Deconstructed Easy Grape Salad – Vegan

This deconstructed easy grape salad is the vegan alternative you have been looking for. Cool and juicy – it’s just right for both summer days and winter holidays.

You can dress it up or down – make it with red or green seedless grapes, or both, and serve it in fancy glasses, small bowls, or increase the recipe to feed a crowd.

You don’t have to be precise with the ingredient quantities, either – I do this just to provide a nutrition estimate for your use.

What is Grape Salad?

I had never heard of this until a friend made it at a party years ago. It was so tasty that I asked her how she made it, and she just used grapes, yogurt, and granola.

I didn’t know this is actually a popular recipe in some regions, like the Midwest and the South, and it’s usually made with cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar.

Then I started to make it myself, generally as a packed lunch treat – just a yogurt with grapes and a little granola – super easy, right? I thought for this recipes that seving the grapes separately from the yogurt would look nicer, hence, the deconstructon.

It would be a nice side dish for picnics or barbecues, or a fun thing to serve for winter holiday gatherings, since grapes are usually fresh then too. Now I want to try serving it in orange cups – that would be a nice touch!

Ingredients and Substitutions

Seedless grapes – use red or green ones. Or if you are using grapes with seeds, slice them in half first and remove the seeds.

The USDA recommends cutting grapes in half and then slicing into tiny pieces for children under 4 – skip the nuts, too. Read more: Reducing the Risk of Choking by Young Children at Mealtimes.

Vegan yogurt – look for an unsweetened (plain) yogurt. If you can’t find it, try vanilla. Soy yogurt is similar to dairy yogurt for protein, with about 7 grams of protein in a 6-ounce serving.

I don’t love almond milk yogurt or coconut milk yogurt – they tend to have very little protein. Coconut naturally is high in saturated fat, also – so the Greek coconut milk yogurt isn’t a favorite.

I received samples of Forager cashew and coconut yogurt and think this is a possible alternative to coconut yogurt. It contains 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 23% of the Daily Value, in 5.2 ounces – certainly less than the 10 grams in a serving of a popular Greek coconut yogurt. They both have 10 grams of protein for this 5.3 ounce container.

If you eat dairy products, you can try a plain, non fat or low fat Greek yogurt.

Maple syrup – this adds a nice touch of sweetness to balance out the yogurt. You could substitute it for a sugar substitute like Stevia if you wish – in that case, I would mix it into the yogurt before adding it to the serving glass or dish on top of the grapes.

Walnuts – I chose walnuts for this recipe for something simple with some health benefits. Plus, I usually have them around.

Walnuts are a good source of alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid, plus other important nutrients like potassium, Vitamin E, folate, and magnesium. This study published in Nutrients found that the addition of an ounce of walnuts daily helped people increase their intake of magnesium, folate, and potassium.

Feel free to substitute with chopped pecans, pstachios, almonds, or your favorite nut.

Another option to top your easy grape salad is granola. I have a recipe for a mixed nut granola in my yogurt berry granola parfaits you can use. or use your favorite homemade or store-bought granola.

Granola tends to be high in added sugar and some can also contain extra saturated fat, so check the labels carefully or consider modifying the recipe you use for less sugar, maple syrup, honey, etc.

Cinnamon – adds a lovely flavor: you can use pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice instead.

How to Make Deconstructed Easy Grape Salad

• Wash your grapes, remove them from the stems, and dry them well.
• Divide them grapes between two serving glass or bowls.
• Top each with half of the yogurt, drizzle the maple syrup evenly over both, and top with the chopped walnuts and cinnamon.
• I have stored this in the refrigerator for a day and it was fine, but preparing it fresh is a good idea so the maple syrup doesn’t slide to the bottom and the yogurt doesn’t get wayery.

More Recipes You May Enjoy

• Yogurt Berry Granola Parfaits (Dairy-Free)
• Homemade Vegan Apple Cinnamon Bread with Walnuts
• Ultimate High Protein Breakfast Burritos