Simple Celery and Almond Salad
Celery has never really enjoyed the starring role in dishes that other vegetables do. It’s not that celery isn’t worthy. The vegetable is inexpensive, stays fresh for weeks, has a mild and pleasing flavor, a nice crunch and is a great source of vitamins and fiber. But it’s sort of the Chris Cooper of the kitchen, always an amazing supporting actor but never a leading man.
With this salad, celery finally gets to be the star. You’ll be surprised how tasty the crisp, clean flavor of celery is, especially during the hot days of summer. The leaves on the top of a celery stalk are usually discarded and this is a shame. Filled with vitamin C, calcium and a lot flavor, the leaves can be added to the salad as well. Almonds are a key ingredient, adding the richness that celery lacks. The parsley dressing adds additional flavor and fat. These ingredients are incredibly easy to find at any grocery store and take only a few minutes to toss together. The recipe is a simple way to both stay on track and try something new during the Primal Blueprint Health Challenge.
Though keep in mind that while this celery salad can be a quick and satisfying afternoon snack, it doesn’t necessarily add up to a full meal. You’ll want to pair it with some serious protein. Last week, wild caught Alaskan salmon was mentioned as a great source of Omega 3’s. It’s also the perfect protein to serve alongside this salad. Crunchy, light celery with rich, fatty salmon hits all the right flavor notes.
Ingredients:
1 bunch (12-15 stalks) celery, plus leaves
1 cup sliced or slivered almonds
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley
salt and pepper
Directions:
Chop the celery stalks and leaves into bite-sized pieces. Mix together with almonds.
Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, and a pinch of salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Drizzle dressing on top of celery and almonds and stir well. Makes approximately 4 servings.
Subscribe to Mark’s Daily Apple feeds
Posted By: Worker Bee
(
Sounds Awesome! Can’t wait to try it.
imma try this. maybe add some chicken.
I was literally just eyeballing the celery in my fridge before I read this and thinking “hmmm, but I’m not in the mood for cream cheese or nut butter with it”. Nice recipe!
Looks too good to be that simple… what’s the catch??
Comment
mmmmm, going to make this tonight with some grilled chicken!
I know what’s on the menu this week!
Great to find another use for celery besides lathering it up with peanutbutter (yuk!)…almondsbetter.
Too bad I dislike celery so much. Other than the celery, the salad looks great!
Even I could make that. Thanks.
Definitely sounds good with salmon…mmmm
Brilliant!
This sounds much better than the average celery stick w/almond butter!
How about adding a little apple and raisins, kind of a spin on a waldorf salad.
I have discovered the joy of celery after having gone Primal. I love it as a company to my morning omelet, and now I have something new (and promising) to try. Celery possesses some hidden virtues too
Murat
Celery? Really? That’s one I’ve yet to embrace, I have to admit. My wife loves it, though. Maybe she’ll convert me one of these days…
A recipe I enjoy with celery (even better accompanied with onions) is to dice em’ up, fry them in with my (nitrate-free) bacon and eggs and add some mustard (Guilden’s Spicy Brown) to the end result.
Sounds simple and refreshing. Gotta get my celery on!
Another recipe to add to the recipe book!
I heart easy recipes.
That looks AMAZING! I’ve got to get away from eating salad out of the bag. Nobody likes salad straight from the bag! =(~
I love celery!
Not very appealing to me, I’m afraid.
Any good way to slice almonds from whole? I’ve got a grinder that does a good job at turning them into flour, but nothing to slice them (save a chef’s knife that would make it a dangerous and time-consuming job.)
I buy them pre-sliced in the store… they’re actually cheaper per pound than whole ones so that’s probably your best bet.
Too bad celery tastes extremely bitter to me.
Hey, Mark, did you arrange that yourself? Good job if you did!
Mmmm… Fish oil
Never been a fan of C elery, except with peanut butter, and even then I always thought bleh.
This looks great! I love celery, and I am happy to see you using most of the stalk. It seems that too many people throw away the great leaves.
Thanks for this recipe – I always seem to have leftover celery – you know how you buy it for a recipe that calls for 1/2 c – then what to do with the leftovers? I’m always looking for ways to up the veggies.
Looks tasty! Now that’s a healthy salad!
lookin good
Great! I hate watching the bunch of celery purchased for the one stalk needed in a recipe, to wilt away in the fridge. Now I have a use for it. And it looks very tasty too.
I have the lemons, parsley and olive oil. Just ran out of celery and almonds. They are now on my grocery list. Yum. A combo of many of my favorite things.
Mmm, that looks good! I bet it would also taste really great with some shredded roast chicken! I love celery for the crunch it adds to things, not to mention the water content and fiber.
I’m not a big fan of celery but I just might try this.
This is my kind of recipe, simple! Wish I had some parsley around.
