Classic and timeless, Waldorf Salad is always a crowd favorite especially when apples are in season! It makes a great holiday side dish that your guests will devour thanks to a sweet and creamy dressing that coats a mixture of apples, grapes, celery, walnuts, and more!
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Total Time15 minutesmins
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: apple Waldorf salad, best apples for Waldorf salad, classic Waldorf salad, Waldorf salad dressing, Waldorf salad ingredients, Waldorf salad without mayo, what is waldorf salad, what's in a waldorf salad
Servings: 6
Calories: 235kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
3tablespoonsmayonnaise*See Notes
2tablespoonsplain Greek yogurtor plain regular yogurt or sour cream
2teaspoonsgranulated sugaror honey
Lemon zestoptional
1tablespoonlemon juice
½teaspoonpoppy seedsoptional
1 ½cupsapplescored and diced (don't peel)** (See Notes)
1 ½cupseedless grapeshalved*** (See Notes)
1cupdiced pineappleoptional (canned or fresh; drain juice well if using canned)
1cupcelery ribsdiced in thin 1/4-inch segments
1cupwalnutsdivided**** (See Notes)
Kosher saltoptional and to taste
¼cupfresh parsleyfinely minced; optional
1teaspoonlemon zestoptional and to taste for garnishing
Bibb lettuceor butter lettuce, optional for serving
Instructions
To a medium bowl, add the mayo, Greek yogurt, sugar, lemon juice (make sure to zest the lemon before juicing it and reserve the zest if you're going to garnish your salad with the zest later), optional poppy seeds, and whisk to combine until smooth; set aside.
To a separate large bowl, add the apples, grapes, optional pineapple, celery, half the nuts, evenly drizzle the dressing over the top, and stir and toss to combine and coat evenly.
Taste and if desired, add salt, to taste. I recommend adding some to balance the sweetness in this salad.
Evenly sprinkle the remaining half of the nuts over the top.
Optionally and evenly sprinkle the parsley and optional lemon zest to garnish.
Optionally plate the salad in large leaves of Bibb lettuce (or butter lettuce will work) or simply serve family-style out of the mixing bowl, or plate on individual salad plates, minus the bed of lettuce underneath.
Salad is best fresh but can be made up to 4 hours ahead of time.***** (See Notes)
Notes
*If you’re one of those people that's absolutely averse to mayo, even when it’s mixed with or in other things, then go ahead and eliminate it. In place of the mayo, you can use sour cream or Greek yogurt. I wouldn’t go with regular yogurt though because it’s too runny. If you plan to use all Greek yogurt in lieu of any mayo, you may want to consider omitting or halving the amount of lemon juice so that the dressing isn’t overly tart.**Red apples like Honeycrisp make for a crisp and sweeter version along with Gala and Fuji whereas Granny Smith makes it more tart. Use one or the other, or both. I like to use both red and green apples.***Red grapes are more traditional and I used them but you can also use green or mix-and-match red and green. ****Walnuts are the classic, but you can use candied walnuts, pecans, or candied pecans too. Feel free to toast the nuts before adding them, too.*****If you’re making this for an event and know you’re going to be pressed for time, you can make the dressing ahead of time and store it separately from the fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Store the fruit mixture in an airtight container and give it a spritz of lemon juice before you seal the container because you don’t want the apples to oxidize. If you know you’re going to do this, you may want to only use a half tablespoon of lemon juice in the dressing recipe rather so it’s not too tart.