Hey, y'all! A common, yet perplexing to some, side dish in the south is grape salad. Those that have never tried it are usually surprised to see it served and/or on a menu. That said, try it once and you'll never look back -- it's just that good, y'all. I'm so excited to share the recipe for Southern Grape Salad with you today!
This recipe stems from my Auntie JJ and is a part of a larger series, #CookingLikeJJ, which you can read more about here.
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Southern Grape Salad
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use green or red grapes; for visual interest, I like to use both!
Absolutely; walnuts go very well with this recipe, too!
Ingredients, Shopping List: Southern Grape Salad
- green seedless grapes
- red seedless grapes
- cream cheese
- sour cream
- chopped pecans
- sugar
- brown sugar
- vanilla

How To Make Southern Grape Salad
- Wash + dry grapes; remove all stems.
- To the bowl of your stand mixer, add cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Mix until well-combined.
- Add grapes and ¾ c. chopped pecans. Fold in until incorporated.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. Top with the remaining ¼ c. of chopped pecans + brown sugar; enjoy!

Other Side Dishes You'll Love
The Recipe

Southern Grape Salad
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. green seedless grapes
- 1.5 lbs. red seedless grapes
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- ¾ c. sour cream
- ¾ c. chopped pecans
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tbsp. vanilla
Topping
- 3 tbsp. brown sugar
- ¼ c. chopped pecans
Instructions
- Wash + dry grapes; remove all stems.
- To the bowl of your stand mixer, add cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Mix until well-combined.
- Add grapes and ¾ c. chopped pecans. Fold in until incorporated.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. Top with the remaining ¼ c. of chopped pecans + brown sugar; enjoy!
Nutrition
About the Series: Cooking Like JJ
My Auntie JJ was the quintessential southern woman. She was classy, tasteful, always refined; an amazing cook and hostess; and did everything that she balanced – teaching, running businesses, raising a family, and keeping an immaculate home – with ease. She is one of the main inspirations behind JCP Eats, as she was the one who taught me about timeless, southern food and entertaining. When JJ passed away, I planned this series as a way to pay homage to her 91 years here on Earth; in a way, it’s a form of mourning – in another, it seems like my final gift to her. I hope y’all will enjoy this deep dive into the culinary archives of my family + Phelps Acres Farm. While I’ll never be able to cook as good as JJ, I can only strive to cook like JJ (hence the title of the series). Learn more here.

Y’all come back now, ya hear?
My best,
JC
Keep Up With JCP Eats
Thank you so much for visiting the blog today! I’d love to keep in touch via social media. You can follow my content on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Tik Tok, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I also author a second website, Notable Kentucky, on which I write about all things of note in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Read Notable Kentucky here.