This healthy leftover turkey salad is tossed with crunchy veggies and a creamy dill sauce for an incredibly flavorful and creamy turkey salad delicious on its own or for sandwiches.

Hello friends!  I wanted to pop in today before heading out for the holiday weekend with a new healthy turkey leftover recipe!  Well, it’s new to me, but not Mr. Hungry.  Since we can’t make our beloved leftover turkey enchiladas this year ( because I’m nursing a dairy-free baby), I was asking Mr. Hungry what we could do with our turkey leftovers.  I remembered our healthy leftover turkey and wild rice soup is dairy-free, but it’s clocking almost 90 degrees outside this year, so not quite soup weather. 

He immediately said that I should make turkey salad for turkey salad sandwiches as his Dad used to when they were kids.  I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty obsessed with sandwiches, not quite as obsessed as enchiladas, but it’s a close second.  

Mr. Hungry recited all the ingredients, but it was up to me to figure out the quantities. I decided to add chopped carrots for extra crunch and substitute with just a little bit of yogurt, but not a lot. When I had something I thought tasted good, I timidly took it into Mr. Hungry (who works from home now) to try it.  Luckily just a few adjustments were needed to make it the turkey salad of his childhood memories. Then I remade it a second time to make sure I had it right, and I did! It came out perfect!  

I’m so excited to share this recipe with you today!  We’ve been eating it all week, and honestly, I could totally make it again and eat it again and be perfectly happy.  It’s creamy and delicious on its own, with some crackers or on sandwiches.  

How to Make Leftover Turkey Salad and Turkey Salad Sandwiches

To make turkey salad, the bulk of the prep is chopping your veggies and salvaging enough turkey to make at least 4 cups.  If we have enough, we usually like to use white meat for the turkey salad and dark meat for turkey enchiladas or soup.

But, you can use a mix of dark and light meat for this salad if you don’t have enough.  The key is to dice it small enough not to have giant chunks, but leave it big enough you don’t get tuna consistency. So, about the size of dice is what you’re going for!

Then you’ll mix up your creamy sauce and pour that in. Of course, you could throw all the sauce ingredients in with the chopped veggies, but I find you get a little better result with mixing the sauce separately.  That way, you are guaranteed uniform distribution of maximum flavor. 

 

I substituted just a little bit of mayo from my FILs original version with plain yogurt (I used dairy-free Kite Hill.)  Some recipes use all Greek yogurt, but I find them way too tangy and not creamy enough.  Subbing a little bit of plain yogurt adds the perfect tang meanwhile, saving calories without overpowering your turkey salad.  

And wala! Turkey salad is delicious enough to eat on its own or in a turkey salad sandwich!

More Leftover Turkey Recipes:

• Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Chili 
• Leftover Turkey and Wild Rice Soup
• The BEST Leftover Turkey Sandwich 
• Healthy Leftover Turkey Enchiladas
• Healthy Leftover Turkey Enchilada Bake (Gluten-Free)
• Healthy Leftover Turkey Breakfast Enchiladas (Gluten-Free)
• Leftover Turkey and Sweet Potato Enchilada Casserole (Gluten-Free)
• Low Carb Turkey Enchiladas (Gluten-Free)