Last summer I started making a green chile salad dressing using green chile powder. It has been a great dressing for several different types of salads and slaws. We have partcularly enjoyed it on this simple apple celery salad.
I’ve been wanting to post this salad for a while now but the right moment never came…until now. For the March 2014 Daring Cook’s Challenge the challengers, Ruth, Shelley and Sawsan, asked cooks to totally veg out! Cooks were challenged to make a salad and salad dressing, creating new flavors and combinations that reflect our own unique tastes. “Let the sky be the limit!” This was the moment I had been waiting for. So I hope you enjoy this salad as much as we do. And I think you are really going to be surprised to discover that apple and green chile is a very nice combination.
Apple Celery Salad with Green Chile Dressing
The salad ingredient amounts are not exact and neither are the ingredients themselves for that matter. Other ingredients can be added or substituted. Start with a salad base of apple, greens, and toasted seeds and go from there.
"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
- 1 large, sweet, crisp apple*, cored and sliced
- 1 celery stalk, sliced
- ½ cup cucumber, chopped
- 1 large slice of sweet onion, diced
- 1 large radish, thinly sliced
- 2 – 3 cups baby spinach or spring greens
- 2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds, toasted
- ~¼ cup Green Chile Salad Dressing*
- In a small skillet over a medium heat, lightly toast the seeds. Transfer to a saucer and set aside.
Mix together the onion and radish.
Add all of the salad ingredients (minus the salad dressing and seeds) to a bowl or divide and arrange between two plates.
Make the Green Chile Salad Dressing*.
Pour dressing over salad and toss if using a bowl. If using individual plates, arrange ingredients on 2 salad plates and drizzle dressing over each salad.
Top each serving with toasted seeds and serve.
Apple – The freshest, crispiest apples are the best. Because of the spiciness of the salad dressing, I usually go for a sweet apple like a fuji or gala.
This post used to include the recipe for the Green Chile Salad Dressing. Several years after posting I decided to separate the salad dressing and the salad recipes to provide each its own platform on which to shine. I use the salad dressing for so many dishes and the salad is a true autumn staple with fresh crispy apples, that to combine the two recipes was diminishing the importance of each.
Below are a few other salads you might enjoy as well as a How To on making your own vinaigrettes.
I rarely use a bottled dressing as I always make my own. Love the idea of green chile in the dressing and perfect with apples and celery!
Thanks Abbe. I’m with you. I haven’t bought a bottle of dressing in decades.
Such a lovely salad! Love the variety of textures and your dressing sounds delicious, too! I was with Daring Bakers—brings back memories of early blogging 🙂
Thanks Liz. Those early days were exciting weren’t they?
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i agree with you, MJ, about th bottled dressings. They just don’t make sense when you consider how easy and much more healthy homemade dressings are. I love apples in salads and yours here sounds terrific. I cannot wait to try the dressing. I don’t know if you recall but you once gave me a link where I could purchase green chile powder, something that’s not at all available here. So, I’ve no excuse not to make this salad dressing. 🙂
Wonderful dressing tips, MJ, and I actually follow these proportions fairly closely. I think I may go a little heavy on the vinegar from time to time 😉 I’m intrigued by the use of green chile powder for the dressing – I’ve never tried making a truly “spicy” dressing…
Thanks Mark! I’m just the opposite with the vinegar. That’s probably why I use lemon and lime juice a lot. Vinegar can be quite overpowering at times.
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I *never* buy salad dressings… as you say, home-made is the way to go. Plus you know what’s going in it and you can bet it won’t be filled with E-this, and Stabilizing-that.
Lovely sounding dressing MJ – so fresh and the salad sounds so crispy too!
Thanks Charles! I know – I read the labels on a few bottle of salad dressing in preparation of this post and there were all sorts of ingredients I had no idea what they were. 🙂
Hi MJ,
I am in search of the Chili Powder as we speak. This is a fantastic salad with one of our favorite flavors! Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope to see you again real soon!
Miz Helen
Thanks Miz Helen! Be sure to check out the New Mexico suppliers for some real green chile powder. 🙂
Wow, MJ what a delicious salad dressing. I love making my own and now readying through your notes have learned so much — thanks. I’d love to give this a try.
Thanks Nancy! I hope you enjoy if you get a chance to make it. This dressing is really quite good.
