Roasted Turkey Fall Salad with Maple Poppy Seed Dressing

A delicious Roasted Turkey Fall Salad loaded with crisp apples, bacon, cranberries, candied pecans, gorgonzola cheese and tossed in a Maple Poppy Seed Dressing

Roasted Turkey Fall Salad with Maple Poppy Seed Dressing - Mother Thyme

I am totally in love with this salad.  It has all the wonderful flavors of fall like crisp apples, dried cranberries, candied pecans and turkey tossed in one delicious salad.  Let me not forget to mention the dressing.  Oh, this dressing.  A sweet Maple Poppy Seed Dressing adds the final touch to this incredible salad.  You will want to add this dressing to all of your salads. 

I have made this salad several times just this fall.  I recently made it for a picnic we had at the lake.  If you follow me on Instagram, you probably have seen me post pictures of the lake.  We have an RV that we spend most of our weekends in by the lake.  We just got the RV earlier this year, and it has been an incredible experience.  Mr. Mother Thyme and I have looked at them for years, even before the kids.  We finally decided to get one this year since we thought the kids would enjoy it, and they definitely have.  We have enjoyed hiking, fishing, campfires and quality family time. 

What I love about this resort we go to is it is about an hour from where we live, so we can go there often.  It was a beautiful week last week, so we took a picnic there to enjoy one afteroon.  This salad was on the menu.  It is a filling salad with the roasted turkey.  What I like to do is I get two thick slices of deli roasted turkey and then cube it.  It is such a great addition to this salad.  This salad is a meal in itself.   Serve with a fresh loaf of bread, and your meal is complete. 

Roasted Turkey Fall Salad with Maple Poppy Seed Dressing - Mother Thyme

What you need
Pecans
Butter
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Water
Maple syrup
White distilled vinegar
Apple cider vinegar
Cornstarch
Salt
Ground mustard
Poppy seeds
Romaine lettuce
Deli-style oven roasted turkey
Granny Smith apple
Gorgonzola cheese
Bacon
Dried cranberries

Step one:  Melt butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small saucepan until sugar is dissolved.

Roasted Turkey Fall Salad with Maple Poppy Seed Dressing - Mother Thyme
Step two:  Add in pecans and stir to coat.

Roasted Turkey Fall Salad with Maple Poppy Seed Dressing - Mother Thyme
Step three:  Pour pecans on a wax paper lined baking sheet and set aside.

Roasted Turkey Fall Salad with Maple Poppy Seed Dressing - Mother Thyme
Step four:  In a food processor or blender mix water, maple syrup, vinegars, cornstarch, salt and ground mustard until blended, about 20-30 seconds.  Stir in poppy seeds.

Roasted Turkey Fall Salad with Maple Poppy Seed Dressing - Mother Thyme
Step five:  Pour dressing in a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until dressing thickens, about 5 minutes.  Pour into a jar and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Roasted Turkey Fall Salad with Maple Poppy Seed Dressing - Mother Thyme.
Step six:  Assemble salad with lettuce, chopped apples, gorgonzola cheese, cubed turkey breast, crumbled bacon and dried cranberries.

Roasted Turkey Fall Salad with Maple Poppy Seed Dressing - Mother Thyme

Roasted Turkey Fall Salad with Maple Poppy Seed Dressing - Mother Thyme

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Roasted Turkey Fall Salad with Maple Poppy Seed Dressing

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

Maple Poppy Seed Dressing

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground mustard
  • 1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Candied Pecans

  • 2 tablespoons buter
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup pecan halves

Salad

  • 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
  • 1 pound deli-style oven roasted turkey cut about 1/2 inch thick (about 2 slices), cubed
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
  • 45 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
  • 1/3 cup gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

Maple Poppy Seed Dressing

  1. In a food processor or blender mix water, maple syrup, vinegars, cornstarch, salt and ground mustard until blended, about 20-30 seconds.
  2. Stir in poppy seeds.
  3. Pour dressing into a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until dressing thickens, about 5 minutes.
  4. Pour into a jar and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Candied Pecans

  1. In a small saucepan melt butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
  2. Stir in pecans.
  3. Spread pecans on wax paper and set aside.

Salad

  1. In a large salad bowl toss lettuce with turkey, apples, bacon, gorgonzola cheese, dried cranberries and candied pecans.
  2. When ready to serve toss with desired amount of dressing or serve dressing on the side.

Notes

If making this salad ahead, toss chopped apples with a splash of lemon juice before adding to salad to preserve apples.

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