The timeless and classic Waldorf Salad created by Ina Garten is always a hit, particularly when apples are in season. It’s a terrific holiday side dish that your guests will appreciate thanks to its sweet and creamy dressing, which coats apples, grapes, celery, walnuts, and a variety of other ingredients.
What Waldorf Salad?
The well-known Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City was the establishment that introduced the world to the Waldorf Salad in the 1890s. When a recipe is still widely used after 125 years, it has achieved the status of an enduring and everlasting classic.
The Waldorf salad is a versatile dish that may be served at a variety of occasions, from summertime barbecues to the dinner tables of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve.
Recipe Substitutions & Variations
As I’ve already alluded to, this Waldorf salad is the dish par excellence when it comes to adaptability; there are countless permutations and approaches to preparing it. The following is a list of alternatives and variants that you could try:
- Sweeten up your salad with some small marshmallows.
- Diced cooked ham is another good source of protein that can be added. That’s a great complement to the pineapple.
- You may spice up your fruit, celery, and nut mixes by throwing in some lettuce, greens, or salad mixes like iceberg, kale, a spring mix, spinach, or romaine.
- Tossing in some chewy dried fruit like raisins or cranberries is a great idea. You can use either green or red seedless grapes, but red grapes are more common.
- When substituting nuts, candied walnuts, pecans, or candied pecans are all acceptable alternatives to walnuts.
- Ina Garten recommends serving her Waldorf salad atop a bed of Bibb or butter lettuce, but you may certainly omit the lettuce if you like.
- Put in some cooked chicken, either in shreds or cubes, for some more protein.
How To Make Waldorf Salad?
- Whisk together the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, sugar, lemon juice (zester the lemon before juicing it and save the zest for garnishing), and the optional poppy seeds until smooth.
- In a large bowl, add the apples, grapes, pineapple, celery, and half of the nuts; then, drizzle the dressing equally over top and toss to blend and coat evenly.
- If more salt is desired, add it.
- To counteract the sweetness, I advise adding some salt.
- After that, you can add the optional lemon zest and parsley and the other half of the nuts.
- Leave the lettuce bed off the serving bowl or separate salad plates and serve the salad family-style.
- Use large Bibb lettuce leaves (or butter lettuce will work).
- To get the most out of your salad, eat it within four hours of making it.
How To Store Waldorf Salad?
This salad will keep for a very long time in the refrigerator. You may keep your Waldorf salad (without the bed of greens) in the refrigerator for three to four days if you store it in an airtight container. If the salad feels dry, add a bit more yogurt or mayonnaise right before serving.
FAQ Section
Yes! When given an extra day to mingle in the fridge, I think the flavor improves even further. The mayonnaise’s lemon juice will keep the apples from browning. You may make your salad up to three days in advance without worrying about it losing any of its freshness.
Juicier apples come from the Honeycrisp, Gala, and Fuji varieties. The tartness comes from the Granny Smith apples. Either option is fine; both are available. Apples of both colors make up my favorite fruit salad.
Yes, you can make Waldorf salad without mayo. You can use any mayo subs like sour cream or pesto.
Whisk together the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, sugar, and optional poppy seeds for a creamy and sweet dressing that is a signature of Waldorf salad. You should zest the lemon before you squeeze the juice out of it if you want to use the zest as a salad topping.
Ina Garten Waldorf Salad
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt or plain regular yogurt or sour cream
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar or honey
- lemon zest optional
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon poppy seeds optional
- 1 ½ cups apples cored and diced (don’t peel)
- 1 ½ cups seedless grapes halved
- 1 cup diced pineapple optional (canned or fresh) drain juice well if using canned
- 1 cup celery ribs diced in thin 1/4-inch segments
- 1 cup walnuts divided
- Kosher salt optional and to taste
- ¼ cup fresh parsley finely minced, optional
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest optional and to taste for garnishing
- Bibb lettuce or butter lettuce, optional for serving
Instructions
- Add the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, sugar, lemon juice (be sure to zest the lemon before juicing it, and reserve the zest for garnishing later), optional poppy seeds, and whisk until smooth; set aside.
- Add the apples, grapes, pineapple, celery, and half of the nuts to a large bowl, drizzle the dressing evenly over top, and stir and toss to combine and coat evenly.
- Add salt to taste if desired. I recommend you add some to balance the sweetness.
- Sprinkle the remaining half of the nuts evenly over the top alongside the optional lemon zest and parsley.
- Serve the salad family-style out of the mixing bowl or on individual salad plates, minus the lettuce bed underneath, with large leaves of Bibb lettuce (or butter lettuce will work).
- Salad is best eaten fresh but can be made up to four hours ahead of time.
Evelyn
Wednesday 11th of December 2024
This really is a good classic!