Green Apple Salad has celery, walnuts, and a lemony dressing, and it’s perfect when you want an apple salad recipe that’s not too sweet! You can use more celery if you want to make a version that’s even lower in carbs; check nutritional information to see what you think.

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Green Apple Salad shown in serving bowl

This Green Apple Salad is kind of a kicked-up version of the traditional Waldorf Salad that’s been popular for years, but this salad has a generous amount of healthy celery and celery leaves plus walnuts added to the mix, as well as a tasty lemon-mustard dressing. This is a perfect salad when you want a fruit salad that’s not too sweet and it can be a nice addition to a special dinner!

And this apple salad recipe is something I could definitely imagine serving during the holidays, and after I was completely through making the salad, taking photos, and eating a big bowl of it for lunch, I had the thought that it would be nice to toss in a few Reduced Sugar Dried Cranberries (affiliate link) if you’re making it for a holiday salad.

I didn’t have any to take a photo of the salad with that dried cranberries added, but I do recommend that variation if you’re making this for a special occasion.

What ingredients do you need for this salad?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

How to make this more like a traditional Waldorf Salad:

Waldorf Salad is a classic salad recipe made from apples, celery, and walnuts but it usually has a mayonnaise dressing. If you’re a mayo fan or want to make this more like a traditional Waldorf Salad, I’d use 2 T olive oil and 4 T mayo in the dressing.

What other nuts can you use for this apple salad recipe?

If you’re not a fan of walnuts I think this salad would also be great with pecans or slivered almonds.

Can you make this apple salad with red apples?

Of course you can make this Green Apple Salad with red apples if that’s what you prefer or have on hand.

Green Apple Salad process shots collage

How to Make Green Apple Salad:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. Whisk together fresh lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Golden Monkfruit Sweetener or sweetener of your choice, and olive oil to make the dressing.
  2. Working with one apple at a time, cut apple into fourths, peel and cut away seeds, cut the fourths in half crosswise and slice into thin wedges.
  3. Toss cut apples with a few tablespoons of the dressing mixture so they won’t turn brown.
  4. Trim celery leaves from stalks and chop. Slice celery stalks into slices.
  5. Toast walnuts in a dry pan over high heat for about 2 minutes, or until you smell a toasty smell (it will smell a little like popcorn.)
  6. Coarsely chop the toasted walnuts.
  7. Combine sliced celery, chopped celery leaves, and apple/dressing mixture and stir to mix. Add enough more dressing so salad is well moistened, but not overly wet. (You may not need all the dressing.) Season salad with salt to taste.
  8. Stir walnuts into salad and serve. 
  9. This salad isn’t bad when it’s been in the fridge for one night, but I don’t think it will keep longer than that and the salad is best freshly made.

Green Apple Salad in serving bowl

More Salads with Fruit:

close-up shot of Green Apple Salad shown in serving bowl
Yield: 6 servings

Green Apple Salad

Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

This Green Apple Salad has celery and walnuts and a mustardy lemon dressing, and this apple salad recipe is perfect salad any time of year!

Ingredients

  • 2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 T Dijon mustard
  • 2 T Golden Monkfruit Sweetener or sweetener of your choice (see notes)
  • 6 T extra-virgin olive oil
  • 6 large stalks celery with leaves
  • 2 large Granny Smith apples
  • salt to taste
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted then chopped
  • reduced sugar dried cranberries (optional) 

Instructions

  1. Whisk together the fresh lemon juice, Dijon Mustard, Agave Nectar or sweetener, and olive oil and set dressing aside.
  2. Working with one apple at a time, cut apple into fourths, peel and cut away seeds, cut each fourth into half crosswise, then cut each piece into thin wedges.
  3. Toss cut apples with a small amount of dressing as soon as they are cut so apples won’t turn brown.
  4. Toast walnuts in a dry pan over high heat for about 2 minutes, or until they start to smell toasty. (The toasted walnuts will smell a bit like popcorn.)
  5. Wash celery stalks and dry with paper towels, making sure both stalks and leaves are very dry.
  6. Cut leaves away from stalks and chop to make 1/2 cup chopped celery leaves.
  7. Slice stalks into thin slices, enough to make 2-3 cups sliced celery.
  8. Combine sliced celery, chopped celery leaves, and apple/dressing mixture and stir to combine.
  9. Add enough more dressing so celery and apples are well moistened, but not overly wet. (You may not need all the dressing.)
  10. Season salad with salt to taste.
  11. Coarsely chop walnuts, then mix walnuts and dried cranberries (if using) into salad and serve.

Notes

I originally made this salad with with Agave Nectar, but now I'd use Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link). Taste the dressing after you mix it and see if you want a bit more sweetener.

Reduced Sugar Dried Cranberries (affiliate link) are not included in nutritional information. They're completely optional but fun if you want to make this for a holiday salad.

Recipe adapted slightly from green apple salad found in Bon Appetit; the recipe is no longer online.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 228Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 267mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 3.8gSugar: 8gProtein: 2g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

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thumbnail image of Green Apple Salad in serving bowl

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Using Golden Monkfruit Sweetener or an approved sweetener would make this apple salad recipe suitable for phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet. You could use more celery and less apples for a salad that’s lower in carbs but if you check the net carbs, you might decide you could eat this occasionally even for a low-carb diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes for more salads like this one. Use the Diet Type Index photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
Green Apple Salad was posted in 2010 and I’ve made it many times since then. The recipe was last updated with new photos and more information in 2023.

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