Leftover Turkey Salad Recipe

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This turkey salad recipe is your answer if you’re wondering what to do with your leftover turkey breast or dark meat. It’s easy to make, colorful, flavor-packed, and rich in nutrients. You’ll need some pressure cooker turkey breast, air fryer turkey tenderloin, or any leftover turkey meat and a handful of other basic ingredients. In this post, I’ll share how to make turkey salad with cranberries and a sweet, tangy dressing.

Leftover Turkey Salad with turkey breast and cranberries in a large bowl

Why Make This?

Quick and Easy: Making this tasty salad is incredibly easy and fast. And, the best part is all you need to do is put the ingredients in a bowl and mix to incorporate.
Option to utilize leftover turkey: Besides making leftover turkey soup, this easy turkey salad is a perfect way to reuse your Thanksgiving turkey leftovers or any other leftover holiday turkey meat. Since this is a delicious way to turn leftovers into the perfect lunch, add this to your list of favorite leftover turkey recipes!

Ingredients Needed

Leftover turkey: I cubed this meat. You can incorporate leftovers from my pressure cooker turkey breast, air fryer turkey thigh, air fryer turkey breast, crockpot turkey tenderloin, or air fryer turkey tenderloin.
Dried cranberries: Be sure to use the unsweetened variety for keto.
Pecan pieces: I got these dry roasted and chopped, which add a great texture to the salad overall.
Red onion: these are sweeter and milder tasting than regular yellow onions so I prefer them in cold salads. I diced these.
Celery: I prefer the celery for added crunch, but, you can make turkey salad without celery by omitting the celery.
Bacon: you crisp this on the stovetop or with my air fryer bacon recipe. After the meat is crisped, simply crumble it. If you don’t eat pork, you can also enjoy this with air fryer turkey bacon.

Dressing Ingredients

Mayo: I’m using full-fat mayo to make a creamy dressing, but you can substitute that with Greek yogurt or sour cream.
Granular sweetener
Dijon mustard
Apple cider vinegar
Black pepper
Garlic powder

pecans, leftover turkey, apple cider vinegar, bacon, red onions, dijon mustard, sweetener, mayo, celery, dried cranberries on separate bowls

How to Make Leftover Turkey Salad with Cranberries

Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
Add the turkey mixture and other add-ins to a large bowl.
Pour the dressing over the turkey and other add-ins.
Mix to incorporate.

Recipe Tips & FAQs

An easy way to substitute mayo is with sour cream or greek yogurt if you need a lighter option.
Use my air fryer bacon (or air fryer turkey bacon if you don’t eat pork) for the crisped bacon
Choose unsweetened dried cranberries for keto and the low-sugar option if you wish for lower carbs.
Some of my favorite ways to eat this delicious recipe are in lettuce wraps, lettuce cups, on a bed of lettuce, or in turkey salad sandwiches with low-carb bread.
If you typically don’t have a big turkey dinner because you prefer baked or rotisserie chicken over turkey, you can still use this recipe. Just swap the turkey with chicken breast, such as my cast iron chicken breast (or dark meat like my air fryer boneless chicken thighs) to make a chicken salad.
For extra flavor, you can use a little fresh dill and a little lemon juice, but this salad is perfect as is for my family.

Storage and Leftovers

If you have any leftover Thanksgiving turkey salad, the best way to store it is in an airtight container for the next day (up to 3 days).

What is turkey salad made of?

The main ingredient is leftover turkey meat, and you get to choose the rest of the ingredients. This easy recipe uses my air fryer turkey tenderloin, cranberries, bacon, sweetener, seasonings, and other ingredients.

Do you put eggs in turkey salad?

It’s okay to have eggs in your salad. But, this recipe does not use eggs. For turkey salad with eggs, simply add 2-3 hard-boiled eggs (like my air fryer hard-boiled eggs) to this recipe.

How long is turkey salad good in the fridge?

For best results (including texture and taste), store your turkey salad in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Can you freeze leftover turkey salad?

No. You can freeze leftover turkey by itself and then use thawed leftover turkey in this recipe. However, I would not recommend freezing leftover turkey salad.

Are turkey salads good for weight loss?

It depends on the ingredients you use in the salad. Turkey meat is low in calories, but if you use other carb-loaded salad ingredients and dressing, you will not achieve your weight loss goals.

Recipes to Enjoy This With

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