THE MOST TRUSTED COPYCAT RECIPES
THE MOST TRUSTED COPYCAT RECIPES
McDonald's Fruit & Walnut Salad copycat recipe by Todd Wilbur

McDonald's Fruit & Walnut Salad

Score: 4.90 (votes: 10)
Reviews: 10
  • $0.00
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McDonald's enlisted Destiny's Child, Venus Williams, and Bob Greene (Oprah's trainer) to kick off its balanced lifestyles campaign in the spring of 2005, starting with this salad and the tagline "Get a fruit buzz." Most of the recipe is no big secret: two kinds of sliced apples, red seedless grapes, and low-fat vanilla yogurt. If there is a secret ingredient it's the candied walnuts which we can clone from scratch using honey, peanut oil, sugar and vanilla. Use my McDonald's Fruit and Walnut Salad recipe below to get a fruit buzz at home.

See if I cloned more of your favorite McDonald's menu items here.
 
Source: Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur.

Get This

Candied Walnuts
  • 1 teaspoon peanut oil
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
_main
  • 2 small Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 16 slices each
  • 2 small Gala apples, cored and cut into 16 slices each
  • 40 red seedless grapes
  • 3/4 cup Dannon low-fat vanilla yogurt
Do This

1. Make the candied walnuts by combining the peanut oil, honey, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a medium saute pan over medium heat in the order listed. When the mixture begins to bubble, add the chopped walnuts and stir constantly until the sugar begins to smoke and/or caramelize. Immediately turn off the heat and keep stirring the nuts so that they do not burn. After a minute of stirring off the heat, pour the nuts out onto a plate. Toss the nuts as they cool so they don't stick together.

2. When the nuts have cooled, build each salad by mixing 8 slices of Granny Smith apple, 8 slices of Gala apple, 10 grapes, 3 tablespoons of yogurt, and 3 tablespoons of candied walnuts. Stir and serve. 

Makes 4 servings.

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Reviews
Virginia
May 29, 2006, 22:00
This is great. If you want to keep the apples from turning brown soak them in unsweeten pineapple juice you have left from your canned pineapple. I'm sure everyone eats canned pineapple. Now you have something to do with the left over juice.
Vicky MacDonald
Mar 6, 2006, 22:00
Excellent! I made this in a big bowl instead of individual & used a little more yogurt. The walnuts are perfect but really watch them as they can burn fast!!

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I'm Todd Wilbur, Chronic Food Hacker

For over 30 years I've been deconstructing America's most iconic brand-name foods to make the best original copycat recipes for you to use at home. Welcome to my lab.

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