Cranberry & Pecan Turkey Salad

While I was at Trader Joe’s the other day, I found this little pre-packaged sandwich in their ready-to-eat section. It was turkey, cranberry and pecan salad with arugula on a wheat roll—and it was FANTASTIC.

The only thing I didn’t like: celery was on it. If you know me, you know celery is my archnemesis. We had our morning show Secret Santa gift exchange on Thursday, and when I filled out the sheet of things we liked and didn’t like, I put down celery.

Well, my main anchor got me as Secret Santa—and decided to pull a little prank. Well deserved, though. I’ve pranked her about a dozen times in the last year (especially with spiders; she HATES spiders!). I opened the gift, and there it lie: a bag of old celery.

She actually got me an awesome gift (Grumpy Cat calendar, a kick-ass cookbook, and my fave beer!), but that was a pretty good prank.

Anyway, back to that delicious turkey salad sandwich I had. It was perfect except for that darned celery. So I went back home with the mission to make it myself and make it better. I think I succeeded! No celery is to be found on this sandwich.

This salad goes great on bread—I used some ciabatta rolls from my grocery store—but it’s also great by itself or on top of a bed of greens. I love the little pops of sweetness with the cranberries and apple chunks. The pecans and turkey make it that much better.

I just got a few turkey breast cutlets and roasted them before chopping them up in this salad. You could easily use leftover turkey (if you’re making a turkey for Christmas) or use cooked chicken if you’re in a time crunch. My roasted turkey cutlets were simply seasoned so it wouldn’t overpower anything else in the salad.

Here’s a pro-tip, too: go for the reduced-sugar dried cranberries. They still have A LOT of sugar in them, but not as bad as the full-fledged dried cranberries. You would be shocked at how much sugar those little berries have inside them! I think it’s probably more than most chocolate bars. Crazy.

Enjoy!

Cranberry & Pecan Turkey Salad

• Servings: 6-8
• Time: 35 mins
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

A sweet and tangy turkey salad that's perfect for the holidays. Add pecans, cranberries and apples for an incredible combination.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. turkey breast cutlets
• 1 TBS. olive oi
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• salt & pepper
• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 1 cup roasted pecans, chopped
• 1 green apple, diced
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• Bread, lettuce leaves or spinach, extra mayonnaise for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet. Add turkey cutlets to baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season with paprika, thyme, salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. Let cool. Chop into bite-size pieces.
2. Make the salad: In a large bowl, combine the cooked turkey, mayonnaise, pecans, apple, cranberries and vinegar. Serve on bread with spinach & extra mayonnaise or over the top of salad greens.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet. Add turkey cutlets to baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season with paprika, thyme, salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. Let cool. Chop into bite-size pieces.

Make the salad: In a large bowl, combine the cooked turkey, mayonnaise, pecans, apple, cranberries and vinegar.

Serve on bread with spinach & extra mayonnaise or over the top of salad greens.