This crisp and refreshing Celery Salad has walnuts, parmesan, and pomegranate arils for a unique salad that’s pretty enough for the holiday table.

If you often find yourself with leftover celery that needs using up, this is a great staple for turning it into a great side dish.

Celery Salad - On White Platter with Pomegranate and Cheese

I love celery and buy it pretty often to make Potato Salad, Egg Salad, Chicken Pot Pie, and more, but I find that often I’ll only need a couple ribs, and the rest of the bunch risks going to waste.

One day I set out to find new celery recipes and I discovered this recipe from Ina Garten.

I’ve changed a few minor things, but overall I discovered something delicious that also fixed my leftover celery problem.

Step by Step Overview:

To start, separate and clean a bunch of celery stalks under cold running water:

Celery Stalks on Wooden Board

It’s perfectly fine to leave the celery leaves on, so long as they aren’t wilted.

Now you want to slice the celery into thin pieces.

I used my food processor for this to make the process really fast, but using a knife is perfectly acceptable too.

Sliced Celery in Food Processor Bowl

For the dressing, zest and juice a meyer lemon, making sure you remove the lemon zest before slicing. Add both to a small bowl.

Lemon Juice Pouring in With Zest

FYI: a regular lemon is fine too, but when I see meyer lemons, I love cooking with them wherever I can.

Next, add minced shallots and extra virgin olive oil to the fresh lemon juice:

Adding Olive Oil to Shallot and Lemon

You may also use red onion if shallots are too pricey for you, however the shallots are milder.

Then add anchovy paste, black pepper, and salt:

Whisking Olive Oil Vinaigrette in Bowl

Whisk for 30 seconds until everything is emulsified:

Emulsified and Whisked Olive Oil Dressing In Bowl

Pour the dressing all over the sliced celery in a large bowl:

Pouring Lemon Vinaigrette Over Celery Slices in Bowl

Let the celery sit, and you’ll see that over the next hour, the celery will macerate and the texture will become even better:

marinated Celery Slices in Dressing

Plate the celery with shaved parmesan cheese, parsley leaves, toasted walnuts, and pomegranate seeds:

Celery Salad Recipe - On White Platter with Pomegranate

I love the aged, savory flavor of the parmesan shavings, but feel free to try other cheeses like feta cheese or blue cheese.

Turkey ChiliShrimp Salad, and Chicken Noodle Soup are some of my other favorite recipes using celery. Can’t let that stuff go to waste!

Recipe Variations

There are many ways to change up what ingredients you include here. While the crunchy celery should be the star ingredient here, the best salad is really the one that most suits your tastes. Here are some ideas:

Apple – Add 1/2 cup of diced sweet apple instead of the pomegranate arils.

Fresh herbs – Swap the parsley for fresh thyme leaves, oregano, basil, or chives.

Vinegars – The fresh lemon is really wonderful here, but you may use vinegar for the acid instead, if you prefer. Red wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar are my preferences here.

Can you store celery salad leftovers?

Yes, keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Can you freeze leftovers?

Not recommended.

Did you enjoy the recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. Or, follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest!

Celery Salad On White Platter with Pomegranate and Cheese

Celery Salad

This crisp celery salad has walnuts, parmesan cheese, and pomegranates. It’s refreshing, tangy, and delicious with a creamy vinaigrette.
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Ingredients

For the dressing:

  • zest of 1 meyer lemon
  • juice of 1 meyer lemon (1/3 cup)
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 a small shallot minced (2 tbsp)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1 tsp anchovy paste

For the celery salad:

  • 1 bunch celery sliced (6 cups)
  • 1 cup toasted walnuts
  • 1/4 cup shaved parmesan
  • 1/4 cup pomegranate arils
  • 1/8 cup parsley leaves

Instructions 

  • To make the dressing, whisk all the dressing ingredients together for 30 seconds until emulsified.
  • Pour the dressing all over the sliced celery and let sit for 1 hour. The celery will macerate and soften slightly. 
  • Move the celery salad to a serving plate with a slotted spoon (leaving behind any excess liquid), then sprinkle on the toasted walnuts, parmesan, pomegranate seeds, and parsley leaves. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 313kcal, Carbohydrates: 4g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 3mg, Sodium: 503mg, Potassium: 143mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 200IU, Vitamin C: 3.1mg, Calcium: 78mg, Iron: 0.8mg

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Post updated in December 2018. Originally published November 2015.