This post may contain affiliate links. Read disclosure policy
This creamy grape salad combines sweet red and green grapes with a fluffy cream cheese dressing, then gets topped with crunchy pecans and brown sugar. It’s the kind of side dish that disappears first at every gathering and has people asking for the recipe.
Are grapes perfect as they are? Yes. Can we still make them better? Also yes.
The Potluck MVP.
You know how some dishes just have that magical potluck power? This grape salad is one of those.
First, people are a little perplexed. Grape salad? They go in expecting something weird with lettuce leaves. And then they realize it’s just a version of fruit salad and people start getting excited.
Plus, this one looks fancy enough for holiday tables but is actually ridiculously easy to make.
The secret is in the dressing – it’s basically like cheesecake filling but lighter and fluffier. When you fold it with the grapes and top everything with that brown sugar and pecan combo, you get this perfect balance of creamy, crunchy, and fresh. It’s somewhere between a salad and a dessert, which honestly is the best place to be.
Another recipe that I love to share with the skeptics – my chicken salad with grapes. People think it sounds weird until they give it a try!
3 Reasons You’ll Love This Grape Salad with Cream Cheese
- Always gets devoured first. This is the dish that disappears at potlucks while the other salads sit sadly untouched. People genuinely get excited about it.
- Takes 10 minutes to make. Just mix, fold, sprinkle, and you’re done. No cooking, no complicated techniques, just simple assembly that tastes impressive.
- Travels beautifully. Unlike delicate salads that wilt, this one actually gets better as it sits and is perfect for transporting to gatherings.
Swaps & Tips
- No pecans? Chopped walnuts or even toasted almonds work great
- Make it lighter: Use reduced-fat cream cheese and Greek yogurt instead of sour cream
- Different grapes: Use all red or all green if that’s what you have – the recipe is very forgiving
- Make ahead tip: The brown sugar will dissolve as it sits, but that’s totally fine and actually tastes great
- Serving hack: Use a slotted spoon to avoid transferring too much dressing liquid
Don’t skip letting the cream cheese come to room temperature – it makes mixing so much easier and prevents lumps in your dressing. You can use other chopped nuts here too like walnuts.
My Favorite Vanilla!
A good quality vanilla really does make a difference and this is my favorite brand.
Storage Instructions:
Store covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Tastes best served cold.
The brown sugar will melt into the salad over time, but it’s still delicious.
Give it a gentle stir before serving if it’s been sitting for a while.
Recipe FAQs:
You do want to rinse the grapes first but make sure you dry them well so there isn’t too much extra moisture. Also be careful when mixing the salad to not break any of the grapes as they will release the juice.
Yep! We’re using red and green grapes, and there are a ton of varieties of both. You can use one, two, or as many varieties of grapes as you like when making this salad.
More Fruity Favorites:
- Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
- Pineapple Pretzel Salad
- Apple Cobbler
- Banana Coffee Cake
- Snickers Apple Salad
- Bisquick Peach Cobbler
- Chocolate Banana Bread
Grape Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound red grapes
- 1 pound green grapes
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Instructions
- Wash and dry the grapes.
- Add the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla to a large mixing bowl and beat the mixture with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
- Add the grapes and stir gently to coat in the cream cheese mixture.
- Sprinkle the pecans and brown sugar over the top before serving.
- Store tightly covered in the refrigerator.
Leave a Review