Waldorf Salad is a classic that you’ll love today and beyond. This salad includes tart apples, celery, grapes, blueberries, and toasted pecans tossed in a light dressing. It’s a crispy and crunchy light salad.
As you might know, the Waldorf Salad has been around for a long time. This salad was first created at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City in 1896!
I had the urge to make this salad after flipping though the pages of an old cookbook recently. There were a bunch of vintage salad recipes on the pages. You know the kind: the ones with mini marshmallows, some with pieces of canned fruit, and others that were made with Jell-O. Some looked and sounded great, while others sounded…well, not so great!
Waldorf Salad
Back in the day, the original Waldorf salad included just apples, celery and mayonnaise. This recipe adds grapes, blueberries, pecans, mayonnaise, plain Greek yogurt, honey, and lemon juice to the mix. It’s still simple and it’s delicious.
I love this crispy, crunchy salad as part of a light meal. It’s super for the summer and easy to make with staple ingredients you’ll likely have at home.
If you don’t have blueberries on hand, leave them out. No pecans? Use walnuts or almonds. No Granny Smith apples in the crisper? Use what you’ve got and don’t waste gas rushing off to the grocery store to pick up special ingredients.
I mentioned to my mom that I was going to make this Waldorf salad, and she told me how she hadn’t had it in so long, and remembers making it for the Birthday Club she and her friends were part of back in the day.
She said she and her friends would get together to celebrate one of the club members’ birthday. She said there were about eight of them in the club and whoever hosted, made the spread. Sounds like a fun idea!
As you can imagine, putting together a lunch for eight needed to be somewhat easy. It literally took just minutes to put together this salad, and it makes enough for 4-6 people.
Steps to Make Waldorf Salad
Step 1: Add the mayo, plain Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and honey to a small bowl and whisk. Taste and adjust as needed. Set aside.
Step 2. Toast your pecans on the stovetop for a few minutes. Chop into pieces when cooled.
Step 3: Chop the apple into small pieces, keeping the skin on for added color.
Step 4: Chop the celery into small pieces
Step 5: Cut the grapes into halves.
Step 6: Add the fruit, the celery, and the pecans to a large bowl.
Step 7: Drizzle the mayo-yogurt mixture over the ingredients and toss to coat.
To Add Mini Marshmallows or Not?
So many of those vintage salads from old cookbooks include mini marshmallows! What was going on back in the day? Maybe your mom or grandma or aunt still makes those salads (they’re classics for a reason) studded with mini marshmallows.
If you’d like to sweeten things a bit, go on and add them to this Waldorf salad (omit the honey in the dressing, though). I’d use maybe 1/2 cup of the mini marshmallows or a bit more for added fun!
More Salad Recipes to Try:
Mexican Street Corn Salad: A summer favorite in my house. Make this salad for your next cookout!
Lobster Ravioli Pasta with Creamy Lemon Dressing: A special salad that’s more of a main dish. Oh, so good!
Chicken Salad with Strawberries and Honey-Lemon Mint Dressing: A hearty salad that’s perfect for the summer. Love those summer strawberries!
Waldorf salad couldn’t be easier to make. Make it part of a lighter meal this summer or serve it for your next get together!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate
Yields Serves 4-6
Save Recipe5 based on 24 review(s)
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced Granny Smith apple (one large-sized apple)
- 1 cup diced celery stalks (about 2 stalks)
- 1 cup red grapes, halved
- 3/4 cup blueberries
- 1/4 cup toasted pecans, rough chopped
- 2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2-3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
- Optional: 1/2 cup mini marshmallows (if using marshmallows, omit the honey)
Instructions
- Add the apple, celery, grapes, blueberries and pecans (and mini marshmallows if using) into a large bowl.
- In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice and honey (omit the honey if using mini marshmallows). Whisk to combine.
- Pour the mixture over the fruit and toss to combine.
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