Waldorf Dinner Salad

This lighter version of a Waldorf salad recipe is my spin on a classic easy dinner salad, and it comes together super fast! The perfect combination of sweet, crunchy, and packed with flavor, it’s easy to customize to what you have on hand.

For the first week of our Whole30, I meal planned like a crazy woman. I knew who was eating what, and when. Which is important when you have four people who eat two of the three meals in different places.

About two-thirds through the Whole30, I got really, really tired of cooking. So tired, that I was perfectly okay cooking massive amounts of food on Sunday and relying on leftovers for the next five days.

Anytime our leftovers weren’t quite enough to make a meal, or if my old habits of cooking just two veggies for dinner crept back in (Whole30 necessitated at least 3-4 veggies at dinner), I made my favorite easy dinner salad recipe.

I’m a huge salad fan… the Costco-Copycat Sweet Kale Salad and Wedge Salad and Panzanella and Southwestern Salad are all my favorites.

MAKING WALDORF SALAD THE RIGHT WAY

And despite the fact that these are indeed ALREADY PUBLISHED recipes, it still feels weird to write yet another recipe for a salad. After all, salads are nothing more than lettuce with some toppings thrown in, right?

However, my fellow salad lovers understand that there is such a thing as a bad salad.

• Lettuce – there can be too much, too little, or (even worse) flavorless lettuce.
• Toppings – there can be too little, too much, or the amount of each topping in terms of the other toppings can be off (i.e. too much onion, or not enough cheese)
• Dressing – there can be too much, too little, too vinegary, too creamy, or altogether just the wrong flavor for the rest of the ingredients.
• Texture – there can be too many crunchy things, too many soft things, or the lettuce leaves can be too big with teeny tiny toppings

Perhaps I sound like I’m whining, but I’m really not.

It’s just like steak. Steak can be chewy, tough, undercooked, or overcooked…and if you’re having steak for dinner, you want it cooked properly, right?

That’s how I feel about salad. I like my salads to be “the right way.” And the only way to tell you “the right way” (or at least my favorite way) to make a salad is to write a recipe!

This easy dinner salad recipe has been on our table at least twice a week for the past three months. It’s been on my own lunch meal plan at least three times a week (and I add Instant Pot Chicken every time).

One of the reasons this Waldorf salad is my favorite is because it uses things I almost always have on hand. And if I happen to run out at any given moment, there are enough substitution ideas to make it work.

A tasty salad, with the right ingredients, in the right proportion, and it’s really easy to make? Let’s get started!

WALDORFF SALAD RECIPE INGREDIENTS

Traditional Waldorf salad ingredients include fruit, celery, nuts, and a mayonnaise-based dressing. This is my spin on a Waldorff salad recipe using ingredients I typically have on hand, but feel free to switch things up to make it your own! I’ve included options for substitutions and additions that will still make a delicious easy dinner salad.

APPLES

I personally prefer granny smith apples in this salad. Hard red apples (i.e. Fuji or Honeycrisp) work too, but I would avoid soft apples (i.e. red delicious).

The hard and tart crunch of the apple complements the other items really, really well, and the soft sweet apple just didn’t cut it.

You might be able to find some great prices on apples at your local Farmer’s Market. Ask for “seconds” and if they offer discounts on large orders.

DRIED CRANBERRIES

Dried cranberries are not cheap, and over the years I’ve found that the only way to get dried cranberries on a budget is to either:

• Buy them from Costco when they’re on sale
• Buy them from Sprouts when they’re on sale
• Stock up on whole cranberries at Thanksgiving and make your own dried cranberries. Use this dehydrator to make your own dried cranberries!

I’ve done all three, but this time I happened to have dried cranberries from Costco. Which is awesome, because that big bag means I can have this salad as often as I want!

Just a quick note on dried cranberries versus the reduced-sugar dried cranberries…it’s not just a simple case of less sugar. The reduced-sugar varieties have other ingredients added, like soluble corn fiber, glycerin, and sucralose. I don’t know much about corn fiber, other than it’s probably a red flag for those who have to avoid grains. Sucralose is an artificial sweetener, which I know from research can do more harm to our bodies than plain white sugar. Check your labels!

