Salad with Smoked Turkey
This easy and delicious salad with smoked turkey is filled with other goodies like cherry tomatoes, shredded cheddar, and creamy avocado and makes a satisfying lunch or light dinner.
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I don’t know about you, but I often skip lunch and eat an early dinner—like 3:00 p.m. early. Putting that in writing feels slightly embarrassing, but it works for my schedule and means that any time I make a salad, it will likely be my biggest meal of the day.
I love having them for dinner as long as they have lots of ingredients, such as this salad with smoked turkey. Like my earlier post for blue cheese salad, this smoked turkey “ensemble” is similar to one I used to grab from one of my favorite NYC lunch establishments.
The smoked turkey gives the salad a bacon-like vibe, the cherry tomatoes lend a touch of acidity, and the cheddar, chickpeas, and avocado add creaminess. And as much as I enjoy all-veggie salads, I do like some animal protein from time to time for even more heartiness.
With a main protein and some good texture and flavors to round it out, a salad can be just as satisfying as a more traditional meal.
Why You’ll Love This Salad with Smoked Turkey
- It’s hearty: Thanks to protein-rich ingredients like turkey, chickpeas, and cheddar, this salad is filling enough to be a main meal (if you’re into that type of thing).
- It’s easily customizable: Substitute the cheddar, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, etc. with similar options if you’d like.
Key Ingredients
- Mesclun: If you’re unfamiliar with mesclun, it’s just a mix of assorted salad greens. You might also find it labeled in your supermarket as “spring mix.”
- Smoked Turkey: The smoked turkey is more pronounced than roast turkey and is best if you can find it cubed.
See the recipe card below for more information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make This Salad with Smoked Turkey
- Make the vinaigrette: Whisk all ingredients for the vinaigrette together in a small bowl. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
- Make the salad: Combine all ingredients for the salad in a large bowl. Pour as much or as little of the vinaigrette as you want over the salad and toss.
Pro Tips
- You can make the salad beforehand: Just leave out the avocado and vinaigrette until you’re ready to eat it.
- Try to buy a thick slab of smoked turkey: Deli-style, thinly cut turkey is fine (it’s what I used in the image above), but it’s even better if you can get it cut into a thick slab and dice it into cubes for a meatier salad.
Suggestions for Variations and Substitutions
-Use any lettuce you prefer like iceberg, romaine, Bibb, etc.
-Replace the smoked turkey with roast turkey, roast or smoked chicken, or even regular or smoked salmon (If you choose salmon or any other fish, you may want to swap out the cheddar for something more complementary like feta.)
-Use any beans you like. Butter beans are a nice substitute for chickpeas.
-Add more veggies like shredded carrots and diced cucumbers.
-Use any cheese you like: Feta, blue cheese, or cubed mozzarella are all good choices.
Recipe FAQs
If you don’t plan on finishing the entire salad in one sitting, it’s best to add the vinaigrette only to the amount you plan to eat. Store any remaining salad in an airtight container (preferably glass) in the refrigerator for no more than 1 to 2 days. Store any remaining vinaigrette separately.
Storage
Refrigerator
Although salads are always best eaten fresh, store any leftovers sans vinaigrette/dressing in an airtight (preferably glass) container for no more than 1 to 2 days. If there’s avocado left, I recommend either eating it or just removing it from the salad because it might turn brown. If the salad already contains vinaigrette, I don’t suggest letting it sit in the fridge for more than 1 day, and even then, it will turn a little soggy.
More Salad Recipes
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Salad with Smoked Turkey
Ingredients
For the Red Wine Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt or more to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper ground, or more to taste
For the Salad
- 4 ounces mesclun (Note 1)
- ½ cup turkey smoked, cubed and cut into ½" to 1" pieces (Note 2)
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half lengthwise
- ½ avocado diced
- ⅓ cup chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ⅓ cup sharp cheddar or extra sharp, grated
- ¼ cup red onion peeled and diced
Instructions
- To make the vinaigrette, whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until combined, or shake together in a sealed mason jar or bottle until incorporated. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
- To make the salad, combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour some of the red wine vinaigrette over the salad and toss.
