Turn your holiday turkey leftovers into a quick and easy Leftover Turkey Salad loaded with delicious flavors and awesome textures! Turkey is diced and then tossed in a creamy and savory dressing along with crunchy vegetables, plus you have a lot of options to customize this salad to your preferences.
If after your turkey feast, you have extra turkey on hand, I have a few great recipes for you to repurpose all the turkey. This salad is one of my absolute favorites, it’s simple, takes just 15 minutes to make from start to finish, and the kids love it too.
I used all white meat after I roasted a bone in turkey breast, but you can use dark meat here too if you were roasting a whole turkey, or roasting just turkey legs.
I don’t only make this with leftover turkey, it’s an all-year-round recipe for me. I sometimes buy turkey breast or turkey tenderloins to cook and make this salad!
For more leftover turkey recipes, check out this Creamy Turkey Casserole, and this comforting Turkey Soup with Rice.
Key Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this turkey salad:
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Turkey: Dice the leftover cooked turkey into ½-¼ inch cubes. You can also shred the turkey if you prefer. White or dark meat works here, or a mix of both.
- Vegetables: I’m using a diced small red onion, diced celery, and fresh herbs.
- For the Dressing: You will need mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice or vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Tip!
For more flavor and texture, feel free to add sliced grapes, diced apples, dried cranberries, roughly chopped pecans or walnuts.
To lighten up the dressing, use ¼ cup mayo and ¼ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt.
How To Make Turkey salad
- Make Dressing: In a large bowl, combine the dressing ingredients and whisk until well combined.
- Add Turkey and Vegetables: To the same bowl, add the diced turkey, diced vegetables, and herbs.
- Chill: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to meld. Serve on lettuce, toasted bread, crackers, or to stuff croissants.
Recipe Tips
- Cooked diced or shredded chicken can be used in place of the turkey in this recipe. I often use rotisserie chicken to make chicken salad that is just like this recipe.
- I find the salad easier to eat when the turkey is diced into smaller pieces. I dice into ½-¼ inch cubes.
- Other vegetables that you can add: Bell peppers, artichoke hearts, shredded or finely diced carrot, and peeled and diced cucumber.
- Other herbs that you can add: I used parsley and dill, but you can also do green onions, fresh basil, or chives.
- Spices: Another popular variation of this salad contains curry powder, you can also add smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder if you like.
- Turkey salad is amazing when you serve it as a sandwich on homemade bread! Try making bread machine seed bread or try my easy no-knead bread recipe.
Storing Tips
Store the turkey salad in an airtight container for up to 3 days. I do not recommend freezing this salad, it becomes watery and unpleasant when thawed. However, you can freeze leftover turkey breast, thaw it and use it to make the salad.
Enjoy this turkey salad as a quick and easy meal or snack! Whether you’re repurposing leftover turkey, looking for a simple weeknight dinner, or something to pack in a lunchbox, turkey salad is sure to become a favorite. So what are you waiting for? Start whipping up this delicious turkey salad today!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Turkey Salad Recipe
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar or honey
- 4 cups cooked turkey diced into ½ inch cubes or shredded
- ½ medium red onion finely diced
- ½ cup diced celery
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or dill
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the dressing ingredients (mayonnaise, dijon mustard, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper) and whisk until well combined.
- To the same bowl, add the diced turkey, celery, onion, and fresh herbs (I used parsley and dill).
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to meld. Serve on lettuce, toasted bread, crackers, or to stuff croissants.
Notes:
- Cooked diced chicken can be used in place of the turkey in this recipe.
- I find the salad easier to eat when the turkey is diced into smaller pieces. I dice into ½-¼ inch cubes.
- Other vegetables that you can add: Bell peppers, artichoke hearts, shredded or finely diced carrot, and peeled and diced cucumber.
- Other herbs that you can add: I used parsley and dill, but you can also do green onions, fresh basil, or chives.
- Spices: Another popular variation of this salad contains curry powder, you can also add smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder if you like.
- Storing: Store the turkey salad in an airtight container for up to 3 days. I do not recommend freezing this salad, it becomes watery and unpleasant when thawed. However, you can freeze leftover turkey breast, thaw it and use it to make the salad.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
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