Southern Turkey Salad

Take those leftover turkey sandwiches up a notch - and make them turkey SALAD sandwiches instead! This Southern Turkey Salad recipe is creamy, loaded with flavor, and a perfectly delicious way to enjoy those turkey leftovers.
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You know what I love just as much as Thanksgiving dinner? -- Thanksgiving dinner leftovers!

In fact, I may love the leftovers even more than I love the big Thanksgiving dinner itself. I think it's because when it comes to leftovers, I didn't just spend hours in the kitchen preparing them when I sit down to eat. Rather, I get the pleasure of just grabbing them out of the refrigerator and heating them up. -- Little to no prep involved.

We all know and love that classic leftover turkey sandwich, right? It's so simple and just so hard to beat -- roasted turkey slices loaded onto good-old white bread, slathered with mayonnaise, with a slice of dressing on top. It's one of my favorites, for sure.

But you know, I think we've found a way to make that leftover turkey sandwich even better -- turn it into a Southern Turkey Salad sandwich!

After practicing my Dry-Brined Roasted Turkey recipe for Thanksgiving, I had a big plate of leftover turkey staring me in the face when an idea struck. -- An idea to turn some of that beautiful turkey into turkey salad. I figured if chicken makes a fabulous sandwich-filling salad, then turkey certainly should, too, right?

I turned to our family-favorite Southern Chicken Salad recipe and modeled this turkey salad after that.  The result is a creamy and loaded with flavor turkey salad that's one perfectly delicious way to enjoy those turkey leftovers. -- And a way our whole family loves.

This Southern Turkey Salad recipe is creamy, loaded with flavor, and a perfectly delicious way to enjoy those turkey leftovers.

Southern Turkey Salad Ingredients:

Turns out the keys to great a Southern turkey salad are the same as those for a great Southern chicken salad -- a food processor to help create a fabulously creamy texture, and 2 key ingredients -- hard boiled eggs and sweet pickle cubes. These 2 ingredients are critical to creating the signature flavor and texture of Southern Turkey Salad, so let's talk about them a bit.

1. Hard boiled eggs

Hard boiled eggs may sound like a strange ingredient, but the hard boiled eggs bring a really nice element to the turkey salad's flavor. There's not a lot of egg in the salad, but just enough to amp up that flavor. Most people won't even realize the eggs are there, they'll just know the turkey salad tastes oh sooo good!

2. Sweet pickle cubes (may also be called sweet salad cubes)

So, just what are Sweet pickle cubes? They're basically sweet relish but in bigger chunks, so they're not as fine and mushy as relish. The cubes add a wonderful little bit of textural crunch to the salad.

You can find sweet pickle cubes in the condiments section of the grocery store, in the same spot as the relish. Look for a jar that says "Sweet Pickle Cubes" or "Sweet Salad Cubes" on it. If you can't find the cubes, use regular sweet relish. -- You'll just be missing some of that nice textural crunch in the finished turkey salad.

In addition to hard boiled eggs and sweet pickle cubes, to whip up a batch of Southern Turkey Salad you'll need:

• Leftover turkey - You'll need about 3 to 4 cups of coarsely chopped leftover turkey.
• Salt & pepper - Seasons the salad. And this simple seasoning is truly all that's needed to create the salad's fabulous flavor.
• Mayonnaise - Moistens the salad and helps create its creamy texture. Choose your favorite brand of mayonnaise. -- We always use Hellman's brand, and prefer it best.

How to Make Southern Turkey Salad:

It's pretty easy to whip up a batch of Southern Turkey Salad. Start by coarsely chopping about 3 to 4 cups of leftover turkey.

Then to get really great creamy texture in the finished salad, process the coarsely chopped turkey in a food processor.

Sure, you could just finely chop the turkey with a knife, but you just can't chop as finely as a food processor can. -- To achieve that truly creamy, comfort-food texture, a food processor is a must.

You don't want to go overboard and turn the turkey into mush, though. Just give it a few pulses in the food processor to get it nicely chopped.

Place the chopped turkey in a mixing bowl. Then add in finely chopped hard boiled eggs, sweet pickle cubes, salt, pepper, and some mayonnaise.

Give everything a good stir together, and then adjust the salt, pepper, and mayonnaise to your personal taste. I find about 1/3 cup mayonnaise to be about right, -- add a little more if you like your salad creamier, or a little less if you prefer it on the drier side.

Pop the turkey salad in the refrigerator for about an hour to allow the flavors to meld together before serving.

Then slather a big scoop on a croissant, bun, or between two slices of good-old white bread to enjoy the creamy turkey deliciousness! Because this Southern Turkey Salad is one perfectly delicious way to enjoy those turkey leftovers, for sure.

Check out these other tasty recipes for enjoying that leftover turkey:

• Leftover Turkey Noodle Casserole
• Turketti {aka: Leftover Turkey Spaghetti Casserole}
• Creamy Turkey Soup with Spinach
• Turkey & Dressing Casserole
• Southern-Style Creamed Turkey
• Turkey-Bacon Alfredo Casserole
• Turkey Crescent Bites
• Creamy Chicken Rice Casserole
• Leftover Rotisserie Chicken Soup
• Quick Turkey Noodle Soup
• Creamy Turkey Potato Soup
• More main dish recipes

Thank you for stopping by The Kitchen is My Playground. We'd love to have you back soon!

leftover turkey, turkey salad recipe, recipes with leftover turkey, leftover turkey recipe

Salads

Southern

Yield: About 3 cups

Author: Tracey | The Kitchen is My Playground

Southern Turkey Salad

Take those leftover turkey sandwiches up a notch - and make them turkey SALAD sandwiches instead! This Southern Turkey Salad recipe is creamy, loaded with flavor, and a perfectly delicious way to enjoy those turkey leftovers.

prep time: 15 Mcook time: total time: 15 M

ingredients:

• 3-4 c. coarsely chopped leftover turkey
• 2 hard boiled eggs
• 1/2 c. sweet pickle cubes (may also be called sweet salad cubes)
• 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. salt (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• Approximately 1/3 c. mayonnaise

instructions:

How to cook Southern Turkey Salad

1. Place coarsely chopped turkey in a food processor; process until finely chopped.
2. Finely chop eggs and combine with turkey. Add pickle cubes, salt, and pepper. 
3. Stir in mayonnaise, adding enough to make the turkey salad smooth and creamy. Adjust seasoning, to taste.
4. Chill for at least about an hour before serving.

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