A classic salad of celery, apple and walnuts, the dressing on this light Waldorf salad is made with the addition of yogurt or crème fraîche to give a lighter fresher dressing than the traditional version. It is a fabulous side dish to cold meats and barbecue dishes adding texture and crunch.
Light Waldorf Salad Made Easy
- Classic recipe – updated
- lower fat
- lower cal
- Vegetarian
- Cheap and cheerful
- Easy entertaining
- On the side
Hand up who likes celery?
I'm not sure I exactly saw lots of hands flying up just then. However even if it is not a vegetable you tend to rate highly, it is just perfect in this classic salad and it may just have you changing your mind about celery. The crunch of the celery along with crisp tangy apple slices and some chopped walnuts in a mayonnaise dressing is actually a rather good one. There is a reason that it's a classic, it's a great flavour combination.
Light waldorf Salad – A classic salad made lighter
The name of this salad came from the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City where it was first created for a charity ball given in honour of the St. Mary’s Hospital for Children on 14th March, 1896. The maître d'hôtel, Oscar Tschirky, was credited with having created this dish and it appeared in Cook Book by "Oscar of the Waldorf" in 1896. The original recipe was just apples, celery, and mayonnaise the addition of nuts did not officially appear until later when it was published in The Rector Cook Book in 1928.
It might not be the most fashionable of salads these days perhaps because of many people are now looking for a lighter dressing than mayonnaise on their salads. So, like others before me I have adapted the classic by adding some natural yogurt to the mayonnaise. The result a much lighter fresher dressing and to my mind makes this variation is even better than the original.
Light Waldorf Salad
Ingredients
- Small head of celery
- 4 eating apples
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 100 ml mayonnaise
- 120 ml natural yogurt or low fat crème fraîche
- 75 g walnuts roughly chopped
- pinch cayenne pepper
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Wash and trim the celery. Cut diagonally into slices and place in a large bowl.
- Core and slice the apples and toss with the lemon juice. Add to the celery along with the walnuts.
- Mix together the mayonnaise and yogurt or crème fraîche. Season with salt and pepper and a little cayenne pepper .
- Pour over the salad and toss to coat in the dressing. Transfer to a serving dish, to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Light Waldorf Salad Step by Step
More Salad Recipes Made Easy
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