Leftover Turkey Salad With Cranberry Vinaigrette

This delicious and fresh Leftover Turkey Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette is the perfect healthy recipe for what to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers!

this RECIPE

Thanksgiving is over.  For many of us, this means we have a ton of leftovers in our fridge.

So the question is what kind of Thanksgiving leftovers person are you?  Are you the kind who recreates the exact same meal as the big day?  Or do you like to change things up?

If you like to change things up, I've got a great salad for you.

This salad is kinda like a Thanksgiving explosion of delicious, fresh, and vibrant flavors.

Plus: let's face it.  Thanksgiving is pretty much a pass for most of us to eat a little more food, try a little more sides, have that slice of pie, drink that glass of apple cider...and eggnog.

There's a lot of food and it's hard to say no to all the goodness, especially since it's just once a year.

So, if you're feeling that carb coma hard and you want a lighter escape, this leftover turkey salad with cranberry vinaigrette is totes perfection.

P.S. You're not alone on this one.

Oh and the pomegranate seeds, though.  You guys.  Those pomegranate seeds are just amazingness on this salad.

Oddly enough, we all have my daughter, Jordan, to thank for them in this recipe.

We happened to have a pomegranate in the house because Jordan asked if she could buy one to see what it tasted like.  Now, I had a pomegranate tree/bush? when I grew up so I knew how lovely they were, so I was stoked she wanted to try one.

As I was making this salad, I just so happened to glance over at her pomegranate.

Luckily, she said I could have a few!  And that was all it took 🙂

While this salad is totally clutch right after Thanksgiving with those cranberries, turkey, and even random pecans and pure maple syrup lying around, you can always make it other times of the year.

It might be more difficult to get your hands on cranberries or pomegranates, but those could be subbed out for whatever is in season.

I sure hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and that you try out this yummy salad to even further enjoy your leftovers.

We had a quiet Thanksgiving by ourselves and it was pretty great.  Gotta love calm, easy, and tasty food during the holidays! 🙂

Leftover Turkey Salad With Cranberry Vinaigrette

Lacey Baier

This Leftover Turkey Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette is the perfect use of those Thanksgiving leftovers!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Total Time 13 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Side

Cuisine American

Servings 2 salads

Calories 634 kcal

Equipment

• blender
• Skillet

*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.

Ingredients

  

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For The Cranberry Dijon Vinaigrette:

• ▢ ⅓ cup olive oil
• ▢ 3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• ▢ ¼ cup prepared cranberries
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• ▢ 1 small clove garlic
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ *optional: 2 tbsp. water to loosen

For The Candied Pecans:

• ▢ ¼ cup raw pecans
• ▢ 3 tablespoon pure maple syrup

For The Salad:

• ▢ 6 oz diced Thanksgiving turkey
• ▢ 4 cups baby spinach
• ▢ 3 oz crumbled goat cheese
• ▢ 1 avocado diced
• ▢ ¼ cup pomegranate seeds

Instructions

 

• To make the vinaigrette dressing, in a blender, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, prepared cranberries, dijon mustard, a small garlic clove, sea salt, and ground black pepper. Blend until very smooth, then set aside. If you'd like the consistency to be a tiny bit looser, you could add 1-2 tbsp. water, if desired.
• To make the candied pecans, heat a pan over medium heat and add the raw pecans and pure maple syrup.
• Stir the pecans pretty consistently and you’ll start to see the maple syrup crystallize and coat the pecans in a sugary coating. This should take about 5-8 minutes. Once the syrup has crystallized, remove from heat, allow to cool, and then chop.
• To assemble the salad, begin with a bed of fresh baby spinach, then top with diced Thanksgiving turkey, crumbled goat cheese, diced avocado, the candied pecans, and some pomegranate seeds.
• Drizzle with the cranberry dijon vinaigrette and enjoy.

Video

Notes

To make this recipe, I use left-over turkey meat and left-over cranberries from Thanksgiving, but you can always make your own (which I totally have, too) to enjoy this salad year round.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 gCalories: 634 kcalCarbohydrates: 37.2 gProtein: 34.8 gFat: 37 gSaturated Fat: 12.5 gCholesterol: 87.3 mgSodium: 414.6 mgFiber: 10.4 gSugar: 23.6 g

Keyword healthy turkey salad recipe, turkey salad, turkey salad with cranberries

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This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.