Cranberry Waldorf Salad is a welcome addition to any family meal, it is packed with colorful ingredients to make a one of a kind side that can please a crowd!
Fresh tart cranberries, juicy grapes, raisins and crisp fresh apples make this delicious twist on Waldorf salad a new fall favorite!
What is Waldorf Salad?
Waldorf Salad is a legendary side dish. Created in 1896 by the dining room manager at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Waldorf Salad was an instant success and has been gracing dining room tables around the world since then!
While a traditional Waldorf salad contains apples, celery, grapes and mayonnaise, this recipe has no mayonnaise and few fun additions to lighten it up a little bit and make it festive.
Apple Waldorf Salad with Yogurt
I absolutely love this apple Waldorf Salad, it has so many flavors and textures, crisp apples, juicy grapes, crunchy celery paired with tart cranberries and sweet yogurt.
Yogurt is used in place of mayonnaise for the Waldorf salad dressing to offset the tartness of the cranberries. Because of the yogurt, my kids are happy to enjoy this dish as a dessert or for breakfast too!
A combination of fresh and dried cranberries along with apples, give this side salad a delicious fall flavor. I use a long Microplane style zester to zest the orange. You’ll want to be sure you’re only getting the very outer orange skin and none of the white pith underneath (the pith is bitter). You can find more info on zesting fruit here.
Waldorf Salad Goes Great with Turkey!
This salad can be enjoyed as a salad year round, and I think it is perfect as a side for a turkey dinner!
The dish is sweet, fresh and crisp, making it a great fruity option for family gatherings. From a Thanksgiving dinner to a potluck picnic, you can’t go wrong serving a batch of this Cranberry Waldorf Salad.
More Turkey Dinner Sides You’ll Love
- Millionaire Cranberry Salad – Reader favorite!!
- The BEST Mashed Potatoes
- Homemade Creamed Corn – Comfort food!
- Green Bean Casserole
- Watergate Salad – Classic recipe!
- Easy Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry Waldorf Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cranberries chopped
- ⅔ cup seedless green grapes chopped
- ⅔ cup seedless purple grapes chopped
- 1 apple chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- ⅓ cup raisins
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons white sugar or to taste
- 1 cup vanilla yogurt
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to combine well.
- Cover and chill 2 hours before serving.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Salad
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Excellent salad, light & tangy. I use a whole 12 oz bag of cranberries. I substitute pecans for walnuts. I use 2 (8 oz) containers of french vanilla yogurt. I substitute agave for white sugar. The 2 teaspoons of orange zest if too much. I quit grating when I can easily smell the orange. I make this the day before serving. I then taste it in the morning to see if it is too tangy, then add more agave if needed.
Bagged cranberries are only available around Thanksgiving. I pick up extra bags at this time. Stick the bags in a zip lock freezer bag. (Don’t rinse.) Then I can make this salad in the summer. It’s good without them, but better with them. The frozen/thawed cranberries are much softer. Since they are chopped up, it doesn’t matter.
Loved this salad. My family says it’s a keeper
Very good, my husband thought a little more Apple would be good
Glad you enjoyed it! You can certainly increase the apple in this recipe.
A big hit a a potluck Christmas luncheon! Crisp, fresh tasting. I also put chopped walnuts in a light sugar/water syrup and roasted them a few minutes. Sprinkled them over the top. Nice crunch!
i recommend Tillamook, or any other custardy type vanilla yogurt. The reason is because the 1st time I made it, I used a different brand, and by the time I went to serve it, the juices from the fruit and the less thick style yogurt made it kind of weepy. Another option would be to not put all the yogurt in till after your refrigeration time. Then add it if you need it.
Soooooo good! I doubled it, left out the raisins (but used the dried cranberries), and used 1/2 vanilla & 1/2 lemon yogurt. Even the kid loved it! Definitely making again.
I am trying this recipe but I am macerating the cranberries first. Will report back with how that goes :)
Can this recipe be doubled.
It will double easily. Enjoy!
How many will this serve??
It will serve at least 8!