The BEST Creamy Grape Salad

Candy grapes, crunchy pecans, and vanilla bean bitter cream are mixed on this surprising and scrumptious creamy grape salad. My boys went nuts over this the primary time I made it and I couldn’t cease consuming bites of it myself.

I’ve made this easy grape salad with pecans numerous occasions now and my youngest son nonetheless can’t get sufficient of it. Each time he sees grapes within the retailer or in our fridge, he asks if we will make “the actually good grape salad” once more. How might I ever say no to that?

Creamy Grape Salad

There’s no massive secret right here. Simply tasty contemporary grapes and pecans coated in creamy, tangy, very flippantly sweetened bitter cream. Generally the only recipes actually are the very best!

This can be a widespread dish to convey to gatherings with associates, nevertheless it’s additionally nice served with a sandwich or wrap for a simple household lunch.

Grape Salad with Pecans

Salads with grapes are traditional potluck and celebration dishes. If you happen to’ve by no means tasted one, this recipe is the proper one to make first.

Or, in case your experiences with grape salad recall to mind overly sweetened, gloppy dishes at household reunions or work picnics, I promise you this specific grape salad recipe is so good it’s going to have you ever scraping the bowl and going again to the buffet desk for seconds.

The pecans on this recipe add nice texture and crunch to the salad. So far as I’m involved, they aren’t elective. If you happen to actually dislike pecans, slivered or sliced almonds may also work, although they aren’t my first alternative.

I’d counsel swapping in walnuts earlier than almonds, however in my expertise, if somebody is averse to pecans, they nearly by no means take pleasure in walnuts. Simply use no matter nut you want greatest for crunch right here, in case you don’t care to incorporate the pecans.

Grape Salad Recipe With out Cream Cheese

This grape salad is NOT your common potluck dish. The recipe includes a flippantly sweetened bitter cream dressing and I’m comfortable to say that this salad trumps another grape salads I’ve tasted.

Years in the past, we made variations of this salad with cool whip or vanilla pudding. They have been high-quality however nothing spectacular so I wasn’t in any rush to make them once more.

I’ve additionally tasted grape salads made with yogurt or cream cheese dressings. Once more, they tasted okay however didn’t depart any massive impression. I might take them or depart them, actually.

Bitter Cream Grape Salad

Then, I found flippantly sweetened bitter cream. A number of years in the past, I made these Layered Lemon Cheesecake and tasted sweetened bitter cream for the primary time. I used to be impressed by the distinction a tiny sprinkling of sugar made within the sometimes tangy (and bitter) cream.

If you happen to haven’t tried flippantly sweetened bitter cream earlier than, you’re in for a enjoyable deal with. I’ve served this salad to a number of individuals who have been shocked that the creamy dressing was merely bitter cream.

Bitter cream with only a contact of sugar offers the proper quantity of tangy and candy to go with the juicy grape taste on this salad. I’d fortunately eat this grape salad with bitter cream for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert.

Salad with Grapes

Grape salads are simple hassle-free facet dishes. When grapes are tossed right into a primary backyard salad, they contribute an irresistible, contemporary, candy chunk that I like.

Crisp broccoli is mixed with candy, juicy grapes, and crunchy bits of pink onion simply earlier than being tossed with a tangy, candy balsamic dressing to make this Broccoli Grape Salad.

Chicken, fresh grapes, and crunchy walnuts are tossed in a tangy-sweet poppyseed dressing to make this Poppyseed Chicken Salad.

Candy grapes, candied walnuts, crisp greens, and nutty cheese are mixed to make this actually tempting Grape and Candied Walnut Salad. (Sure, I simply referred to as a salad tempting and I stand by that!) I like this salad a lot, I’ll fortunately eat it twice a day at any time when I’ve the elements in the home.

Tender bites of hen, candy grapes, pasta, are mixed and tossed with a creamy poppyseed dressing to make this easy Poppyseed Chicken and Grape Pasta Salad.

Candy grapes and tender hen in a tangy dressing come collectively as the bottom for a very tasty Cashew Hen Salad.

Tart apples and candy grapes, bananas, and blueberries are tossed with crunchy pecans in a light-weight and creamy vanilla dressing to make this “pink white and blue” Creamy Fruit Salad.

Grape Salad Substances

• inexperienced grapes
• pink grapes
• bitter cream
• sugar
• vanilla
• pecans

Kitchen Tip: I take advantage of this set of mixing bowls to make and retailer this salad. (You possibly can see the bowls within the video on the prime of this publish. The precise sample has been discontinued, however I’ve linked the same set.)

Recipe for Grape Salad

After mixing collectively the bitter cream, a little bit sugar, and aromatic vanilla, merely add a bunch of sliced inexperienced and pink grapes to the bowl.

Throw in a beneficiant handful of crunchy pecans with the grapes and bitter cream dressing and you’ve got a scrumptious, flippantly sweetened dish that’s able to serve.

You possibly can take pleasure in this Grape Salad immediately or retailer it within the fridge. If you happen to gained’t be serving the salad inside a few hours, wait so as to add the pecans till simply earlier than serving so that they don’t get tender and mushy.

If you wish to make this recipe however solely have one number of grape in your fridge, go for it anyway! I just like the combo of inexperienced and pink grapes for the great colour and taste selection it provides to the dish however it will additionally style good utilizing all inexperienced grapes or all pink grapes.

It goes with out saying that you must use seedless grapes on this recipe if in any respect attainable. We would like the great crunch on this salad to come back from the pecans reasonably than from shock seeds hiding in every juicy chunk of grape. Seedless grapes are additionally simpler to slice.

Substitute for Vanilla Bean

Sugar provides sweetness however what actually makes this bitter cream fruit salad dressing sing is the addition of vanilla. You should utilize both contemporary vanilla bean or actual vanilla extract so as to add the vanilla taste to the bitter cream.

Skyrocketing prices of vanilla and the issue of discovering contemporary vanilla beans in lots of grocery shops imply that I sometimes use vanilla extract once I make this recipe. It really works simply as properly with out as a lot fuss or expense.

It’s simple and cheap to substitute vanilla extract for vanilla beans. One teaspoon of pure vanilla extract is roughly equal taste and aroma smart to at least one vanilla bean.

I do know there are many vanilla purists on the market who argue that contemporary vanilla bean is all the time the higher possibility in baking and cooking. I can’t say I all the time agree.

Whereas contemporary vanilla is superb it’s merely not handy or value efficient for many of us. The distinction in high quality of style and taste merely isn’t as vital because the distinction in expense for me.

Everybody has their very own desire, although, and that’s why I say use no matter mode of vanilla taste that’s greatest for you.

If you happen to occur to have a contemporary vanilla bean mendacity round, positively use it! I LOVE what it provides to this recipe, however for the remainder of us, there’s our trusty vanilla extract. Each methods of including vanilla taste are scrumptious and actually improve this grape salad.

Sweetened Bitter Cream

I haven’t tried utilizing this sweetened bitter cream dressing on many different fruit salads but (it’s fantastic on this one though!) and I’m wanting ahead to experimenting with it on totally different combos of fruit.

It’s so creamy and lightweight that I guess it will style nice on plenty of different fruit salads, along with being an awesome dip for strawberries or banana slices. If you happen to determine to play with the recipe, make sure you let me know what you suppose and the totally different combos you give you!

initially revealed 5/16/14 – recipe notes and images up to date 6/29/23