Healthy Chicken Waldorf Salad

Chicken Waldorf Salad is a fresh and filling salad packed with vibrant flavors of apple, lemon and grapes. Perfect for a lite lunch or hot summer day dinner. Crunchy celery and walnuts pair wonderfully with the creamy homemade dressing and cold chicken or turkey meat.

What is Chicken Waldorf Salad?

This creamy, crunchy chicken salad gets its name from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel where it originated in 1896. In those days the salad was a bit more simple including apple, celery, and mayonnaise. Over the years, chefs and home cooks alike have adapted the recipe to be a version their family enjoys. My version includes fresh produce from the farmer’s market and chicken to keep our hungry crew full during those long summer days.

What is in this chicken waldorf salad

A quick stop by the farmer’s market or your local grocer will give you everything you need to make this tasty salad: chicken, apples, grapes, raisins, cranberries, celery, walnuts, lemon juice, honey, Greek yogurt, salt, and pepper.

How to make chicken waldorf salad

This salad is easy to whip together, especially when considering leftovers. If you have leftover chicken from the night before this salad simply requires a few ingredients chopped and added to the bowl. If you need to still cook your chicken, poaching or oven baking in a casserole dish is done quickly with little cleanup.

Start by chopping all your ingredients into smaller bite-sized pieces and adding them to a large mixing bowl. In a separate medium bowl, add your ingredients for the dressing and whisk. You can refrigerate the dressing until the salad is ready to serve making this a great picnic or make-ahead meal.

Can waldorf chicken salad be frozen?

While some may tell you that you can freeze this salad, it really shouldn’t be because of the mayonnaise. It is also so quick and easy to mix up that there is little to no reason to do so. If you would like to save some for later, do not mix it all at once. Put your vegetables and nuts into one Tupperware, the chicken in another, and the dressing in a mason jar. Place them all separately in the fridge and combine just before serving over some fresh lettuce.

What to serve with chicken waldorf salad

Round out your lunch or dinner by serving up the chicken salad on homemade wheat bread. Or serve alongside Mac and Cheese and Cold Cucumber soup.

Chicken Waldorf Salad

Made with easy to find ingredients and leftover chicken, this Waldorf salad is both lite and filling. Perfect for a hot summer night or a lite lunch to keep you energized through the day.

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Calories 520 kcal

Equipment

• mixing bowls
• whisk
• cutting board
• knife

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 pound cooked chicken cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 Jazz apples cored and chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup green or purple seedless grapes sliced in half
• 1 stalk celery thinly sliced or diced small
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup raisins

Yogurt Dressing

• ¼ cup Greek yogurt vanilla or plain flavor
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• ½ teaspoon salt (optional)
• ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper

Instructions

 

• Place chicken, apples, celery, walnuts, cranberries, and raisins into a large serving bowl. Toss to combine.
• Add all yogurt dressing ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Pour dressing over salad ingredients and toss to combine. For best flavor, serve chilled.
• Wrap any leftovers well and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 520kcalCarbohydrates: 53gProtein: 33gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 87mgSodium: 105mgFiber: 5gSugar: 40g

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Author: Chef Becca