Chicken Salad Chick restaurants are famous for serving a creamy grape salad, which combines sweet and tart flavors, as well as brown sugar and pecans for an irresistibly tasty side dish.
Homemakers and professionals can whip up this delicious, simple grape salad recipe at home using either traditional ingredients or healthier substitutions, and make it ahead of time if necessary. It keeps well and can even be prepared a day in advance!
Cream Cheese
This sweet and tangy side dish’s creamy dressing combines cream cheese, sour cream and some sugar for an irresistibly creamy bite! Serve this refreshing salad alongside grape halves or quarters quartered along with pecans for an indulgent dessert-like experience!
To create this recipe, first wash and destem the grapes before adding to a large bowl with sour cream, sugar and vanilla extract. Use a handheld mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes until combined.
Carefully fold in the cream cheese until all grapes have been thoroughly covered by it, covering and refrigerating until you’re ready to serve. Before serving, sprinkle brown sugar and pecans over top for extra crunch!
Sour Cream
Chicken Salad Chick is best known for their chicken, but they also offer an exquisite grape salad which doubles as dessert. This copycat recipe uses traditional ingredients while offering an option to create a lighter and lower calorie version by swapping in low-fat sour cream and Greek yogurt instead.
Start with fresh, firm seedless red and green grapes that have been carefully rinsed and dried, before mixing with a creamy cream cheese mixture whipped up using sour cream, sugar and vanilla extract. Finally stir in crunchy pecans before chilling before refrigerating until ready to serve; you could also sprinkle brown sugar overtop for extra flavor just prior to serving for extra drama!
Sugar
This delicious chicken salad chick grape salad recipe is delicious, refreshing and easy to make – the ideal recipe for lunch with your partner, a light dinner or potluck parties!
Make this salad dairy-free using vegan cream cheese and yogurt, or for an enhanced experience add mascarpone for its velvety texture and richer flavors.
I have used Whole Earth Sweetener (a blend of stevia, monk fruit and erythritol) instead of sugar with great success.
This recipe keeps well in an airtight container in the fridge for three days; however, to ensure food safety follow FDA’s two-hour rule for food handling.
Vanilla Extract
Grapes and pecans combine for an irresistibly dessert-like salad, dressed with creamy vanilla dressing. This copycat recipe of Chicken Salad Chick’s popular side dish makes an excellent accompaniment for family picnics, casual gatherings and potlucks alike!
This recipe is sure to impress guests at any event or gathering, while making for a light summer treat or snack. Try varying the colors of grapes for added vibrancy!
Before adding grapes to the mixture, they should be thoroughly washed and dried before being added to it. Combine cream cheese, sour cream and sugar using an electric mixer. Beat until everything is mixed smoothly before folding in vanilla extract and pecans; refrigerate before serving.
Grapes
Juciy seedless grapes combined with creamy cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla extract create a refreshing side dish or light dessert. Enjoy it alone or pair it with main entrees like grilled chicken or picnic sandwiches to complete this delicious recipe. Additionally, it makes an ideal selection for potlucks or parties and can even be prepared ahead of time in the refrigerator!
Add mini chocolate chips or mini marshmallows for an added sweet cream cheese dressing before folding in grapes. Use this as a fruit dip with graham crackers, animal crackers, pretzels or vanilla wafers as desired!
Pecans
Roasted pecans add crunch and texture to this creamy salad, although dried cranberries could also work just as well. If you have an allergy to nuts, simply leave out these nuts from your recipe!
This simple grape salad makes an easy side dish or light dessert option, ideal for picnics, family gatherings and potlucks.
Food safety dictates refrigerating this dish until just before serving time, or for longer storage it can be frozen; to do this, wrap tightly in plastic and store in an airtight container; this should keep it fresh up to three or four days in the fridge.