What to do with all the leftover holiday turkey–make these easy cranberry turkey salad appetizers served in phyllo shells! Or use this salad to make sandwiches or serve it as a side dish to accompany a refreshing grape salad.
Use Leftover Turkey in Cranberry Turkey Salad Appetizers
These appetizer bites are a great way to use up leftover holiday turkey! But fortunately, they don’t taste like leftovers! Instead, these appetizers are small bites with flavors from turkey, cranberries, and almonds.
Chop Turkey for Cranberry Turkey Salad Appetizers
Use a food processor or an electric chopper to finely chop the turkey. Chopping will give the appetizers a consistent texture and taste. Just pulse the turkey until it is minced but not over-chopped. However, you can hand-chop the turkey as an alternative to a food processor. Just chop it into small pieces to ensure the finished salad fits well in the phyllo shells.
Modify the Salad Ingredients
Add the salad ingredients, modifying the amounts to suit your taste. If you are not an almond eater, either omit them or substitute another nut, such as pecans. Additionally, you can omit the onions and substitute a sprinkling of onion powder instead. Finally, you can add only egg yolks to the salad if you prefer not to include the texture of egg whites. The yolks will break down and dissolve when you stir the salad together, adding creaminess but not texture.
Versatile Cranberry Turkey Salad Appetizers
Add a heaping spoonful of this salad to phyllo shells to make appetizer cups. Remember, it is best to add the salad to the cups just before serving to prevent them from becoming soggy. Other ideas for turkey salad include:
- Add it to toasted French bread slices and serve them as an appetizer.
- Place a large scoop of turkey salad on a lettuce leaf. Then, serve it with a scoop of Grape Salad or a cup of Pumpkin Corn Chowder.
- Make sandwiches with croissants and lettuce.
- Slice apples and dip them into lemon juice. Then, add a scoop of turkey salad to each slice.
- Serve it in a bowl with an assortment of crackers for dipping.
- Make turkey-deviled eggs by placing large scoops of turkey salad into empty hard-boiled egg halves.
- Stuff it into hollowed-out cherry tomatoes.
- Add turkey salad and lettuce to a wrap and roll it up to make a sandwich.
- Place turkey salad in baked wonton cups. To bake cups: Place wonton wrappers in non-stick mini muffin pan cavities and bake at 350°F for 6 minutes, or until crispy. Then, add a heaping scoop of turkey salad and cool.
Serve Cranberry Turkey Salad Appetizers on a Pretty Platter
Elevate your turkey appetizer bites to something extra special by placing them onto a pretty platter. While I usually like to display food on white trays, this appetizer is particularly appealing when served on a green platter topped with chopped green onions. Additionally, this green vintage pottery tray, imprinted with pine needles, complements the light color of the turkey salad nicely. Finally, enjoy your leftover turkey with this recipe for turkey salad appetizers!
Other Appetizers You Might Enjoy
If you like these appetizers, here are some more ideas. Click on each name to link to the recipe.
- Bacon Cheese Cups
- Pimento Cheese Sausage Balls
- Pork Tenderloin Crostini
- Cheese & Hot Pepper Jelly Bites
- Cream Cheese Sausage Ball Recipe
- Stuffed Mushrooms
- Pimento Cheese and Bacon Crostini
- Prosciutto Chicken Tenders
Enjoy your leftover turkey with this recipe for turkey salad appetizers!
Easy Turkey Salad Appetizers
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked turkey, chopped
- ¼ cup sweet onion, minced
- 1 large hard-boiled egg, chopped fine
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup almonds, sliced (or slivers)
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1/16 teaspoon white pepper
- 30 phyllo shells (2 boxes)
- 1 green onion, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the turkey into smaller pieces, placing it into a food processor. Process until finely chopped. Move the turkey to a large mixing bowl.
- Place onion, egg, cranberries, and onion into the bowl with the chopped turkey.
- Mix the mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl to make a dressing. Pour it over the turkey and stir to mix.
- Place the turkey into the phyllo shells. You do not have to thaw them. Sprinkle with chopped green onion and store in the refrigerator.