This Waldorf salad is loaded with apples, grapes, celery and walnuts all tossed in a lightweight creamy dressing. It’s crisp, candy and ideal served as an appetizer or facet salad.
As a salad lover, I’m at all times intrigued by basic salads that present up on vacation tables and restaurant menus 12 months after 12 months — like ambrosia salad, watergate salad and Waldorf salad. My mother made watergate salad for the vacations (try my wholesome watergate salad), however I didn’t develop up with Waldorf salad.
After discovering it a couple of years in the past, I began making and loving it! I’ve shared a rooster Waldorf salad earlier than, however right here’s the basic, meat-free model with crisp apples, celery, and a mixture of savory, candy and crunchy flavors. It’s a easy, tasty addition to any vacation unfold!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Gentle & refreshing – This salad is the proper mixture of juicy apples, crisp celery and crunchy walnuts. It’s a kind of dishes that feels gentle, however nonetheless satisfying!
- Tremendous versatile – You’ll be able to get pleasure from it by itself, serve it over a mattress of lettuce, or use it as a filling for lettuce wraps. It’s good for lunch or a fast facet dish.
- Straightforward – This salad comes collectively in about quarter-hour! All you must do is toast, chop and mix.
Elements Wanted
- apples – I like utilizing a mixture of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith for the proper stability of candy and tart flavors. They’re tremendous crisp and refreshing!
- grapes – purple seedless grapes add a juicy pop of sweetness. I like to chop them in half so that they’re simpler to eat.
- celery – provides that basic crunch and a contemporary, gentle taste to the salad.
- walnuts – I like toasting them for further taste, however uncooked works too. They add such a pleasant nutty crunch.
- yogurt or mayonnaise – basic Waldorf salad is often made with mayonnaise, however I like to make use of Greek yogurt to maintain issues a bit lighter. Be at liberty to make use of no matter you like!
- lemon juice – provides brightness and acidity to assist stability all of the flavors.
- golden raisins – that is optionally available, however I like the contact of sweetness they add to this salad. You need to use common raisins as effectively or one other dried fruit like dried cranberries or dried cherries.
- parsley – you possibly can by no means go unsuitable with contemporary herbs! That is optionally available, but it surely provides good freshness and taste.
Discover the total ingredient record with measurements within the recipe card under.
Substitutions and Variations
- Make it vegan: Use a dairy-free yogurt or a vegan mayonnaise. I’ve made it with Culina coconut milk yogurt and it was delish!
- Sweeten it up: For a sweeter model, add 1 teaspoon of maple syrup or honey to the combination.
- Swap the nuts: I like how the walnuts style with all the opposite components, however you need to use pecans or slivered almonds too. If in case you have a nut allergy, I counsel including pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds for a lightweight crunch with loads of vitamins.
- Add protein: To make this salad extra of a meal, I like including chopped grilled rooster. Or you possibly can simply make my rooster Waldorf salad as an alternative.
The best way to Make Waldorf Salad
Step 1: Toast the walnuts in a skillet for a couple of minutes till aromatic. Put aside to chill.
Step 2: Add all of the components to a big bowl.
Step 3: Add the yogurt or mayo, lemon juice, salt and pepper to the combination.
Step 4: Stir to mix, style, and add extra seasonings or mayo/yogurt if desired.
Brittany’s Tip!
Don’t skip toasting the walnuts! Toasting brings out their pure taste and provides a scrumptious nutty crunch. It solely takes a couple of minutes, but it surely makes a giant distinction.
The best way to Serve Waldorf Salad
Waldorf salad works nice as a lightweight appetizer or facet salad. I like serving it over a mattress of lettuce for lunch, however many individuals get pleasure from serving it as a facet for vacation meals, like Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
I’ve discovered that it’s additionally a tasty facet for brunch because it makes a pleasant complement to savory egg dishes like an egg white omelette, sausage egg casserole, my cottage cheese quiche and even this dairy-free quiche.
The best way to Retailer Leftovers
This salad retains very well! Retailer your Waldorf salad (with out the mattress of greens) in an hermetic container in your fridge for 3-4 days. The apples would possibly simply begin to brown and the nuts would possibly begin to soften, but it surely’ll nonetheless be scrumptious. If the salad appears slightly dry you possibly can add slightly extra yogurt or mayo earlier than serving.
Regularly Requested Questions
The basic Waldorf Salad is known as after the Waldorf-Astoria lodge in New York, the place it was first created for a charity dinner in 1869. The unique recipe had simply three easy components: apples, celery and mayonnaise. Since then, it’s been tailored with components like nuts, raisins, and herbs, making it much more scrumptious!
I like utilizing a mixture of Honey crisp and Granny Smith for an ideal stability of candy and tart. Plus, I like the look of each the inexperienced and purple apples. That mentioned, be happy to make use of your favourite selection. You’ll simply need crisp apples like Pink Woman, Cosmic Crisp, SweeTango, Fuji or Gala.
Sure! Simply swap the yogurt or mayo for a dairy-free different like coconut yogurt or vegan mayo.
Extra Traditional Salads to Strive
In the event you loved this recipe, please contemplate leaving a ⭐ star ranking and let me know the way it went within the 📝 feedback under.
