This turkey cranberry salad is a meaty, creamy, delicious version of chicken salad loaded with tender shredded turkey, crunchy onions, celery, and pecans, apple cider vinegar, and cranberries. It’s a rich, creamy taste of the holidays in every bite!
I love cooking with turkey. From roasted turkey with crispy skin to better-for-me turkey BBQ turkey meatloaf, turkey is always at the top of my list when it comes to proteins. One of my favorite ways of using turkey is creating new, delicious dishes with leftovers.
Over the years, I’ve made all kinds of dishes, but one that I always love and that everyone always asks for is my turkey cranberry salad. It’s a twist on traditional chicken salad with tons of holiday flavor, and it’s just as easy to make!
Why You’ll Love This Cranberry Pecan Turkey Salad
- Simple Ingredients: All you need is leftover turkey, cranberries, and a few other kitchen staples to make this dish.
- Easy: This recipe is simply a matter of mixing and chilling!
- Tastes Like the Holidays: The turkey, pecans, and cranberries make every bite of this turkey salad taste like the holidays.
- A Year-Round Recipe: Turkey breasts are available year-round, so you can make this recipe whenever you like!
Ingredients
- Leftover Turkey: Shredded turkey takes the place of chicken in this turkey salad.
- Mayonnaise and Apple Cider Vinegar: These create the creamy, tangy base for the salad.
- Red Onion: Red onion adds a bright bite to the salad.
- Cranberries: Fresh cranberries add texture and a tangy, holiday flavor to the turkey salad.
- Celery: Celery adds wonderful crunch and more flavor.
- Pecans: Chopped pecans add an earthy flavor and a ton of crunchy texture.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
Flavor Variations
- Walnuts: You can use walnuts in place of pecans if you prefer.
- Garlic: Add some minced garlic for even more flavor.
- Onions: White or sweet onions add a little more sweetness and a little less bite.
- Frozen Cranberries: You can use frozen cranberries for this recipe. Just defrost them first.
How to Make Turkey Cranberry Salad
1: Mix the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Then, add the shredded turkey to the mixture and stir.
2: Add the cranberries, red onions, chopped pecans, and celery, and stir again to combine.
3: Cover and chill until ready to serve.
4: Serve on croissants or with your favorite crackers.
Hint
Warm up your leftover turkey before shredding it. Warm meat shreds much more easily than cold meat.
Storage
Refrigerate this salad for 1 to 3 days in an airtight container, depending on how old the turkey was when you used it. The rule of thumb is that turkey is good for about 3 days total. Don’t freeze this recipe. Mayonnaise-based recipes break when defrosted.
What to Serve with This Turkey Cranberry Salad Recipe
If you’re serving this salad on a sandwich, pair it with flavorful sides like fried onion strings, macaroni and cheese, or creamy coleslaw.
For dessert, keep the holiday flavors going with caramel apple pecan cobbler or pumpkin cheesecake.
Tips
- Warm up your turkey before shredding to make things easier. Warm meat shreds easily, while cold meat is very difficult to shred.
- Mix your dressing ingredients first, so they’re thoroughly combined when you add the solid ingredients.
- Never refrigerate constructed sandwiches. If possible, store your turkey cranberry salad in the refrigerator separate from your bread.
- Be extremely careful when chopping the cranberries. Those suckers roll!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’ve stored your salad, this is a normal thing. The liquid from the chopped vegetables leech into the salad over time. Just give it a good stir. If you didn’t fully defrost frozen cranberries, they could make your turkey salad watery as the finish defrosting while mixed into it.
Unless you have excellent knife skills, the safest way to chop cranberries is in a food processor or mini-chopper. Cranberries’ round shape makes them difficult to wrangle and chop at the same time.
That’s largely dependent on how old the turkey was when you made the salad. Turkey can be safely refrigerated for three days. So subtract the number of days the turkey was refrigerated before making the salad from three. That’s how long you can safely store it.
You sure can! Leftover holiday turkey works well, but so does leftover turkey breast.
Try This Turkey Cranberry Salad Today
With its rich, creamy dressing and all the flavors of the holidays, this delicious turkey cranberry salad is a great way to use up Thanksgiving and Christmas leftovers. BUT it’s also perfect for leftover turkey breast. While synonymous with the holidays, the cranberries and nuts in this dressing make for a tasty flavor profile you can enjoy all year long. Give this one a try, and I know you’ll love it.
More Delicious Thanksgiving Side Dishes
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Turkey Cranberry Salad (Leftover Turkey Recipe)
Ingredients
- 3-4 cups leftover turkey, shredded
- 1½ cups mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
- 1 small red onions, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 8 croissants, cut in half lengthwise
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, pepper, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Shred leftover turkey and add to mayo mixture. Stir.
- Add cranberries, red onions, chopped pecans, and celery. Stir to combine.
- Cover and place in the fridge to chill.
- Serve on croissants or with your favorite crackers.
Notes
- Warm up your turkey before shredding to make things easier. Warm meat shreds easily, while cold meat is very difficult to shred.
- Mix your dressing ingredients first, so they’re thoroughly combined when you add the solid ingredients.
- Never refrigerate constructed sandwiches. If possible, store your turkey cranberry salad in the refrigerator separate from your bread.
- Be extremely careful when chopping the cranberries. Those suckers roll!
Nutrition
