Waldorf salad

Name: Waldorf salad
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 350 ml sour cream, 18% or 38%; 1 tbsp sugar; ¼ tsp coarse salt; 2 green apples, for instance, Granny Smith (approx. 250 g); 4 celery sticks, cut into thin slices; 300 g seedless green grapes, cut in half; 50 g walnuts, coarsely chopped; celery leaves; walnuts; grapes

This classic Waldorf salad with apples, grapes, celery, and walnuts is a crunchy delight. Tossed with a simple but incredibly tasty sour cream dressing, the creamy salad with scrumptious crispy elements may be served as a side dish or starter or enjoyed on its own as a light meal. Created in the US in the late 1800s, it has gained popularity across the globe. Try our recipe for Waldorf salad next time you are expecting company and you want to put a refreshing salad with plenty of crispiness on the table.

https://www.arlafoods.co.uk/recipes/waldorf-salad/

Instructions

Mix crème fraiche with sugar and salt.
Cut apples into cubes and fold them into the dressing as you go to prevent them from browning.
Carefully add celery, grapes, and walnuts.
Cover the salad and leave it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Taste the salad and transfer it to a serving bowl.

Enjoy!

Questions about Waldorf salad

With an easy Waldorf salad recipe like ours, making a delightful salad with a creamy dressing and plenty of crispiness is incredibly simple. Below you can learn more about the dish by reading answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.

What is Waldorf salad?

A Waldorf salad is a type of fruit salad invented in the 1890s. It is named after the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City, where the original Waldorf salad recipe was created. The delicious dish is made with Granny Smith apples, grapes, celery, and walnuts and tossed with a creamy dressing. Simple Waldorf salad dressing recipes differ, and the salad can, as such, be made using either crème fraiche or sour cream, whipping cream, yoghurt, mayonnaise, or a combination of these.

How do you make Waldorf salad?

Making a classic Waldorf salad to serve as a light meal or side dish takes very little time. Start by preparing the dressing so you can use it to cover the green Granny Smith apples as you cut them into cubes. Gently fold in the pieces of celery, halved grapes, and coarsely chopped walnuts. Let it cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes before garnishing it to make it table-ready.

What dish goes well with Waldorf salad?

Plenty of main dishes pair well with this crispy and creamy side dish. Whether you enjoy poultry, beef, pork, or lamb, you can serve your preferred type of meat with the delicious salad on the side. The light salad is equally good with leaner types of meat like chicken and turkey as well as with richer types like duck or a decadent steak. You can also make a chicken Waldorf salad, adding pieces of chicken breast to the salad to make it a filling main course of its own.

How far ahead can you make Waldorf salad?

With so many fresh ingredients, you may wonder; how long does Waldorf salad last in the fridge? If stored in an airtight container, it should keep for up to 2-3 days. Make sure that the green apples are entirely covered with the dressing to prevent them from browning if you decide to prepare the dish in advance. Freezing the salad is not recommendable as the texture of the fresh fruits will become mushy.

What are the best apples for Waldorf salad?

It is best to use a tart and firm apple like the classic green Granny Smith apple. As the tanginess of the apple cubes should complement the sweetness of the grapes as well as the creamy dressing, tarter varieties work better. Tart green apples also tend to be crispier and this specific texture that they add to the dish is a part of what makes it so great.

Ingredients

Waldorf salad:

Sour cream, 18% or 38%	350 ml
Sugar	1 tbsp
Coarse salt	¼ tsp
Green apples, for instance, Granny Smith (approx. 250 g)	2
Celery sticks, cut into thin slices	4
Seedless green grapes, cut in half	300 g
Walnuts, coarsely chopped	50 g

Garnish:

Celery leaves
Walnuts
Grapes

Waldorf salad with apples and grapes

Our Waldorf salad recipe allows you to prepare a decorative side dish with plenty of different nuances of green. In our classic recipe, fresh Granny Smith apples, green grapes, and celery make up this delicious salad mix that has plenty of bite.

The sweet and tangy flavours they provide are tied together by the velvety sour cream dressing that covers the bite-sized fruits and vegetables and helps them stay fresh. Garnished with celery leaves, this refreshing dish is sure to look beautiful next to many different main courses.

Serve with an easy dressing and sprinkle with walnuts

With pieces of walnuts incorporated into the salad and used to garnish it as well, this classic side dish has plenty of crunch on top of the crispiness of the apples and celery. A Waldorf salad with a sour cream dressing is also wonderfully creamy though with grapes to soften the texture a bit.

Depending on whether you would like your dressing for Waldorf salad to be refreshing as well as creamy or lean more heavily into its natural richness, you can choose either sour cream 18% or 38%. You can also use a mix of the two to get the best of both worlds with this tasty, slightly sweet dressing.

A classic salad with crunchy textures

A traditional Waldorf salad with grapes, celery, apples, and walnuts is deliciously crunchy. Though all the ingredients for Waldorf salad have crispy textures, they are different enough that eating it is far from a one-note experience. From the chewy, slightly soft grapes and crisp Granny Smith apples to the slices of leafy celery, each bite of the dish is packed with fresh flavours and various irresistible textures.

If you are wondering what to serve with a Waldorf salad in case you decide to serve it as a side dish rather than a light meal or starter, some options from our vast collection of recipes include favourites like oven-fried chicken with lemon, garlic, and rosemary, pork tenderloin with bacon and thyme, or a decadent chateaubriand, depending on what type of meat your prefer.

Make a chicken Waldorf salad

Experiment with the dish by adding meat in addition to the traditional ingredients in the salad. Mild-tasting chicken breast is a good fit for the salad's fresh and crunchy selection of fruits and vegetables. 

Either cut the chicken breast into bite-size pieces or use two forks to shred the meat as you would pulled pork to fold the chicken more easily into the dish. A chicken Waldorf salad is irresistible, combining a family favourite type of meat and a creamy, crispy, flavourful salad.

If you want to experiment further with the ingredients for this classic dish or the chicken variation, there are other things to try. For instance, use pecans in place of walnuts and make the salad more colourful and less monochrome in its look by using blue grapes and experimenting with red apples like Pink Lady which will still add some tartness to the dish.

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