Smoked turkey salad is a great way to use up your turkey leftovers. Easy to whip up in under 30 minutes, this delicious turkey salad will give you a quick delicious dinner with little effort!
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Why you'll love this salad
While this turkey salad recipe is a great way to use Thanksgiving leftovers, it's so delicious that you'll make my smoked boneless turkey breast just because.
This recipe lends itself perfectly to endless customizations based on how you love making turkey salad.
Ingredients you will need
Here is a quick snapshot of the ingredients you'll need for this recipe. Scroll to the recipe card, where you will find the exact measurements.
Ingredient notes
- Smoked turkey - Smoked turkey gives this salad its distinctive flavor, but you can use any leftover poultry. Light meat or dark meat works perfectly well.
- Rice wine vinegar - gives the salad a bit of tang, but you can use lemon juice, white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar instead.
- Mayonnaise - I prefer Duke's mayo, but any other brand will also work well.
- Pecans - are an excellent addition to this dish, but almonds or walnuts will do just as well.
- Apple - a sweet apple like honey crisp, red delicious, gala, or McIntosh is a good pairing. Or any other apple you like to snack on!
How to make turkey salad
Cube the turkey into bite-size pieces or grind it up in a food processor. As you can see from all the pictures, we like to make it both ways. Add this to a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Dice, the apple, slice the celery and chop the pecans. Add this to the bowl with the turkey.
Add in the mayonnaise and rice wine vinegar.
Add the pepper, and stir the mixture with a large spoon until everything is combined. All the ingredients should be well coated with the mayo.
Expert tips
Be sure to chill the smoked turkey salad before serving for the best sandwich!
You can customize this salad by swapping the apple for grapes or pears. You can add a bit of red or sliced green onions to the mix.
Choose fresh herbs like thyme, dill, or parsley to give this dish more flavor.
A bit of Dijon or stone-ground mustard will be a nice tangy addition to this smoked turkey salad.
FAQs
Mayo adds moisture to the turkey and works as a binder with the other ingredients.
Serving suggestions
Serve this turkey salad on a delicious roll or fresh bread topped with lettuce, tomato, or bacon.
Serve alongside some fresh fruit or potato salad. A nice green salad or fried potatoes go well with this too.
Storage Instructions
Store in an airtight container for up to one week. I do not recommend freezing, as the mayo will make the salad runny when it thaws.
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Recipe
Smoked Turkey Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups smoked turkey or chicken cubed, ground, or shredded
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup apple diced, can also use halved grapes
- ¼ cup celery sliced
- 1 tablespoon pecans chopped
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar can substitute with red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Cube, shred or grind in a food processor the cooked smoked turkey and put it in a medium-sized bowl. Smoked chicken can also be used for this recipe.
- Dice the apple, slice the celery, chop the pecans then add to the bowl with the turkey.
- Add in the mayonnaise, pepper, and rice wine vinegar. Stir to combine all the ingredients thoroughly.
- This can be served immediately or can be chilled for two hours before eating. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.
- I do not recommend freezing as the mayonnaise will break down and the texture of the dish may change after being frozen.
Notes
Nutrition
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