This all-time classic salad has been popular throughout the years. This salad has chicken, a crunchy texture from the apples, celery and toasted walnuts with a creamy dressing that makes an ideal summer salad.
I love this story behind the creation of this classic Waldorf Salad. It was named after Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City where it was first created on March 14, 1893 in New York City for a charity ball to honor St. Mary’s Hospital for children.
This salad brings back special memories of my late sister Betty, who often would make this salad when we would have family gatherings. She would often say, how good it is, when at that time I wasn’t a fan, but now there is nothing not to like about this salad! It’s flavourful, has lots of texture and the creamy dressing makes it oh so yummy!
Few ingredients for this delicious salad:
Chicken: I decided to add chicken to this delicious salad, as I had cooked chicken sitting in my refrigerator. I recommend using chicken breasts for easier dicing. There are several ways to cook chicken for this recipe, you can cook in the oven for 25-30 minutes, pan-fry for 10 minutes, grill for 10 minutes, or poached for 10 minutes.
Walnuts: toasting walnuts for more crunch and fragrant flavour; two ways to toast walnuts, one in the oven as directed in my recipe or pan-fry with a little oil or butter.
Apple: I used a gala apple for this recipe, since it doesn’t brown as quickly as other varieties; other good options are ambrosia, cortland, ginger gold, and empire.
Greens: one romaine lettuce head would be enough to serve four people; and romaine is a good option as it holds well with creamy dressings
Celery: is one of the original ingredients for flavour and crunch
Shallot: a mind onion but enough to add flavour
Dressing: I added more than half of yogurt to lessen the heaviness of mayo, and used a light mayo as well; lemon juice for tang, and can’t forget to season!
Chicken Waldorf Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
- 1 large apple, diced
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 romaine lettuce head, chopped or torn
- 2 celery ribs, sliced thinly
- 1 shallot, chopped
Dressing:
- 1/3 cup plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan salt
- pepper
Instructions
Salad:
- In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil, and season chicken breasts, then add to skillet, and cook about 4-5 minutes on each side. Once cooked, remove and allow to cool before dicing.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange the walnuts on the baking pan. Toast until lightly browned and fragrant, up to about 8-10 minutes, stirring halfway. Remove the oven and allow to cool.
- In a small bowl, add diced apple and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to prevent any browning and for flavour and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add romaine lettuce, celery, shallots and diced cooked chicken. Then add the diced apple, and most of the walnuts. Leave a few for garnishing.
Dressing:
- In a small bowl, mix together yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pour dressing into the salad bowl, and toss gently until well combined.
- Place salad in the refrigerator to serve cold. Garnish with extra walnuts, and slices of apple. Enjoy as a lunch or side dish with grilled meats.
Nutrition
How to make this salad:
First cook the chicken, and while the chicken is cooking, toast the walnuts. Once done, set both aside to cool. Then dice the apple, and place in a bowl with lemon. Lemon to help to prevent the apple from browning and it will add flavour to the apple. Then cut, dice and chop the celery, romaine lettuce, and shallot.
Dressing: in a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, mayo, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Using a large bowl, add all of the ingredients, and pour the dressing in and toss salad until all the ingredients are well combined. Enjoy it as a lunch or side dish with grilled meats.
