This crisp salad with smoked turkey and cheddar turns simple ingredients into a seriously satisfying lunch or light dinner. With the addition of creamy avocado and tender chickpeas, this salad is full of flavor and comes together with a zesty homemade red wine vinaigrette.
If you're looking for more salad recipes, try my cherry tomato salad, avocado cucumber salad, or creamy blue cheese salad.
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Quick Look: Crisp Salad with Smoked Turkey and Cheddar
⏱️ Prep Time: 25 minutes
🍳 Cook Time: 0 minutes
🕒 Total Time: 25 minutes
👥 Servings: 2-4
📊 Calories: ~578 kcal per serving (based on nutrition panel)
🔥 Cook Method: No cook
👩🍳 Main Ingredients: Mesclun, smoked turkey, white cheddar
⭐ Difficulty: Easy-whisk vinaigrette, assemble salad, pour dressing, and toss
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Why You'll Love This Crisp Salad with Smoked Turkey and Cheddar
Hearty lunch or dinner: Thanks to protein-rich ingredients like turkey, chickpeas, and cheddar, this salad is filling enough to be a main meal for a light yet satisfying dinner.
Easily customizable: Substitute the cheddar, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, etc., with similar options, if you'd like.
Tastes takeout-worthy: It tastes like something you'd get from your favorite salad place, but you can get at least a couple of recipes out of the ingredients, making it much more economical.
I love salads for lunch but also for dinner, as long as they contain lots of ingredients, and this crisp salad with smoked turkey and cheddar certainly does.
Like my other post for blue cheese salad, this smoked turkey ensemble is similar to one I used to grab from one of my favorite NYC lunch dives. And it's tossed with a delicious red wine dressing.
The smoked turkey lends a bacon-like vibe to the salad, the tomatoes add bursts of juiciness, and the cheddar, chickpeas, and avocado contribute creaminess. This is the kind of big salad Elaine Benes would love, and I think you'll love it, too!
For more turkey-based recipes, try my smoked turkey and avocado sandwich, Butterball turkey breast recipe, Thanksgiving turkey melt sandwich, or turkey orzo soup.
Jump to:
- Quick Look: Crisp Salad with Smoked Turkey and Cheddar
- Why You'll Love This Crisp Salad with Smoked Turkey and Cheddar
- Key Ingredients
- Variations & Substitutions
- How to Make This Crisp Salad with Smoked Turkey and Cheddar
- Pro Tips
- Crisp Salad with Smoked Turkey and Cheddar FAQs
- Related Recipes
- Crisp Salad with Smoked Turkey and Cheddar
Key Ingredients
See the recipe card for full ingredient and quantity information.
- 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: Smoked turkey is more pronounced than roast turkey and is best when cubed.
- Sharp Cheddar: Its sharp flavor and creamy texture add depth to the salad.
- Avocado: Super creamy and adds additional texture.
- Chickpeas: Tender and help make the salad more filling.
Variations & 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, you may want to swap out the cheddar for something more complementary, such as feta.)
➢Use yellow cheddar if you don't have white.
➢Use any beans you like. Butter beans are a good 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. Smoked mozzarella is a great option if you can't find smoked turkey.
How to Make This Crisp Salad with Smoked Turkey and Cheddar
Step 1: Whisk all vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl (olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon, dried oregano, garlic powder, honey, dried thyme, salt, and pepper).
Step 2: Combine all the salad ingredients 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 serve it.
➢Try to buy a thick slab of smoked turkey: Thinly cut deli-style turkey is fine, but a thick slab diced into cubes is even better for a meatier texture.
Crisp Salad with Smoked Turkey and Cheddar FAQs
Yes, assemble all the salad ingredients, but leave out the avocado and vinaigrette. Add them to the salad and toss when you're ready to serve it.
Always consider color and texture when making a salad, especially if serving it as a main meal. For starters, add a protein like turkey, chicken, bacon, salmon, or beans; something creamy, such as avocado; or something crunchy, like nuts or seeds.
Overdressing your salad can make it soggy, and underdressing can make it dry. Also, don't load up too much on one ingredient. You want to balance the ingredients in a salad as much as possible.
Refrigerator: Store undressed salad in the fridge for 1-2 days. Remove the avocado or eat it immediately to avoid browning. Dressed salad keeps up for 1 day. Vinaigrette lasts up to 1 week.
Related Recipes
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Crisp Salad with Smoked Turkey and Cheddar
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
- Ground black pepper
For the Salad
- 4 ounces mesclun (Note 1)
- ½ cup smoked turkey cubed and cut into ½" to 1" pieces (Note 2)
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half lengthwise
- ½ avocado peeled and chopped
- ⅓ cup chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ⅓ cup sharp white cheddar cheese 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 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. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Love this salad! It's hearty and filling, and I could eat it for days.