Grape Salad

This grape salad is a delicious combination of red and green grapes tossed in a creamy, sweet, and tangy dressing. Then it’s topped with a combination of sweet brown sugar and crunchy walnuts.

Pull out your favorite Tupperware to share this salad with your friends and bring copies of the recipe. They’ll want you to share!

Easy Grape Salad Recipe

This is a recipe my family has been serving for more years than I can remember. It’s super easy and always a huge hit.

As the name implies, grapes are the main ingredient, which makes the salad a great source of antioxidants, fiber, and other good-for-you stuff! You may have seen a Red Grape Salad recipe before, but there are over 8,000 varieties of grapes worldwide so you should use at least two or three! Different types of grapes will add extra color, varying sweetness, and texture.

I typically use red and green grapes (seedless, of course).

The grapes are coated with a luscious creamy dressing that’s a perfect blend of tangy cream cheese sweetened with a bit of sugar, making this salad a cool and refreshing addition to just about any meal. I add a touch of vanilla to the dressing which makes this dish reminiscent of a grape salad recipe with Cool Whip or a grape salad with marshmallow cream.

Looking for more delicious potluck salads? Try my broccoli salad, 7 layer salad, watergate salad, and frog eye salad!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Salad:

• Green Seedless Grapes
• Sour Cream
• Cream Cheese
• Sugar
• Vanilla Extract

Topping:

• Brown Sugar
• Pecans

Tips 

• Grapes:  You can make a red grape salad, or use red and green grapes, or feel free to try this recipe with any fun varieties you find in your grocery store – tiny champagne grapes or tear-drop-shaped ones (sometimes called “witch fingers” or “chili pepper” grapes).
  • Just make sure they’re completely dry before you toss them with the dressing. If they’re wet, they’ll water down the creamy coating and keep it from clinging to the grapes like it’s supposed to.
• Pecans:  Toasting the pecans just until they’re fragrant brings out the extra flavor, so try and plan enough time to do that (I usually toast them while the salad is hanging out in the fridge).
  • Toasting can be done on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for about five minutes or in a skillet over medium heat for one or two minutes. Just watch the nuts carefully so they don’t burn.
  • Another tip is to go ahead and toast more nuts than you need. Since the oven’s already on and you’re going to the trouble anyway, you might as well have enough leftovers for your morning bowl of oatmeal or late-night ice cream snack.
• One-Dish Dish:I make the dressing in a bowl large enough to hold the grapes as well. That way, once the dressing is mixed you can toss the grapes directly into the same dish. We all appreciate having fewer dishes to wash, so make sure you grab a big mixing/serving bowl!
• Refrigerating:  I like to let this rest in the fridge for a few hours minimum. Overnight works just fine, too, if you’d like to make it ahead. Just don’t add the topping until right before you’re ready to serve it, otherwise, you’ll miss out on the lovely crunchy goodness!

Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead

• How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Your salad will stay fresh and yummy for 3-4 days in the fridge if you keep it protected from air and roaming eyes.
• Can You Freeze This?  Unfortunately, this isn’t freezer friendly but it’s so easy to whip up.
• Make-Ahead Tips: This can be made a day before. Refrigerate it overnight without the toppings. Add the toppings when it’s ready to serve.

Recipe Variations

1. Add blueberries or strawberries I love this salad with 1 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries mixed in.
2. Toasted walnuts or slivered almonds instead of pecans.
3. Shredded coconut is always a favorite addition to make when you what to change things up a bit.
4. Lighter dressing  If you’d like a slightly lighter version of this salad, you can adjust the dressing a bit by making a Grape Salad with yogurt. Simply replace the sour cream with 8 oz. of vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt. If you do, you can cut the sugar down to a ¼ c. (or less, depending on how sweet you like it) and ditch the vanilla extract since it’s already in the yogurt.
   • You can also use low-fat cream cheese and sub in honey or your favorite sugar substitute for granulated sugar.
5. Topping variations:  The topping in this recipe adds a crunchy, sweet element that really makes this dish, plus serves as a pretty enticing garnish. The dressing is already sweet though, so if you’d like you can completely omit the brown sugar and just sprinkle the top of the salad with toasted, chopped pecans (or your favorite nutty substitute).
   • If you want to experiment in the sweet direction, you could try making this Grape Salad with Butterfingers or Snickers. Yes, the candy bar. Just crush four Butterfingers in a Ziploc-style bag (I like to use a rolling pin for this) or in a food processor, or chop the same amount of Snickers bars and sprinkle on top of the salad with the pecans.
   • If you add the candy bar, skip the 1 cup of brown sugar in the topping.

More Salad Recipes

• Strawberry Spinach Salad
• Carrot Salad
• Ina’s Potato Salad
• Strawberry Pretzel Salad

If you make this potluck salad, I’d love it if you snapped a photo and tagged me on Instagram, @gonna_want_seconds, or please share this recipe on Pinterest, Facebook, or Yummly! I really appreciate your support, my friends! Happy cooking, 🙋🏼‍♀️

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Grape Salad

This grape salad is a yummy combination of red & green grapes with creamy, sweet, and tangy dressing, topped with sweet brown sugar and crunchy walnuts!

Prep Time15 mins

Total Time15 mins

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Kathleen

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 pounds red seedless grapes
• ▢ 2 pounds green seedless grapes
• ▢ 8 ounces sour cream
• ▢ 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 cup sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

• ▢ 1 cup brown sugar packed
• ▢ 1 cup pecans chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Salad: Wash the grapes (4 pounds) then lay them out on paper towels, turning over at least once, to dry thoroughly.
• In a very large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, combine the cream cheese (8 ounces), sour cream (8 ounces), sugar (1/2 cup), and vanilla (1 cup) until smooth. Add grapes toss well to evenly coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
• Topping: In a small mixing bowl, combine brown sugar (1 cup) and pecans (1 cup).
• Spread salad out on a large rimmed serving dish or a 9 X 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with topping and serve.

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Notes

1. Grapes:  You can make a red grape salad, or use red and green grapes, or feel free to try this recipe with any fun varieties you find in your grocery store – tiny champagne grapes or tear-drop-shaped ones (sometimes called “witch fingers” or “chili pepper” grapes).
   • Just make sure they’re completely dry before you toss them with the dressing. If they’re wet, they’ll water down the creamy coating and keep it from clinging to the grapes like it’s supposed to.
2. Pecans:  Toasting the pecans just until they’re fragrant brings out the extra flavor, so try and plan enough time to do that (I usually toast them while the salad is hanging out in the fridge).
   • Toasting can be done on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for about five minutes or in a skillet over medium heat for one or two minutes. Just watch the nuts carefully so they don’t burn.
   • Another tip is to go ahead and toast more nuts than you need. Since the oven’s already on and you’re going to the trouble anyway, you might as well have enough leftovers for your morning bowl of oatmeal or late-night ice cream snack.
   • One-Dish Dish:  I make the dressing in a bowl large enough to hold the grapes as well. That way, once the dressing is mixed you can toss the grapes directly into the same dish. We all appreciate having fewer dishes to wash, so make sure you grab a big mixing/serving bowl!
   • Refrigerating:  I like to let this rest in the fridge for a few hours minimum. Overnight works just fine, too, if you’d like to make it ahead. Just don’t add the topping until right before you’re ready to serve it, otherwise, you’ll miss out on the lovely crunchy goodness!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 735kcal | Carbohydrates: 114g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 147mg | Potassium: 792mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 103g | Vitamin A: 952IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 147mg | Iron: 2mg

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