Apple Carrot Waldorf Salad

A brightened up modern twist to a classic waldorf salad. Sweet firm Honeycrisp Apples, crunchy carrots, celery and yogurt replaces *most* of the mayonnaise. Original Recipe created by Lanie Smith (published 2014.)

THEN:

A traditional old-fashioned Waldorf salad is composed of  apples, mayonnaise, lemon juice, sugar, celery, broken nuts, and dark raisins.

The Waldorf salad was created in the late 1800s at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, New York City. It was served at a charity ball held in honor of St. Mary's Hospital for Children on March 14, 1896. The original recipe consisted of only apples, celery, and mayonnaise. Over the years, other ingredients have been added.

NOW: The Twist. 

Apples

1. Today we are twisting up the classic salad by replacing the traditional Granny Smith Apple with the now famed Honeycrisp Apple. (Oh my heart belongs to the sweetness of Honeycrisp) (update 2023: I'm in love with the Gold Ambrosia Apple now 🙂 )

Honeycrisp apples were first produced in 1960 when the macoun and honeygold apple were cross-pollinated in a University of Minnesota breeding program, but it wasn't until 1991 that the apple was made available to the consumer.

Raisins

2. I'm also bringing in golden raisins instead of dark ones for a more vibrant color.

Mostly Yogurt and a Little Mayo

3. In this recipe, I replaced most of the mayo with vanilla yogurt, but we keep a little of the mayo for flavor, as it would not be a true Waldorf without it. This is going to make it a little bit sweeter and healthier too!

The Surprise! Carrots.

4. To really spring our Apple Waldorf salad together we are updating the recipe by using pre-shredded carrots.  There are times when you need to buy whole carrots and grate them fresh, however there are other times when using pre-shredded carrots compliment the recipe better.  If we were to grate a whole carrot, the orange-colored juice would bleed into the base of our clean white salad dressing, and that wouldn't be as pretty. Plus, the shredded carrots are crunchy and won't get brown or soggy, not to mention they are effortless! Thank you Grimmway Farms for the tasty box of carrots you sent for our celebration of Brunch Week!~

Pairings

The sweet apple, crispy carrot, and creamy yogurt in this salad,  is delicious with baked ham, a BLT, or a fresh turkey breast sandwich. It also goes great with any BBQ main dish.

Featured Ingredients for the Apple Carrot Waldorf Salad

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Apple Carrot Waldorf Salad

A brighter healthier version of the classic Waldorf Salad. Honeycrisp Apples, Carrots, Golden Raisins, Yogurt, less the Mayo, Walnuts.

5 from 1 vote

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Servings: 6

Author: Lanie Smith

Ingredients

• 3 Honeycrisp Apples washed, cored and diced- skin on
• 1 ¼ cup vanilla yogurt
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup golden raisins
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• ¾ cup chopped celery
• ½ cup walnuts chopped (not black walnuts)

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayo and salt.
• Add apples, raisins, carrots, celery and walnuts. Stir.
• Chill for at least one hour before serving.

Notes

There are many varieties of apples that make for a great Waldorf Salad. Just make sure they are nice and firm.