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This Celery Apple Salad with Walnuts is one of my favorite recipes! Loaded with crunchy ingredients, a delicious maple and apple cider dressing, and umami rich parmesan cheese.
Celery Apple Salad was kind of having it’s moment.
So I had to throw in my own version with this celery salad with thinly sliced honeycrisp apples, crunchy pan toasted walnuts, nutty parmesan cheese and a delicious apple cider vinaigrette that would make you want to sip on it with a straw.
I’m no stranger to apple salads.
Each October I discover a new version of apple salad and find myself making it for lunch a few days out of the week. In the past, I’ve made an autumn crisp apple sweet potato salad, a honeycrisp kale salad with parmesan vinaigrette, a shaved brussels sprout salad with pomegranate seeds and apples, and the latest is my autumn harvest bowls with chewy rice, grilled chicken, and bite size pieces of crisp apples.
All this to say that apples regularly make their way into salad recipes around here. You’ll see that I turn the apples into matchsticks and slice the celery on the diagonal.
Using humble ingredients doesn’t mean we can’t elevate them by giving them a bit more love!
Ingredients for Apple Celery Salad
- Walnuts: toast the walnut halves in a dry skillet for a few minutes over medium low heat. Toss frequently to help bring out their natural crunch. Feel free to use pecans here.
- Celery Stalks: You’ll need 6 ribs (stalks?) of celery. I like to thinly slice them on a diagonal to make them a bit more fancy. If your celery happens to have leaves, toss them into the salad right at the end with the parmesan.
- Honeycrisp Apples: are my apple of choice because I like the sweet and tart flavor and the texture is just right. I’m turning them into matchsticks for this salad to give them a bit more flare.
- Parmesan Cheese: I typically have parmesan, so my insipiration for most salads come from refrigerator and pantry staple ingredients. Feel free to adapt this recipe to your own preferences. Use pecorino, or even a sharp white cheddar cheese cut into chunks.
- Medjool Dates: These are my go to dates to have on hand for recipes. Feel free to omit them if you don’t liek dates.
- Olive Oil: Use good quality extra virgin olive oil if possible. This will
- Apple Cider Vinegar: cuts through the sweetness of the apples, dates, and the maple syrup. I prefer to use this brand. The flavors work really well with neutral olive oil. If the dressing looks familar, it’s the same one I use on my everyday kale crunch salad recipe.
- Maple Syrup: Feel free to use honey instead of maple syrup if you’d like. A good quality maple syrup adds just the right amount of sweetness to the vinaigrette. Keep in mind that I use just 2 tablespoons in the dressing. If you prefer your dressing on the sweeter side, you can always add a bit more.
- Dijon Mustard: Dijon mustard is an emulsifier. It plays a two-part role. First, it helps flavor the vinaigrette. Secondly, it keeps it from separating.
- Kosher Salt and Pepper: self explanatory!
Instructions for Celery Apple Salad
- Toast the nuts. Start by adding the walnuts to a dry skillet over medium low heat. Toast and toss the nuts frequently while they heat through. Once nutty, remove to a bowl and let cool. You can leave them in halves or chop if desired.
- Prep the vegetable and fruit. Start by filling a medium bowl half full of water. Add a true lime packet (my favorite trick to keep apples from browning) of squeeze in about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Then cut the apples into matchsticks and immediately add them to the water to keep from browning. Thinly slice the celery on the diagonal.
- Make the dressing. You can whisk the dressing ingredients in a bowl or simply give them a quick shake in a mason jar.
- Dress and serve. Then drain the apples from the water and pat dry, if desired. Add them to a bowl with the celey, walnuts, dates, and parmesan. Finally toss with the dressing and adjust the salt and pepper as needed.
Other Apple Recipes to Try
- Pickled Beet Salad with Green Apples
- Salted Caramel Apple Dip
- Homemade Apple Cider
- Honeycrisp Apple Fritters
- Warm Cinnamon Apples
Celery Apple Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- 1 cup walnuts halves or pieces
- 6 ribs of celery thinly sliced diagonally (use leaves if desired)
- 2 medium Honeycrisp apples
- 6 medjool dates pitted and thinly sliced (see notes)
- ½ cup ~4 ounces parmesan cheese, thinly sliced
Dressing:
- ⅓ cup EV olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt + ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- TOAST: Add the walnuts to a dry skillet over medium-low heat. Toss and cook the walnuts for 4-5 minutes or until nutty and toasted. Remove to a bowl and let cool. Then roughly chop if desired.
- PREP: Fill a medium bowl with water about halfway full. Add a packet of true lime or a squeeze of lemon if you’re prepping ahead and want to keep the apples from browning. Slice the apples off the core. Then vertically slice the apples into thin slices. Flip the apples and slice again to make matchsticks. Place apples in the water. Slice the celery on the diagonal to create thin slices.
- DRESSING: In a mason jar, add the olive oil, ACV, maple syrup, dijon, kosher salt and black pepper
- TOSS: Drain the matchstick apples from the water, gently pat try if desired. Add the celery (and any leaves), apples, walnuts, dates, and parmesan to a bowl. Toss with the dressing until combined. Taste and adjust with more kosher salt and black pepper as needed.
Notes
- Apples: To keep them apples from browning, add a packet of true lime or a squeeze of lemon to the water if you’re prepping ahead.
- Dates: Place them in the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes. This firms them up a bit and allows you to slice through easier.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This salad is delicious!!! Thank you so much!!
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, Dione! Appreciate you circling back to leave a review 🙂