That looks great! I usually have a few stray stalks laying around wishing they could have been included – now I know what to do with them. Thanks for the recipe!
looks good
Anything with almonds gets my vote. I must try this.
Great recipe.
Glad to see another creative use for celery.
Wow – it does sound simple and wonderful. I bet it would be good with walnuts, too.
looks delicious
Celery…you mean the side dish that goes with buffalo wings?
Another lovely mix. I imagine a handful of cherry pieces or pomegranate bits would jive with the salad as well.
This would be a good recipe to let preschool kids make themselves for a snack with some picture-instructions.
This salad looks delicious!
This is pretty nice, but I’m not much of a celery fan – hence its use mainly as a supporting cast member whenever I eat it. Part of it’s the flavor; part of it’s the fact that it can be difficult (and, in fact, rather painful) to chew.
I’ve never thought about making celery the main ingredient in a salad before. This looks great.
Looks wonderfully crunchy. I can’t wait to try this one!
Perfect. Love the lemon. I’m having this one tonight with some grilled fish!
I always find celery boring so at least I can try this and make it more interesting
Looks delicious.
I’ve got to admit… not a big celery fan. Maybe Geoff has it figured out, fish might be the thing to have with this.
Looks great. I’ll give it a try.
I like celery, but I’ve never seen it take center stage this way–looks great, and a perfect, light salad for this time of year!
Perfect! I never know what to do with the leftover 8 stalks of celery when i use one or two for soup stock! YUMMY!
Yum yum.
I wish celery was more available here in Finland, looks good!
( > )
that’s a fish. in a capsule. genius! clearly i need more omega 3s!
======>
that’s a celery!
I’m not huge on celery, but I eat few salads that don’t have almonds on them.
pretty good, celery can be boring otherwise
well my fish didn’t come out right for some reason. sorry for double comments, i’m not cheating to get the fish oil. i just want to correct the fish:
>
thank you
I’ll have to try this during the week.
I am weaning myself off carbs and suggestions like this are keeping me on track. Will be in the work lunchbox tomorrow for sure..
looks so simple! but good just what i like!! thanks
I also am looking for a way to slice almonds at home, Im going to try the slicing blade on the food processor.
I’ll let you know
Looks tasty!
Wow, that is a clean refreshing salad!
Thank you for sharing it.
Looks nice, cool and refreshing for a hot August afternoon!
hmm, and I jut got a whole bunch of celery yesterday that I wondered how I would use.
Great recipe. I always have celery in the fridge and usually don’t use it as much of it as I’d like to. Now I have no excuse!
Fish pills are good surely I’ll win one of these contests!!
sounds great.
celery root, celery leaves, celery stalks, a very versatile vegetable
ah some “de vany testosterone booster”…celery is good stuff.
Celery & almonds are such a good flavor combination.
Love celery, love almonds-perfect!
Yumm-o!!
Another new recipe to add to the file!
Wow, this is exactly what I do except that I add in some tuna!
AWESOME idea for celery! Especially with a simple lemon dressing. Looking forward to trying this tonight.
Good thing I picked up at huge bunch of celery last night! Sounds delicious.
No joke, I had no idea celery actually contained anything meaningful for my diet. I just bought almond butter the other day, now I have two reasons for trying celery once again. I usually resorted to throwing it in my veggie or chicken stock. Welcome back, Celery!
thanks for the lunch idea!
The great thing about the Primal Blueprint, reflected here and in the other recipes, is that you can eat pretty much anything, as long as it’s real food. The variety and diversity of “Primal approved” foodstuffs simply make it easier to eat the way we evolved to. Peace!
Looks great – I don’t really like celery, though. But adding almonds is a nice idea.
fish oils!
i love almonds! this one is going to be good!
Ever since going primal, I’ve changed my typical snack from chips and salsa to organic celery cut into strips and dipped in either organic almond butter or, better yet, organic coconut butter. YUM!
Yay! I have all the ingredients on hand…giving this a try tonight.
You say that celery stays good in the fridge “for weeks” – personally, I find this is only true if I cut the bottoms off and stick the stalks in a pitcher of water. Otherwise it goes “limp” within a few days, and that’s not a good thing.
I’m almost out of fish oil!
Great presentation on this dish!
Not big on parsley. Might try a different fresh herb.
Okay, I’m going to make this today since I have that celery in the fridge that I bought and needed 2 stalks of, and it’s just going to sit there til it turns brown or hell freezes over.
Great timing!
great salad…. great omegas….. life is good……
Looks tasty. Will have to give it a try.
I’m not good at mixing ingrediants to make a dressing….but i’ll try it again.
It’s nice to see celery as a main ingredient. I never know what to do with the rest of the bunch after I eat that one can of tuna!
