Amish Grape Salad is a sweet and refreshing dish that combines fresh grapes, cream cheese, sour cream, and a few other ingredients to create a sweet and creamy treat that is both delicious and easy to make.
This creamy grape salad is perfect for any potluck, picnic, or family gathering and is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. The combination of juicy grapes, creamy cream cheese, and crunchy pecans makes for a yummy and refreshing dessert.
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Why You'll Love This Amish Grape Salad
- Creamy, sweet, and refreshing
- Always a crowd-pleaser
- Perfect for potlucks and holidays
- Simple ingredients, no baking required
- Easy to customize (yogurt, whipped cream, nuts)
- Make-ahead friendly
Fresh Grape Salad
You can use any combination of seedless grapes for this dish. I like to use red and green, but it's okay to use only red grapes as well.
This recipe uses 4 lbs. of grapes. And Walmart sells seedless grapes in approximate two-pound packages. So I bought two packages and didn't even bother weighing them. There may have been more or less than four pounds of grapes, and that's ok. It doesn't have to be exact.
Wash and Dry the Grapes
Wash the grapes and make sure they are dry before adding them to the creamy mixture. Otherwise, your dish will end up runnier because of the extra water. I wash and drain the grapes and then lay them on a dish towel to dry, while I prepare the cream cheese mixture.
You can leave the grapes whole or cut them in half. When using large grapes, I prefer them cut in half. And if you're serving this dish to kids, I recommend cutting the grapes in half since whole grapes can be a choking hazard.
The dish may end up slightly runnier with halved grapes because of juice from the grapes, but there's not too much difference.
How to Make Creamy Grape Salad
- Prepare the Grapes:
- Wash and dry approximately 4 pounds of seedless grapes.
- Mix the Cream Cheese Mixture:
- In a mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese until creamy.
- Add powdered sugar, sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt), and lemon juice. Beat well until smooth.
- Add Whipped Topping:
- Fold in an 8 oz. container of thawed Cool Whip. (This can be replaced with whipped cream. Whip approximately 1 ½ cups of heavy whipping cream until thick and creamy and add it instead of Cool Whip.)
- Combine with Grapes:
- Stir in the washed and dried grapes until they are evenly coated with the mixture.
- Chill:
- Cover the bowl and chill the grape mixture in the refrigerator for at least one hour or overnight.
- Add Toppings:
- Just before serving, sprinkle brown sugar and chopped pecans over the top. (Toast the pecans if desired.)
- Store:
- Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Grape Salad with Yogurt
Amish grape salad can easily be made with plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I think it's delicious either way!
Sour cream adds a bit of tartness that is perfectly balanced with the sugar. But I know that some people do not care for sour cream. And if that's you, feel free to use yogurt instead. However, regular yogurt is a little too thin for this recipe. So I recommend using Greek yogurt to get the thick consistency we're looking for.
Greek vanilla yogurt would taste great in here as well. Although, if using vanilla yogurt, I would add less sugar since it's already sweet.
Cool Whip or Whipped Cream
If you've been following me here for any length of time, you'll know I'm a fan of whipped cream. It tastes so much better than Cool Whip! And I replace Cool Whip with whipped cream in almost any recipe.
However, whipped cream is not stabilized like Cool Whip. So there are times when I recommend using Cool Whip instead.
For instance, if you're having an outdoor summer picnic, and your dish will be sitting in the heat, I would use Cool Whip. It doesn't take long for whipped cream to start getting thin and runny when it gets warm.
But in most cases, I replace Cool Whip with heavy whipping cream. (Although, if you need to watch your cholesterol, you may want to use Cool Whip instead.)
Of course, Cool Whip is also sweetened, and whipping cream is not. But I find that most desserts are already sweet enough, and I don't miss the extra sugar. But if you prefer really sweet desserts, you can easily add a bit of extra sugar to the whipping cream.
Grape Salad with Pecans
The pecans and brown sugar are optional toppings. But they sure do add great flavor and texture. So I highly recommend sprinkling the top with a bit of brown sugar and plenty of coarsely chopped pecans.
This recipe makes a large bowl full. And it's up to you if you want to top the whole dish of grape salad, or if you want to leave them as optional toppings for each individual bowl. In case there's someone with a nut allergy, they'd probably appreciate it if you left it optional.
Raw pecans are great with this fresh grape salad. But if you want to take it up another notch, try toasting the pecans. It adds an extra depth of flavor and crunch.
Is it Grape Salad or Grape Dessert?
What qualifies some desserts to be called salad and be served as a side dish instead of dessert?
When talking about salads, I think most of us probably think about leafy greens or dishes such as Seven-Layer Lettuce Salad, Broccoli Salad, Coleslaw, or Pepper Cabbage Slaw. And those are healthier salads than dishes like my Orange Yum Yum Jello Salad, Grape Dreamsicle Salad, or this creamy Amish grape salad.
Nonetheless, these dishes are called salads as well. And I've often wondered why.
I have finally concluded that any vegetable, fruit, or cold dish with small pieces of food that are covered in a dressing of some kind (like chicken salad) is often called a salad. Therefore, since the grapes are covered in a creamy dressing, it qualifies as a salad. 🙂
Now it's up to you if you want to serve this dish as a salad or a dessert. It works well as either one. Although, I still tend to think of this creamy grape salad as a dessert.
More Light Amish Dessert Recipes
I hope you enjoy this creamy Amish grape salad. If you try this recipe, I would love it if you left me a comment and star rating below. Thank you!
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📖 Recipe Card
Amish Grape Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 lb. seedless grapes, washed and dried
- 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
- 1 - 1 ½ c. powdered sugar
- 1 c. sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed (or 1 - 1 ½ c. heavy whipping cream)
- 3 Tbsp. brown sugar (or as desired)
- chopped pecans (toast if desired)
Instructions
- Wash and dry the grapes.4 lb. seedless grapes, washed and dried
- In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until creamy. Add the powdered sugar, sour cream, and lemon juice. Beat well.8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened, 1 - 1 ½ c. powdered sugar, 1 c. sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt), 1 tsp. lemon juice
- Fold in the Cool Whip. (Or add the heavy cream and whip until thick and creamy.)8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed (or 1 - 1 ½ c. heavy whipping cream)
- Stir in the washed and dried grapes. Cover and chill for at least one hour or overnight.
- Just before serving, sprinkle brown sugar and pecans over the top.3 Tbsp. brown sugar (or as desired), chopped pecans (toast if desired)
- Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Anna
So yummy!