Thanksgiving Pasta Salad
Give yourself a break and transform your Thanksgiving leftovers into a comforting turkey pasta salad, tossed with creamy cranberry salad dressing. It’s a no-fuss wholesome meal that’s even better the next day!
Ingredients
For the Pasta Salad
- 12 oz rotini pasta, bowtie works great, too
- 2 cups leftover Thanksgiving turkey, shredded or chopped
- 1 cup finely shaved fennel
- 1 cup finely shaved red pepper
- 1 cup of finely shaved red onion
- 1 cup cooked and crumbled bacon, about 1 1/2 pound
- 1 cup dried cranberries
For the Cranberry Dressing
- 1 cup cranberry sauce, canned
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp whole grain Dijon mustard
- 1 to 2 teaspoons celery salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- pinch of black pepper
Equipment
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water; set aside until cooled.
- Using a mandolin thinly slice the fennel, red onion, and red pepper.
- Pull or chop the turkey and make sure it’s small, bite-sized pieces.
- In a medium bowl, add the canned cranberry sauce, the mayo, sour cream, mustard, rice vinegar, celery salt, sugar, and pepper. Whisk together until combined. Season to taste with more salt and pepper if needed. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
- Assemble in a large bowl the cooled pasta, veggies, dried cranberries, turkey and bacon.
- Add as much dressing as you want (depending on if you like it really saucy). Toss to combine.
- Place the salad in the fridge for an hour before serving to soak up all the flavors. Delish!
Notes
Sandy’s tips:
- Storage: Store leftover Thanksgiving pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The homemade cranberry dressing can be stored separately in the fridge 1 week. Give the creamy dressing a good stir/shake before using again.
- Al dente pasta: Only cook the pasta until al dente. I usually shave 1-2 minutes off the package’s suggested cook time to achieve the perfect texture.
- Cooling the pasta: Rinsing the cooked pasta under cold water not only removes excess starch so that the pasta doesn’t stick together, but it also helps to stop the pasta from continuing to cook while you prepare the rest of the salad components.
- Cook in salted water: Always cook your pasta in salted water. It makes a huge difference to the overall flavor of the salad.
Variations:
- Type of pasta: Change the rotini pasta for your preferred choice, such as bowtie or whatever you have on hand.
- Gluten-free Thanksgiving pasta salad: Swap regular pasta for a sturdy GF variety like brown rice or chickpea pasta, which holds up well to dressings.
- Add other leftovers: Incorporate other leftovers from Thanksgiving into this pasta salad - even stuffing!
- Chicken: Leftover roasted chicken or rotisserie chicken is a great alternative to turkey, if preferred.
- Dairy-free cranberry dressing: Substitute the sour cream and mayo with an equal amount of dairy-free plain yogurt and vegan mayonnaise.
- Other delicious mix-ins: Add diced apple (Honeycrisp or Granny Smith), pears, nuts (toasted pecans or walnuts), seeds, and crumbled soft cheese (blue cheese, feta, or goat cheese).
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 455kcal, Carbohydrates: 52g, Protein: 15g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 46mg, Sodium: 640mg, Potassium: 312mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 22g, Vitamin A: 587IU, Vitamin C: 22mg, Calcium: 36mg, Iron: 1mg