Ultimate Turkey Salad – Downshiftology

This turkey salad is my favorite way to turn leftover holiday turkey into something irresistibly delicious! Tender turkey is tossed with crisp celery, crunchy pecans, sweet-tart dried cranberries, green onions, fresh herbs, and the creamiest dressing.

Turkey salad in a bowl. — *Photo: Gayle McLeod*

Why I Love This Turkey Salad So Much

Whenever I have leftover roast turkey, this crisp, and creamy salad has become my go-to meal after Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. I’ll admit, I’m a bit predictable with my love for high-protein salads like this—whether it’s chicken salad, tuna salad, or shrimp salad. But this particular combination captures the essence of fall in every bite, making it extra special for this time of year. Here’s what else I love about it:

It’s easy to make. Since you’ll likely have most of the ingredients already from holiday cooking, this salad comes together fast! And if you’re making this from scratch, the recipe is incredibly simple.
It’s healthy and refreshing. After a heavy holiday feast, all I crave is a fresh, low-carb salad. And this one hits the spot! You can also enjoy it on butter lettuce leaves or roll it into a wrap with extra greens for a satisfying, wholesome meal.
It’s meal prep-friendly and protein-packed. With the holiday hustle, it’s such a relief to have a delicious, protein-packed dish ready to go in the fridge. Plus, it stays fresh for up to five days, making it perfect for meal prep.

Turkey Salad Ingredients

Turkey Meat: Be sure to remove the skin before dicing it up. This ensures a smooth, creamy texture without unexpected bits of skin in every bite. And be sure to check out my other leftover turkey recipes for more ideas!
Mayonnaise and Dijon Mustard: This dynamic duo creates a perfectly creamy, tangy, and slightly spiced dressing that coats the salad beautifully. It’s the backbone of the flavor!
Pecans and Dried Cranberries: These fall-inspired ingredients add a delightful nutty crunch and sweet-tart chewiness. If you prefer a different nut or dried fruit, feel free to swap them out for your favorites.
Vegetables: I’m using green onions and celery for a refreshing crunch. But you could also use red onions or shallots, if you have them on hand.
Fresh Herbs: I’m using parsley and dill, but any tender herbs you have on hand will work. Think chives, tarragon, or even cilantro for a twist!
Lemon Juice: A squeeze of fresh lemon juice helps to brighten up this whole salad.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

How To Make Turkey Salad

Mix everything together. Add the turkey, pecans, cranberries, green onions, celery, mayonnaise, mustard, parsley, dill, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper to a large mixing bowl. Toss everything together until it’s well combined.

Chill and serve. Let the salad chill in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. And the best part is that this will last for a few days in the fridge so you can enjoy it throughout the week! See my storage tips below.

More Ways To Enjoy

Lettuce wraps: Dollop a large spoonful of this salad onto butter lettuce leaves or lettuce cups for an extra refreshing and light meal. Romaine lettuce works too!
Tortilla wrap: Layer baby spinach or kale on top of a tortilla. Then add spoonfuls of this turkey salad on top before rolling it up into a wrap. If you have extra microgreens or sprouts, add them for more greens!
Sandwich: This is great on top of toast or a flatbread for an open-faced or regular sandwich. Top it with extra lettuce leaves and microgreens for a full meal.

Storage Tips

This turkey salad is best served chilled, so avoid leaving it out at room temperature for more than two hours. If you’re not planning to enjoy it right away, store it in an airtight container in the fridge, where it will stay fresh for 4 to 5 days.

A bowl of turkey salad with cranberries.

More Fall Salad Recipes

If you make this turkey salad recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re hungry for more healthy food inspiration (and exclusive content), join my free newsletter.

Description

This turkey salad recipe is my favorite way to transform leftover holiday turkey into the most delicious meal. Plus, it’s healthy, protein-packed, and meal prep-friendly. Watch the video below to see how I make this in my kitchen.

Mix together. To a large mixing bowl, add the turkey, mayonnaise, mustard, pecans, cranberries, green onions, celery, parsley, dill, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix everything together until it’s well combined.
Chill and serve. Let it chill in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

When it comes to dicing the turkey, if you plan to serve this up in bowls and eat it with fork, you can keep the turkey pieces about the same size in the photos. If you plan on serving it up in sandwiches or wraps, you may want to dice the pieces just a bit smaller.
Storage tip: This turkey salad is best served chilled, so avoid leaving it out at room temperature for more than two hours. If you’re not planning to enjoy it right away, store it in an airtight container in the fridge, where it will stay fresh for 4 to 5 days.
Turkey prep tip: Make sure to remove the skin from the turkey! This ensures a smooth, creamy texture without unexpected bits of skin in every bite.

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Behind The Scenes

Once you’ve made as many of these high-protein salads as I’ve made, it’s pretty easy to nail the recipe on the first test run (photo above). For me, the hardest part is just deciding what veggies, herbs, and crunch I’d like to add. And given the seasonality of the turkey, the cranberries and pecans were an easy choice! But as always, have fun with the recipe and feel free to use what you have on hand. It’s a very flexible and forgiving salad recipe!