The Best Apple Waldorf Salad – You Have To Try This!

Apple Waldorf salad has been in my family since I was a little girl! My mother used to make this for special occasions, and now it’s one of my regular delicious salad recipes.

This classic salad was first created in New York City by Oscar Tschirky, original maître d’hôtel of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, and has been a favorite in my family for a few generations.

It’s a great addition to your holiday table and regular recipe rotation. Once you get the ingredients and process down you won’t need the cook book, it’s that easy!

Classic Waldorf Salad Recipe

Fall is the perfect time of year to make a fresh Waldorf salad when apples are coming off the trees… It’s a perfect fall fest recipe… But it’s so good and so easy to make that it’s perfect for any special meal.

Maybe it was the marshmallows as a kid, or maybe it was just the combination of the tart apples, crunchy celery, pecans, or walnuts in a sweet and tangy creamy dressing. Whatever it is, kids and adults love this fruit salad classic recipe!

How to Make Apple Waldorf Salad

• This salad is so easy to make! You only need 1 medium-large salad bowl and one small bowl for mixing the dressing!
• Chop apples small placing them in your salad bowl. Then sprinkle chopped apples with a tablespoon of lemon juice concentrate (or fresh lemon juice).
• Chop your celery and place it into your salad bowl.
• Chop your pecans or toasted walnuts and place them inside your salad bowl with the apples.
• Add marshmallows to your salad bowl.
• In a small bowl combine the dressing ingredients and mix well till the granulated sugar is dissolved.
• Por dressing over salad and toss till all ingredients are well incorporated.
• Enjoy!

Apples

I like to use two different kinds of crisp apples, but if you only have one kind of apple it will still be great! My favorite type of green apples to use are the granny smith apple variety for its tart flavor, and honey crisp for its sweetness! I also think using green and red apples makes this salad stand out beautifully. The basic recipe calls for 2 large apples diced small.

Pink Lady apples would be another good choice for a good Waldorf Salad because they are nice and tart crispy apples too!

Lemon Juice

I sprinkle my diced apples when I finish cutting them with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice concentrate. This gives the salad a nice flavor but also (and more importantly) it keeps the apples from browning. Most types of apples will brown after cutting them as they are exposed to the air, the lemon juice stops this from happening, making your salad that much prettier!

Pecans or Walnuts

You can choose either Pecan or Walnuts in this recipe. Walnuts are a bit bitter, but great flavor! Pecans are a bit sweeter. Both give great flavor to this salad so use your favorite! For every 2 apples, or for every batch, I use 1/2 a cup of chopped pecans or toasted walnuts.

Celery

I like to chop my celery small for this recipe. I cut each stalk vertically down the entire length of the stalk and then chop it into small 1/4 inch pieces. For every 2 apples I use 1 cup of diced celery stalks, dices small.

Marshmallows!

Some original Waldorf salad recipe versions call for red grapes, and this one uses mini marshmallows instead. I love the puffy little sweetness that marshmallows add. I love how they partially dissolve in the creamy dressing and add a sweetness that gets mixed into the apples, celery, and nuts. Kids move them too.

Juicy Grapes

Juicy red grapes are one of the main in the first Waldorf Salad. You can use red or green grapes. Use 1 cup of grapes that have been chopped in half to make them easier to bite and get into your fork with other bits of this salad.

Creamy Waldorf Salad Dressing – Original Recipe

This dressing is creamy, tangy, and sweet. It mixes with marshmallows and covers the apples, walnuts or pecans, and celery with a creamy slightly tangy sweet treat that brings everything together so perfectly! Apple Waldorf Salad Dressing Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice & lemon zest of 1 lemon.
• 1/2 cup whipped cream
• 1/4 cup avocado mayo, sour cream, miracle whip, vanilla greek yogurt, plain greek yogurt.
• 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar

Recipe Card

What to Serve WIth Apple Waldorf Salad

You can serve this salad on a bed of lettuce or on its own, and it goes great with so many main dishes…. Or all by itself for that matter! We love to serve apple waldorf salad with:

BBQ! Chicken, Beef or Pork BBQ goes very well with a waldorf salad!

Roast Beef! This is a great salad to go with a roast, and adds fresh veg to your meal! I love to serve with Rump Roast and Sirloin TIp Roast!

Oven Roasted Boston Butt Roast

BBQ Country Style Pork Ribs in the Oven.

Smoked Brisket! (Need I say more?)

Homemade soft Sourdough Rolls!

How to Store Leftovers

This salad is just as good on day 2! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.