Turkey Pita Sandwiches (with Cranberry Salsa)
Turkey Pita Sandwiches with Cranberry Salsa are a treat when you’re looking for something easy to make with leftover turkey! These tasty turkey pitas use low-carb pita bread and my friend Trina’s Cranberry Salsa!
PIN Turkey Pita Sandwiches to make some later!
Maybe you don’t have leftover turkey yet, and you might even be looking for Thanksgiving Recipes if you haven’t decided what you’re making for the big day. But in the funny world of food blogging, I cooked a turkey breast and a whole turkey last week so I’d have leftover turkey for recipe experiments.
That way I can get them posted before Thanksgiving for people to consider when they do have leftover turkey! And although I’ve made a lot of good things using leftover turkey, these Turkey Pita Sandwiches with Cranberry Salsa made with my friend Trina’s Cranberry Salsa is one of my absolute favorites.
I made my leftover turkey into a turkey salad mixture to go inside My Favorite Low-Carb Pita Bread, but if you didn’t want to bother with making the turkey salad, plain turkey + cranberry salsa would also taste pretty fantastic in sandwiches made with pita bread! And if you don’t have any cranberry salsa, I think regular cranberry sauce from a can would still taste pretty good if you don’t mind a few more carbs.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- mayo
- Celery Seed (affiliate link)
- Dried Thyme (affiliate link)
- Dried Sage (affiliate link)
- leftover turkey
- celery
- green onions
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
- Joseph’s Low-Carb Pita Bread (affiliate link), or other pita bread of your choice
- Trina’s Cranberry Salsa
What low-carb pita bread do I use for Turkey Pita Sandwiches?
I use Joseph’s Bakery whole wheat and flax pita bread for this recipe, which I’ve featured as My Favorite Low-Carb Pita Bread. This is something I always have in the fridge and I use it in so many ways!
I love Trina’s Cranberry Salsa for the Turkey Pita Sandwiches:
The hardest part of making this might be making sure you have some of Trina’s Cranberry Salsa left over from Thanksgiving. (This amazing salsa is is sweetened with Monkfruit Sweetener so it’s low in carbs for the small amount you eat in one serving!)
How to make Turkey Pita Sandwiches with Cranberry Salsa:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- I always use my favorite Joseph’s Low-Carb Pita Bread (affiliate link) to make this, and they’re sometimes available in stores.
- You probably can’t read the fine print, but one whole pita has 9 carbs and 2 grams of fiber, for 7 net carbs!
- Cut up diced leftover turkey into pieces that aren’t too big.
- Mix mayo, celery seed, and a pinch of dried thyme and dried sage to make a herby mayonnaise for the turkey salad.
- Chop up a tiny bit of celery and thinly slice some green onion.
- Mix together the diced turkey, celery, green onion, and just enough of the mayo mixture to moisten it.
- You don’t need a huge amount of Trina’s Trina’s Cranberry Salsa, but I do hope you have some left for this. (You can also use plain cranberry sauce if you don’t have cranberry salsa.
- Spread about 2 tablespoons cranberry salsa of across the bottom of each pita half.
- Then fill the pita with the turkey salad mixture and enjoy!
- I devoured the two pitas you see in this photo in nothing flat immediately after I finished taking the pictures!
More Ideas for Leftover Turkey:
- Leftover Turkey Casserole
- Leftover Turkey Quesadillas with Green Chiles and Cheese
- Turkey Shepherd’s Pie with Cauliflower Topping
Turkey Pita Sandwiches with Cranberry Salsa
These easy Turkey Pita Sandwiches use my friend Trina’s Cranberry Salsa, which really makes the pita sandwiches a treat!
Ingredients
Dressing Ingredients
- 2 T + 1 tsp. mayo
- 1/4 tsp. celery seed
- pinch of dried thyme
- pinch of dried sage
Turkey Salad Ingredients
- 1 cup diced leftover turkey (diced fairly small)
- 1/4 cup finely diced celery
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
Sandwich Ingredients
- four Joseph's low-carb pita bread halves (or other pita bread of your choice
- 1/2 cup Trina’s Cranberry Salsa
Instructions
- Stir together the mayo, celery seed, dried thyme, and dried sage and let the flavors blend while you chop the turkey, celery, and green onions.
