If you live in the Midwest, chances are you've had grape salad at least once. It's a tangy combination of grapes, apples, and glazed pecans covered with a sweet sauce. It can be made in advance and goes well with any number of main dishes. Here's how to make grape salad, including our Test Kitchen's secret to the creamiest texture.
Grape Salad Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this creamy grape salad recipe.
- Cream Cheese: Let your cream cheese soften before adding it to the sauce mixture. If it's too cold, it won't completely mix.
- Sour Cream: A cup of sour cream adds the perfect tang to balance the sweetness of the sugar and grapes in this fruit salad.
- Sugar: Using brown sugar gives the dish a light almost caramel-like taste.
- Flavorings: Vanilla and cinnamon add flavor to the grape salad recipe.
- Grapes: For color and flavor, our Test Kitchen likes to use both red and green grapes.
- Apples: A chopped apple adds texture to the finished salad. You can choose a sweet apple, like a Honeycrisp, or a tart apple, like a Granny Smith, for this recipe.
- Pecans: Our taste testers preferred the salad with homemade glazed pecans. You can also use toasted pecans if you'd prefer.
How to Make Grape Salad
Making this grape salad with cream cheese is quite easy. Here's a quick look at how to assemble it.
- Make the Sauce: Blend the cream cheese, sour cream, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon into a thick sauce.
- Add the Fruit: Add the grapes and chopped apple to the sauce mixture.
- Finish: Top the finished grape salad with toasted pecans and serve.
How to Store Grape Salad
Transfer salad, without pecans, to an airtight container and chill for up to 3 days. Top with pecans just before serving.
Ingredients
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8 ounces cream cheese, softened
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1 cup sour cream
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1/4 cup packed brown sugar
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2 teaspoons vanilla
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1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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2 pounds seedless green grapes, halved
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2 pounds seedless red grapes, halved
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1 tart sweet apple, cored and chopped
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1 cup glazed pecans or toasted pecans, chopped
Directions
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In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium to high speed 30 seconds. Add sour cream, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon; beat until combined.
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In a serving bowl, combine grapes and apple. Add cream cheese mixture; toss to combine. Top with pecans before serving.
Glazed Pecans
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 13x9-inch baking pan. In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and 2 tablespoons orange juice. Add 1 cup pecan halves, stirring to coat. Spread nuts into prepared pan. Bake about 12 minutes or until nuts are browned and syrup is bubbly, stirring once. Pour out onto a lightly greased baking sheet, separating into single nuts. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 1 cup nuts.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
| 131 | Calories |
| 7g | Fat |
| 18g | Carbs |
| 2g | Protein |
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings Per Recipe 24 | |
| Calories 131.4 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 6.8g | 9% |
| Saturated Fat 3.1g | 15% |
| Cholesterol 15.2mg | 5% |
| Sodium 34.8mg | 2% |
| Total Carbohydrate 17.9g | 7% |
| Dietary Fiber 1.1g | 4% |
| Total Sugars 15.1g | |
| Protein 1.6g | 3% |
| Vitamin D 0mcg | 0% |
| Vitamin C 2.9mg | 3% |
| Calcium 30.3mg | 2% |
| Iron 0.4mg | 2% |
| Potassium 189mg | 4% |
| Fatty acids, total trans 0.1g | |
| Vitamin D 0IU | |
| Alanine 0.1g | |
| Arginine 0.2g | |
| Ash 0.6g | |
| Aspartic acid 0.1g | |
| Caffeine 0mg | |
| Carotene, alpha 0.9mcg | |
| Choline, total 9.8mg | |
| Copper, Cu 0.1mg | |
| Cystine 0g | |
| Energy 549.7kJ | |
| Fluoride, F 6.4mcg | |
| Folate, total 3.7mcg | |
| Glutamic acid 0.3g | |
| Glycine 0g | |
| Histidine 0g | |
| Isoleucine 0.1g | |
| Leucine 0.1g | |
| Lysine 0.1g | |
| Methionine 0g | |
| Magnesium, Mg 10.3mg | |
| Manganese, Mn 0.2mg | |
| Niacin 0.2mg | |
| Phosphorus, P 39.5mg | |
| Pantothenic acid 0.2mg | |
| Phenylalanine 0.1g | |
| Phytosterols 3.9mg | |
| Proline 0.2g | |
| Retinol 40.2mcg | |
| Selenium, Se 1.3mcg | |
| Serine 0.1g | |
| Starch 0g | |
| Theobromine 0mg | |
| Threonine 0.1g | |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 0.3mg | |
| Tryptophan 0g | |
| Tyrosine 0.1g | |
| Valine 0.1g | |
| Vitamin A, IU 203.1IU | |
| Vitamin A, RAE 43.6mcg | |
| Vitamin B-12 0mcg | |
| Vitamin B-6 0.1mg | |
| Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 11.6mcg | |
| Water 79.6g | |
| Zinc, Zn 0.2mg | |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.