This creamy grape salad is a sweet summer side dish that is perfect for potlucks, BBQs, or any time you need a cool and refreshing snack! All it takes is a few simple and inexpensive ingredients! You can make it the night before and let it chill in the fridge until you need it (it tastes even better the next day)!
Easy Grape Salad Recipe
I love a quick and simple recipe I can whip up with little effort, and this creamy grape salad is just that! I've brought it to potlucks, pool parties, BBQs, and picnics, it's perfect for just about any occasion.
All you have to do is toss a few pounds of grapes in the sweet, creamy dressing and pop it in the fridge to chill. You can even play around with different crunchy toppings when you serve it, though crushed pecans are my personal favorite!
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🥘 Creamy Grape Salad Ingredients
One of the many reasons to love this easy grape salad is that it's made with just a few simple and inexpensive ingredients. The toppings can be swapped out and customized too!
Creamy Grape Salad
- Cream Cheese - 8 ounces (1 block) of cream cheese softened at room temperature. You could also use a cream cheese substitute.
- Sour Cream - 1 cup of sour cream or a sour cream substitute.
- Sugar - 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar.
- Vanilla Extract - 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, a vanilla extract substitute, or vanilla bean paste.
- Green Grapes - 2 pounds of seedless green grapes.
- Red Grapes - 2 pounds of seedless red grapes.
Toppings
- Brown Sugar - 3 tablespoons of light or dark brown sugar (or a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar).
- Pecans - 3 tablespoons of chopped or crushed pecans, walnuts, or slivered almonds.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Creamy Grape Salad
You can whip up this salad in just a few minutes, and it's so easy anyone can do it! You'll need a large mixing bowl, a spatula, and your measuring utensils to get started.
This recipe makes a big bowl of grape salad. It's about 12 small servings or 6 larger servings.
- Make the dressing. Add 8 ounces (226.8 grams) of softened cream cheese, 1 cup (230 grams) of sour cream, 3 tablespoons (36 grams) of sugar, and 2 teaspoons (8 grams) of vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl. Mix until smooth and creamy.
- Fold in the grapes. Fold in 2 pounds (907.18 grams) of green grapes and 2 pounds (907.18 grams) of red grapes until well-coated.
- Chill and serve. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight. Garnish with 3 tablespoons (36 grams) of brown sugar and 3 tablespoons (30 grams) of pecans when serving.
🥗 Sides
This sweet and creamy grape salad is one of my favorite BBQ side dishes because it is the perfect contrast to some hot, smokey BBQ! It also makes a great potluck salad!
You can serve it with BLT sandwiches at lunchtime or enjoy it as a sweet summer treat on its own. It's simple and incredibly versatile! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- It is important to let your cream cheese soften before making your dressing, or it will be thick and chunky. Mashing the cream cheese before incorporating it with the other ingredients makes it much easier to mix.
- If you are serving this grape salad to little ones, or you just prefer to, you can slice the grapes in half before tossing them in the cream cheese dressing.
- Crushed graham crackers can be used in place of nuts to give this salad a tasty crunch. Make sure you wait to add the graham cracker crumbs until you are ready to serve, or they will become soggy.
- Crumbled candy bars like Heath bars, Kit-Kats, or any other crunchy candy bar can also be used as a topping to make this salad an even sweeter treat!
- Feel free to mix in other fruits you enjoy. Strawberries, blueberries, or even different seedless grape varieties such as 'cotton candy grapes' can be used.
🥡 Storing
Keep your creamy grape salad refrigerated in an airtight container or the bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap and enjoy it within 5-7 days.
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❓ Recipe FAQs
If you need to swap out the cream cheese, you can try using Mascarpone cheese in its place. It is lighter and sweeter, which pairs wonderfully with the natural sweetness of the grapes. Greek yogurt can be used in place of sour cream, though I recommend using thick full-fat Greek yogurt for the best results. If you need a dairy-free substitute, you can try vegan cream cheese or sour cream. Silken tofu that has been blended in a blender can be used in place of sour cream as well!
Grape salad is a sweet side dish that is chilled, so it's a nice contrast to warm and savory meals. For a simple meal, serve it with a sandwich or green leafy salad. It's sweet enough to be enjoyed as dessert, too!
This salad does not freeze well because of the large amount of dairy in the recipe. The dressing tends to separate when thawed out, and the consistency won't be ideal.
🥗🍇 😋 More Tasty Salad Recipes
- Mandarin Orange Jello Salad - This super simple mandarin orange jello salad is always a hit with the kids!
- Fresh Fruit Salad - A medley of fresh fruit tossed with a made-from-scratch honey citrus dressing!
- Greek Salad - Greek salad is tangy and refreshing, plus so easy to make!
- Hawaiian Macaroni Salad - Pineapple juice gives this macaroni salad a distinctly tropical flavor that is perfect for summertime!
- Ambrosia Salad - If you enjoy a sweet dessert salad, you'll love this creamy ambrosia salad with fruit and marshmallows!
- German Potato Salad - German potato salad has a tangy vinegar dressing, tender potatoes, and lots of crispy bacon to enjoy!
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📖 Recipe Card
Creamy Grape Salad
Ingredients
Creamy Grape Salad
- 8 oz cream cheese (softened, at room temperature)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
- 2 lb green grapes
- 2 lb red grapes
Toppings
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar (or a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar)
- 3 tablespoon pecans (chopped, or crushed walnuts or slivered almonds)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Add 8 oz cream cheese , 1 cup sour cream 3 tablespoon sugar, and 2 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix until smooth and creamy.
- Fold in 2 lb green grapes and 2 lb red grapes until well-coated.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight. Garnish with 3 tablespoon brown sugar and 3 tablespoon pecans when serving.
Notes
- It's important to let your cream cheese soften before making your dressing, or it will be thick and chunky. Mashing the cream cheese before incorporating it with the other ingredients makes it much easier to mix. I used a hand mixer, and it blended up quickly and smoothly.
- If you are serving this grape salad to little ones, or you just prefer to, you can slice the grapes in half before tossing them in the cream cheese dressing.
- Crushed graham crackers can be used in place of nuts to give this salad a tasty crunch. Make sure you wait to add the graham cracker crumbs until you are ready to serve, or they will become soggy.
- Crumbled candy bars like Heath bars, Kit-Kats, or any other crunchy candy bar can also be used as a topping to make this salad an even sweeter treat!
- Feel free to mix in other fruits you enjoy. Strawberries, blueberries, or even different seedless grape varieties such as 'cotton candy grapes' can be used.
- To store: Keep your creamy grape salad refrigerated in an airtight container or the bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap and enjoy it within 5-7 days.
Rosie says
Thanks for this delightful recipe. My Mom used to make a similar recipe with crushed pineapple. I like the delicious grapes with pecans.