Vegan Grape Salad

This creamy Vegan Grape Salad recipe is a sweet and easy Southern classic! This old-fashioned fruit salad is made gluten-free and allergy-free using dairy-free cream cheese, sour cream, juicy grapes, and sunflower seeds to make it nut-free! Simple and quick, just like the original dessert salad, it's a side dish perfect for potlucks, holidays, picnics, and every gathering in between!

Sweet, creamy, cold, and crisp, this grape salad is about to put your grandma's to shame. We all love a vintage potluck salad, that's really a dessert, and this vegan grape salad checks off all the boxes and more. While the original grape salad is far from allergy-free, this recipe is made without dairy or nuts, so everyone can enjoy a scoop at the party! Whether you consider it a side dish or dessert, this Southern and Midwestern staple will become a new family favorite.

What Is Grape Salad?

Just like many old-fashioned recipes, grape salad has a murky origin. Some consider it a Southern classic that rose in popularity during the 1950s fruit salad craze and can be found in numerous church and community cookbooks. While others say it harkens back to the Midwest (but don't let a Minnesotan hear you say that!) It's a simple combination of grapes with a sweet, creamy dressing of cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla, sprinkled with a topping of brown sugar and walnuts.

Why You'll Love This Vegan Grape Salad

Not only is this recipe vegan, meaning it's dairy-free, but it's also nut-free because, of course, we're allergy-free here! You also have the option of making it sugar-free by using sugar-free sweeteners like Swerve. It's still easy, delicious, perfect for big crowds, and loaded with feel-good retro nostalgia. This modern old-fashioned recipe is:

• Gluten-Free
• Vegan & Vegetarian
• Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Corn-Free, Coconut-Free)
• Sugar-Free Option
• Quick, Easy 7 to 8 Ingredients
• Kid-Friendly
• Make-Ahead & Meal Prep-Friendly
• Crowd-Pleasing Side Dish, Dessert, Holiday, & Potluck Favorite

Ingredients For Grape Salad

• Grapes: I think the best way to make a creamy grape salad is to use multiple colors of grapes. Sweet red grapes, tart green grapes, and if you want to get extra fancy, some super sweet black grapes! I made this recipe with half red grapes and half green grapes. It's totally up to you, and whichever combo you choose will be 100%  delicious! Just make sure the grapes are firm, crisp, and juicy!
• Vegan Cream Cheese: Plain vegan cream cheese, like Violife or Daiya, are great since they're both soy and nut-free as well. You can use any dairy-free cream cheese you would typically buy. Leave it out to soften slightly before making this recipe.
• Vegan Sour Cream: Your choice of homemade vegan sour cream or store-bought. My vegan sour cream recipe is made with plain unsweetened dairy-free yogurt and a splash of lemon juice or white vinegar. Lemon juice works best for this sweet recipe. Technically, you can just use plain yogurt, but look for a Greek-style vegan yogurt so it is thicker like sour cream.
• Granulated Sugar: You can add more or less sugar to the creamy dressing depending on how sweet your grapes are. I found ⅓ cup to ½ cup is best. You can also use sugar-free granulated sweetener for a no-added-sugar recipe
• Vanilla Extract: Subtle hints of vanilla are what make this grape salad truly taste like a dessert and not just a fruit salad!
• Sunflower Seeds: In place of the walnuts in the original recipe, you'll use roasted sunflower seeds to add that crunch but keep it nut-free! I would also stick with unsalted for this recipe. If nuts aren't a concern for you, using crushed walnuts, pecans, or almonds are still delicious options.
• Brown Sugar: Light or dark brown sugar adds a rich molasses-y sweetness to the crunchy sunflower seeds and takes the flavors in this creamy dessert salad up a notch! You can use sugar-free brown sugar-style Swerve for a sugar-free option.

How To Make Creamy Grape Salad

1. Add the softened dairy-free cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla to a large mixing bowl.
2. Cream together the ingredients using an electric hand mixer until you have a smooth and fully combined mixture.

3. Add the grapes to the creamy mixture and fold everything together so the grapes are fully coated in the creamy dressing. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.
4. In a small bowl, combine the sunflower seeds and brown sugar. Set aside until you're ready to serve the grape salad.

5. When you're ready to serve, sprinkle the sunflower seed brown sugar mixture over the chilled grape salad.

Recipe Tips & Tricks

• After rinsing the grapes, make sure they are completely dry before mixing them into the creamy dressing. The excess water will get in the way of the dressing clinging to the grapes!
• There is no need to slice the grapes. This recipe is meant to use whole grapes; however, if you find a few extra large ones, you can slice them in half if you prefer.
• It's best to chill the salad in the fridge for 2-3 hours before serving so the dressing has time to thicken again, plus you want this creamy grape salad cold!
• The topping should be added to the salad right before you plan on serving it; otherwise, the seeds will become soggy, when they should be crunchy, and the brown sugar will dissolve into the dressing (which is yummy but not aesthetic).
• Some people mix in half the topping and use the other half as the topping sprinkle, but I prefer (and how it's classically made) using all of it as the topping instead.
• Other fun mix-ins you can include: coconut flakes, fresh mint, cinnamon, other sweeteners like vegan honey, maple syrup, or coconut nectar in place of granulated sugar.
• You can also top this dessert salad with crushed gluten-free graham crackers instead of the brown sugar sunflower seed topping!

Make-Ahead & Storage Instructions

• Leftovers: You can store leftover creamy grape salad in a closed container in the fridge for 4-5 days. The brown sugar topping and seeds will take on the moisture in the creamy dressing.
• Make-Ahead: If you plan on making the Southern grape salad in advance, do so the night before, but do not add the brown sugar sunflower topping until you are ready to serve!
• Can you freeze it? No, don't do that.

More Vegan Potluck Salads:

• Vegan Waldorf Salad
• Vegan Ambrosia Salad
• Old-Fashioned Pea Salad
• Old-Fashioned Three Bean Salad
• Southern Potato Salad
• Classic Italian Pasta Salad
• Glorified Rice

Print

Easy, delicious, sweet, cool, and creamy! Everyone should be able to enjoy a scoop of creamy Southern grape salad, and this allergy-free recipe checks all the boxes for your next potluck!

So tell me:

+ Have you ever had grape salad?

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