Waldorf Salad
47 Comments
Nov 20, 2024
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This Waldorf salad belongs on every holiday dinner table. It’s a delicious symphony of crisp apples, celery, grapes, and crunchy walnuts, tossed in a tangy-sweet, creamy dressing that adds the perfect refreshing touch.
Why This Waldorf Salad Is My Favorite
When I think of nostalgic holiday recipes, this classic Waldorf salad immediately comes to mind — it’s been a staple at my family’s Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner for as long as I can remember! Between its refreshing crunch and creamy dressing, it reminds me of my broccoli salad or Caesar salad, but with fruitier and nuttier vibes. Plus, I’m always looking for ways to add a light and fresh salad to a heavy holiday spread. But here are a few other reasons why I love this salad:
- It’s a seasonal twist on a fruit salad. If you’re a fan of fruit salads in the summer, think of this as your fall and winter fruit salad that’s perfect for holiday gatherings. It features crisp apples, juicy grapes, and crunchy walnuts.
- You can customize it to your liking. The original version was created in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York (during the 1800’s) and only included apples, celery, and mayonnaise. But it’s endlessly adaptable! So I’ve listed some creative ideas below if you’re feeling adventurous.
- It complements any main. Whether you’re serving turkey, honey-baked ham, beef tenderloin, or prime rib, the bright, refreshing flavors of this salad provide the perfect contrast to warm, savory dishes. It’s a side that never fails to impress.
Waldorf Salad Ingredients
- Greek Yogurt and Mayonnaise: This creamy duo forms the base of the dressing. Mayonnaise is the classic dressing, but I love the creaminess that Greek yogurt adds to it. And if you’re not a fan of mayo, you could even use all Greek yogurt, it’s up to you.
- Apple and Grapes: Both red and green apples work here, but I prefer green apples for their extra-crisp texture and tart flavor. For the grapes, I love the pop of color and sweetness that red grapes provide. But if you’re aiming for a monochromatic look, green grapes are a great choice.
- Celery: A few ribs of celery add to the fresh, crisp texture of the salad.
- Nuts: I’m using walnuts in this recipe, but pecans are just as delicious. Pick your favorite for that signature nutty crunch.
- Honey and Lemon Juice: A tablespoon of honey gives the dressing just the right touch of sweetness, while fresh lemon juice brightens everything up.
- Herbs: A sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley adds a vibrant, herbaceous finish to the salad.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How To Make The Best Waldorf Salad Recipe
Toast the nuts and make the dressing. My pro tip is to toast your walnuts first, for just a few minutes on the stovetop or in the oven, until they’re lightly golden and smell amazing. That way they’ll have time to fully cool while you make the dressing and chop everything else up. Then, stir together the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and honey in a small bowl. Set this aside as you prep everything else.
Chop the ingredients. Dice the apples and celery, slice the grapes in half, chop the cooled nuts, and finely chop the parsley.
Toss together and serve. Add the green apples, celery, grapes, walnuts, parsley, and salt into a large bowl. Then, pour the dressing over it and stir until everything is evenly coated. You can serve this salad as-is on a plate, or you can serve it on top of romaine, bibb, or butter lettuce leaves.
Customize Your Waldorf Salad
- Add dried fruits. If you love dried fruit, add dried cranberries, raisins, apricots, dates, etc. Just make sure to slice them into smaller pieces if they’re on the bigger side.
- Switch up the fresh fruits. Apples are a must but you can mix in diced pears instead of grapes.
- Switch up the nuts. Instead of walnuts, you can use pecans, almonds, or even pistachios!
- Pack in some protein. When I want to make this salad more of a stand-alone meal I add diced baked chicken breast or shredded chicken. And if you’ve got leftover roast turkey or turkey breast from Thanksgiving, turn this into a turkey Waldorf salad. It’ll taste amazing! Just think of it as a new spin on my creamy turkey salad.
Make-Ahead & Storage Tips
- To Store: This salad tastes best fresh. But if you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.
- Make-Ahead Tip #1: Dice the fruits (except the apples), herbs, and toasted nuts, and whisk the dressing a day in advance. Store everything in separate containers in the fridge.
