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This Easy Grape Salad recipe is loaded with fresh grapes, sweetened cream cheese, and a crunchy, nutty topping. It’s ready in just 5 minutes plus chilling time.
Grape Salad another one of those classic Midwestern desserts that we pass off as a salad (similar to Snickers Salad or Strawberry Pretzel Salad). It’s a sweet and nutty side dish with a creamy sauce and a crunchy topping.
It’s easy to make: mix up cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla, then add chilled grapes and top with brown sugar and walnuts. That’s it!
It’s kid-friendly, and I love it too because I can eat it as a dessert and still feel light and full of energy afterwards. What a great summer side dish!
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Cream cheese: If the cream cheese is not softened to room temperature, the cream cheese and sour cream won’t combine well (the mixture will be lumpy). If this happens, stir it quickly with a whisk.
- Grapes: Chilled red grapes (the sweetest you can find), and preferably seedless. If you know small children will be eating the salad, consider quartering the grapes.
- Walnuts: Chopped and toasted walnuts are great in this salad, or try toasted pecans instead.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a large bowl, add cream cheese, sour cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla and stir to combine.
- Carefully fold in the grapes and gently toss until evenly coated. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix brown sugar and walnuts.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture on top of the grapes. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or overnight. Serve cold.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes at least 12 cups Grape Salad, enough for 12 servings, 1 cup each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days (the salad may get watery over time but is still safe to eat).
- Make ahead: This salad is best enjoyed the day you make it. However, you can get a head start by pulling the cream cheese out of the refrigerator a few hours before you make it.
- Grape Salad with Snickers: Yes, chopped up Snickers Bars are supposedly a must-have on this salad (reminiscent of Snickers Salad).
- Grape Salad with strawberries. Natural, good-for-you fresh berries tossed in with the grapes, how can that taste anything but excellent?
- Grape Salad with graham crackers. Crushed graham crackers as a topping on grape salad add a little sweetness, with or without the brown sugar topping.
Recipe FAQs
Unwrap your block of cream cheese completely (discarding the cardboard box and inner foil wrapper). Place on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for about 15 seconds per 8 ounces of cream cheese.
1 pound of seedless grapes contains about 2 ½ cups of grapes. If the grapes have seeds, 1 pounds of seeded grapes contains about 2 cups of grapes.
This salad is at its best when placed on the table when its icy cold. Sprinkle the toppings on and serve with a spoon so everyone can help themselves. For a better topping-to-grape-ratio, assemble grape salad in a shallow casserole so people don’t fight for the crunchy nuts and brown sugar.
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Easy Grape Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened (see note 1)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 pounds red seedless grapes chilled (about 10 cups, see note 2)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped (see note 3)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add cream cheese, sour cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla and stir to combine.
- Carefully fold in the grapes and gently toss until evenly coated. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix brown sugar and walnuts.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture on top of the grapes. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or overnight. Serve cold.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Cream cheese: If the cream cheese is not softened to room temperature, the cream cheese and sour cream won’t combine well (the mixture will be lumpy). If this happens, stir it quickly with a whisk.
- Grapes: Chilled red grapes (the sweetest you can find), and preferably seedless. If you know small children will be eating the salad, consider quartering the grapes.
- Walnuts: Chopped and toasted walnuts are great in this salad, or try toasted pecans instead.
- Yield: This recipe makes at least 12 cups Grape Salad, enough for 12 servings, 1 cup each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days (the salad may get watery over time but is still safe to eat).
- Make ahead: This salad is best enjoyed the day you make it. However, you can get a head start by pulling the cream cheese out of the refrigerator a few hours before you make it.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Hi! I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. It’s what I had but it turned out amazing! With the yogurt not being quite as thick as the sour cream I used 1.5 cups. Then I felt like it wasn’t sweet enough so I added another quarter cup and this was phenomenal!!! Thank you!!!
Great substitution! I’m so glad you liked it! -Meggan
I made this & I put 2 apples diced in with the grapes I was delicious !!
Happy you loved it, Vickie! – Meggan
This is delicious! I used pecans and not walnuts though. I had a bunch of grapes left over after Christmas and this was a great recipe to use the extra grapes. Two thumbs up!
I started making this about a month ago. It has become the family favorite.
I am making a double size for Thanksgiving.
Thank you for sharing, Gina! I’m so happy this has become a family favorite! Happy Thanksgiving! – Meggan
Delicious! Everyone loved it.
I’m so happy everyone loved it, James! Take care! – Meggan