Grape Salad

Grape Salad with Cream Cheese Dressing is a delicious recipe for a fruit salad. Now, honestly, calling this salad isn’t something I feel quite right about. It is really much more like a creamy dessert.

grape salad and salad tongs on a platter


Creamy Grape Salad

Grape salad is one of those recipes you might have forgotten existed until someone makes it, and then you remember how delicious it is! Plus, it is extremely simple to make, not to mention light and refreshing.       

What Do You Do With That Big Bag of Grapes?

Sometimes you get a big bag of grapes and you aren’t quite sure what to do with them before they go bad. Let’s be real, you can only eat so many plain grapes without getting bored of them. 

So, why not make a fresh grape salad with cream cheese? Talk about the best of both worlds. In this grape salad recipe you get the healthy aspect of the grapes, but get the decadence from the cream cheese mixture. They make a wonderful pair. 

What Type of Grapes Work Best?   

For this southern grape salad you can really use any grape you prefer. Either red, purple, or green grapes will work great for this recipe. You can use just one flavor or mix it up to add some color. 

There are also some new cotton candy grapes that you can get at the grocery store that would be fantastic in this grape salad. 

The big thing to avoid when making a grape salad is any grape with seeds. Seedless grapes are preferred because when you are using them in a grape salad recipe, people will not be expecting seeds that they need to look out for. 

Thus, using seeded grapes and keeping the seeds in them would be a choking hazard. I like to make it easy on myself and just always buy the seedless grapes!

How to Prep Grapes For a Dessert Salad

There are two ways you can choose to have your grapes for a grape salad with cream cheese. First, you can leave them whole after washing them and then continue on with preparing the fruit salad. 

Or, you can cut the grapes in halves or fourths to make the chucks smaller and less worrisome if there are kids at the event you might be bringing this fantastic southern grape salad too. 

If you are all about cutting up your grapes then go for it! You can even use this grape cutter to speed up the process. However, it will cut your grape into fourths as it does it to make the grape less of a choking hazard for kids.  

How to Store Grape Salad

While grape salad is a delightfully delicate salad to serve for an event, it can be a little hard when it comes to prepping it ahead. 

You will want to either prep this salad the same day of a function or at most the night before and store it in the fridge in an airtight container until it is ready to be served. Grape salad will always need to be stored in the fridge when it is not being served because of the cream cheese base.

Also, to make sure you have the best experience with this grape salad recipe, make sure to eat it within the first 2-3 days. After that the juices of the grapes will break down the cream cheese mixture the grapes are coated in and it will be very runny. 

Can Grape Salad Be Frozen?

While I wish I could say yes, no, this recipe is not one that does well when frozen. When the grapes begin to thaw, the delicious cream cheese coating will lose its integrity and become very runny and not appealing.

Grape Salad Recipe Ingredients

Here’s a list of what you need:

  • Seedless red grapes
  • Seedless green grapes
  • Walnuts
  • Cream cheese
  • Sour cream
  • Powdered sugar
  • Lemon juice
  • Vanilla extract
grape salad ingredients

How to Make Grape Salad

  1. Wash and dry grapes.
  2. Place the grapes on paper towels.
  3. Toast walnuts in a skillet over medium heat.
    toasted walnuts in a skillet
  4. When the nuts become fragrant and brown, remove them immediately from the skillet and place them on a plate.
  5. Chop the walnuts into pieces if they are halves.
  6. Place sour cream, cream cheese, lemon juice, and powdered sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Beat until well blended.
    dressing for grape salad in a bowl
  7. Mix in vanilla extract.
  8. Place walnuts and grapes into the bowl with the dressing.
  9. Fold in grapes and walnuts until they are incorporated fully into the dressing.
  10. Cover and refrigerate for an hour before serving.
grape salad with walnuts on a platter

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grape salad and salad tongs on a platter

Grape Salad

Quick and easy grape salad made with cream cheese, sour cream, and toasted walnuts. 
5 from 9 votes
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Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Grape Salad, Grape Salad with Cream Cheese, Grapes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 16
Calories: 293kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds seedless red grapes
  • 2 pounds seedless green grapes
  • 2 cups walnut pieces
  • 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
  • 8 ounces sour cream
  • teaspoons lemon juice
  • cups powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Wash and dry grapes.
  • Let the grapes drain on paper towels while you prepare the salad dressing. 
  • If you have walnut halves, chop them into pieces.
  • Toast walnuts by heating up a skillet to medium to medium-high heat. Add walnuts to the skillet. Let walnuts toast by simply heating them in the skillet, you may stir them once or twice.
  • When nuts become fragrant and brown, remove them immediately from the skillet and place them on a plate. By placing the nuts on a cool plate, you will stop the cooking process. 
  • Make the salad dressing by combining the sour cream, cream cheese, lemon juice, and powdered sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Beat until well blended.
  • Add vanilla extract to the dressing and mix it in.
  • Add walnuts and grapes to the bowl with the dressing.
  • Fold in grapes and walnuts until they are incorporated fully into the dressing.
  • Place the grape salad in a covered bowl.
  • Refrigerate the salad for about 1 hour before serving.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 293kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 59mg | Potassium: 320mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 355IU | Vitamin C: 4.1mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 0.9mg

About Stephanie Manley

I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.

Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.

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