Grape Salad Recipe

This Grape Salad recipe is an easy Southern side dish to add to any meal! It’s a delightful blend of sweet grapes, creamy goodness, and crunchy nuts that makes for a tasty side or a refreshing dessert.

Grape salad is a side dish must at any backyard barbecue, church homecoming or family get-together in the south. With sweet, juicy grapes, a creamy dressing, and candied nuts, it’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser!

You’ll only need 6 basic ingredients and 15 minutes to prep this grape salad recipe. After the flavors and textures meld together in fridge, all you’ll have to do is add those brown sugar cinnamon nuts on top – the icing on the cake!

Perfect for warm weather get-togethers or just a refreshing treat at home, grape salad is so delicious that it will leave everyone wanting more. Serve it alongside some of our other cold salad dessert faves, Southern Chicken Salad Orange Jello Salad and Pistachio Fluff Salad!

Laura Ashley’s Tip: This grape salad is the perfect make ahead recipe for a crowd. Make it the day before or a couple hours before guests arrive.

Why You’ll Like This Grape Salad Recipe

• Tasty Flavor Combo: The mix of sweet, crisp grapes with creamy dressing and sweet crunchy pecans or walnuts makes every bite perfection. 
• Super Versatile: Whether you want it amongst a spread of side dishes, a light dessert, or a fun appetizer, grape salad fits the bill for any occasion! It’s always a perfect addition!
• Easy Recipe: With just a handful of ingredients and quick prep, you can whip up this easy grape salad recipe in no time. 
• Always a Hit: This creamy grape salad recipe is a crowd pleaser at parties and any holiday meal, so you can count on everyone loving it! For many, it brings back memories of family meals and Southern traditions!

Ingredients

Scroll Down to the Bottom of this Post for Ingredient Amounts Listed in the Printable Recipe Card 

• Grapes: The star of the dish! Fresh grapes brings natural sweetness, a juicy texture, and a vibrant color to the salad. The combination of seedless red grapes and green grapes makes for a pretty dish! Tip, make sure you use dry grapes!
• Cream Cheese: Adds richness and creaminess, helping to create a luscious dressing that binds the grapes together.
• Sour Cream: Provides a tangy balance to the sweetness of the grapes and sugar, creating a light and fluffy texture.
• Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the dressing and enhances the overall flavors, ensuring a satisfying taste.
• Vanilla Extract: Infuses the dressing with warm, aromatic flavor, making the salad even more delightful.
• Glazed Pecans or Walnuts: Adds crunch and a sweet, nutty flavor that complements the creaminess of the salad. This ingredient makes this the best grape salad!

Tools You’ll Need

• Mixing Bowl
• Rubber Spatula
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Hand Mixer 

How to Make Grape Salad

1. Rinse the grapes thoroughly under cold water and remove them from the stems. Pat completely dry with a clean paper towel.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine softened cream cheese, sour cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Blend with an electric mixer on medium speed or a whisk until smooth and creamy.

3. Gently toss the grapes with the cream cheese mixture until the grapes are evenly coated.

4. Transfer the mixture into a shallow serving dish and cover with plastic wrap or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. 
5. Serve chilled and garnished with crushed glazed pecans or walnuts.

Expert Tips and Substitutions

• Make Ahead: The day you make this salad is when it has its best texture. Pull the cream cheese out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you make it for easier blending. Add the nuts to the top right before serving.
• Cream Cheese and Sour Cream: Full-fat cream cheese or low fat cream cheese and sour cream can work in this side dish. Vanilla yogurt or plain Greek Yogurt can also be used in place of the sour cream or cream cheese.
• Grapes: You can use seedless green grapes, red, or black grapes depending on your preference; mixing different colors makes for a pretty presentation.
• Sweetener: You can adjust the amount of sweetness and the sugar source however you’d like. Honey, maple syrup or sugar substitute are other ways to sweeten it.
• Candied Nuts: If you don’t have candied nuts on hand, you can also simply sprinkle the top of your salad with 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 cup toasted chopped pecans or walnuts.
• Nut Substitutes: If you have nut allergies, feel free to skip the nuts or use sunflower seeds for added crunch. You can also make Grape Salad with Graham Crackers and replace the nuts with crushed graham crackers.
• Other Mix-Ins: Believe it or not, Grape Salad with Snickers is a popular thing in the south! Simply chop one or two Snickers candy bars and fold in the grape cream cheese mixture. Heath bars are a popular candy bar addition too. Grape Salad with Strawberries is another version that’s delicious. Replace the grapes with however many chopped strawberries you’d like in your mix.

Whole grapes are a choking hazard until age 4. Dice grapes for kids starting at 9 months when they can pick up small pieces of food with their fingers. Quarter grapes for kids starting at 12 months, or when you’re comfortable. Halve grapes for kids starting at 24 months, or when you’re comfortable.

Storage

Store any leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Day one is when grape salad is at its best texture, but stored properly, you can consume the salad up to 4 days. It might leach a little water, but it is still safe to eat.

If you’re preparing this ahead of time, assemble without the nuts and add them right before serving to keep their crunchiness intact.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Southern Salad Recipes

• Pistachio Ambrosia Salad
• Green Jello Salad
• Cranberry Fluff Salad
• Strawberry Pretzel Salad