This is random, but I was inspired to post here for the fish oil and that got me browsing the store, where I noticed that the daily recommended values in the Responsibly Slim nutrition facts section are a bit off: unless we’re supposed to get 2,000 to 2,500 grams of fat a day, I think we’ve got a column or two misaligned there.
That’d be about 450 eggs, by the way. Yum!
Totally going to make this tomorrow – thanks for the easy and awesome recipes that even I can make here in Argentina!
I just made a carrot, pear, cilantro salad, and man it was delish! Topped with wild salmon and Mrs. Dash.
Should have added some slivered almonds…
I’ll have to try this next time I get my hands on some celery!
thanks
Now I know what to do with the leftover celery in my fridge
Looking forward to trying this one!
Looks fresh and tasty…will have to try!
How do you slice you own almonds? lb/lb, whole almonds are cheaper than sliced or slivered ones (obviously because less work went into producing them), so how can I do it myself?
Thanks for another great recipe!
I like celery
Easy college food. Sweet.
Love crunchy crisp celery – will have to try it
Hmm… A celery based salad. Sounds great!
I usual just put hot sauce on it.
I bet that would be good with some canned Salmon mixed in too.
Thanks for this Mark! I’d always thought celery was a bit of a non-veg- iceberg lettuce plus some useless fibre, no nutrients to speak of. But inspired by this recipe and having whacked it through ‘Nutrition Data’ I found that it’s nothing to be sneezed at. Appreciable amounts of vitamin A, C and potassium and next to no carbs- 5 net carbs per 300g, and who’s going to eat 300g of celery?
Thanks for the new snack idea!!! Love it.
Ooh, we’re doing a little primal challenge at my house this week. Maybe I’ll have to give this a try!
Looks good! Thanks for the step-by-step pics you offer!
Julie
This one looks great. Coriander instead of parsley will pump it up.
Nice summer salad!
Looks awesome! Perfect for the summer!
Excellent use of the lowly celery stalk!
I going to have to try this! Would be nice on a humid day.
KISS (Keep It Simple Silly) is wonderful!
Yum!
Too bad I hate the taste of celery.
Me too – I’ve always hated celery. But the dressing looks like it will be good on some other deserving veggies….
Not big on Celery but you can’t go wrong with almonds!
Yep, that simple celery and almond salad sure is free fish oils!
I don’t like celery that much, it’s too stringy. But I like almonds.
If the baby wasn’t driving me mad, I’d make some….
Sounds interesting… finally something else to do with celery.
Sounds great!
Simple, yet delicious. Definitely true that celery is a bit underrated. I really like the celery/almond combination.
Yummy!
I use organic celery and roast the almonds for a real crunchy salad!
I’m not trying to brown-nose for a prize or anything, but I just made some for lunch (ate it along with some cold roast beef). It’s seriously good! I think it’ll become my favorite thing to take to potlucks, too–simple, healthy and yummy!
Looks good – think I’ll make it tonight & add a little lovage for extra celery flavor. I think it’ll go well with the buffalo we’re having.
That salad looks so good!
prize me up before you go go
I love celery! and this looks and sounds delicious.
You know, celery isn’t my favorite, but this doesn’t look half bad.
Looks wonderful, very refreshing. Thanks!
Sounds pretty tasty. Will try it.
I love nuts in salads. This would go great with some grilled meats.
Great job on the Chris Cooper analogy.
They probably think I’m weird at the store when I’m buying my Mt. of celery. I eat a lot of it. This is a great salad idea.
I always eat the leaves unless they’re (a) pre-cut off or (b) rotten slimy goo.
Almond butter also often finds it’s way on my celery. But once again celery is Chris Cooper to the star Almond Butter.
yum
cool
I think I may try this once this week.
I am not too fond of almonds, however, I may try this. Thanks, Mark!
Never thought about using the leaves, I like it.
Hahaha. I read your recipes most of the time, anyway, but usually I don’t comment. Now I have a reason to!
I have a sort of question: where would the protein come from in this salad? I can imagine it going with chicken salad well enough, but that might disguise celery’s “leading role”, any other recommendations?
thanks for all the great recipes this week.
Celery and almonds are actually two of my snack staples. Yummy!
Celery rhymes with elery!
looks good
yum!
I’m having celery in my salad in just a few moments.
I think we have all of the ingredients. I may just have to give this one a try.
Still could use some fish oil…
I love celery. Especially stuffed with nut butter…
fish oil, celery and almonds
mmmmmmmm
What a simple idea of pairing such an inexpensive readily available ingredients!
Sounds good!
Looks quite good.
Yummy!!!!
Looks good, and simple. Will try
me haiku no win
now me eat celery salad
crunch crunch swallow smile
good way to use that celery
hmmm, BRB, gonna try this
Another tasty meal to add to my list!
Haha at all the comments.
Ahh that chris cooper- love when he works with the great John Sayles (MATEWAN and LONE STAR) and not the kid who played Robin. Simply salad gets an A+
Crunch!