- Make-Ahead Tip #2: Make this 2 to 3 hours in advance before your holiday dinner. But I wouldn’t make it any earlier for the best texture.
More Holiday Salad Recipes
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad: A refreshing way to serve sprouts this season.
- Ham Salad: When you’ve got leftover holiday ham, this salad is a must!
- Massaged Kale Salad: My go-to simple salad that I serve on repeat.
- Kale Salad with Apples and Chicken: An amped up kale salad for fall.
- Roasted Butternut Squash Salad: A great way to incorporate more fall and winter veggies into your salad.
- Roasted Delicata Squash, Pear, and Pomegranate Salad: The maple balsamic vinaigrette takes it over the top.
- Or browse through my list of salad recipes or Thanksgiving side dishes to complete your menu!
If you make this Waldorf salad recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re hungry for more healthy food inspiration (and exclusive content), join my free newsletter.
Classic Waldorf Salad
Description
Video
Equipment
- Glass Mixing Bowls My favorite set of mixing bowls!
- Zwilling Chef's Knife I've had this one for forever and absolutely love it.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons greek yogurt (dairy or dairy-free)
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 green apples, diced
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup grapes, halved
- 1 cup whole walnuts or pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Optional: butter lettuce leaves for serving
Instructions
- Make dressing. In a small bowl, stir together the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and honey. Set aside.
- Toss it all together. In a large bowl, add the green apples, celery, grapes, walnuts, parsley, salt, and mayo dressing. Stir it all together until everything is evenly coated.
Lisa’s Tips
- Make sure that the toasted nuts have fully cooled before you add them to the salad. Otherwise they’ll melt the yogurt-based dressing.
- You can use any tart and crisp apple in this recipe, I just prefer Granny Smith’s.
- To Store: This salad tastes best fresh. But if you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.
- Make-Ahead Tip #1: Dice the fruits (except the apples), herbs, and toasted nuts, and whisk the dressing a day in advance. Store everything in separate containers in the fridge.
- Make-Ahead Tip #2: Make this 2 to 3 hours in advance before your holiday dinner. But I wouldn’t make it any earlier for the best texture.
- If you want to swap any of the ingredients, make sure to check out my customization tips above!
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Recipe originally posted November 2022, but updated to include new photos and information for your benefit!
Delicious and No changes need made. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Mary – Happy to hear you enjoyed this waldorf salad!
I made this salad for a group of women friends to take to a holiday party and was asked for the recipe. Because I had made a recipe and 1/22, I gave out what remained to those who wanted to take home some. Both the hostess and I had the leftovers last evening and really enjoyed them.
Hi Loraine – Happy to hear everyone enjoyed this Waldorf salad!
delicious recipe!
Hi Mel – Thrilled to hear you loved this Waldorf salad!
this tastes great am a chef from Kenya
So happy you love it!
both of these recipes were a hit with guests. The gucamole and waldorf salad.
Wonderful! I’m glad this Waldorf salad was a hit, Jane.
I did your waldorf salad recipe and I loved it. I had a good crunch to it. I will try it again.
Thrilled to hear you enjoyed this Waldorf salad, Jane.
I used sour cream instead of yogurt, because that’s what I had, and other recipes call for it. I omitted the salt and parsley. Pretty good, but I would reduce the amount of dressing, because it overpowers the rest of the ingredients. As a dinner salad, I also think it might benefit from crubled blue cheese or a sharp cheddar.
What’s the salt for?
I added green & red grapes, as well as the celery, green apples, and the remaining ingredients! So easy!!! Made. It with a side dish for baked haddock & rice! Everyone said it was delicious! Thank you so much! Lisa
Hi Lise – Love the pairing with baked haddock! Glad you enjoyed this Waldorf salad.
Super yummy as usual!
Didn’t have any grapes so skipped those, but I think it had the right level of sweetness nonetheless.
Can’t wait to try it with some form of protein (I think your shredded chicken would go fantastic with it!).
Hi Cristina! Happy to hear you enjoyed this Waldorf salad!
