Turkey Apple Cranberry Pecan Salad is a delightful mixture of crunchy, sweet and savory flavors and a GREAT way to use up any leftover turkey or chicken!
I don't know about all of you, but I've got leftovers galore in my fridge. I always say I'm going to cut back on what I serve at Thanksgiving every year, but then I tend to make something for everyone and that translates to leftovers, despite the fact that I send food home with all my guests! This year, I ended up with a bumper crop of turkey, stuffing and ham!
To use up the leftover ham, I made a big batch of my Favorite Ham Salad Spread. I've still got the ham bone in the freezer for a great big pot of Classic Bean and Ham Soup. Tonight's dinner is going to be Turkey Minestrone Soup and today's lunch was this wonderful Turkey Apple Cranberry Pecan Salad. If you are a fan of chicken salad with a nice sweet component, you will LOVE this Turkey salad.
This salad is very versatile. I served it over some fresh spinach leaves but it also makes a delicious sandwich on some multi-grain bread. I really LOVE the crunch from the apples and celery, but I also love the sweetness from the apples and the dried cranberries! I'm really a sucker for any good salad like this!
I've make a good dent in my turkey leftovers today! I have to be honest, it's really kind of fun to find ways to re-purpose leftovers. Morphing them into completely new dishes helps my creativity come alive! You've got to try this salad if you have any leftover turkey. If you are without turkey leftovers, try it out with some cooked chicken breast!
Turkey Apple Cranberry Pecan Salad
A delicious cold salad made from lean turkey breast, sweet apples and dried cranberries and crunchy pecans! Great for leftover turkey or chicken!
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked and diced turkey breast (or chicken breast)
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced sweet apple (I used Honeycrisp variety)
- 1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries
- 1/4 cup chopped roasted and salted pecans
- 3/4 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
- 1- 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp. granulated sugar
- kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the reduced fat mayonnaise, vinegar, and sugar. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add all other ingredients and stir to coat. Allow flavors to blend in refrigerator for about 30 minutes before serving.
- Serve on greens or in a sandwich. Enjoy!
Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 10 mins.
Total time: 40 mins.
Tags: Turkey, Apples, Cranberries, Pecans, salad, dinner, lunch, leftovers
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This is a yummy turkey salad! Turkey with pecans, apple and cranberries must taste very nice.
ReplyDeleteI'm such a sucker for chicken salad...and pecans...and cranberries- I can't wait to give this a try!
ReplyDeleteWe definitely have enough leftovers to whip up this salad. Serving it over spinach or lettuce leaves is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteI love the flavors you used! What a great lunch!
ReplyDeleteI love the crunch the apple will bring. Sounds like the perfect lunch for me.
ReplyDeleteCan you believe I haven't made a turkey yet? LOL I've been beefing it up. ;) However, a turkey is in our near future just because we want to have some to make yummy recipes like this one!
ReplyDeleteI love chicken salad like this but never thought to use leftover turkey - this looks so so good Renee. Like realllly really good. Think I'll add turkey to the grocery list just to have this for lunches this week.
ReplyDeleteLove the great flavors in this chicken salad! Festive and delicious!
ReplyDeleteThis is soooo good! Great use for leftover turkey and what a yummy lunch!
ReplyDeleteHi SuzieQ! Thanks for your review. I'm so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
DeleteWanted to share how much I love this recipe! When my son was in 7th grade he took a Foods Class and as homework had to make a dish over Thanksgiving weekend - he chose this recipe. Our family has two meals on Thanksgiving and we made this to add to the second :lighter" meal. Six years later, I still make it for the second meal. I put it on mini croissants and serve with soup. I now roast a turkey the week of Thanksgiving to make it in advance. It gets better each day. Every year I look forward to this salad and would not change a thing!
ReplyDeleteHello! Thank you for your very thoughtful comment! I'm so very happy this recipe has become a tradition in your family and that you've enjoyed it over the years. I'm a firm believer that leftovers do not have to be boring and I really hate throwing food away! I've also made this recipe with chicken breast, and it's also good! Again, thank you for taking the time to leave this wonderful comment!
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