Red and green grapes combined to make the best grape salad recipe ever.
Coated in cream cheese and Greek Yogurt, the sweet cream cheese mixture tames those tender grapes into a side dish recipe that is a refreshingly incredible potluck dish.
Why you should make Creamy Grape Salad
While side dishes like Classic Hellman’s potato salad or this well-known and expected Ambrosia Salad recipe are sure to be a crowd-pleaser, everyone always appreciates something unique and interesting at a get-together.
This creamy grape salad is just that dish!
With fresh grapes (coming in a variety of flavors, sizes, and colors) the star of the show, the brown sugar, and nut topping brings it such a bright sweet but tangy dish.
Ingredients
- Juicy grapes – The most beautiful and tasty grape salads use two varieties of grapes – green grapes and purple grapes both. Just make sure stems are removed and grapes are washed. This dish needs 4 pounds of seedless grapes for a BBQ or Potluck grape salad recipe. Avoid mushy grapes.
- Cream cheese – When working with cream cheese that needs to be mixed, its best to be pre-softened.
- Unflavored Greek yogurt – Before you ask, yes, you can use flavored Greek Yogurt, but in combination with sweet grapes, it may be too much sweetness for this dish. Unflavored Greek Yogurt gives that creamy balance without overloading this side dish with excess flavors, but that choice flavor, like Vanilla Greek, is yours.
- Chopped walnuts – Chopped walnuts or chopped crunchy pecans add the perfect crunch.
- Additionally needed: brown sugar, white granulated sugar, and vanilla extract.
How to make Grape Salad
- For the creamy dressing, add Greek yogurt, white sugar, softened cream cheese, and one teaspoon of vanilla extract to a mixing bowl and beat well until smooth.
- Stir in grapes and mix well to coat evenly.
- In a small bowl, combine walnuts and brown sugar and mix well.
- Spoon creamy grapes into a serving bowl and sprinkle with brown sugar mixture.
- Cover the grape mixture with plastic wrap (or an airtight container) and refrigerate for at least four hours. Serve grape salad cold.
Topping Tip
Top with toffee bits instead of nuts for a sweet flavor.
How many cups are in a pound of grapes
Grapes come in various sizes, so cups of grapes often vary by brand.
In general, 1 pound of seedless grapes runs between 2 cups and 2.5 cups total.
Prepping grapes for salad
Grapes should be seedless, washed, and patted dry. Make sure grapes are completely dry so as not to add unnecessarily water or moisture to the dish.
Grapes can be left whole or sliced in half. Grapes can be a choking hazard, so if using extra-large grapes, it’s best to cut them down in halves or 4ths.
Should you go in that direction, there will be more prep time involved in this unless you use a Grape Slicer.
Best way to Soften Cream Cheese
Cream cheese isn’t very pliable until it’s softened. We usually pull out the cream cheese, remove the packaging, and let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before needing to mix it.
How to store Grape Salad
Grapes have a lot of juicy, and naturally, those juices begin to get into the cream cheese dressing over time. This dish can be stored in an airtight container but only last a few days in the fridge. If you cut the grapes in half to serve, the dressing can even become runnier in a day or so.
As a note, crunchy walnuts in the fridge can become softer over time.
Substitute options for Greek Yogurt
The best substitute for unflavored Greek Yogurt is full-fat sour cream.
Can other fruits be added to this dish?
In theory, any fruit can be added to a fruit salad and the cream cheese mixture does a good job with nearly any other set of ingredients. Just be aware that cut-up fruit breaks down (especially in the heat if you are at a church potluck or one of those awesome summer picnics) and can get runny or soft.
And some fruits, like bananas, taste amazing in fruit salads but turn brown after just a few hours. I always encourage everyone to experiment and try new ways but understand the food you are dealing with before making too many mixes.
Related Salad Recipes
- This fruit salad fluff recipe uses those adorable colored mini marshmallows from your childhood.
- Did you know that you can put strawberries in caprese?
- Looking for a more savory salad that includes grapes? Try this broccoli grape salad recipe!
- Not all salads are full of fruits and vegetables. Italian Panzanella Salad is known as a bread salad, taking all the best parts of crunchy croutons and making them the star.
- The only macaroni salad recipe you will need.
- Tangy broccoli combined with raisins takes an old-fashioned broccoli salad to something new and fresh.
- You haven’t lived until you try snickers in a salad.
- Salty Side Dishes number one pick for this summer’s best side dish? This pea salad recipe makes killer leftovers too.
Connect with Us!
If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section – Your review helps others and is appreciated. Ensure you never miss a new side dish recipe by following us on Pinterest and signing up for our recipe email list!
Leave A Reply!