recipe
A classic chopped turkey salad sandwich is always my go-to. It’s my favorite light lunch to have after a big holiday spread and is so easy to throw together – it takes a couple of minutes tops.
You could also keep it super simple and serve it with your favorite crackers. Or, scoop it into a lettuce wrap or on top of a big salad for some low-carb options that are delicious and filling.
Can I Make Leftover Turkey Salad Ahead Of Time?
Absolutely! It’s a great make-ahead recipe that honestly just gets better with time. Leftover turkey salad, classic chicken salad or tuna salad are especially convenient to have on hand for quick throw-together lunches. Plus, it’s best to serve chilled, so making this dish a day or two in advance will give the flavors more time to meld together.
Storage Instructions
This recipe stores incredibly well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Just be sure to store it in an airtight container to keep it as fresh as possible. If it seems a bit dry, you can mix in a little extra mayo to help the consistency.
If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating! And while you’re here, be sure to check out the full collection of Thanksgiving recipes here at Primavera Kitchen!
Leftover Turkey Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked leftover turkey chopped
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup celery chopped
- 1/3 cup red onion diced
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup pecan chopped
- Salt and black pepper
- Fresh chopped green onions for garnish
- Serve with lettuce and slices of bread
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice until smooth.
- Add 3 cups chopped leftover turkey, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 1/3 cup diced red onion, 1/4 cup dried cranberries, and 1/4 cup chopped pecans to the dressing. Stir until everything is evenly coated.
- Add salt and black pepper to taste, adjusting as needed.
- Sprinkle freshly chopped green onions on top for garnish.
- Serve the turkey salad with lettuce or as a sandwich with slices of bread.
Notes
- Allow the leftover turkey salad to chill for 15 minutes to let the flavors meld.
- You can substitute the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt for a lighter option.
- Optional, but toasting the pecans first will bring out more of their flavor.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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