Easy Grape Salad Recipe

This grape salad with cream cheese makes for a delicious dessert filled with the flavor of summer. This easy grape salad recipe only takes a few ingredients to create a flavor that always satisfies and is perfect for almost any occasion.

If you're like most people, you've probably had grape salad at least once in your life - and probably a lot more often than that! It's a classic dish that always seems to find its way to any table at a special event or get-together. Simple and easy, this dish is the perfect combination of sweet and tangy, making for a wonderful flavor that's filled with interest whenever you have a bite.

I've been making grape salad for years. When I need to bring a side or dessert to any special event, it's always in my top five picks. I'll even make this easy grape salad with cream cheese for a weeknight dessert or to have as an afternoon snack. That's how simple it is.

Whenever I make this, it brings back all kinds of great memories for me. I remember eating it as a kid when my family would get together for holidays or parties. I always loved it, and so I continued to make it when I got older.

This has been one of my go-to recipes for decades, so I'm very excited to share it with all of you today. It's so good!

Easy Grape Salad with Cream Cheese

This delicious dish pulls double duty as both a side and a dessert. If you find this dish at a potluck, just about half the people will eat it after their main dishes and the other half will have it right there on their plate next to a casserole and other savory entrees. Everyone eats it in their own way, but the thing that remains the same is that it's always a huge hit. There's a reason for that.

This delicious dessert salad is filled with sweet, plump grapes, cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and nuts. It's a dish that perfectly combines sweet and tangy into a singular treat that is just pure Heaven.

All that creaminess juxtaposed with the crunch of the nuts and combine with the tangy sweetness of the creamy sauce enveloping it all makes for a dish that everyone is always happy to see on the table.

What do I Need to Get Started

• Cream cheese - regular or low fat
• Sour cream - regular or low fat
• Vanilla extract
• Seedless green grapes
• Seedless red grapes
• Brown sugar - you can use granulated sugar for the cream cheese sauce and just use brown sugar for sprinkling on the top if you prefer
• Walnuts - any nut you prefer
• Pecans
• Toffee pieces - I used Heath toffee pieces, but any is fine

Ingredients

It only takes a few simple ingredients to make this easy grape salad recipe. The best part is that all of these ingredients are either in your kitchen already or readily available at the grocery store. You'll either be able to simply hit the fridge to start making this salad or make a super quick in-and-out stop at the store to get everything you need. Easy peasy!

• 1 8 ounce package cream cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 Tablespoons brown sugar, divided
• 3 cups seedless green grapes
• 3 cups seedless red grapes
• ¼ cup pecans, chopped
• ¼ cup walnuts, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons Heath toffee pieces or chopped candy bar

See? There's really not too much to this recipe at all. Simple ingredients are what make this salad so delicious.

Making Easy Grape Salad with Cream Cheese

Making this sweet and tangy salad is just as easy, if not easier, than gathering the ingredients for it! It all comes together so quickly because there's no cooking involved in this dish whatsoever. The entire recipe is basically just mixing things together. You'll be in and out of the kitchen in just a few minutes! It's so easy even a caveman could do it, as the old commercial says. Take a look at just how simple it is.

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla, and 3 Tablespoons of brown sugar. Using a hand mixer, beat until well combined.
• Add the grapes to the bowl and fold in with a mixing spoon.
• In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar, pecans, walnuts, and heath pieces. Sprinkle over the grape salad.
• Enjoy as a snack or serve as a side dish with your favorite meal.

Variations

This recipe is super easy and so good, but another thing that makes it really shine is how versatile it is. There are a lot of ways that you can mix things up with this recipe. Getting creative is part of the fun with it! It's the perfect recipe for experimentation.

Use Different Grapes

There are tons of different seedless grape varieties out there, and you can try them all! This recipe calls for green and red grapes, but you can choose to go with other varieties to change up the flavor just a bit. It's an easy change to keep things fresh.

Use Different Nuts

Although this recipe calls for walnuts and pecans, you can use any nuts you like to change the flavor of this dish. Any nut will work. They all give a great crunch and an extra layer of flavor. A simple change of nuts can be a fun way to mix things up. Use any nuts you like, I've tried all of them, and they all work well.

Toast the Nuts

For a real kick of flavor, try toasting your nuts before adding them to the grape salad. It adds a great depth of flavor, and the best part is that toasting the nuts doesn't take long at all.

Add Different Ingredients to the Cream Mixture

You can change up your cream cheese mixture to give different flavors to this grape salad recipe, as well. I've tried adding marshmallow fluff to it, and it was delicious. You can also try using Cool Whip in the recipe.

If you use fluff or Cool Whip, remember to leave out the brown sugar, as there will be plenty of sweetness from the added ingredients.

Tips

This recipe is so ridiculously easy, there aren't a lot of tips to be had. You would have to really try to mess this up. That's one reason I love it so much! You literally throw it together.

That being said, there are a few things to know that will help you take this grape salad from good to great. They're all very simple tips that add no time whatsoever to the recipe, so be sure to check them out.

Use the Freshest Grapes

When choosing grapes, be sure to pick the freshest, best grapes possible. You want nice, crisp grapes that pop when you bite into them. Mushy grapes just won't work well. You'll just have a bowl of mush. In addition, firm, crisp grapes won't break when you mix them into the salad.

Cut Large Grapes in Half

Sometimes, you find absolutely perfect grapes that are just too gargantuan to work in your salad. If that's the case, simply cut them in half. A fresh, crisp grape will hold its shape even when cut in half.

Fold, Don't Stir

When making a recipe like this, it's important that you fold everything together, not stir it. When you fold in all the ingredients, it ensures that nothing gets smashed and turns your beautiful grape salad into mush.

Serving Easy Grape Salad with Cream Cheese

Just like everything else with this recipe, serving up this delicious salad is super simple. Just set the entire dish out on the table or counter and let everyone take as much or as little as they like. I will caution you that this stuff is so good, you should probably make a double batch for larger gatherings!

This dish is perfect for weeknight desserts, afternoon snacks, potlucks, barbecues, and holiday get-togethers. Basically, it's the perfect addition to any spread, so feel free to make it for any occasion at all!

Storing Grape Salad

This easy grape salad recipe will keep well in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to five days. For longer storage, you can freeze it for up to a month.

To freeze, simply place it in an air-tight, freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag and throw it in the freezer. To serve, simply allow it to thaw out in the refrigerator. It's also delicious straight out of the freezer on a hot summer day!

Get This Creamy Grape Salad into Your Life

This easy grape salad with cream cheese is a super simple recipe that just explodes with flavor. It's so delicious, quick, and easy, there's no reason not to give it a try. Filled with summery goodness, this recipe comes together so fast, you can serve it as a weeknight dessert or impromptu afternoon snack, however, it's fancy looking enough that it's perfect for special events, as well!

Give this recipe a try, and I know you'll love it as much as I do. I can almost guarantee that you'll find yourself making it over and over again. That's how fantastic it is!