While you are stocking up on fresh cranberries to dehydrate, load up on pecans and other nuts. They tend to be on sale around the holidays and freeze well.

You can also substitute raisins or red grapes if that’s what you have on hand for just the right sweetness!

PECANS

I absolutely adore the flavor that pecans give this salad. A bit of a delicate crunch but without a massive taste that will overpower everything else.

My mom brought me pecans from her own backyard – still in the shell – the last time she visited. My daughter has taken up the role of resident nutcracker. That works for me because cracking pecans is HARD WORK!

Before these pecans, I had leftover pecans from when I made Healthier Candied Pecans (which are also yummy in this salad).

When the pecans ran out, we tried walnuts and those were good too. Sunflower seeds would also add a nice crunch.

If you don’t have pecans or don’t have room in the budget, almonds are a great substitution. Just be sure to chop them up so they’re in small pieces. Getting a whole almond as you take a bite of salad falls into that texture problem of too much crunch in one bite.

LETTUCE

Obviously, you need some greens if you’re making a salad. I’ve been crushing hard on the packaged spring salad mixes from the grocery store.

Yes, I know a head of romaine is cheaper. Yes, I know that I can make my own blend of spring lettuce.

And yes, I’ve been spending no less than 12 hours prepping, chopping, cooking, putting away, and cleaning thanks to the Whole30. This girl needed a little bit of convenience and considering we’re talking about LETTUCE (and not some weird form of Whole30-compliant potato chips), I think the world will keep spinning.

Other great lettuce options include red or green leaf lettuce, spinach, finely chopped romaine, butter lettuce, or even a few handfuls of arugula with dandelion greens.

You can regrow lettuce in water to have an ongoing supply of fresh lettuce. Use this tutorial to find out how.

DRESSING

Before we put together our salad, let’s talk about the VIP of attendees: the dressing.

Pre-Whole30, I would have made a Maple Citrus Vinaigrette or this tangy Sweet Creamy Dressing.

But since you always want something when you know you can’t have it, I wanted ranch with this salad.

Enter the dairy free ranch dressing. It’s Whole30-compliant, and it’s so good!

That being said, I don’t think you can go wrong with any dressing on this Waldorf salad recipe: bleu cheese, vinaigrette, honey mustard, Italian, ranch…it’s one of the reasons why this salad is my favorite!

Note: I love using mason jars for homemade dressing and these lids make it super easy to shake and pour!

MY FAVORITE EASY DINNER SALAD RECIPE

Step 1. Prepare your ingredients. Wash the salad greens, slice the apples, and make your dressing.

Step 2. Combine all ingredients except dressing in a large bowl and toss to combine.

Step 3. Dress the salad with your choice of dressing and serve immediately.

Waldorf salad doesn’t really store well. The apples start to oxidize and turn brown, and any dressed salad can get soggy when stored for long periods of time. Luckily, this is an easy salad to throw together in just a few minutes!

You can also prep your ingredients ahead of time and store them separately in airtight containers in the fridge, and just chop up an apple to combine with the rest when you’re ready to eat.

WALDORF SALAD TOPPING IDEAS

This Waldorf salad recipe is yummy with just the ingredients I listed above, but adding any of these optional toppings takes it over the top!

• Diced red onion
• Diced celery
• Chopped grapes
• Shredded chicken or thinly sliced steak
• Crumbled bacon
• Feta or crumbled goat cheese
• Healthier Candied Pecans
• Honey Roasted Almonds

WALDOFF SALAD RECIPE FAQS

MORE DELICIOUS SALADS

• Kale Salad with Strawberries, Pecans, and Blue Cheese
• Chicken Southwest Salad
• Kale Caesar Salad
• Cranberry Apple Spinach Salad
• Crunchy Vegetable Quinoa Salad
• Wedge Salad