Turkey Cobb Salad

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Turkey cobb salad is a tasty seasonal spin on the classic cobb salad, featuring roasted turkey, butternut squash, and dried cranberries. It’s a hearty, dinner-worthy salad and makes the most of your Thanksgiving leftovers!

Turkey cobb salad in a large bowl on a table next to a spoon.

A cobb salad is the ultimate chopped salad (and one of my personal favorites) with all of the ingredients diced into bite-sized pieces. They’re typically protein-heavy salads as they’re filled with meat, eggs, and cheese, along with a variety of vegetables, nuts, and fresh or dried fruit. In other words, they’re filling, flavorful, and have a lot of texture.

So what better way to make a cobb salad than with your turkey recipe leftovers! With the meat already cooked it makes this recipe a breeze. All you have to do is dice it up, prep a few other things, and pile them all on a bed of fresh leafy greens.

But if you don’t have these exact ingredients – no problem. The beauty of a cobb salad is how versatile it is. Just layer on more roasted veggies or other sources of protein to keep it balanced. Keep reading for more variations!

What’s In This Turkey Cobb Salad?

  • Spinach: This is my go-to for leafy greens, but you can use your favorite salad greens.
  • Bacon: Because everything tastes better with bacon right?
  • Turkey: Shred or dice your leftover turkey – however you like it!
  • Butternut Squash: Leftover roasted squash adds a hint of creamy savoriness.
  • Boiled Eggs: A must have ingredient for a every Cobb salad.
  • Dried Cranberries: For a touch of fall sweetness and texture.
  • Goat Cheese: I love the flavor of goat cheese, but see below for more options.
  • Pecans: Adds that delicious nutty crunch.
  • Apple Cider Vinaigrette: It’s light, tangy flavor complements this salad perfectly.

Ingredients for a turkey cobb salad laid out on a table.

Build The Best Leftover Turkey Cobb Salad

Since this recipe utilizes Thanksgiving leftovers like turkey and roasted butternut squash, the only items you’ll need to cook are a few hard boiled eggs and strips of bacon.

After that, layer up the salad! You don’t have to line everything up in pretty little rows on top of your baby spinach as I did. Feel free to add everything to a large mixing bowl and toss it all together. And of course, don’t forget the very fall appropriate apple cider vinaigrette. It’s so easy to make at home!

Drizzling a vinaigrette over a turkey cobb salad.

Customize Your Cobb Salad

  • Swap the fruits: You can use raisins instead of cranberries. Or chop up apples into small cubes to add a refreshing crunch. Have leftover cranberry sauce? You can use that as well!
  • Use roasted sweet potatoes instead: If you didn’t roast butternut squash for Thanksgiving, roasted sweet potatoes will work as well.
  • Try a different cheese: Crumbled cheese is best for cobb salads, so you can also use crumbled feta or bleu cheese.
  • Use a different vinaigrette: A Dijon vinaigrette or champagne vinaigrette are also tasty.
  • Change the green base: If you don’t have spinach on hand, use any leafy greens in your fridge! From lettuce to arugula to mixed greens, they all work.

Meal Prep and Store Leftovers

Cobb salads are the ultimate in individual ingredient meal prep, and quick assembly. And while baby spinach isn’t a very durable green after it’s been mixed in a salad with dressing, this salad will still last 1-2 days in the fridge after it’s been tossed.

If you keep all of the ingredients separate, you can enjoy this recipe for almost a week! Just keep all the ingredients in their own containers for up to 4 days in the fridge, then assemble individual portions as desired.

Turkey cobb salad in two bowls on a table.

Yes To More Hearty Dinner Salads

Looking to amp up your salad game? Find new inspiration through these recipes!

Still have more turkey leftovers? Make my turkey casserole – it’s light and won’t weigh you down!

A large bowl with turkey cobb salad next to a vinaigrette bowl.

Turkey Cobb Salad

5 from 8 votes
Prep: 30 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 2 servings
Author: Lisa Bryan

Description

This turkey cobb salad is one hearty, protein-filled, and dinner-worthy salad that makes the best of your Thanksgiving leftovers!

Ingredients 
 

For The Salad

  • 6 cups baby spinach, or other salad greens
  • 4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
  • 1 cup cooked turkey breast, cubed
  • 1 cup roasted butternut squash, cubed
  • 2 hard boiled eggs, quartered
  • 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
  • 2 tablespoons cranberries
  • 2 tablespoons pecans, roughly chopped

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Instructions 

  • Mix together the apple cider vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl.
    Apple cider vinaigrette in a bowl for a turkey cobb salad.
  • In a large salad bowl, layer the spinach with bacon, turkey breast, roasted butternut squash, boiled eggs, cranberries, pecans, and goat cheese. Drizzle the apple cider vinaigrette on top and enjoy.
    A bowl with turkey cobb salad next to a napkin and fork.

Nutrition

Calories: 683kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 279mg | Sodium: 768mg | Potassium: 1220mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 16433IU | Vitamin C: 42mg | Calcium: 211mg | Iron: 5mg
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cobb Salad Recipe, Turkey Cobb Salad, Turkey Leftovers
Did you make this recipe?Mention @downshiftology or tag #downshiftology!

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About the author

Lisa Bryan

Lisa is a bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, and YouTuber (with over 2.5 million subscribers) living in sunny Southern California. She started Downshiftology in 2014, and is passionate about making healthy food with fresh, simple and seasonal ingredients.

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16 Comments

  1. I got this wonderful salad recipe emailed to me today and I made it up for dinner tonight for my wife and I. I had all the ingredients leftover from our Thanksgiving meal and what a great way to use them up. My wife was so impressed and we absolutely loved this recipe.
    I made it up almost exactly as written except I substituted our leftover cranberry sauce for the dried cranberries. The cranberry sauce was also your recipe too which I made stovetop and it was fantastic.
    I truly appreciate all the hard work you do Lisa and have enjoyed your videos, your emails, and your new cookbook. Keep up the good work!
    Can’t wait to receive more of your favorite holiday recipes.5 stars

    1. Thanks so much, Richard! I’m happy you and your wife enjoyed this turkey cobb salad – and my other recipes as well! Great move swapping in the cranberry sauce. Enjoy!

  2. This recipe is so good! So many flavors and very crunchy! We used sweet potato instead of squash because it’s what we had, and I candied the pecans quickly to get buy in from teenager. The dressing is flavorful but complementary, not overwhelming! This is a keeper!5 stars

  3. As soon as I saw the picture  I knew I wanted to make this salad.  It was so good! All the flavors worked so well together.  Thank you!5 stars

  4. I’ve been making this all weekend with Thanksgiving leftovers. I had to make a couple minor modifications each time based on my leftovers and what I had in the fridge such as using pancetta instead of bacon and feta instead of goat cheese, but what’s super awesome about this dish is the dressing!!!! and how it pairs with turkey and everything else in the bowl. This recipe inspired me to eat salad all weekend to combat the food overload we experienced on Turkey Day. Yum yum yum….will make again and again throughout the winter! 5 stars

    1. Amazing! So glad you love this cobb salad recipe and that’s it has helped you use up those leftovers :)