Healthy Waldorf Salad – This classic salad of apples, grapes, walnuts, and celery is given a healthy makeover with the substitution of mayo with Greek yogurt.
Now that spring is here, I am craving tons of salads: pasta salad, fruit salad, broccoli salad – you name it! We had salads left over from Easter and, on more than one occasion, I served up a plate of various salads to eat for lunch and/or dinner. I was in heaven.
To honor my craving this time of year, I have one of my favorite fruit salads to share with you all. I’ve been making this Healthy Waldorf Salad since college. I have always loved the combination of the refreshing tangy dressing with apples, grapes, and celery and the slight saltiness (and extra crunch!) from the walnuts.
But what exactly makes this a “healthy” version, you ask? Simple – all I do is replace the mayonnaise in the classic recipe with plain nonfat Greek yogurt. Fun fact: I didn’t start making it “healthy” for the sake of being healthy. Nope, I actually starting using Greek yogurt because the idea of mixing fruit with mayo wasn’t appetizing to me. And after I tried it, I just loved the extra tang from the Greek yogurt so that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.
To make this salad, it’s incredibly easy. No cooking, very little prep, and its ready in less than 15 minutes. Could you ask for anything better?!
First, I make the dressing a large bowl by simply stirring together Greek yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. The combination of lemon juice and Greek yogurt make for a perfectly tangy dressing. But if you want it more on the sweet side, you can add some honey. Or even use vanilla Greek yogurt!
After the dressing is ready, toss in the diced apples, halved grapes, and thinly sliced celery.
Now, all you gotta do is toss everything together and finish with toasted walnuts. If you want more sweetness, you can use candied walnuts.
I’m now realizing that I’m giving tons of tips on how to make this healthy salad more sweet. I just can’t stay away from the sweets, you guys!
Because I cannot write a post without helpful tips, here are a few that will help you with this recipe:
- I like big chunks of apples in this salad so I recommend cutting them in a large dice instead of finely dicing them. This will keep them nice and firm in the dressing.
- Celery can be an overwhelming ingredient in raw dishes. So make sure it’s finely sliced so you get hints of it instead of big chunks.
- I used raw walnuts in this recipe, which can have a bland taste. Therefore, I had to toast and season them before adding to the salad. You can buy yours already toasted and seasoned if you don’t want to do this step.
And that’s all there is! I hope you enjoy this healthy take on one of my favorite salads! What other salads are you loving this season? Let me know in the comments below!
Healthy Waldorf Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- honey optional
- 2 large golden delicious apples
- 1 cup red seedless grapes
- 4 stalks celery
- 1/2 cup walnut halves
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk Greek yogurt, sour cream, and lemon juice together until combined. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and give the dressing a taste. If you need more seasoning, add some. If you want to get rid of a bit of the tang, add a little honey. I prefer it tangy, though.
- Dice apples into big chunks and add to bowl with the dressing. Halve grapes and add to bowl. Thinly slice celery and measure out 1 cup. Add to bowl. Toss to combine with dressing.
- Place salad on serving platter and top with walnut halves. Serve immediately.
Pin for later:
More healthy treats you’ll love:
Pineapple Melon Fruit Salad with Honey Citrus Dressing
Lemon Avocado Pasta Salad
Orchard Harvest Salad (Panera Copycat)
A healthy Waldorf salad is a delicious way to enjoy fresh, nutritious ingredients while keeping your meals light and refreshing! Prioritizing a balanced diet goes hand in hand with overall wellness. For the ultimate self-care experience, consider visiting a Medical Spa Placentia to relax and rejuvenate your body and mind!
I really love the substitution of yogurt for the mayo! Mayo is totally a weird ingredient to put in a fruit salad! Definitely giving this a try! Great idea!
Right?! Yogurt sounds much more intuitive to me
I am on the South Beach Diet (Phase I) right now, so I have to wait until next week to have fruit, but as soon as I can — this is on the list!
Awesome! Hope you love it, Lisa!
Love how simple, easy and tasty this recipe is, perfect for bbq!
So true!
What a beautiful salad. I love adding fruit to my salads too, as it adds so much flavour without loads of extra calories.
Thanks so much!
I love Waldorf salad! It always reminds me of my childhood – it’s been my favorite as a little girl 🙂 It’s been so long since I ate it and you just made me wanna try this recipe ASAP!
Aw yay! I hope you get to try it again soon!
I love how you made this Waldorf salad healthy, the thought of mayo with fruit isn’t appealing to me either but I love the yogurt and sour cream idea.
I’m going to pin this right now to try. I’ve actually never heard of this salad but I wouldn’t be able to mix fruit with mayo either so I’m excited taste it!
Let me know how you like it!!
Super yum! This looks amazingly refreshing, flavorful, and easy! Waldorf salad is in my near future for lunch 🙂
Thanks so much!
OMYum! That Waldorf salad looks delicious. I wonder how many calories it has. I guess you could substitute light sour cream to make it more diet friendly?
Definitely!
Waldorf Salad is one of my favorites. It’s a Thanksgiving staple in my family. I’ll definitely have to try this recipe out.
Ooo I gotta try this during the holidays, too!
Oooh that waldorf salad looks so yummy and healthy! I’m really into salads morenow the weather is warmer!
xoxo
Annie
It really is!
That looks like a delicious salad, I will have to give it a try some time!
Thanks so much!
This looks amazing! Thanks so much for sharing this awesome recipe.
You’re welcome!
This looks fantastic to try! Yum! I would have never thought to add greek yogurt. I am definitely going to have to try this. Thanks for the idea! 🙂
You’re so welcome!
This looks really good. I love Waldorf salad. I’ll have to try the healthier version.
Angela
Let me know how you like it!