Got leftover smoked turkey and looking for a simple way to use it? Make this easy to make pasta salad that has lots of flavor that you will have put together in no time!
Leftover turkey sandwiches is what everyone normally goes with for their leftover turkey. It's hard to have the energy to cook again right after Thanksgiving. But if you want something different than sandwiches, might I suggest just a little bit of cooking? Don't worry you are just boiling up some pasta, nothing too hard or time consuming!!!
Let me show you what's in our Leftover Smoked Turkey Pasta salad.
Ingredients
Here is what you will need to make this pasta salad.
- 3 cups of cooked pasta
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 4oz diced leftover smoked turkey
- One rib of celery
- Grated onion to taste
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt to taste
For the smoked turkey you can use either light or dark meat. Non-smoked turkey would be fine as well but I like the smoky flavor that this brings to the pasta salad. You also could use plain turkey and season it with a good smoked salt.
I like adding celery to it as it's something we buy for the Thanksgiving meal often and have leftovers that would go bad otherwise.
I don't give an exact amount for the grated onion because I think that is something that should be done to taste. We don't like a lot of onion, so just a little bit that we grate using a box grater just as we would use to grate a block of cheese. If you are unsure about the onion, just add a little at a time until it is to your liking.
Curious how I cook my smoked turkey? Read through my instructions on how to reheat a smoked turkey. I also have a recipe on the blog for making a Smoked Turkey Gravy!
What Pasta to Use
The fun thing about this recipe is that you can use whatever pasta you want for this, although it would be kind of strange with spaghetti! Elbows, Penne, Ziti are easy choices that are cheaper and easy to find. Cavatappi is a family favorite.
If you got a Costco membership, I highly recommend you try out the Garafalo brand pasta that comes in a package with 3 different types of pasta. It's the best value for quality pasta I have found from any grocery store. These have some fun shapes that would be great in a pasta salad.
If you are shopping at ALDI, look for their bronze died Caserecce, that would make a great choice too.
Learn more about shopping for the best pasta.
More Leftover Turkey Recipes
Here is a list of other leftover turkey recipes that you can either use regular turkey or smoked turkey for.
- Leftover Turkey Ramen
- Mini Shepherd's Pie
- Cranberry BBQ Turkey Sliders
- Turkey Orzo
- Leftover Turkey Fajitas
Are you finding youself with too much leftover turkey? Follow my instructions on How to Freeze Leftover Turkey.
Leftover Smoked Turkey Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked pasta your choice
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 4 oz leftover smoked turkey diced
- 1 rib celery diced
- grated raw onion to taste
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- Salt to taste to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Cook your pasta of choice until it's done. Drain. Allow to completely cool.
- Dice your leftover smoked turkey. Dice a rib of celery.
- Grate as much onion as you want to use and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the cooled pasta with the mayonnaise, diced smoked turkey, diced celery, and grated raw onion. With a spatula fold in all the ingredients to combine.
- Add in garlic powder and then salt to your personal taste.
- Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour before eating. But several hours will give the flavors longer to meld together.
- Enjoy pasta salad within 3-5 days.
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