Hi Lisa,
Oh, I loved this recipe!
Loved the way that you changed the sugar for honey (all hail the honey bees). I changed the mayo to the light version and the Greek yogurt to the zero % fat (or strained) version.
As I don’t like Granny Smiths, I used two regular organic apples and added an extra tablespoon of lemon juice for that necessary zip and zing.
I had the Waldorf Salad on the side with some baby potatoes jacketed (with wee dots of half fat butter), steamed Tenderstem™ broccoli, and a lightly seasoned turkey stake. The absolute business.
Thank you for the receipe and the inspiration, Hon.🦋☀️🧡
Hi there – Happy to hear you enjoyed this salad and thanks for the review!
I found this Waldorf salad recipe before Thanksgiving, and it was a hit at the family gathering. I have made it three times since then, and it was a hit each time. When others ask me for the recipe, they easily remember Downshiftology. When I told my sister where I got the recipe, I found out that she also goes to Downshiftology for recipes. So now it’s a family thing.
Oh wonderful! That’s so fun to hear. Thanks for spreading the Downshiftology love and I’m thrilled you all love this Waldorf Salad. Happy holidays!
I have made this Waldorf salad twice now. The first time, exactly as written, and it was delicious. The 2nd time I forgot to purchase fresh parsley and couldn’t find red grapes so used green ones and dried parsley instead, and it was still really delicious. It was a big hit at our Thanksgiving table this year!
Thanks, Lauren! I’m so happy you loved it!
Excellent and fresher take on the classic with mayonnaise AND double cream. Sadly not one bit of leftovers.
Glad this salad was such a hit!
It’s not often you can even find a Waldorf salad on the menu, but this recipe is my favourite by far. Lisa does it again, with a simple, fresh healthy salad that is so tasty!
Glad you loved this classic version with a Downshiftology touch!
Can I make the day before or will it get to runny?
I think this is best made fresh. :)
I prepared everything the night before except the apples, put in fridge, cut up apples in the morning and mix all together.
Took the words right out of my mouth! I love a recipe you can prep ahead. Haven’t made this in years, so thanks fir rhe reminder and inspiration!
I used my favorite , MacIntosh.
This is delicious!!
Waldorf salad sounds amazing.
Just thought pineapple would also
Give a Gr8 flavor.
We had our first Thanksgiving meal of the year on Sunday. I made the Waldorf Salad recipe and it was delicious. I used pecans. Creamy, crisp, sweet, tart and tangy, what a wonderful dish to contrast all the heavy foods we tend to celebrate with. We had a traditional Polish meal with fresh Polish sausage, pierogi, etc. Its a winner Lisa. Happy Thanksgiving.
Yay, I’m so happy you loved it Lynne. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well! :)
Can you make a recommendation for subbing out the Mayo?
Hi Diane – you could use yogurt as well.
Made this yesterday and it is delicious. I didn’t have grapes so used raisins. Loved the dressing. So glad I found your web site. Can’t wait to get your cookbook.
So happy you loved the recipe Kathy! And thanks so much for ordering my cookbook as well. xo
I’d like to prep the ingredients in advance and assemble before serving. But, how do you prevent the apples from browning? Thanks for your advice!
Hi Grace – I would prep everything except the apples, because as you mentioned they will brown. Hope you enjoy!
you can put them in water with lemon, that helps to avoid the browning
Toss the cut up apples in the lemon juice instead of adding juice to the dressing.
I needed an idea for something to bring to my son’s Thanksgiving gathering this year. Everyone else already claimed the usual fixings and I was struggling for a unique idea. This Waldorf salad will be perfect and I’m excited to try your recipe. You saved the day ;o) !!!
Yay, then it was meant to be! Haha. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy the Waldorf salad Valerie. :)
This recipe sounds delightful and I haven’t had this salad in years. It’s time to bring it back to the table! It’s also perfect for children to help make. I love that I can make it ahead of time for a party and any left overs can still be enjoyed at a later time. Thank you!
Yes, it’s definitely fun to get the kiddos involved in making this recipe. Hope you enjoy it!