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All the fresh flavors you expect from a Waldorf, with the addition of cranberries plus a yogurt-cinnamon dressing make this both a sweet and beautiful addition to your holiday table!

Cranberry Waldorf salad has been on our entertaining menus for more years than I can even remember. I know I brought this to an office potluck when I was pregnant with Natale, so this recipe has been in the family longer than our oldest child! Everyone in the family loves this salad, some might pick around the nuts or the raisins, but overall it is always a big hit. It is easy to measure the success of this recipe because it is always the first empty serving bowl to go into the sink.

Wash your apples, but leave the skins on them! To make the salad even more interesting, mix up the type of apples that you use to add more color to the salad! You could even mix up the grapes and use half red and half green grapes. The deep reds in the cranberries mixed in with the different shades of green from the celery, grapes, and apples make a beautiful presentation.

To turn this into something extra special, take some extra whole cranberries, roll them in granulated sugar and refrigerate them separate from the salad. Just before serving sprinkle them around the top to add to the presentation.

A quick note about the celery! If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, you’ll know that I hate to waste food. I added the celery photo, just so I could say, don’t waste the tops of the celery stalks! I wash them, dry them well and freeze them in a zip-top freezer bag. They will be ready when you are to start a homemade stock or broth! There will be a future me posting a stock recipe and will refer back to all these odds and ends that I’ve encouraged everyone to freezer instead of tossing. Stocks seem like such a luxurious homemade item to make, but most of the ingredients could be these types of leftovers that are worth saving from other recipes.

I think you’ll find this is an easy recipe to prepare, store and serve for a large group; and is versatile enough to serve as a side dish or a dessert. I hope you try this recipe during the holiday season!

Feeling Social? If you try this recipe, please share a photo so I can see your dish!

Go make some memories in your kitchen!