Favorite Easy Creamy Grape Salad Recipe With Pecans

Easy Grape Salad has sweet red grapes (and green ones too!) covered in a tangy cream cheese sauce with a few chopped pecans for a bit of crunch. This easy salad recipe takes about 5 minutes, requires just a few simple ingredients, and makes the perfect side for any summer meal. It’s the perfect balance of sweet, creamy, easy, and oh-so delicious!  

This easy creamy grape salad recipe is definitely not your typical fruit salad – it is so MUCH better! An elevated fruit salad with cream cheese and crunchy pecans is certainly worth sharing with family and friends or bringing to your next potluck.

Although you can serve this for holidays if your family loves it, it’s also perfect for casual gatherings.

True story time!!! 🙂 We have a large extended family so we get together often for birthday parties, holidays and any other occasion we can think of. 😉

We all pitch in and bring a dish to share. So knowing how much all the kids love fresh fruit, at least our kids do, I offered to bring a fresh fruit tray.

The host let me know that she had a southern grape salad recipe that she was making that was sure to be a hit with the young and not as young. She said it had juicy grapes, cream cheese, yogurt, pecans, and a few other yummy ingredients.

Wait?! Now to me, an easy fruit salad sounded like it would be a tasty dish, but would the kids who devoured the fresh fruit at our get-togethers think the same?

Well, let you tell you that she certainly knew what she was talking about! They loved this delicious recipe and practically devoured it all before the adults even got to go through the line to fill our plates.

So now, when we are preparing for a party or holiday gathering, the question is not what salad should we bring. The question is, whose turn is it to make the Easy Grape Salad…because it is just that EASY and a hit with all ages.

And this amazing creamy grape salad is PERFECT for hot summer day gatherings (Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, or ANY summer gathering!). It’s reminiscent of ambrosia salad but made with grapes instead of citrus fruits.

If you want more salad recipes containing fresh fruit, try my Easy Layered Brunch Salad, Strawberry Spinach Salad, or Old-Fashioned Strawberry Pretzel Salad.

Ingredients Needed For Easy Grape Salad Recipe

• Fresh grapes – seedless whole grapes, washed and dried. You can use red seedless grapes, seedless green grapes, or both!
• Cream cheese – full-fat cream cheese softened to room temperature will taste the best
• Greek yogurt – plain yogurt gives that little extra tangy bite
• White sugar – granulated
• Vanilla extract
• Pecans – crushed
• Brown sugar – I find light brown sugar works best for this salad

Note: Please check out the handy printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for full recipe details!

How to make easy grape salad

This easy recipe comes together in minutes by mixing up the creamy dressing and adding grapes and pecans. Just follow these steps for the best grape salad recipe!

Step 1

Wash the grapes and make sure they are completely dried.

Step 2

Beat together the softened cream cheese, yogurt, white sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl.

Give the mixture a quick taste and adjust the sweetness to your preference.

Step 3

Fold the grapes into the mixture until they are completely covered.

Step 4

Put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or longer before serving.

Step 5

In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar and pecans. This brown sugar mixture will be the crumb topping for the salad.

Step 6

Finally, sprinkle the topping mixture over the top of the salad right just prior to serving.

Easy Grape Salad Recipe Notes And Tips

• Make sure the grapes are rinsed and completely dry before adding them to the cream cheese mixture. I like to lay them out on a paper towel or dish towel after washing, dab dry and allow to air dry for an hour or so.

• Red, green, or a combination of both kinds of grapes will make a beautiful and delicious salad. Just be sure they are seedless, crisp grapes for the best results.

• I think the cream cheese dressing tastes best when using full-fat cream cheese. However, you can make this recipe with light cream cheese, low fat cream cheese, or even fat-free cream cheese.

• Add the brown sugar/pecan topping mixture to the full bowl of salad or on individual servings, depending on what method works best for you.

• You can replace the yogurt with sour cream if you are not a yogurt fan. Sour cream will give the same zesty tang you get with the yogurt.

• Leave the pecans out altogether if you are worried about nut allergies.

Variations Of Easy Grape Salad To Try

• Stir in chopped Snickers bars or crushed Heath or Butterfinger bars. If you’re wondering, it is heavenly! 😉

• Change up the topping by crushing up some graham crackers in place of the brown sugar/pecan mixture.

• Walnuts, peanuts, or pistachios are delicious substitutes to try if pecans are not your favorite.

• Replace the yogurt with marshmallow creme for an even sweeter version (skip adding the white sugar if you do this).

FAQs

More Easy and Delicious Salads To Try

• Cowboy Pasta Salad
• Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon
• Poppyseed Pasta Salad
• Homemade Copycat Panera Fuji Apple Salad