Waldorf salad is a classic salad created at the famed Waldorf Hotel in New York City sometime around 1893. This recipe is an updated version made with Greek yoghurt and pumped up with protein to make it a more substantial weeknight dinner.
I love salads and often make them for dinner year-round, but I do find that adding some form of lean protein makes it feel more like ‘dinner’ around here. Of course, if you want a meatless salad, you can leave out the chicken entirely.
I like to use green apple for this dish, I like the sour apple with the sweet grapes, but red apple works well too.
The classic Waldorf salad recipe calls for full-fat mayonnaise only, but I prefer the freshness and tang provided by the yoghurt and the substantially lower calorie count! You can poach your chicken and mix the dressing up well in advance or even the day before to make the assembly of this salad even quicker. Any leftovers can be made into chicken salad sandwiches the next day!
Chicken Waldorf Salad
Ingredients
- 2 slices chicken breasts boneless skinless, approximately 8 ounces
- 3 stalks celery sliced
- 1 large green apple or red apple, cored and cubed
- 2 cups chicken stock low-sodium
- 2 cups water
- ¾ cup Greek yoghurt
- ¼ cup light mayo
- ¼ cup red onion thinly sliced and quartered
- ¾ cup walnuts chopped, lightly toasted
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard smooth
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice fresh-squeezed
- 1 pinch coarse sea salt to taste
- 1 pinch ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped, fresh
- 1 cup red seedless grapes halved
- 8 ounces fresh greens divided
Instructions
- Heat chicken stock and water in a large pot over medium heat until it simmers. Turn heat down to low-medium, add chicken breasts (working in batches if necessary) and poach until tender but no longer pink, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove from stock and set aside until cool enough to handle, for about 3 minutes.
- While chicken poaches, dice the celery and apples, slice onions, halve grapes and chop parsley while chicken cools. Set aside. Add the apples to lemon juice to prevent browning.
- Lightly toast walnuts in a small sauté pan and set.
- Once cooled, cut chicken into cubes and set aside.
- Mix yoghurt, mayo, Dijon, and salt and pepper together in a small bowl.
- In a medium bowl, combine apple, celery, walnuts, onion, grapes, parsley, and chicken.
- Pour a small amount of prepared dressing over chicken and celery and apples, stir to coat. Add more dressing to suit your taste.
- Spoon chicken mixture on top of prepared plates of salad greens. Serve immediately.