Easy make ahead salad 

It is a summer of salads!! The warm months mean lots of fresh veggies and endless possibilities for salad. Anyone that knows me knows I could eat salad for every meal, I love them, lots. Most of the time I stick with the simple mixture of protein, lettuce leaves, crunchy veg and a simple dressing. On occasion, I like to make something a little fancier. 

Classic Waldorf salad 

The original version of the Waldorf salad was made with apples, celery and mayonnaise. Later on, chopped walnuts were added to the dish and became integral. Every time I have seen Waldorf on a menu, it had walnuts included, thanks to my stupid nut allergy I have never had the pleasure of enjoying the salad. Until now. 

Switch it up 

Regular visitors here will know I can’t leave things alone, I have to mess around with recipes and switch out ingredients. The Waldorf salad was a prime candidate for me to mess with. First up was an alternative to walnuts. As with many recipes, I find that switching out nuts with sunflower seeds, this means you get all the crunch with no risk of death. Next up was bumping up the protein. Generally speaking, I have a high protein diet so having meat as part of my salad is essential. In this instance, I went with some cooked and cooled chicken. 

Meal prep winner 

This salad is one of my favourites for mixing up a big batch and portioning out for meals for the week. I like to make a double batch of the salad and keep it in the fridge ready for lunches, snacks and easy dinners when it is too hot to make a meal. 

Chicken Waldorf salad recipe

Ingredients 

• 2 cups of cooked diced chicken 
• 1 apple, diced 
• 1 cup chopped celery 
• 1 cup grapes, halved 
• 1/2 cup chopped sunflower seeds 
• 1/4 cup easy mayo
• 2 tsp. lime juice 
• 2 tsp. honey 
• salt and pepper 

Chicken Waldorf salad

• Servings: 8
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Rating: ★★★★★
• Print

A nut-free take on this classic salad

Credit: Cath @ easycleaneats

Ingredients

• 2 cups of cooked diced chicken 
• 1 apple, diced 
• 1 cup chopped celery 
• 1 cup grapes, halved 
• 1/2 cup chopped sunflower seeds 
• 1/4 cup easy mayo 
• 2 tsp. lime juice 
• 2 tsp. honey 
• salt and pepper 

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine chicken, apple, celery, and seeds. 
2. In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lime juice, and honey. 
3. Season to taste. 
4. Spoon dressing over chicken salad and toss to coat. 

Nutrition

Per Serving: 262 calories; 10.6 g fat; 9.4 g carbohydrates; 11.4 g protein

Equipment

• Large mixing bowl
• Small mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Spoon
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons

Nutritional disclaimer

Nutrition information is provided as an estimate based on the ingredients used and available in my area (New Zealand). The nutritional information is here to help you understand the recipe; I use MyFitnessPal to generate my estimates. For more accurate nutritional information, please use a nutritional calculator with the ingredients in your area.