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My favorite grape salad: sweet, creamy vanilla cream cheese dressing coats tart green grapes and sweet red grapes, topped with sparkling brown sugar and crunchy pecans. A delicious dessert salad recipe that tastes like fruit-filled cheesecake!
What is Grape Salad?
Grape Salad is a sweet, dessert-inspired fruit salad that is made with fresh grapes and a creamy dressing consisting of sweetened vanilla cream cheese. It is tart, sweet, and creamy.
This grape salad recipe is often served in the summer at cookouts and picnics. It’s also a very popular side dish for Easter and Thanksgiving, especially in the Midwest and the South. It looks so amazing on a holiday table sitting next to classic sides like a Pineapple Casserole.
Bring this dish to parties, potlucks, and more! And if you’re in the mood for more fun, crowd-pleasing desserts, be sure to check out my Easy Banana Pudding and my Snickers Salad.
What is in Grape Salad?
Grape salad ingredients include:
- Grapes: if you’re a grape lover like me, you’ll know that each type of grape has it’s own personality and flavor profile. For the best taste, I use a combo of sweet red grapes and tart green grapes.
- Cream cheese: be sure to soften your cream cheese to room temperature before starting this recipe.
- Sour cream: this ingredient adds a delightful tanginess and extra cream factor to the sweetness of this recipe.
- Sugar: just 1/4 cup of granulated sugar gives you the just-right sweetness for this recipe.
- Vanilla: use pure vanilla to add the dessert-like factor to your salad.
- Brown sugar: I like to sprinkle this on right before serving so I get that initial crunch and sparkle.
- Pecans: I love the taste of slightly sweet pecans in my grape salad recipe, but you can use whatever nut you’d like. Try walnuts or cashews!
Tip!
You can soften your cream cheese by unwrapping it completely, then setting it on a microwave-safe dish and heating for 10 seconds, until soft but not melted.
How to Make Grape Salad
First, wash and dry the grapes. Then, destem the grapes, keeping grapes whole.
Second, best cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl using a hand mixer.
Third, add grapes and fold gently until coated in the sweetened cream cheese mixture.
Lastly, top grape salad with brown sugar and pecans. Enjoy!
Demeter’s Tip
Use a hand mixer to beat the dressing ingredients together. Doing so by hand is very tedious and doesn’t result in a slightly whipped and delicious texture.
Grape Salad Recipe Variations
- Add candy: Yes, you can make this fruit dip salad even more dessert-like by adding in chopped Snickers, Kit-Kats and more!
- More Fruit: Feel free to add in sliced strawberries, mandarin oranges, etc.
- Lighten it up: You can swap some or all of the sour cream with Greek yogurt for a lighter treat.
- Graham it up: Top your grape salad with crushed graham crackers.
- Get your drizzle on: Try topping this salad with a drizzle of caramel sauce or balsamic glaze, if you’re feeling adventurous.
Storing Q&A
- How long is grape salad good for in the fridge? Grape salad is good for up to 3 days in the fridge.
- How many cups of grapes are in 1 pound of grapes? 2 to 2 1/2 cups of grapes are in 1 lb. of grapes.
- Can I make grape salad the night before? Yes, you can! It tastes even better when chilled overnight. I suggest not adding the topping until you’re ready to serve, however some people like the texture of liquidy brown sugar and soft pecans–it’s up to you.
- How far ahead can I make grape salad? You can make grape salad 1 to 2 days ahead of time. Keep in mind, however, that it’s best day of or kept overnight.
Related Side Dishes
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Chickpea Salad
- 7 Layer Salad
- Asian Salad with Asian Salad Dressing
- Pesto Pasta Salad
- For a festive treat, try my Christmas Salad with Pomegranate
For something sweet, try my amazing Peanut Butter Dip and these super easy Frozen Yogurt Bites.
Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️
Grape Salad
Ingredients
Grape Salad
- 4 pounds red and/or green seedless grapes, I used 2lbs of each
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 8 ounces sour cream
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
Topping
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Wash and dry grapes, removing grapes from the stem and keeping grapes whole.
- Add cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla extract to a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat until well combined. Doing this by hand is possible, but very long winded.
- Add grapes to the large bowl. Gently toss until grapes are fully coated in the mixture.
- Transfer to a serving bowl. Cover and chill at least 2 hours or overnight, before serving. It’s also good right away if your grapes are already chilled.
- Top with brown sugar and pecans before serving. Enjoy!
I took this to a pot luck dinner and it was devoured!! I can’t wait to make it again for my family!!!
Woohoo! It’s such a fun dish to bring to parties. I’m so glad it was a hit!
The combination of sweet and creamy in this dish is perfect. My entire famiy loved it.
That’s wonderful! Nothing makes me happier than hearing the whole fam loved a recipe. 😊
Oooh such a fun salad! I love the variety of textures and you had me at the sweet, creamy vanilla cream cheese dressing.
I know, right? We’ve been obsessed with that dressing lately. Don’t you wanna put it on everything? Or just eat it straight up. 😂
This grape salad was absolutely delightful! I’ll be making it all summer and bringing it to the pool with us for snacks!
Okay, that sounds like the perfect summer day! 🙂 Glad to hear it’s such a hit, Paula!
WOW This grape salad looks amazingly delciious. Thanks for the recipe.
Woohoo! You’re so welcomer, Kushi!