- Then stir the turkey salad mixture together and season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
- Spread about 2 tablespoons of Trina’s Cranberry Salsa on the bottom of each pita bread half.
- Stuff the pita with about 3 tablespoons of the turkey salad mixture and enjoy!
Notes
I would use my favorite low-carb pita bread for this recipe.
This recipe is difficult to calculate nutritional information because the nutrition calculator doesn't recognize that the pita bread is low in carbs and the Fresh Cranberry Salsa uses a zero-calorie sweetener. I tried to calculate it manually, but I can't guarantee how accurate it is!
Recipe created by Kalyn with inspiration from Trina’s Fresh Cranberry Salsa.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 147Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 37mgSodium 379mgCarbohydrates 15gFiber 4gSugar 1gProtein 12g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
If they’re made with my favorite low-carb pita bread) Turkey Pita Sandwiches with Cranberry Salsa are a great after-Thanksgiving lunch that’s relatively low in carbs. This would work for for phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet if you use whole wheat pita, although South Beach would recommend light mayo.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Turkey Recipes to find more ideas for leftover turkey. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for Turkey Pita Sandwiches was posted in 2011 after my friend Trina had given me the Cranberry Salsa recipe, and I’ve made it so many times since then! The recipe was last updated with more information in 2024.
18 Comments on “Turkey Pita Sandwiches (with Cranberry Salsa)”
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Katharine, what a nice comment. This completely made my day, thanks!
Kalyn This is a delight! I just about fainted in my kitchen!
This is my first comment on your site — I could not resist. But I wanted to thank you for your wonderful website. I started eating on the south beach diet last spring when I couldn't fit in any of my summer clothing. I succeeded in losing a couple sizes over the summer and of course enjoyed fitting into my clothes and receiving compliments from people. But the best part, beyond what I can put into words, is the renewed health I have discovered on this healthy eating plan. It is too long a story for this spot, but let's just say, LIFECHANGING is not an overstatement. Your website — so user-friendly with extensive archives, simple organzational categories, and AWESOME recipes —- has been key to my success. I cannot thank you enough.
Katharine
Gingko Girl, no judgements from me whatsoever about how anyone incorporates the principles. (And BTW, my brother and I call that Phase 1.5 when you're mostly doing phase one but you might eat a few things here and there that are not phase one!) I just wasn't sure if you knew.
Yes, you're right… cranberries are Phase 2. Am trying to do as much Phase 1 as possible through the holidays, but do allow for a little Phase 2 or 3 here and there. Progress, not perfection.
Gingko Girl, glad you enjoyed it. (Cranberries would not be phase one though.)
Had my main Thanksgiving meal yesterday, so made this combo for lunch today with the leftovers. Delicious! I made it Phase 1 friendly by serving the turkey mixture on a bed of salad greens, surrounded by raw veggies, and the cranberry salsa on the side. Didn't miss the pita at all.
Meeta, yes I would love to make this any time I could get the fresh cranberries.
Kulsum, I would go for cheese and cranberry salsa in this!
Joanne, thanks. The cranberry salsa is good on everything!
Katherine, thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to you too!
What a great use for leftover turkey! And that cranberry salsa looks delicious. Happy Thanksgiving!
You've almost made me wish that I'm going to have turkey leftovers on Friday! What a great pita!
I'm not a Turkey fan. But everything wrapped in pita bread tastes good and with that cranberry salsa I would take few
🙂
Absolutely sensational! I would make this sandwich with fresh turkey and not wait till I had some leftovers!
Lydia, I do love the salsa. I'm making a double batch to take to my sister's house for Thanksgiving (and also for an appetizer recipe coming up that uses it.)
Teenagetaste, I am completely in agreement about how fun it is to dress up the leftovers. Glad you like this idea.
Deborah, you're my kind of woman! Hope you like it.
It's not too early for me! I'm already putting together lists of ways I want to try the leftover turkey, and your cranberry salsa is already on the list. And now I'm adding this sandwich!
One of my favorite things about hosting Thanksgiving is figuring out ways to give the leftovers a new "life." These pitas sound delicious!
Now I'm convinced that I must make this fresh cranberry salsa. What a great way to jazz up leftover turkey!
Pam the turkey salad is really good in this, but I think you could eat this Cranberry Salsa on a piece of plain turkey and it would still be heavenly!
For some reason, I never think to make a turkey salad.