This turkey salad recipe is out of this world good. It combines meaty chunks of turkey with dried cranberries, crunchy bits of celery, pecans, mayonnaise, and mustard. But, this turkey salad is not just delicious, it's so, so easy to make too. Just 5 minutes is all you need to make it.
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The Best Turkey Salad Recipe
Don't bother with turkey sandwiches after Thanksgiving dinner - give this turkey salad recipe a try instead! This easy recipe makes for the perfect lunch and can be made at a moment's notice.
It makes perfect use of leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, requiring just a few vegetables and pantry ingredients that you probably already have waiting for you. And there's plenty of room to modify this dish to make it exactly how you like it!
It's phenomenal with this keto chili, some cauliflower rice, or eaten on one of my keto tortillas. But, honestly, it's delicious just eaten on its own.
Ingredients
So, the ingredient list here is pretty minimal. All you need is your leftover turkey, condiments, a couple of shelf-stable ingredients, and a few tasty veggies.
Honestly, probably have most - if not all - of these ingredients hanging out in your fridge and pantry - just waiting for their chance to shine!
Anyway, here's everything you need to make turkey salad:
- 3 cups Cooked Turkey, cut into cubes
- 1 Celery Stick, cubed
- 2 Green Onions, sliced
- ¼ cup Dried Cranberries
- ¼ cup Pecans, chopped
- ½ cup Mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp. Mustard
- Salt and Pepper
- ¼ cup Scallions, chopped
Pretty common stuff, right?!
Ingredient Substitutions
Now, I love dijon mustard for this recipe, but yellow mustard - or stoneground mustard - works great too.
You can also use whatever leftover turkey you have, whether it be turkey breast, dark meat, smoked turkey, chopped turkey, diced turkey - they're all good choices!
As for the nuts and dried fruit, feel free to swap dried cranberries for grapes, and pecans for walnuts.
Oh, and I'll sometimes even add fresh dill and lemon juice to brighten the flavors of everything.
This recipe is all about what's most convenient for you!
Anyway, now let's go over some more suggestions on how to make turkey salad your way!
Modifying Your Turkey Salad Recipe
There are an endless number of ways to make this dish uniquely yours, here are just some of my favorites:
- Adding fresh dill or curry powder will drastically change the flavor profile of your salad, not to mention it will taste great!
- Add fresh leaf lettuce or arugula to make it more of a salad.
- Swap leftover turkey for leftover chicken.
- Add a splash of acid from lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to brighten up the flavors.
- Make the whole thing into a giant turkey salad sandwich or wrap.
Regardless of how you choose to go about making your turkey salad, it is sure to taste great!
How To Make Turkey Salad
The steps to make this turkey salad recipe are pretty simple. It's basically just mixing the ingredients together.
And the best part about this is that after you've made it once, you'll be able to make it without even looking at the recipe!
It really is that easy.
So, let's jump right into it!
Step 1: Prep The Ingredients
The first thing you'll need to do is take out all of your ingredients and measure them out.
Then, add everything - the turkey, celery, green onions, dried cranberries, pecans, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper - to a bowl.
Step 2: Combine Ingredients
Now mix all of the ingredients together until they are fully coated in the mayonnaise and mustard.
Then, serve the turkey mixture immediately in two individual bowls - or one large bowl - and top with chopped scallions.
Enjoy!
How To Store Leftover Turkey Salad
This recipe for turkey salad will make 2 servings. The amount of time you can store this leftover turkey salad depends on how old your turkey is.
Turkey can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days, so you can store this leftover turkey salad in the fridge in an airtight container for up to that amount of time. It all just depends on when you first stored your turkey in an airtight container.
Wrapping it Up
That is how to use leftovers to make one of the best turkey recipes.
With all the work that comes from making a Thanksgiving dinner, you shouldn't have to worry about what to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers.
This leftover turkey salad recipe is the perfect no-fuss solution for what to do with leftover turkey. And you can easily make this salad ahead of time and let it chill in the fridge overnight so it's ready to go when you want it.
Also, don't feel like you have to wait to make this turkey salad recipe until you have leftover Thanksgiving turkey. You can totally use fresh turkey and whip it up in minutes!
A recipe as easy as this can be made any time of the year. I particularly find this to be a great summer-time recipe because it's lighter and makes for a great lunchtime salad.
Anyway, if you gave this turkey salad a try, leave me a comment below and let me know how it went!
More Recipes
For more equally easy and delicious recipes, check one of these next:
- Instant pot chicken stew
- Air fryer pork chops
- Air fryer turkey tenderloin
- Air fryer chicken breast
- Pan seared salmon
- Pork loin
- Oven baked chicken thighs
Also, be sure to check out my Youtube, TikTok, and Instagram for more easy to make recipes just like this one.
PrintTurkey Salad Recipe Made In 5 Minutes
This turkey salad recipe is out of this world good. It combines meaty chunks of turkey with dried cranberries, crunchy bits of celery, pecans, mayonnaise, and mustard. But, this turkey salad is not just delicious, it's so, so easy to make too. Just 5 minutes is all you need to make it.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: Turkey
Ingredients
3 cups Cooked Turkey, cut into cubes
1 Celery Stick, cubed
2 Green Onions, sliced
¼ cup Dried Cranberries
¼ cup Pecans, chopped
½ cup Mayonnaise
1 tbsp. Mustard
Salt and Pepper
¼ cup Scallions, chopped
Instructions
- Mix turkey, celery, green onions, dried cranberries, pecans, mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl.
- Combine well and serve with fresh scallions.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 474
- Fat: 43
- Carbohydrates: 2
- Protein: 19
Keywords: turkey salad, turkey salad recipe, how to make turkey salad, leftover turkey salad recipe, leftover turkey salad, turkey salad with cranberries, turkey salad recipe easy, turkey salad recipe healthy
This was terrific!!