Tomato-Basil Grilled Turkey Breast Salad
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This is the best salad with turkey you’ll ever eat! Juicy grilled turkey breast is served with crunchy chopped romaine lettuce and healthy veggies. It’s a wholesome lunch or dinner salad, and a great use for leftover turkey, too!
Salads get a bad rep sometimes, but I truly believe that salads are not boring. Especially when they’re filled with delicious ingredients like this one is.
The trick is to use simple but interesting ingredients that come alive when they’re paired together!
And this salad is absolutely wonderful. It’s made with rich, flavorful marinated turkey breasts, crunchy romaine lettuce, sweet cherry tomatoes, and crisp cucumbers.
And my, oh my, the homemade balsamic shallot vinaigrette completes the dish beautifully.
Just had it for supper. Mother and I absolutely loved it. We added avocado and bell pepper. Perfect recipe! Thank you very much for sharing.
–Danielle
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Why It’s a Family Favorite
Best of all, this salad comes together super quickly. The marinated turkey breast takes just a few minutes to grill and then it’s just a matter of assembling the salad.
Ingredients
Turkey Breast Cutlets: Any type of boneless turkey meat works
Lettuce: Use whatever you like and/or have on hand. At our house Romaine lettuce is a favorite.
Cherry Tomatoes: For extra oomph, you can substitute cherry tomato bruschetta!
Optional Recipe Variations
- Substitute Chicken Breasts if you prefer marinated and grilled chicken to grilled turkey.
Tomato-Basil Marinade
- Option 1: Buy pre-marinated turkey breasts the store
- Option 2: Make your own tomato-basil marinade at home! All you need are olive oil, red wine vinegar, tomato paste, garlic powder, dried basil, and salt and pepper.
Dressing for the Turkey Breast Salad
Julia Child said, “The perfect dressing is essential to the perfect salad.” And Balsamic Shallot Vinaigrette is the most delicious dressing ever!
It’s got so much fresh, rich flavor and it pairs perfectly with the brightness in the turkey marinade and sweet cherry tomatoes.
- Shallots are mild and lightly sweet, especially once they’ve soaked in the vinegar for a while. Adding some to your salad dressing pushes the flavor factor up a ton, and it totally gives this Low Carb turkey salad a lot more depth!
- The dressing keeps in the fridge for about two weeks, but I always use it faster than that!
Actually, any vinaigrette would taste great. In addition to the balsamic shallot dressing, I also have recipes for maple vinaigrette and Dijon mustard vinaigrette.
After you make it, please leave a comment and star rating below to let me know how it went!
Tomato-Basil Turkey Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb turkey cutlets or other boneless skinless turkey
- 2 heads romaine lettuce 8 cups chopped
- 1 cucumber
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 6-10 fresh basil leaves
- 1 tablespoon oil
Balsamic Shallot Vinaigrette
- ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
- ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced shallot about 1/2 of a medium shallot
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ⅛ teaspoon dried basil
Tomato-Basil Marinade
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Marinate the turkey: Whisk all the marinade ingredients together. Pour over the turkey, turning to coat. Cover and allow it to marinade for at least 30 minutes.
- While the turkey marinates, make the salad dressing. Mince the shallot. Stir the vinegar, shallot, and seasonings together, then whisk in the olive oil. Set it aside until you're ready.
- Slice the tomatoes in half and dice the cucumbers into bite sized pieces. *If the cucumbers are extra seedy, I like to scrape the seeds out first. Chop the lettuce. Tear the basil leaves.
- Cook the marinated turkey: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, it's hot and ready to cook. Add the turkey and cover the skillet with its lid.
- Cook covered for about 3 minutes on each side, until internal temperature reaches 165°. Remove the cutlets from skillet and set them aside on a plate to rest for a few minutes.
- Assemble the salad: Slice the turkey cutlets thinly, then divide the lettuce into four bowls. Top each bowl with a sliced turkey, cucumber, tomatoes, and torn basil. Drizzle with the salad dressing, season lightly with salt and pepper, and enjoy!
States total time is 20 minutes, prep time is 15 minutes, and the first step is MARINATE FOR 30 MINUTES! Twice the prep time and longer than the total time. Did you even read your own site?
Thanks for your feedback, Zoey. I’ve updated the recipe card to reflect the marinating time – that’s an important time to note!
Just had it for supper. Mother and I absolutely loved it. We added avocado and bell pepper. Perfect recipe! Thank you very much for sharing.
Hi Danielle, I’m so glad you and your mom enjoyed the recipe! I LOVE the addition of bell pepper and avocado. 🙂 -Laura
im gonna substitute the meats!!!
Hi Dave, That’s awesome! Chicken breasts would be a great option! -Laura