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 all the time 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 (take a look at my wholesome watergate salad), however I didn’t develop up with Waldorf salad.
After discovering it a number of years in the past, I began making and loving it! I’ve shared a hen 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
- Mild & refreshing – This salad is the right mixture of juicy apples, crisp celery and crunchy walnuts. It’s a kind of dishes that feels mild, however nonetheless satisfying!
- Tremendous versatile – You possibly can take pleasure in 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.
- Simple – This salad comes collectively in about quarter-hour! All you need to do is toast, chop and mix.
Components Wanted
- apples – I like utilizing a mixture of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith for the right stability of candy and tart flavors. They’re tremendous crisp and refreshing!
- grapes – pink seedless grapes add a juicy pop of sweetness. I like to chop them in half in order that they’re simpler to eat.
- celery – provides that basic crunch and a recent, mild 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 normally 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 favor!
- lemon juice – provides brightness and acidity to assist stability all of the flavors.
- golden raisins – that is non-compulsory, however I like the contact of sweetness they add to this salad. You should use common raisins as effectively or one other dried fruit like dried cranberries or dried cherries.
- parsley – you’ll be able to by no means go flawed with recent herbs! That is non-compulsory, however it provides good freshness and taste.
Discover the total ingredient checklist 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. You probably have a nut allergy, I recommend 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 hen. Or you’ll be able to simply make my hen Waldorf salad as a substitute.
Tips on how 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, however it makes a giant distinction.
Tips on how 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 take pleasure in 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.
Tips on how 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, however it’ll nonetheless be scrumptious. If the salad appears a bit dry you’ll be able to add a bit extra yogurt or mayo earlier than serving.
Continuously 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 pink 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
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