If you have more leftover turkey than you know what to do with, then why not add it to this light and zesty turkey salad that will balance out all the traditional heavy Christmas food? This Leftover Turkey Salad is easy to adapt with whatever you have on hand, making it the perfect festive fridge raid salad.
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A nutrient dense base of spinach, rocket (arugula) and watercress mixed with a simple balsamic dressing, topped with beetroot, shredded leftover turkey, juicy clementines, avocado, goats cheese and pomegranate. A delicious healthy leftover turkey recipe.
This turkey salad is light and fresh and really has it all and it makes a nice change from all the usual festive food. Something a bit lighter to balance it all out.
Don't let any of that Christmas meat go to waste and use all the leftovers in this salad. Pretty much anything goes here, so use what is in your fridge and don't let anything go to waste.
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Leftover Turkey Salad Ingredients
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Greens - We have used a mixture of spinach, rocket and watercress as we find it gives the salad a nice iron boost to this salad with leftover turkey, but it has plenty of flavour too. Any lettuce works though.
- Beetroot - This gives lots of chunky texture to the salad. We just used store bought cooked beetroot (not pickled), however you could roast your own if you prefer. You could also swap it for roasted vegetables like in our Winter Salad.
- Turkey - This recipe is a great opportunity to use up leftover turkey from your Christmas roast dinner. You could also use chicken instead. Try our Roast Turkey Breast or Slow Cooker Turkey Crown.
- Dressing - You don't want the dressing to be too over powering, as the fruit gives this salad all the flavour. So we went with a simple balsamic dressing that compliments it well. It is just a mixture of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. You could add a little mustard too if you like.
- Avocado
- Clementines
- Pomegranate
- Pine nuts - Toasting them first really brings out the flavour. You could swap them for walnuts or pecans too.
- Goat's cheese - You could use brie or stilton instead.
Leftover Turkey Salad Variations
Meat - Leftover shredded turkey makes this salad nice and filling. However, if you you don't have turkey then you can use leftover Roast Chicken or leftover Roast Beef instead. You could add leftover stuffing too.
Carbs - Want to make this salad even more filling? You could add some leftover Roast Potatoes that have been heated through in a pan. You could also add some pasta, orzo, rice or giant couscous. This really is easy to adapt. We also like Roasted Butternut Squash on ours too.
Cheese - You could also crumble on some Stilton instead of goats cheese. We love adding some nuts on top for extra crunch.
How to Make Leftover Turkey Salad
- Step 1: Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until they start to brown.
- Step 2: Add the salad leaves to a large mixing bowl. Cover with the dressing and add the turkey.
- Step 3: Add the beetroot, avocado, pomegranate seeds and clementines.
- Step 4: Mix well. Serve with the pine nuts and goat's cheese.
Serving Suggestions
This is a full meal by itself, so there isn't anything that we would really add to this turkey salad. However, we would happily eat bread with everything. Why not try making our Homemade White Bread, Slow Cooker Bread, Easy Bagels or Cheesy Garlic Bread to go with this.
You could even make some Sourdough Croutons to go on top.
Dannii's Top Tips
- Make this leftover turkey salad recipe a little more indulgent by grilling some bacon and chopping it up to add to this salad.
- Grapes are also a nice addition to this salad, and we usually have lots leftover from the Christmas cheeseboard.
- If you don't want all the ingredients to go purple from mixing with beetroot, then add it at the last minute.
Frequently Asked Questions
This salad is made from leftovers, however once it is made up you can store it in an airtight container for up to 2 days in the refrigerator, as it hasn't been cooked again. If might start getting a little soggy.
More Salad Recipes
If you've tried this turkey salad with leftovers, then let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - You can use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Leftover Turkey Salad
Ingredients
- 120 g (4.25 oz) of Salad leaves
- 150 g (5.25 oz) of Cooked beetroot - diced
- 180 g (6.33 oz) of Leftover turkey - shredded
- 1 Avocado - sliced
- 2 tablespoon of Olive oil
- 2 tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar
- 1 pinch of Sea salt and ground black pepper
- 3 Clementines - peeled and sliced
- 25 g (2.5 tablespoon) of Pine nuts
- 30 g (2 tablespoon) of Pomegranate jewels
- 50 g (1.75 oz) of Goat's cheese - crumbled
Instructions
- Toast 25 g of Pine nuts in a dry frying pan until they start to brown.
- Add 120 g of Salad leaves to a mixing bowl. Cover with 2 tbsp of Olive oil, 2 tbsp of Balsamic vinegar and 1 pinch of Sea salt and ground black pepper and add 180 g of Leftover turkey.
- Add 150 g of Cooked beetroot, 1 Avocado, 30 g of Pomegranate jewels and 3 Clementines.
- Mix well.
- Serve with the pine nuts and 50 g of Goat's cheese.
Recipe Tips
- Make this salad even more indulgent by grilling some bacon and chopping it up to add to this salad.
- Grapes are also a nice addition to this salad, and we usually have lots leftover from the Christmas cheeseboard.
- If you don't want all the ingredients to go purple from mixing with beetroot, then add it at the last minute.
Nutritional Information
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The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Anna Banana says
I'm actually making Turkey for Christmas and I'm going to make this salad afterwards. The dressing is to die for!
Toni says
This is such an amazing salad!! Everyone at my house enjoyed it!
Jessica Formicola says
Wow, this is such a gorgeous salad! Definitely book marking for the next time I have leftover turkey!
Elizabeth says
My kids love these wee jaffa oranges, they're so super easy to peel. Awesome leftover turkey recipe too - I'll be trying this one out soon!
Rachna Parmar says
I love salad recipe and this one is light and nice. Great use for leftover turkey.
Jamie says
I love how colorful and vibrant this salad looks! Definitely one I want to have as my lunch right now!
Cathleen says
This salad is so beautiful! And so perfect for the season too! Pinned to make later, thank you so much for the recipe :)
Anjali says
What a great idea for using up leftover turkey!! This salad looks absolutely delicious!
Jacqueline Debono says
This leftover turkey salad looks beautiful. I love your idea of adding bacon and/or grapes. Roasted grapes would also be delicious!
Irina says
I am in love with salad recipes. I made this salad today: it was amazingly delicious. I think of using chicken instead of turkey next time. Will it work?
Luci says
I love this salad recipe for leftover turkey! It is so colorful and easy to throw together. I'm saving this salad recipe because I know I'll love it after Christmas!
Ana F says
I always get excited when citrus season comes around and buy a ton of clementines...now I know what to do with them! Thanks so much for this amazing recipe!
sherry brubaker says
I am one of those weird people that does not like to eat Thanksgiving leftovers as is. This is the PERFECT solution! The clementines really give it a nice season, but fresh twist!!
Priya Lakshminarayan says
Love how colorful and yum this salad looks using leftovers! Wow!
Jess says
This is the best recipe for all my leftover Turkey! Love the clementines and the toasted pine nuts!