This apple salad with celery and fennel is one of my favorite fall salad recipes. Its creamy dressing and toasted pecans make it a perfect side dish or holiday salad!
When fall hits, I start craving this crispy green apple salad recipe. It’s incredibly easy to make and has one of my favorite creamy salad dressings. It’s great throughout fall and absolutely perfect on the table for Thanksgiving.
I cannot wait for you to try this easy recipe. For more fall salads, see our farro salad with apples, tahini kale salad, and this warm apple and cabbage salad.
Key Ingredients
- Apples: I love tart Granny Smith apples for this salad, but any variety of crunchy apples works well.
- Celery and Fennel: If you aren’t familiar with raw celery and fennel in salads, hear me out. It’s delicious! You’ll quickly peel the celery, which removes any stringy bits, and then slice them thin for the salad. The fennel adds a light licorice (or anise) crunch. Seriously, it’s one of my favorite salads right here!
- Green Onion and Fresh Dill: I love tossing chopped fresh dill and sliced green onions for even more fresh flavor. You can also use chives or mint.
- Nuts: I use pecans in the photos, but pistachios, walnuts, and hazelnuts are great here. Toast them briefly first before you add them to the apples. Candied pecans would be amazing, too!
- Creamy Dressing: This salad dressing is zippy and creamy. I make it with Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, and crème fraîche. Crème fraîche tastes like a creamy, slightly less tangy sour cream. If you don’t have it on hand, mayonnaise, sour cream, and even plain yogurt will work in its place.
How to Make Apple Salad
It takes only about 10 minutes to make the salad, and it keeps surprisingly well in the fridge. I was worried the apples would not keep well, but since we add a healthy amount of apple cider vinegar to the dressing, they stay crisp for a day or two in the fridge.
To bring this salad together, you’ll slice the apples, peel and slice the celery, and slice the fennel. When prepping the fennel, remove the core first, then thinly slice from there.
Toss everything into a big salad bowl and toss with the creamy dressing I make by whisking the dressing ingredients until blended. And that’s it! Easy creamy apple salad that is perfect for tonight or served as a holiday side! It is especially good with pork, like our skillet pork chops or this roasted pork tenderloin.
Seriously Good Apple Salad
- PREP
- TOTAL
Who said you need lettuce to make a salad? This apple salad with celery and fennel is crisp, fresh, creamy, and delicious. Serve this on the side or as a bed for grilled or roasted meats. I also love topping it with roasted root vegetables or squash to keep it vegetarian. We love using a crisp apple like Granny Smith, Fiji, or Honeycrisp.
You Will Need
Apple Salad2 medium apples, cored and thinly sliced
3 celery stalks, peeled and sliced
1 fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced
1 scallion, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
1/2 cup pecans, hazelnuts, or walnuts, lightly toasted
Salad Dressing1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon maple syrup
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Directions
1Whisk together the mustard, vinegar, and maple syrup in a large salad bowl until blended. Gradually add the oil, whisking constantly, until the dressing looks well blended and creamy.
2Whisk in the crème fraîche, a pinch of salt, and a few grinds of fresh ground black pepper. Taste and adjust with additional salt, vinegar, or maple syrup if necessary.
3Add the sliced apples, celery, fennel, scallion, dill, and the nuts. Toss well.
4If you have any fennel fronds (the wispy tops of the fennel stalk that look similar to dill), scatter a few over the salad, then serve.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Prepping the celery: Peeling celery removes the tough, sometimes stringy outer surface. Use a vegetable peeler to peel each stalk until the outer layer is smooth.
- Substituting crème fraîche: Use mayo, sour cream, or plain yogurt. You may need to adjust the maple syrup slightly.
- Toasting the nuts: Spread them in an even layer on a sheet pan and slide them into a 350°F oven. Toast 6 to 8 minutes or until they smell toasty, shaking the pan halfway during cooking.
- Optional add-ins: Try tossing in some chopped kale or spinach, adding extra punch and creaminess with cheese (blue cheese or goat cheese is perfect), or crumble in some cooked bacon or pancetta.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
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Delicious and fresh. Will make again!
This is my go to salad to impress! It’s delicious and all the ingredients work great together. People who are skeptical about apples and fennel in salad end up loving it every time!