Healthy Fall Salad Recipe (With Leftover Turkey)
Makes: 3 Servings
Per Serving: 27g Protein | 392 Cal
Although there’s nothing wrong with a good turkey sandwich after Thanksgiving, sometimes you just want something a little bit different. Fresh, crunchy, and perfect for quick and easy lunches, my Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Salad with Apples is high in protein, creamy (without mayo), and packed with seasonal flavors like tart cranberry and rich pecans.
Quick to make, super simple, and with well-balanced macros, this fall salad is one you’ll make year after year.
Why You’ll Love This Turkey Salad Recipe
Packed with protein and macro-friendly: Each serving of this deliciously fresh salad is packed with 27g of protein for a lunch or snack that will stay with you for hours (though holiday decorating, football watching, or time with family).
It’s a great way to use up leftovers: This salad makes use of leftover turkey breast and leftover cranberry sauce (not to mention some of the herbs, veggies, and the like that you stocked up on ahead of the big meal). Nothing will go to waste.
Fresh, delicious flavors: This salad is full of fall flavors like savory turkey, tart cranberry, sweet apples, nutty pecans, thyme, and more—but with a light, fresh twist. It’s the perfect way to enjoy them after a heavy holiday meal.
Quick and easy to put together: With a little bit of chopping, measuring, and stirring, you can have this salad ready to eat in 10 minutes or less.
Great for meal prepping: I love making chicken, turkey, and chickpea salads like this for quick, easy, protein-packed lunches I can keep in my fridge for up to 3 days.
Ingredients
¾ cup leftover cranberry sauce
¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
12 oz leftover turkey breast, chopped or shredded
4 stalks celery, finely sliced
½ cup chopped red onion
1 apple, finely chopped
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
A few sprigs fresh thyme leaves, leaves removed from the stem
Optional: a handful of dried cranberries for extra chew + sweetness
Instructions
Make the creamy dressing: Add the cranberry sauce, Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Whisk well to combine.
Make the salad: Add the turkey, celery, red onion, apple, pecans, and thyme leaves to the bowl with the dressing.
Mix the salad: Toss together until everything is evenly coated with dressing. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
Chill or serve immediately: You can serve this salad right away or transfer it to an airtight container to chill for a little bit first. Giving the salad time to chill can help the flavors meld, but it’s not a required step. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information (Per Serving - Makes 3 Servings)
Calories: 392
Protein: 27g
Carbs: 41g
Fat: 13g
Swaps & Substitutions
Swap the nuts: Instead of pecans, try making this with walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, or even sunflower seeds for a bit of a different taste and texture.
Make it dairy-free: Instead of the Greek yogurt, use a thick plant-based yogurt.
Add some sweetness: If you’d like a sweeter salad, use Honeycrisp apples (or another sweet apple), add in dried cranberries, or add a splash of maple syrup to the dressing.
Make it lower in carbs: Use a bit less cranberry sauce in the dressing and leave out the dried fruit.
Brighten it up: Add a squeeze of lemon juice!
How to Store and Serve This Salad
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The flavors will meld as it chills, which can make it taste even better!
Serve this salad with crackers, in a high-protein or high-fiber wrap, as a sandwich, over a bed of greens, with fresh veggies, or on its own. If you're serving it over greens, you could also amp up the fall flavors with roasted sweet potatoes or butternut squash, pomegranate arils, or any of the other flavors you love this time of year.
FAQs
-
You sure can! This recipe works just as well with chicken as it does with leftover turkey. The flavors are very similar, so it’s an easy swap.
-
I like using an apple that’s sweet, but stays crisp in the salad, like Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or Galas, but you can use whatever you love best (or whatever you have on hand).
-
Sure! Use chickpeas, lentils, or cannellini beans for a plant-based twist.
-
Yes! All of the ingredients are naturally gluten-free.
Whether you're relying on Thanksgiving leftovers to make a good salad or you're whipping it up independently of the holiday, it's a light, fresh, seasonal dish that I just know you're going to love.
Turkey Salad with Apples
This healthy fall salad recipe uses leftover turkey and cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving for a quick, easy meal you can eat all week.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup leftover cranberry sauce
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 12 oz leftover turkey breast, chopped or shredded
- 4 stalks celery, finely sliced
- ½ cup chopped red onion
- 1 apple, finely chopped
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
- A few sprigs fresh thyme leaves, leaves removed from the stem
- Optional: a handful of dried cranberries for extra chew + sweetness
Instructions
- Make the creamy dressing: Add the cranberry sauce, Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Whisk well to combine.
- Make the salad: Add the turkey, celery, red onion, apple, pecans, and thyme leaves to the bowl with the dressing.
- Mix the salad: Toss together until everything is evenly coated with dressing. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
- Chill or serve immediately: You can serve this salad right away or transfer it to an airtight container to chill for a little bit first. Giving the salad time to chill can help the flavors meld, but it’s not a required step. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Calories
392Fat
13 gCarbs
40 gProtein
27 g