This fresh and appetizing turkey salad with deli or leftovers is what you need in the busy holiday season. Fast, delicious, and hearty is all about this salad and can replace a full meal when you are too lazy to cook or for the times when the refrigerator is stuffed with leftovers.
Salads can be an excellent source of “health”, but also of taste. Experts believe that salads should be eaten for at least three reasons: fiber, vitamins, and low-calorie intake. Here is a recipe that you can prepare in a few minutes yet cover all three points.
Can I make this salad with turkey leftovers?
Absolutely. During the holiday season, there are plenty of different kinds of “pending” leftovers. It often happens that when you cook a whole turkey or chicken there is a significant amount that you can still serve, but no one wants it anymore. Re-using the leftovers in salads, combining them with some fresh veggies, will save them from waste. As a result, you will have a new, colorful and fresh dish perfectly good to serve. This is how you turn the remaining food into new culinary dishes that your family can enjoy at no additional cost.
Ingredients for turkey salad
The ingredients for the turkey (leftover) salad are already in your fridge after yesterday’s party dinner. Therefore, the ingredients for this salad are super versatile and adjustable under one’s preferences. Here is how I transformed my leftover ingredients into a healthy yet nourishing salad. The ingredients for that are:
- Turkey deli or turkey leftovers. Choose whatever part of the turkey you have available. Or, if you have some chicken leftovers, you may use them or combine them with turkey.
- Feta Cheese. I used feta cheese because it is slightly salty, however, you may use other types of cheeses such as mozzarella, cheddar, or even dor blue.
- Green olives. Best olives for salad are the pitted ones, you don’t want anyone accidentally choking with an olive bone.
- Avocado. Because why not? It’s super delicious, nutritious, and simply because it goes so well with other veggies and perfectly complements meat and cheese.
- Colorful tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or any fresh tomatoes you have. All these aforementioned ingredients need tomatoes to balance the taste and the texture of the salad. The sweet-sour taste and the juiciness of the tomatoes are a must-have aspect of the salad.
- Red onion
- Dressing. Considering that this salad is meant to be served the second day after copious party dinners, I would dress the salad with some olive oil and a few drops of lemon juice.
- Spices such as salt and a pinch of ground pepper.
Mayo or olive oil?
Although I’m a mayo fan, for this exact recipe I like to go light because it is a post-holiday recipe. Mayo can make the salad really hard and can make digestion difficult. Contrarily to mayo, the olive oil and lemon juice combo will only enhance the taste of the main ingredients of the salad without grabbing too much attention from the digestive system.
How to make the dressing for the turkey leftover salad
Easy peasy. For this refreshing dressing, you will need a jar with a lid because you’ll be shaking the hell out of it:) So, pour in a few tablespoons of olive oil into the jar, squeeze some drops of lemon juice, add a pinch of salt, and one of pepper. Close with lid and shake until you get an emulsion. Open the jar and use it. Here’s a tip for you. Prepare a larger amount ahead of time and use it whenever you need it for your salads.
How to make the turkey (leftover) salad?
All you need to do to prepare this easy salad is gather all the ingredients and mix them. For that, shred the turkey leftovers or slice the turkey deli, wash and slice the tomatoes and the onion, slice the pitted olives in halves and crush some feta cheese on top. Don’t miss out on the cubed avocado and the dressing. Mix the salad and serve it with a chilled glass of dry wine.
How to serve the turkey salad?
Serve the salad as it is. You may accompany it with some boiled rice or quinoa. Enjoy!
Turkey (Leftover) Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups turkey leftovers
- 1 ripe avocado
- 3 ripe tomatoes
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 cup pitted olives
- 1 cup feta cheese
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper optional
Instructions
- Slice the turkey deli or shred the turkey leftovers
- Wash and slice the vegetables such as tomatoes and the onion
- Remove skin and pit from avocado; dice the avocado
- Slice the pitted olives
- Mix everything in a bowl
- Coat in olive oil and lemon juice combo
- Salt and pepper
- Top with crumbled feta, mix if desired
- Serve with pleasure