I have to try this
never made anything like that
I love easy recipes like this. Keep em coming!
Another recipe for the bank!
me, please!
I need to diversify my veg-folio. I eat veggies often but they tend to be the same. time to start adding random things to my salads!
That celery salad looks pretty good. Have you tried toasting the almonds? I had toasted almonds with my spinach and strawberry salad tonight and it’s delicious.
I’ll be having this real soon with some fish. I’ll use the same dressing for the fish it should be great.
Looks great
More vege’s is more better. I will give it a try.
Great Meal! Even better when eat’n in conjunction with fish oil!!!!
Looks great, but I’ll be honest–I just want the fish oil!
don’t love celery – how about substituting cabbage??
CELERY!!!
I bet the almonds add a great texture to the crunchy celery. Gonna try it tomorrow!
Yah, a new way to make a salad.
Simple, easy, and (hopefully) delicious!
only thing I’d change is to toast the almonds in a dry saute pan–that’s still primal, isn’t it?
Looks good and interesting.
love almonds, hate celery……
Recipe looks great! I’m going to have to try it soon.
Mark, why so many one day challenges on the weekend? I’m too busy embracing my inner grok on the weekends which is far away from a computer!
I loooove celery. Can’t wait to eat this tomorrow.
Looks like a great salad! I will try this!
I just happened by your site and found this recipe. My girlfriend saw me about to toss out the tops of celery the other day and made me keep them. I never realized they were important or any good. Anyway, I just made this salad and it’s delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Looking forward to making this! Thanks for all the fun primal tips and contests!
that’s 2 for 2 on the allergies this week. first mangoes, now almonds. going to make this tonight with cashews as an alternative.
i remember reading in an aricle about Art DeVaney that celery boosts your testosterone. Never read aything else about that.
Today’s salad is a good template:
a vegetable
a nut/seed
an oil
an acid
some seasoning
e.g.
napa cabbage
pumpkin seeds
sesame oil
lime juice
soy sauce and red pepper flakes
yum
I’m not usually the biggest fan of celery, but in the interests of variety i’ll give this one a shot!
just found your site – lots of yummy recipes to try
I love almonds in salads!
Fish Oil Please
This contest is so easy, it’s almost fishy
This sounds like a nice crunchy salad. I like food with some crunch to it!
looks like a great recipe
That sounds yummy! Never thought of eating the leaves on celery before. I guess I just assumed you weren’t supposed to or something. Need to check those assumptions…
An apple would really mix in well with this salad. Delicious combo. A nice sidedish for a breast of chicken.
Hmmm, not a bad idea for all the almonds and celery I have hanging around my kitchen. Now, about those fish oils, do you mean midnight Eastern time? Technically on my clock I have a whole eight minutes left!
This is too simple, I have to try it to believe it
My mother and I spent all day shopping to get ready to go primal. A challenge to find everything but know it will get easier. My husband, mother and father are all beginning tomorrow morning! We bought some celery today to pair with our almond butter. Now we have another option — thanks a bunch!
Delish! Thanks.
Thanks, I’m going to try this one with the crab cakes.
JT
Any thoughts on substitutions for olive oil? Sesame oil maybe?
grape seed oil is a nice alternative, has a neutral flavour, and its even good for cooking because of its high smokepoint.
Tried this two ways for a dinner party. First exactly as the recipe suggested and second using sesame oil and a sprinlking of sesame seeds. Also, for the second, I used True Lemon packets because I ran out of organic lemons. Entree was grilled chicken breasts (skin on, of course). Guests were split about 60-40 with original recipe winning.
I like celery (apart from the stringy bits that get stuck between your teeth…)
I’ve not seen raw flaked almonds in the shops here in the UK – only toasted. I’m not sure how you’d slice raw almonds that thinly unless you have a flash gadget (I have a cupboard-sized kitchen with a small fridge, oven and sink, and limited storage space, so I don’t have much in the way of gadgets at all).
I really needed this! Finally, something to do with my celery other than dipping it into nut butters!
Looks good!
always looking for fun veggie sides to accompany my hunks of meat!
I agree with everyone else….good way to put celery to use!! I will try that this week.
I’ve never eaten the leaves before- usually leave them for chicken stock.
Love this!
Mmm, tasty!
Looks good, but I will have to find a substitute to celery. I am not a big fan. Maybe jicama.
another good substitute would be kohlrabi. But those who aren’t enthusiastic about celery might be more so about organic celery, which is more pungeant and interesting.
Fish oil is good, too!!
I was actually just looking at a primal like stuffing recipe today, using almonds and celery. It was actually a youtube video about the slapchop, so go figure. Small world you have a recipe today like this!
Wow, this was great! I threw in a little Balsamic Vinegar in a serving and it was quite tasty.