I love every single point in your Note section. Very good advice! I never thought of adding yogurt to replace oil but that could be fun try. And I do make the portion just for the meal I make. It’s very easy to make homemade dressing, and save spots for bottled dressing if we don’t buy them!! Great recipes, MJ!
Thanks Nami! Glad I could introduce you to something new with the yogurt. 🙂
Such a marvelous dressing, vibrant and flavorful! I agree, homemade salad dressing is so easy to make and at a fraction of the ready-made cost! And we can control the ingredient list! Green chile power is new to me is a pantry staple I must have!
Thanks Deb! Oh yes – green chile powder is definitely a great pantry staple! Check out my chile sources under “chile or Chili?” for a source of “real” New Mexico green chile powder. 🙂
Your flavors stand out MJ…..and your recipes are a keeper. I dislike bottled dressings, and love to whip up my own. Bookmarking.
Thanks so much Minnie!! It’s hard to go wrong with the green chile flavor. 🙂
The salad looks delightful, but the dressing is the star here, MJ.
Thanks Angie! And you’re right – the dressing definitely makes the salad. 🙂
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Delicious love the spicy twist of green chili powder in the salad dressing MJ. I need to try it.
Hi Mj,
What a beautiful salad! Would love to try it out. The dressing sounds so yum!
I am always excited to see other bloggers’ salad dressings. Everyone has different versions. This one is very original and you know I have never tried origan with chiles! It sounds like an excellent idea. I will try making it one day but maybe with red chile powder instead… (I don’t know if I told you but I tried twice to make green chile powder… in vain; before the chiles dried they became orange or even red… Very annoying!).
Thanks Sissi! I’ve seen a lot of DIY salad dressings this much and so I agree how fun and interesting it is to see what others make. I’ve talked to a couple of people about making green chile powder and have learned that you either have to freeze dry or dehydrate the green chiles quickly, otherwise, they do turn. I’ve also seen home cooks that chop the green chile, then dry slowly in the oven. That might work. I can get it here so cheaply that I don’t even bother. 🙂
I finally broke down and ordered something like 2 lbs. of green chile powder b/c I was always running out in between trips to NM. 🙂 The Hubs would love this. You are so right about DIY dressings. They are so much better and you can adjust the sweetness, heat, tang, as you will! Love this salad!!!!!!
2 lbs of green chile!! Well, that should hold you for a while. I just ordered 2 pounds of red chile powder. 🙂 Both are pretty awesome aren’t they? Glad you enjoyed the salad and salad dressing. Hope you get a chance to make it.
Awe…both the dressing and the salad look so refreshing…homemade dressing is a winner always!
Thanks Sanjeeta! If more people discovered how easy and good salad dressing was to make, the salad dressing market would plummet. 🙂
I love apples in salads – they are so crisp and fresh. Your dressing looks very flavorful!
Thanks Amy! I love fruit in salads – period. 🙂
I ate with a friend the other day and she brought out bottled dressing and it was awful. Dressing, as you so correctly point out, tastes better, is cheaper and is really easy to make. I love this.
Thanks Maureen! I know – bottled dressing just doesn’t match up to homemade.
MJ, this looks great! The green chile dressing over the sweet apples in your salad has got to taste wonderful. My mouth is watering just thinking about this salad and dressing together. What a delicious salad this must be! I love it. I will be trying this soon. Thanks for sharing another great recipe!
Thanks so much Jodee and thanks for sharing this on G+! I hope you do get to try it. It’s quite tasty. 🙂
Your salads always look so simple, so tasty, and so elegant! This one is especially beautiful, MJ.
Thanks so much Vivianne! Have a wonderful week!
I would love to try that dressing, it will be something new to me. Looks like it would go well with something sweet and chunky salad
A sweet and chunky salad is definitely the perfect salad for this green chile dressing, Raymund. I hope you do get to try it some day. I think you’d love it.
Hi MJ! Your dressing has a great timing since we are experiencing high temperatures here and we crave lighter dishes. Of course we will love the heat in this, especially my husband who has discovered western dishes with chili for himself. Thanks so much for sharing and I hope you guys had a lovely weekend! Take care
Thanks Maureen! This is a great little salad for the warmer weather even with the slightly spicy dressing. Hope you enjoy!
Beautiful salad and I love the jar. Looks so refreshing!
