Autumn Spiced Turkey Salad

A white platter full of crackers, vegetable sticks, and turkey salad with dried cranberries.

The flavors of autumn are the best, right?

Well wait until you try this healthy Autumn Spiced Turkey Salad recipe!

This savory and sweet creamy salad is what fall lunch dreams are made of. 

Pretty tray of autumn spiced turkey salad and bell peppers and crackers.

If you haven’t celebrated Thanksgiving of Christmas yet, you can substitute shredded chicken in this recipe when you don’t have leftover turkey in the fridge.

It’s just as yummy!

This unique salad recipe combines all the flavors of fall. The apples and dried cranberries are sweet and tart, and the cinnamon and nutmeg add an unexpected layer of flavor that is so comforting this time of year. Up close photography of carrot shreds, leftover turkey meat, celery, and plain Greek yogurt.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups leftover turkey meat
  • 1 small apple
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 stick celery
  • 1 carrot 
  • 1/4 cup onion
  • 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard  
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon  
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg 
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt 
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper  

Serve Salad With Dippers Like:

  • crackers, vegetables (bell pepper, carrots, celery, and cucumber), or on bread as a sandwich

Beautiful bowl of harvest salad made with leftover turkey and cinnamon.

This salad is perfect right after Thanksgiving and Christmas when you have leftover turkey.

It’s always fun to get creative and rollover food into new recipes, right?

Serve this gluten free salad in between two pieces of bread, on a salad of greens, in a tortilla wrap, or as a dip with crackers and vegetable dippers. 

A birds eye view of all the ingredients for a fall turkey salad.

If you want to take this salad to the next level use smoked turkey meat. Oh. My. Gosh. YUM!

Most years my husband smokes a turkey in his smoker for Thanksgiving and if we are lucky Christmas Day too.

Just when I thought this salad could not get any better…it did!

There is nothing quite like the taste of smoked turkey and it is DIVINE in this Autumn Spiced Turkey Salad.

The BEST Autumn Spiced Turkey Salad | If you have leftover turkey, this easy recipe is a must! This healthy gluten free salad recipe combines all the flavors of fall. The crunchy apples and dried cranberries are sweet and tart, and the cinnamon and nutmeg complement the flavor of the turkey breast (try smoked meat!). Use this clean eating harvest salad in a sandwich, wrap, or with vegetable dippers. Use plain Greek yogurt in place of mayo or dairy free almond yogurt too.

If you need to make this salad dairy free, use plain almond milk yogurt or mayonnaise in place of plain Greek yogurt. Using plain Greek yogurt is the lowest calorie option if you’re counting though!

By the way, this salad really is delicious all year. When is turkey, cinnamon, and “salad” ever a bad thing?! Enjoy!

What is your favorite way to use leftover turkey?

Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Autumn Spiced Turkey Salad

If you have leftover turkey, this easy recipe is a must! This healthy gluten free salad recipe combines all the flavors of fall. The crunchy apples and dried cranberries are sweet and tart, and the cinnamon and nutmeg complement the flavor of the turkey breast (try smoked meat!). Use this clean eating harvest salad in a sandwich, wrap, or with vegetable dippers. Use plain Greek yogurt in place of mayo or dairy free almond yogurt too.
Prep Time15 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Course: Leftovers, Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine: All American
Keyword: autumn, chicken, christmas, cinnamon, clean eating, fall, gluten free, healthy, holidays, leftovers, pumpkin spice, salad, thanksgiving, turkey
Servings: 2 people
Calories: 250kcal
Cost: $5.00

Equipment

  • bowl
  • knife
  • cutting board

Ingredients

  • 2 cups leftover turkey meat, shredded or chopped (chicken can be substituted)
  • 1 small apple diced
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 stick celery diced
  • 1 carrot shredded
  • 1/4 cup onion diced
  • 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt or mayo or plain almond milk yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Chop all the vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
  • Mix all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.
  • Eat alone, on a spinach salad, a wrap, sandwich, or with vegetables. Enjoy!

Notes

You can substitute chicken breast for turkey. 
Substitute almond milk yogurt or mayonnaise for the plain Greek yogurt if dairy free. 

7 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I don’t have any leftover turkey but I made this with rotisserie chicken and green onions instead of red because it’s what I had. It’s delicious and light. And even my 3 year old boy loves it so that’s a win for me!

  2. YUM! I’ll be making this for sure! We eat turkey often, and since it’s just my husband and self, we ALWAYS have leftovers!

  3. Love this recipe for thanksgiving leftovers!
    Thanks
    Michelle

    • You are SO welcome, Michelle! I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving so we have leftover turkey for this salad. However, when I.just.can’t.wait.any.longer for leftover turkey I break down and buy a rotisserie chicken. Ha!

  4. Sounds like a great recipe to save for the near future! Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty

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