Waldorf Salad

The salad of New York's Waldorf hotel: crisp apples, celery, red grapes and toasted walnuts in a light lemon mayonnaise dressing, served on lettuce. Serves 4.

Naturally gluten-freeVegetarianDairy-freeNo added sugar

Contains: egg, tree nuts. Based on the ingredients as written; check package labels, which can change.

A Waldorf salad of apples, celery, red grapes and walnuts on lettuce leaves in a glass bowl
  • Prep 20 min
  • Cook 5 min
  • Total 25 min
  • Yield 4 servings

Updated

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The Waldorf salad was created at New York's Waldorf Hotel in the 1890s by its maitre d'hotel, Oscar Tschirky, and published in his 1896 cookbook. The original was nothing but apples and celery in mayonnaise; walnuts, and later grapes, were added over the years, and they are part of the salad most people know today.

It is crunchy, sweet and creamy, and good with roast chicken, ham or turkey sandwiches.

Ingredients

Dressing

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • Pinch of salt

Salad

  • 3/4 cup walnut pieces
  • 2 crisp apples (one red and one green), cored and diced
  • 1 cup thinly sliced celery
  • 1 cup red seedless grapes, halved
  • Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves, for serving

Instructions

  1. Toast the walnuts. Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan, until fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Let them cool, then chop coarsely.
  2. Mix the dressing. Whisk the mayonnaise, lemon juice and salt together in a large bowl.
  3. Toss. Add the apples, celery, grapes and walnuts and fold until coated.
  4. Serve. Line plates or a bowl with the lettuce leaves and spoon the salad on top. Serve right away, or chill up to 2 hours.

Tips

  • Toss the apples with the dressing right after dicing so they do not brown.
  • For a lighter dressing, use half mayonnaise and half plain Greek yogurt.
  • For the 1896 original, leave out the grapes and walnuts.

Questions about this recipe

Who created the Waldorf salad?
Oscar Tschirky, maitre d'hotel of New York's Waldorf Hotel, in the 1890s. He published it in his 1896 cookbook.
Did the original Waldorf salad have walnuts?
No. The original was only apples, celery and mayonnaise; walnuts were added later, and grapes later still.

Part of our famous hotel and restaurant recipes, from Boston's Parker House to Delmonico's in New York and Antoine's in New Orleans.

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