Great looking salad. I can imagine it’s crunchy and has a great combo of sweetness and tartness. But I love how you incorporate chili…I love chilies in every form, and this makes it just right.
Thanks Minnie! Sweet, crunchy and spicy – it’s quite good. 🙂
I’m with you on homemade salad dressings or any sauce for the matter, I prefer everything homemade, that way I know what is going in it. That dressing of yours and the salad sounds wonderful!
Thanks Gintare! From all of the recipes of yours that I’ve seen, we both definitely like to know what’s going in our food. 🙂
delicious & lovely refreshing salad with fab dressing….loved it
Thanks so much Gloria!
Oh I am so excited to find this recipe, and perfect timing too!! We are heading to store for salad ingredients. I am trying to avoid store bought dressings. So I have been searching for recipes that are fun, and delicious. This recipe falls under both categories for sure:-) Your dressing recipe looks fabulous! Hugs, Terra
Thanks so much Terra! I hope you do get a chance to make. Let me know how you like it.
I’m still struggling to lose those pesky holiday pounds that are so stubborn. I’m on a low carb kick for the next month or so and I’m on the lookout for low carb meals. This salad would make a great dinner with a grilled pork chop or chicken breast. Love, love, love this dressing. This one is on my to do list! Great post!
Thanks Bill! We’ve been making a lot of salads now that it’s warming up. I need to shed my winter coat as well. 🙂 Hope you do give this salad and salad dressing a try.
Peach Lady I love your salad!
Thanks Darlin! 🙂 🙂
I’ve been making salad dressing for so long now, I take it for granted that’s just what everyone does, but you’re so right to point out the advantages. I remember when I first had a chili-lime dressing at a restaurant on their house coleslaw — I was just amazed by how fresh tasting and original it was — something that really made you take notice outside the ‘usual’ mix of ingredients. This is a beautiful looking salad MJ – simple yet full of flavour and delicious textures. And of course, I love your green chile inspired dressing!
Thanks so much Kelly! I agree about having taken making your own for granted. I did until I went over to a friend’s house recently who cooks as much as I do and she offered me storebought. It was good storebought, but it showed me that not everyone makes their own. This chile dressing is quite fresh tasting as long as it doesn’t sit too long that why I stress to serve immediately.
It is so true making a dressing is so fast and easy and way better than store bought. This salad dressing is indeed totally YOU. Sounds lovely and the salad is just gorgeous.
Thanks Evelyne! Yes – it is totally me. 🙂
Never knew that a little water in a dressing like this helped prolong the emulsion. Great tip! And great salad dressing. I can so taste the green chile — really like this idea. And the salad ingredients are really well-matched to the dressing, too. Super stuff — thanks.
Thanks John! Yes – the water thing does work. The whole hydrophobic / hydrophilic thing is quite interesting. 🙂
This a delicious, and refreshing salad and perfect for a no-meat Friday folks like me (Lent). Thank you for the advice on the shelf life of the homemade dressing as I am always guilty of keeping it in the fridge longer than I should. Have a good weekend my friend. 🙂
Thanks so much Ray! I have to admit that I learned the 2 days shelf life by throwing out a lot of homemade salad dressing over the years, so many years ago I just got into the habit of making enough for immediately use. Have a wonderful week! 🙂
Great instructions, MJ, your recipe sounds like something my husband would love. We haven’t bought salad dressing in a long time, homemade is always best!
Thanks so much Judy! I think you might like this salad dressing as well because, even though it’s made with green chile powder, I use mild to medium; therefore it’s really not hot. In fact, it’s quite mild.
I love making salads at home and I think your salad is a beautiful combination of crunch, color and flavor!
I can’t stand the chile heat but I think this will still be an amazing dressing even without it. I think I just might give it a go soon 🙂
P.S. thank you kindly for taking on this challenge MJ and for the link to my post. I deeply appreciate it
Thanks so much Sawsan for your comment and for the challenge! I have to say that the chile powder that I use is mild; therefore, it’s not hot and just a tiny hint of spice. One can always cut the amount in half. I hope you do give it a try.
What a lovely looking salad. I love apple in a salad as it adds some sweetness as well as a lot of crunch. There are some great ingredients here and I think a bit of chile would be lovely xx
Thanks Charlie! I’m with use on apple salad or apple in a salad. I use it a lot. 🙂
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