This Celery Salad is a handy recipe to use up leftover celery we all have lurking at the back of the fridge, usually buying a whole bunch only to use just one or two stalks for a recipe. It’s sort of pickled, sort of salsa/relish-like, and seriously good!
Welcome to Day 4 of the inaugural Holiday Salad Marathon, a series where I’m doing the polar opposite of the usual baking countdowns and bringing you a new salad recipe every single day through to Christmas Eve!
I’ve got a bit of a unique one for you today ….
Celery Salad
I do not go out of my way to make this salad. It’s simply a means to use up leftover celery which I always seem to have. It’s an essential flavour base in small quantities in so many dishes such using as a soffritto / mirepoix for Italian classics like Beef Ragu and Osso Bucco, or finely diced for meat fillings such as in Sausage Rolls.
But it is never a star ingredient (sorry celery – but we both know it’s true). So what to do with the rest of the bunch?
Make this Celery Salad!
What Celery Salad tastes like
The flavour profile is a little bit unique, using a combination of caraway seeds and fresh dill. But this is what makes it so good! They work extremely well together, with the subtle earthy aniseed flavour of the caraway seeds echoing the fresh flavour of the dill.
If you’re wary, have a browse of the glowing reviews on the RecipeTin Family No-Mayo Coleslaw that also uses this combination. 🙂 First timers are always pleasantly surprised!
What you need
Here’s what you need to make this Celery Salad:
How to make this Celery Salad
Finely slice the celery on an angle, then toss it together with everything else. Leave it to sit for 10 minutes so the dressing softens the celery a touch and the flavours meld together. Then serve immediately or leave it for up to 2 days. The longer you keep it, the softer the celery becomes, and starts to kind of pickle (but not as sour as a true pickle). It is highly addictive!
How to serve it
This is a small batch salad. 5 celery stalks that the recipe calls for makes a side salad for just 2 – 3 people. I consider it more to be one of those extra salads that you put out for variety, sort of like you do pickles actually.
In terms of pairings, it will go well with any Western foods. The caraway, dill and “pickling” quality however does give it a Northern/Central European vibe – think eastern France, Scandinavia, Germany and beyond. So it’d go particularly well with traditional dishes from these regions like crispy crackling roast pork, smoked fish or gravlax, smoked salmon dip, quiche lorraine, or alongside potato rosti to cut through the richness. But it’s equally at home alongside any Western-style protein mains, particularly white meats: fish, chicken and pork.
Love to know what you think if you try it! – Nagi x
What is the Holiday Salad Marathon?
This is my inaugural Christmas recipe countdown where I am sharing 30 salad recipes in a row until Christmas Eve – something completely different to people’s usual baking countdowns!
These salads are in addition to my regular 3 new recipes a week. Because aren’t you bored of the usual tomato-cucumber-lettuce garden salad routine??
Click here to see all the Holiday Salad Marathon recipes to date, or sign up for instant updates and you’ll receive a free email alert whenever I publish a new salad! 🙂
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Leftover Celery Salad
Ingredients
- 5 ribs celery
- 3 tbsp dill , finely chopped
- 2 tbsp parsley , finely chopped
- 1.5 tsp caraway seeds
- 2 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar , red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Remove the leaves from the celery and trim off the dirty base. Finely slice on the diagonal into 4mm / 1/6″ slices.
- Toss in a bowl with remaining ingredients. Set aside for 10 minutes before serving.
- Keeps for up to 3 days in the fridge – the celery softens and becomes even more pickle like.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
So unimpressed with my offering….
This should go well with the Everyday Roast Potatoes. Caraway seeds are (is?) such an underrated flavor.
I made the celery salad but i used red wine vinegar I did not have white. I took the same ingredients and made a kale salad. I have to say, this recipe excited my taste buds. No more wasted celery or kale. This was so amazing. Thank you for sharing your recipe. April in NC
This is one of the best salads ever. It features regularly on my dinner menus as I love the spiced, pickled crunch of it. I often don’t have fresh dill so play around. Tonight was chopped parsley and it was still really good. I tend to add way less olive oil so it ‘pickles’ better.
Thanks, Nagi, this is a winner!
Awesome! Well done creating this recipe. Love it
Thanks Leonie!! I am happy that you liked it! N x
I LOVE this salad. I make it all the time now, it goes so well with steak.
Woo hoo!! That’s great Suzy – enjoy! N x
My family loves celery! Generally buy 6 heads a week. Sounds like a lot but we take for lunch as snack. It’s great dipped in peanut butter or with a soft cheese. I was delighted to see this recipe and I’m making for dinner tonight.
Wow that’s a lot of celery!!!! N x
We don’t really like celery but this was a great way to use up leftovers from a soup recipe. Great as a sandwich filling with cold meats
Thanks for that feedback Kat!! N x
No one in my family likes celery much but everyone enjoyed this celery salad. It’s going to go on high rotation in my house. Thanks Nagi
Added half seeded and chopped English cucumber, apple cider via her, and used xylitol instead of sugar. I also used dried herbs instead of fresh as that is all I had on hand, turned out fantastic, although I’m sure fresh herbs would’ve taken it up a notch
I make this regularly. Tonight I had the obligatory sad celery in the bottom of the fridge but no fresh herbs. It was still delicious without them. I used fennel seeds and threw in some broken raw walnuts just before serving. I really liked the taste & texture they added.
Wow! I made this and a bulgur salad on chopped romaine last night as sides to go with a roast chicken and potatoes, this celery salad is the best, it will definitely be made again and again!
This rocks, best use of leftover celery ever! I don’t like celery much but I love dill & vinegar and I can’t stop eating this! Will keep it up my sleeve for a hot summer night with chicken or fish.
Perfect Claire!! N x
Thank you for knowing the difference between a rib of celery and a stalk of celery!
I make this all the time now! I have to make a LOT because my husband will eat it all. I love it, too. I tried it at Thanksgiving and everybody loved it there. You are correct. Celery Salad is addicting.
Celery and dill is a match made in heaven, I just discovered! I warmed coriander and cumin seeds to add to this. Adored by my husband and even loved by my 7-year old daughter too – first time she has enjoyed celery.
This is one of the best things I’ve ever made with celery.
The first time I had no caraway (rather I thought I had none) so used fennel seeds. The second time I found the caraway. I think I preferred the fennel but either way it’s a darn good salad.
I love fennel. I’ll have to try it.
I loved it – and didn’t share 🙂
I made it from leftover celery and had it as a side to some of your left over Mexican lasagna.
I used ground caraway because I don’t like the bits and used a bit less.
I’ll definitely make it again – actually right next week as I’m about to buy some celery for a lasagna (con Ragu this time).
This was a huge hit at Thanksgiving. I had celery left over and pulled it together quickly. I always do one “experimental” dish at the holidays and this has so far been the winner!
Not shocked that Dozer was unimpressed with the celery! This looks delicious, I love dill and am always looking for recipes to use it.
One of the best salads I’ve ever eaten was thinly sliced celery and fennel, artichoke hearts, halved cherry tomatoes, and creamy Italian dressing. It was on a cruise and I loved it so much they brought me a second helping. I don’t have a written recipe but it was easy to recreate at home. I’ve used purchased dressing or just added a little mayo to homemade and bottled Italian dressing and it’s always good, though it doesn’t keep well. It’s best eaten right away as it gets watery.
Sounds delicious Karen!!! N x
I love celery..I’ll try this salad as in now.. parsley and dill are growing wild in my garden..caraway seeds in my pantry…