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.
Recipe Video
Recipe 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 Facts
Leftover Turkey Salad With Cranberry Vinaigrette
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 634Calories from Fat 333
% Daily Value*
Fat 37g57%
Saturated Fat 12.5g63%
Cholesterol 87.3mg29%
Sodium 414.6mg17%
Carbohydrates 37.2g12%
Fiber 10.4g42%
Sugar 23.6g26%
Protein 34.8g70%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.