Turkey Reuben Salad

May 2, 2023 · 346 Comments

Turkey, swiss, croutons, sauerkraut and plenty of thousand island dressing — this turkey reuben has all the craveable flavors of the beloved sandwich, but in salad form! This salad was created in partnership with Wish-Bone Dressings.

I am such a turkey reuben girl. If there’s ever a turkey reuben on a restaurant menu, I am SO THERE. I’ll be ordering that sandwich with an extra sidecar of thousand island for dipping, thankyouverymuch.

But sometimes I’m looking for a bit of a lighter alternative, and I’ve really been on my salad grind recently. So I thought, why not salad-ify my favorite sandwich? And thus this turkey reuben salad was born. It’s got everything I look for in a turkey reuben — Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, crisp croutons and, of course, plenty of thousand island.

This salad is truly so delicious AND it’s a snap to make, coming together in just ten minutes with almost no prep. Quadruple the recipe and lunch is sorted for the week!

Jump to:

Ingredients
Instructions
Expert Tips
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
Turkey Reuben Salad

Ingredients

You won’t need many ingredients at all to make this salad. In fact, you may already have many of these things on hand. We’ll lean on some store-bought staples to make it as easy as possible. Be sure to scroll all the way down for the full list of ingredients with measurements.

To make this turkey reuben salad, you’ll need…

Turkey. I like to get mine from the deli counter and ask them to shave it nice and thin. Any turkey lunchmeat will work. If you’ve cooked a turkey recently, this is a perfect candidate for those leftovers.
Swiss cheese. Buy a block and cube it up yourself for the best flavor.
Greens. For my salad, I used a combination of spring mix and butter lettuce, but you can pick your favorite. Romaine or even baby spinach would be great here too.
Croutons. Store-bought croutons will work just fine, but if you really want to level up, scroll to the “Expert Tips” section to see how I made my own marbled rye croutons.
Sauerkraut. It’s often seen as a pretty polarizing food, but as a fermented food lover, I believe no reuben is complete without a heap of kraut.
Thousand Island dressing. Creamy, tangy, perfectly sweet and savory, Thousand Island dressing is the most critical component of any reuben. I always opt for Wish-Bone Thousand Island — it’s the brand I grew up on, so I know I can trust it to deliver the gold-standard Thousand Island flavor I know and love.

Instructions

This salad is so easy to make, you honestly might laugh at me. There are only two steps to this recipe:

Put everything in a bowl.
Eat it.

And aren’t those really the best recipes of all?

Expert Tips

If you really want to take this salad to the next level, try making your own marbled rye croutons like I did! The rye bread really gives it a traditional turkey reuben feel, and homemade croutons are simpler to make than you might think.

Just cube up a few slices of marbled rye bread, then toss them together on a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil, a generous pinch of salt and a sprinkle of garlic powder and dried herbs. Bake in a 325°F oven for 25 minutes or until they’re crisp and golden-brown. Serve right away or store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Make-Ahead and Storage Tips

If you’re looking for the perfect meal prep salad, look no further. This baby keeps beautifully in the fridge for several days, so you can enjoy it for lunch all week long. I recommend storing the croutons and dressing in separate airtight containers then tossing it all together just before you’re ready to eat to ensure maximum crispness.

More stellar salad recipes:
Chopped Taco Salad
The Perfect Caesar Salad
BLT Salad with Bacon Croutons

Did you make this recipe? If you loved it, please leave a ⭐5-star rating⭐ and/or leave a comment below the recipe card! And don’t forget to share a photo and tag me on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok — I love seeing you recreate my recipes.