This is Nana's Famous Apple-Walnut Charoset for Passover! Why is this charoset different from all the others? It's a classic Passover recipe with a few of my own special adjustments. I've added raisins and dried cherries or dates, and different colored apples make for a colorful and sweet traditional dish!
My kids love this Apple Walnut Charoset recipe! It's sweet and tastes just like an apple cinnamon raisin salsa. They eat it by the spoonful or use matzah to scoop it up! Why is this charoset different from all the others? It's my mom's recipe, and while it has all of the traditional elements it has our own non-traditional spin on it! I love spending time in the kitchen with my mom and making and sharing her recipes. She's a fantastic home chef, and a huge part of my love for food comes from her.
Recipes like this one make me feel connected to my heritage, and it's so cool to see my kids connect with them as well. This is one of those dishes that I hope they someday make for their own families. That's one of my favorite things about cooking, especially around the holidays!
What is Charoset?
Charoset (also called haroset!) is a traditional Seder plate food. It resembles the mortar and brick used by the Jews who worked for Pharoah. It's served a bit like relish and used for dipping foods into. Charoset is made sweet with apples or pears, walnuts, cinnamon and sweet wine! I add in raisins (or currants) and dried cherries or dates for my own spin this special traditional dish.
How to Eat Apple Walnut Charoset
Since it's such a sweet dish, you can eat charoset plain with a spoon if you want...my kids love it that way! They also dip their matzah crackers in it, which I personally love as well. It’s traditionally eaten in combination with bitter herbs as a reminder of the Jews' experience in slavery, alluding to the mortar and bricks, along with the bitterness of the servitude.
How to Make Charoset
I prepped this batch in the food processor, which makes a much finer charoset! You can also chop it by hand for a more textured and rustic look (see below, a photo of the hand-cut batch I made last year!). Some families like to turn it into a paste and process it even more. There's no wrong way to make charoset, and it all comes down to your personal preference!
In the food processor, I add ingredients one at a time starting with apples and give each one a few pulses.
This is the perfect dish to make in advance since it tastes best when the flavors have been allowed to marinate for a bit!
What to Do with Leftover Apple Walnut Charoset
The flavors of the charoset just get better as they spend time together in the fridge, so leftovers are so yummy! Use it as a filling in hand pies or even Homemade Vegan Pop Tarts, add a crumble topping to turn it into Charoset Crispy, stir it into Overnight Oats, or just eat it as a snack! My kids love to add it to vanilla yogurt. The skies the limit when it comes to sweet and tart apples mixed with toasted walnuts, dried fruit and cinnamon, right!?
More Passover Recipes
Vegan Matzo Crack for Passover
Sweet and Spiced Roasted Chickpeas
Extra Crispy Smashed Fingerling Potatoes with Lemon Herb Sauce
Vegan & Paleo Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies (grain-free)
Easy Maple Glazed Sauteed Carrots
Healthy Maple Candied Pecans
Cauliflower Steak Marbella with Roasted Chickpeas
Moroccan Chickpeas
Herb Roasted Root Vegetables
Vegan Coconut Macaroons
ALL MY FAVE PASSOVER RECIPES
Print
Nana's Famous Apple-Walnut Charoset for Passover
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This is Nana's Famous Apple-Walnut Charoset for Passover! Why is this charoset different from all the others? It's a classic Passover recipe with a few of my own special adjustments. I've added raisins and dried cherries or dates, and different colored apples make for a colorful and sweet traditional dish!
Ingredients
- 2 large green apple, cored, skin on, chopped (or 3 small green apples)
- 2 large sweet red apples, cored, skin on, chopped (or 3 small red sweet apples)
- 1 cup raw unsalted walnuts, optional: lightly toasted (sub unsweetened shredded coconut if nut-free)
- 1 cup raisins (or currants)
- ¼ cup unsweetened dried cherries or pitted Medjool dates (optional)
- ¼ cup blackberry Manischewitz wine or any sweet red wine (or 100% grape juice for alcohol-free)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or more to taste)
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon (or more to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- pinch of fine salt
Serve with matzah
Instructions
- Add the green chopped apples to a 7-cup food processor. Pulse about ten times until apples are diced and no large chunks remain. Empty the diced green apples into a large mixing bowl. Repeat this process with the red apples.
- Add toasted walnuts to the food processor and pulse 5-7 times until roughly chopped and no large chunks remain. Add chopped walnuts to the large mixing bowl with the apples.
- Add raisins to the food processor and process for a couple of seconds to break the raisins up into smaller bits. Add to the mixing bowl with the other apples and walnuts. If using dried cherries or dates repeat this process.
- Stir everything together in the mixing bowl. Add the wine (or juice), maple syrup, cinnamon, allspice and salt. Mix again until everything is well incorporated.
- Serve with matzah or store covered in the refrigerator or at room temperature until ready to serve. Best when served 1-2 hours after preparing to allow the flavors to marinate/marry together! It is also best to taste after combined for at least one hour before adjusting the seasonings/flavors/ingredients. My mom always stirs in a splash of wine just before serving.
Equipment
Buy Now →
Notes
It is important to pulse each ingredient separately or it will become mushy. Also each ingredient needs it's own amount of pulsing. Plus, it is difficult to fit all the ingredients in the food processor at once. You can hand chop/dice the ingredients but this will take a lot longer. We also prefer the texture of finely diced ingredients (a bit "mushier" and less chunky in texture). With the food process it is not only efficient but you can easily control the texture after each pulse.
Dried cherries or dates are not traditional but a fun spin on the classic that we like!
My mom swears my blackberry flavored Manischewitz wine.
My mom does not toast the walnuts but I like to give them a quick toast in the oven for about 10 minutes.
For a fun spin try substituting pears for some of the apples.
- Prep Time: 15
- Method: Food Processor
Keywords: traditional charoset
Lisa Levitt says
Love this Charoset recipe. Can’t stop eating it.
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you SO much! So happy you love it! Happy Passover!
Austin says
Awesome! Its genuinely amazing piece of writing,
I have goot much clear idea regarding from
this piece of writing.
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you!