This quick and easy recipe for turkey salad sandwiches uses leftover turkey from Thanksgiving and is a great way to feed guests over the Thanksgiving weekend!
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There are tons of Thanksgiving recipes out there. Everyone wants to help you create your Thanksgiving day feast, but for many of us, Thanksgiving dinner is just the first meal of a long weekend spent feeding relatives visiting from out of town. I can’t just plan a menu for one fancy dinner, I have to create a meal plan that covers all four days of the holiday weekend.
As much as possible, I try to create recipes from the Thanksgiving leftovers. In theory, sandwiches are easy, but in practice making individual sandwiches for each person is quite time consuming and having everyone in the kitchen making their own requires me to act like a traffic director to keep everyone flowing smoothly. To minimize lunchtime stress, I like to make Turkey Salad Sandwiches with Apple and Cranberries. They are easy to create and a hit with everyone young and old.
While I make many things from scratch, I will buy premade rolls to simplify my life, especially when I am feeding relatives for 4 days. When I am shopping for Thanksgiving, I pick up extra dinner rolls so I can use them to make mini-sandwiches with my Turkey Salad.
If you don’t have family staying with you over the Thanksgiving weekend, you can freeze your leftover turkey and then use it to make these sandwiches for one of your holiday parties in December.
Turkey Salad Sandwiches Recipe
The turkey salad can be made a day in advance. Store it in a sealed container in the refrigerator. When you are ready to make your sandwiches, add the chilled turkey salad to the dinner rolls.
Ingredients:
- 2 packages King’s Hawaiian Dinner Rolls
- 4 cups cooked turkey, diced
- 1 cup apple, diced
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup plain yogurt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
- 1 teaspoon crushed rosemary
- cranberry sauce (optional)
Directions:
- In a large bowl, diced turkey, diced apple. cranberries, sliced green onions, chopped celery, and chopped nuts.
- In a small bowl create a dressing by combining mayonnaise, yogurt, dry mustard, and crushed rosemary.
- Pour the dressing over the turkey salad and stir to completely coat the salad with dressing.
- Use a bread knife to cut the Dinner Rolls in half.
- If you wish, you can spread some leftover cranberry sauce on the cut side of each roll.
- Spoon the Turkey Salad onto one half of the roll. Top with the other half of the roll.
You can make all of the sandwiches at once and put out a platter of them or you can store the turkey salad in the refrigerator and make them one at a time as needed.
Printable Recipe for Turkey Salad Sandwiches with Apple and Cranberries
Turkey Salad Sandwiches Recipe with Apple and Cranberries
Ingredients
- 2 packages King's Hawaiian Dinner Rolls
- 4 cups cooked turkey diced
- 1 cup apple diced
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1 green onion thinly sliced
- 1 stalk celery finely chopped
- 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans chopped
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup plain yogurt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
- 1 teaspoon crushed rosemary
- cranberry sauce optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, diced turkey, diced apple. cranberries, sliced green onions, chopped celery, and chopped nuts.
- In a small bowl create a dressing by combining mayonnaise, yogurt, dry mustard, and crushed rosemary.
- Pour the dressing over the turkey salad and stir to completely coat the salad with dressing.
- Use a bread knife to cut the Dinner Rolls in half.
- If you wish, you can spread some leftover cranberry sauce on the cut side of each roll.
- Spoon the Turkey Salad onto one half of the roll. Top with the other half of the roll.
- You can make all of the sandwiches at once and put out a platter of them or you can store the turkey salad in the refrigerator and make them one at a time as needed.
More Recipes Using Thanksgiving Leftovers
10 Recipes Using Leftover Turkey
Leftover Mashed Potato Recipes
25 Ways to Use Thanksgiving Leftovers
What are your fall back recipes when you are feeding company?
This turkey salad recipe was originally published on October 28, 2013. I updated the article on November 26, 2025.
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The Pinterested Parent says
I love this. I love fruit in my chicken salad & I am especially fond of cranberry. This looks so good.
Nancy Bobbert says
This looks like a great idea for those turkey leftovers. I usually just throw the leftover turkey in a pot and cook it as a soup the following day. So unimaginative, I know. Maybe I’ll try this next time. Thanks for the idea!
Ashley M says
WOW! These look so good. We actually have these ingredients laying around the house from Christmas dinner so I think I’ll whip them up!
Nancy W says
These look like a perfect turkey sandwich!
Alea Milham says
Thanks Nancy!