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Weight Watchers Recipe of the Day: Waldorf Salad Made Lighter
Diced apples, celery, red grapes, and dried cranberries in a light and creamy yogurt-based mustard-enhanced dressing, this healthy Waldorf salad with yogurt is a winner. It’s easy to make and a tasty side dish perfect any time of year.
I love adding cooked chicken or turkey to turn this into a healthy satisfying lunch.
Waldorf Salad Cooking Notes
This recipe is slightly adapted from 5 Easy Steps to Healthy Cooking: 500 Recipes for Lifelong Wellness (affiliate link), by Camilla Saulsbury.
I wasn’t quite sure about the mustard in the dressing when I first tasted it, but by the time the salad had chilled for a couple of hours, giving the flavors a chance to meld, it was perfect. Well, at least Rod and I thought so when we had it as part of our dinner last night. (He even went back for seconds.)
The recipe calls for 4 Granny Smith or other tart apples, but I only had 2 Granny Smiths and 2 Honey Crisps, so I used them instead. I liked the variation of slightly sweet and tart and think I would use two different kinds of apples again the next time I make it.
It also suggested serving the salad on a bed of endive with a sprinkling of roasted sunflower seeds. I didn’t have endive and completely forgot about the sunflower seeds. When I had some of the leftovers for lunch today, I remembered to sprinkle a few sunflower seeds on top and liked the earthy crunch they added.
For best results before to chill for at least 30 minutes before serving to give the flavors a chance to come together.
How Many Calories and Weight Watchers Points in this Waldorf Salad Made Lighter?
Classic Waldorf salad, which was first created in the 1890s by Oscar Tschirky, Maitre d’ at the Waldorf Hotel on Fifth Ave in New York, calls for a generous amount of mayonnaise, which adds tons of fat and calories. I like the combination of mostly plain Greek yogurt and a little mayonnaise much better.
According to my calculations, each serving has just 92 calories.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
3 SmartPoints (Green plan)
3 SmartPoints (Blue plan)
3 SmartPoints (Purple plan)
2 PointsPlus (Old plan)
Recipe Substitutions and Variations
Cranberry Waldorf Salad:
Reduce the yogurt to 1/4 cup and mix it with 1/2 cup of whole-berry cranberry sauce. Omit the mustard and honey.
Waldorf Chicken Salad:
Add chopped or shredded cooked chicken or turkey.
If you’ve made this lightened up low calorie Waldorf Salad, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Waldorf Salad Recipe Made Lighter
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
- 2 Honey Crisp apples, peeled and diced
- 1-1/2 cups thinly sliced celery
- 1-1/2 cups red seedless grapes, sliced in half
- 3 tablespoons dried cranberries or cherries, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons roasted sunflower seeds (optional)
Instructions
- To make the dressing, in a small bowl (affiliate link), whisk together the yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard and honey, until well blended.
- In a large bowl, combine the apples, celery, grapes and dried cranberries. Add the dressing and stir gently to coat the mixture.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until chilled, or for up to 2 hours.
- If desired, sprinkle with sunflower seeds before serving.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 3 SmartPoints (Green plan) 3 SmartPoints (Blue plan) 3 SmartPoints (Purple plan) 2 PointsPlus (Old plan) Cranberry Waldorf Salad:
Reduce the yogurt to 1/4 cup and mix it with 1/2 cup of whole-berry cranberry sauce. Omit the mustard and honey. Waldorf Chicken Salad:
Add chopped or shredded cooked chicken or turkey.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Source: 5 Easy Steps to Healthy Cooking: 500 Recipes for Lifelong Wellness (affiliate link) by Camilla Saulsbury.
More Healthy Waldorf Salad Recipes for Weight Watchers
- Healthy Chicken Salad with Apples and Dried Cranberries (Simple-Nourished-Living)
- Tuna Waldorf Salad
Classic Waldorf salad ingredients combined with tuna for an interesting taste twist (Chicken of the Sea) - Kale Waldorf Salad
A variation of the classic Waldorf salad using kale instead of lettuce (WholeFoods) - Weight Watchers Friendly Waldorf Chicken Salad
Adding chicken and lots of fruit makes this a lovely, colorful, and very satisfying, main course meal.
Sounds delish but what am I missing? Your “lighter” recipe must be based on calorie count alone as the pts. are much higher (at least for the purple plan that I am on). The lighter version of 1/4c. yogurt and 1/2c. whole-berry cranberry equate to 12 pts. alone vs. the mustard and honey you are replacing which is only 8 pts. total for the those 2 ingredients.