Grab the best part of Thanksgiving dinner and wrap it up into the ultimate leftover lunch or dinner with Thanksgiving Cobb Salad!
Thanksgiving is tomorrow and do you know what that means?
Leftovers, lots and lots of leftovers!
What did you think I was going to say? 😉
I don’t know about your family, but mine notoriously over cooks on Thanksgiving. We always buy too big of a bird, make too many sides and have too many desserts. Am I complaining? No because the food is delicious, we have tons of leftovers for everyone to take home and I don’t have to worry about cooking dinner for the rest of the weekend.
The thing is, I’m horrible about actually coming up with something original to do with those leftovers!
In general, I just end up eating a replica of the meal I had the night before and at some point there’s a turkey sandwich or two (don’t forget the moist maker). Sadly my Thanksgiving leftover eating is boring with a capital B.
Last year, I finally broke those habits with a stuffing hash that completely changed my mind on the possibilities of what you can do with leftovers. It is possible to not get sick of the leftovers by the second or third day!
That hash is definitely happening again this year but I figured maybe something a little healthy should join the club too. I said a little healthy and that’s where this cobb salad comes in.
Take everything you know about a traditional cobb and toss it out the window – wait, keep the bacon! Then replace it with all the food that’s going to be sitting in your refrigerator starting Friday morning.
This salad is really an open palate for anything you’d like to fill it with but my preference leans toward brussels sprouts, turkey, roasted squash, dried cranberries and toasted up corn bread/dinner rolls. You could absolutely replace that bread with some toasty stuffing if you like!
Our dressing ends up making use of leftover cranberry sauce for a lovely sweet and tart vinaigrette that you will want to douse on pretty much everything.
The totals listed for the salad are just an estimate, feel free to use more or less as you like. Also if you have something different on hand, just sub it out!
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped red leaf kale, about 4 leaves
- 1/2 cup chopped turkey
- 1/3 cup roasted brussels sprouts
- 1/3 cup roasted winter squash
- 3 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup toasted cornbread, dinner rolls or stuffing
- 1/3 cup cranberry sauce
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large serving or salad bowl add the chopped kale and top with the turkey, brussels sprouts, winter squash, bacon, cranberries and cornbread.
- In a small bowl whisk together the cranberry sauce, dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar. While whisking, slowly pour in the olive oil until the vinaigrette is thick and emulsified. Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper.
- Drizzle on top of the salad and toss together before serving.
- Serves about 1 hungry person for dinner or 2 for lunch.
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Love this clever cobb salad, Susan. Everything I love in a bowl….