Easy Grape Salad Recipe
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This easy grape salad is a crowd pleaser made with juicy grapes, sweetened cream cheese, and a crunchy, nutty topping. With its minimal prep time, it is the perfectly refreshing dish you will want at your next gathering.
There is a bit of controversy surrounding grape salad and its origins but there is no debate that this easy grape salad is always a winner.
Why You’ll Love This Grape Salad Recipe:
- Easy! This recipe requires no actual cooking and is so easy to put together.
- Delicious! This grape salad is sweet and tangy with the perfect pop of fresh-fruit texture.
- Versatile! You can use this is a side dish or dessert.
- Make Ahead! You can make this ahead of time and refrigerate, without the nutty topping, for up to three days. Add the topping just before serving.
Grape salad is also a wonderful way to enjoy fresh fruit year round because graoes are usually pretty easy to find in stores.
Key Ingredients for Creamy Grape Salad:
- Grapes – Seedless grapes work best here. You can use all of green or red or mix them up like I did.
- Cream Cheese – Be sure your cream cheese is softened before beginning to make the recipe. Full fat or 1/3 lower fat will both work well.
- Yogurt – Vanilla yogurt is used in this recipe.
- Sour Cream – This helps give a little bit of tang to the recipe.
- Brown Sugar – Brown sugar is used in both the main recipe and the topping.
- Pecans – Pecans are used to create the crunchy topping.
How to Make Creamy Fruit Dessert Salad
The full list of ingredients, including measurements, and step by step instructions can be found in the printable recipe card below. Here is a quick overview.
This recipe is so easy to make and is done in two parts: the main grape salad and the crunchy topping. For the main salad, you make the creamy “dressing” first and then mix it with the grapes.
For the topping, you’ll need to use a mini chopper or food processor (contains affiliate links).
Recipe Variations:
- Make red grape salad by substituting the mixed seedless grapes with all red grapes.
- Substitute unsweetened Greek yogurt for the sour cream. This will only slightly change the taste but is a great way to get a little extra protein.
- You can replace the vanilla yogurt with an equal amount of plain Greek yogurt plus 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon brown sugar (optional).
- Change the topping by replacing the pecans with chopped walnuts or use a mix of both. You could also use chopped candy bars (Snickers would be delicious) or crushed graham crackers. You can also exclude the topping all together.
More Midwestern Inspired Recipes
Easy Grape Salad
Ingredients
- 6 cups seedless grapes halved
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup vanilla yogurt
- ½ cup sour cream
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar divided
- 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, yogurt, sour cream, and 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Add the halved grapes to the bowl and toss to coat the grapes in the mixture. Set aside.
- Add the remaining pecans and remaining brown sugar to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is crumbly.
- Sprinkle mixture over grape salad and serve immediately.
Notes
- The grape salad can be refrigerated for up to three days. If preparing ahead of time, do no add the topping until you are ready to serve the dish as the nuts will soften in the refrigerator.
- You can substitute plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream.
- If you don’t want to use vanilla yogurt, you can also omit it and replace it with an equal amount of plain Greek yogurt + 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract + 1 teaspoon brown sugar (optional).
- The sauce will thin out while the dish rests and while being stored in the fridge. You can give it a toss to re-coat if needed.
Nutrition
If you make this grape salad with cream cheese recipe or any recipe from the blog, I’d love to hear about your experience. Leave me a comment below or snap a photo and tag it #MySuburbanKitchen on Instagram or Facebook. And be sure to pin the photo below to save this recipe on Pinterest.
