Leftover Turkey Waldorf Salad

It’s a strong possibility that you will have some leftover turkey in your very near future. Of course, you should make a turkey sandwich with at least a portion of it because, well, that’s what you do. But, if you have even more leftover turkey or are feeling like a slightly lighter meal, try this Turkey Waldorf Salad!

I like to pile on fruits and veggies that I tend to have around Thanksgiving. The idea being that you shouldn’t really be going to the store to get things for this salad. For me, that’s things like dried cranberries, celery, pistachios, grapes, and pomegranate seeds. To be honest though, almost any fruit, nut, or crispy veggie could be piled onto this salad.

For the dressing, it’s a simple buttermilk dressing, but you could use a vinaigrette if you wanted. I think the creaminess and tanginess from the buttermilk is nice though. If you don’t have buttermilk and don’t want to run to the store, you can use a little extra lemon and a dollop of sour cream along with the mayo. Taste it and adjust!

Turkey Waldorf Salad

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5 from 1 vote

Author: Nick Evans

Servings: 2 Servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes minutes

The perfect light use of your leftover Thanksgiving turkey is this Turkey Waldorf Salad! So bright and fresh and you probably have most of the stuff in your pantry! YUM!

Ingredients 

• Butter or Romaine Lettuce
• 6-8 ounces turkey, sliced
• ¼ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup pistachios
• ½ cup grapes, halved
• ½ cup pomegranate seeds
• 1 stalk celery, chopped

Buttermilk Dressing:

• ¾ Cup buttermilk
• ¼ Cup mayonnaise
• ½ lemon, juice only
• 2 Tablespoons chives, minced
• 2 Tablespoons parsley, minced
• Salt and pepper

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Instructions

• Whisk together dressing ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Dress the lettuce and lightly and divide it between plates. Then top with all the fixings, divided between two places. Drizzle with extra dressing.
• You’ll probably have leftover dressing which keeps great in the fridge for a week or so.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Plate | Calories: 638kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 18g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 332mg | Potassium: 885mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 804IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 175mg | Iron: 3mg

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Leftover Turkey Waldorf Salad

Okay. I didn’t roast a whole turkey for this version. I roasted a few turkey thighs and used those for leftovers. You get the idea though. You need some sort of leftover turkey or chicken but almost anything will work!

Here’s the dressing! Ideally, it’s creamy but lighter than a store-bought ranch dressing or something. Go heavy on the herbs to give it some nice fresh flavor, but feel free to customize it to your liking and what you have on hand.

My favorite part of this salad, especially this time of year, is really ripe pomegranates. If you’ve never picked one apart before, here’s a tip: Do it submerged in a cold bowl of water. That’ll prevent the red juice from squirting all over the place and the white pith will float and the jewel seeds will sink.

Here’s my spread of add-ins I used for my salad.

Add some lettuce to your bowls and dress it lightly. Then top with all the toppings! I like to kind of portion each topping into a quadrant, but you could toss it all together. Then more dressing on top!

This Turkey Waldorf Salad is a bit different, but was a great lunch and left me feeling energized and not lethargic at all.

Make it! And HAPPY THANKSGIVING!