Waldorf Salad with California Walnuts!

I received free product from California Walnuts, in hopes that I may be inspired to share a recipe. Any and all opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Traditional Waldorf Salad is full of fresh apples, celery, grapes and walnuts in a mayonnaise dressing. Serve it as a side dish or appetizer. You can easily add chicken or turkey to make it a complete meal! #CAwalnuts #salad #fruit

Traditional Waldorf Salad is full of fresh apples, celery, grapes and walnuts in a mayonnaise dressing. Serve it as a side dish or appetizer. You can easily add chicken or turkey to make it a complete meal! #CAwalnuts #salad #fruit

Do you have a dish that always makes an appearance during the holidays? When I was growing up, it was Waldorf Salad. My gramma always made sure Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner to the nines. There was always enough food to feed a small army - and that isn't even an exaggeration! Coming from a large family and having a large family of her own, I'm sure large meals came naturally for her. She always seemed to pull it off so effortlessly. She did most of the meal herself, with my aunts helping filling in with some of the side dishes.
I went from watching my gramma and getting chased out of the kitchen to wanting to be a helper. As I got older, I would pester her to let me help in the kitchen .... she was one who didn't like having people in her kitchen. Every holiday, one of the things "she let me do" was cut up all of the stuff for her Waldorf Salad. Maybe because I couldn't really mess it up?! Or maybe it was so I would be out of her way! :) Either way, I loved helping her and I am so thankful for the memories and bits of kitchen knowledge I learned from her!

From my understanding, the Waldorf Salad was created at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City sometime during the late 1890's ...... and has remained a widely popular and iconic salad since! There are tons of variations. If you prefer a healthier salad, you could easily substitute yogurt for the mayonnaise. If you are looking for a complete meal option, add leftover chicken or turkey (perfect after the holidays!). If you prefer, you can substitute raisins for grapes. Some people chop up the lettuce and add it to the salad - others serve it over the top of lettuce - and some people don't use lettuce at all! This version is how may gramma made it - and I have loved it since my childhood.

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