Are you stuffed with turkey from your Thanksgiving feast and decking the halls? Turkey and Wild Rice Salad with Cranberries and Pecans is a keeper recipe! It’s healthy, satisfying and a delicious way to enjoy your leftover turkey! You can make it ahead to dish up and have on hand to enjoy when you’re decking the halls or throw it together quickly after your Black Friday shopping. It’s also easy for a quick week night meal with the busy holiday season, substituting a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store for turkey.
Turkey and Wild Rice Salad with Cranberries and Pecans, adapted from Nigella Christmas
Serves 6 – 8
You can’t go wrong with these ingredients, adjust the quantities to taste.
Ingredients
2 pkg (8.8 oz) Uncle Ben’s Long Grain & Wild Ready Rice (ready in 90 seconds) or substitute 4 cups cooked brown or wild rice
3/4 cup dried cranberries
4 cups cold cooked turkey, diced or shredded
2 tablespoons cranberry sauce or *jelly
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
*1 teaspoon sugar (I used cranberry jelly which was tart, so I added 1 teaspoon sugar to the dressing.)
1/2 cup pecan pieces or halves
1/2 cup chopped baby spinach
Cook rice according to package directions, allow to cool. Add dried cranberries, and diced turkey to cooked rice.
Whisk together the cranberry sauce or jelly, lime juice, oil and sugar for dressing.
Mary,
I made the cookies last year and everyone I gave them to loved them. They were my family’s favorite!
Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving and hugs to Chole and Grace.
This a great idea on using up the turkey and serve a healthy lunch! Thanks for sharing. Now getting ready for the next big holiday!🌲🎄⛄️
This salad looks so delicious and so do the cookies, I love dried cranberries.
I will certainly make that salad…and I made the cookies last year and everyone loved them..I do like Nigella..she’s the real deal..what I particularly like are those red & white dishes with the polka dots on the cups and red snowflakes on the plates..they are in the final picture. Sooo cute!!! Thanks for sharing..😍😍😍
Also, hope Betty is getting along good!! Keep us posted please.
Thanks Mary – both look delish! Now on to taking down Thanksgiving items and putting up Christmas. I hate to put away all my fall dishes and pumpkin /Turkey things, but once the Christmas items are out, it’s a whole new look and I’m excited for Christmas! lol (Will keep Betty in our prayers.)
I reallo bake next week. The turkey salad sounds HEAVENLY!!!
Not sure what happened to my comment, it is supposed to say: I really want to make these cookies and hopefully I will have time to bake next week:)
We always pardon the turkey at Thanksgiving, so no left over turkey here. That said, I’m going to follow your suggestion and pick up a rotisserie chicken at the market today. This recipe sounds perfect!
Enjoy the weekend. Hope your MIL is improving. Thinking of you.
I tried a new recipe for roasted chicken this year instead of turkey and it was just the two of us for our Thanksgiving, so have plenty chicken left over to make this salad and still have chicken left for other dishes…Thank you!
Hope Betty is well on the road to recovery.
Love this recipe, but have an allergy to spinach. Any suggestions for a substitute?
Nigella’s recipe calls for parsley instead of spinach that was my substitution. You could also use kale if you prefer, just massage it first and chop it :)
Thanks for these 2 wonderful recipes. Hope your MIL is feeling better!
Just lovely…looks beautiful & yummy. Hope Betty is getting better…xoxo
I want to try the turkey and wild rice salad. I’m cooking the Italian Style Turkey Soup from The Fresh Market tonight for dinner! BTW I made the roasted veggies you posted, and everyone loved it. It was a hit!
xo,
RJ
Mary, I’m continuing to pray for Betty! Hoping she is in less pain, and is able to breathe better! Thankful for you, too!
~Mary~
Just looking at my emails, my goodness so sorry about your mother-inlaw may our Lord bless her with comfort and a speedy recovery. So sad when love ones are hurting and not well for my oldest sister has stage 4 cancer , breaks my heart. :(
So I triple enjoy opening and reading your posts they give me wooooohs and awwwwws,its like going over to a girlfriends for a visit !
Im thinking to make the salad looks wonderful :) and my those Bird dishes in the heading are beautiful !!
Paula
IN
I am so sorry about your MIL Mary, and that your Thanksgiving was postponed…I hope she’s on the mend, that is such a painful injury. We are totally turkeyed out, and looking forward to some game day snacks for the big football games today, but those cookies sure sound good, and I am going to pin the casserole for the future~ I love the idea of using chicken and kale~ many prayers to your family~
Jenna
Hope Betty is doing better and not in so much pain–she is in my prayers. Our Thanksgiving was quiet as there were only 5 of us instead of the usual 14. Everyone will be at my MIL’s house for Christmas.
Those recipes will be a hit this season. We love cranberries in this house. I also send well wishes to your mother-in-law.
I made the turkey and wild rice salad last year, Mary, after seeing your recipe, and took it to a luncheon. It was very tasty! I’ll have to make the cookies this year.
How is Betty doing? Is she out of the hospital? Prayers will continue for her. xo
Going to try the wild rice dish ! Great Idea Thank you so much!
i don’t know how i am going to survive the season with so many fabulous recipes dangling in my face!
Mary, I love dried cranberries and both recipes sound amazing! Thanks!
These recipes look amazing Mary…..I just bought a turkey breast to cook, so this is perfect timing….We always celebrate Thanksgiving at my sister’s so there is no leftover turkey. I solved that dilemma by cooking a turkey breast after Thanksgiving for fresh turkey sandwiches and wonderful recipes such as yours!
I am planning on making the Turkey Wild Rice Salad for Christmas luncheon for Bridge on the 21st. What do you suggest on serving with it???