It’s impossible to stop eating this Grape Salad! This is a potluck and BBQ favorite, with sweet, juicy grapes coated in a tangy, sweet, and creamy sauce, studded with walnuts, and finished with brown sugar.
It also takes only a few minutes to prepare and is really simple to put together. This is one of my favorite dishes since it is light and crunchy.
Why Will You Enjoy This Recipe?
- Uh, good? It’s more like AWESOME. This grape salad is refreshing, sweet, and acidic. It has all of the rich flavors of a truly delectable baked dessert without actually being one.
- This salad has a wonderful texture. The grapes are juicy and crisp, the dressing is creamy, and the pecans have a fantastic crunch.
- This can be a refreshing, fruity dessert or a side dish (like coleslaw or a 7-layer salad). You have to appreciate a dish that can do both. Use vanilla yogurt instead of sour cream for a sweeter, more dessert-like salad.
- This recipe makes a large amount of grape salad with 4 pounds of grapes in total. It’s ideal for potlucks, baby showers, and family barbecues, particularly if you’re feeding a large party. You can simply half the recipe for smaller groups (or just for yourself)!
Important Ingredients
Grapes – I adore the hues created by combining green and red grapes. If you prefer one grape variety over another, you can use that variable for all 4 pounds.
Also, entire grapes might be a choking hazard, so halve or quarter them before mixing together the salad if you’re serving it to children.
Sugar — This grape salad recipe has just enough sugar to balance off the tanginess of the sour cream and cream cheese. But not to the point where it overpowers the other tastes in the salad.
If you’re worried it’ll be overly sweet, start with only 2 tablespoons of white sugar in the dressing, taste it, and adjust the sweetness as needed. If you like, you can make the dressing with brown sugar or a sugar alternative.
Pecans — Toasting the pecans is optional, but it will bring out even more of its buttery, nutty flavor. Walnuts or almonds might also work if you don’t have or don’t like pecans.
To keep the nuts crispy, add them right before serving. If someone in your group has a nut allergy, you can absolutely avoid them.
Chef’s Advice
- After you’ve washed the grapes, make sure they’re completely dry. If they’re still wet, the dressing won’t properly coat them, leaving you with a liquidy mess.
- If you have time, combine the sweet dressing and grapes the night before and chill the grape salad (without the almonds and brown sugar garnish). This allows the flavors to blend and become even tastier. However, if you make it too long ahead of time, the grapes will lose their freshness.
- Combine the ingredients for the sweet dressing using a hand mixer. It’ll make a wonderful whipped dressing into which you can fold the grapes. Don’t worry if you don’t have a hand mixer or don’t want to fiddle with one. A whisk or a silicone spatula may also suffice!
Grape Salad With Pecans
15-minute prep time 0 minutes to cook 30 minutes to chill 45 minutes total |
It’s impossible to stop eating this grape salad! This is a potluck and BBQ favorite, with sweet, juicy grapes coated in a tangy, sweet, and creamy sauce, studded with walnuts, and finished with brown sugar.
It also takes only a few minutes to prepare and is really simple to put together. This is one of my favorite dishes since it is light and crunchy.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of green seedless grapes
- 2 pounds of red seedless grapes
- 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup white sugar or granular Swerve
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup chopped pecans divided
- 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar or Brown Swerve
Equipment
- Large bowl with lid (or plastic wrap)
- Medium bowl
- Large wooden spoon or silicone spatula
Instructions For Grape Salad With Pecans
- Grapes should be washed and dried before being placed in a large bowl. Place aside.
- Grape salad with a sweet dressing
- Toss the grapes with the sweet dressing mixture. Stir until everything is evenly covered. Refrigerate the bowl for at least 30 minutes, or until ready to serve.
- Red and green grapes in a bowl with a sweet dressing
14 cup chopped pecans, just before serving, stir in until fully mixed. To serve, top the grape salad with the remaining 14 cups of pecans and a dusting of brown sugar. After garnishing, serve immediately.
Notes
- Cream cheese must be completely softened before adding to the sweet dressing mixture; else, the consistency will be off.
- If your grapes are particularly tart, you may wish to add more sugar to compensate. Reduce the sugar if they’re really sweet so it doesn’t overwhelm.
- Reduce the sugar content by replacing the white sugar with granular Swerve and the brown sugar with Brown Swerve.
- Make it dairy-free by using vegan cream cheese and vegan sour cream or dairy-free yogurt in place of sour cream.
- Make it vegan by using vegan cream cheese and substituting vegan sour cream or dairy-free yogurt for the sour cream. Use a sugar replacement or make sure your white sugar is vegan.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 199kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 22mg, Sodium: 69mg, Potassium: 254mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 23g, Vitamin A: 166IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 41mg, Iron: 1mg, Net Carbs: 26g