Apple and Grape Salad

Whenever I’m looking for a light, versatile dish for potlucks, picnics and holiday events, I end up gravitating toward apple and grape salad. It’s one of those apple recipes that works well as a side dish and doubles as a light dessert. Slightly tart grapes pair perfectly with juicy apples and savory celery. The sweet, creamy dressing brings all the flavors together, and a sprinkle of walnuts over the top adds a wonderful crunch.

You can enjoy this fruit salad any time. Place it next to your favorite potluck recipes or bring it out under the sun at summer picnics. You can even sneak a late-night bite when you feel like having a light dessert (don’t worry, we won’t tell).

Apple and Grape Salad Ingredients

• Dressing: Sugar, flour, water, butter and vanilla extract combine to create a silky, sweet dressing with an almost dessert-like quality.
• Apples: The best apples for this recipe are those that don’t brown easily and that maintain a crisp texture, like Honeycrisp, Granny Smith and Pink Lady.
• Grapes: Red grapes are more tart than their green counterpart, which provides a nice contrast to the sweet dressing.
• Celery: Diced celery adds a pleasant crunch and vibrant color. Its slight bitterness also rounds out the sweetness from the apples and the dressing.
• Walnuts: Walnuts make the apple and grape salad crunchier and provide complementary bitterness. If you have time, try toasting nuts to add extra richness to the salad.

Directions

Step 1: Make the dressing

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and flour.

Stir in the water until the mixture is smooth.

Bring it to a boil, then cook and stir for two minutes or until it’s thickened and bubbly. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Editor’s Tip: Be sure to cook the dressing until it’s thickened or it might have a floury taste. Just keep an eye on it and stir it occasionally as it heats up to ensure it doesn’t burn. Medium heat and a keen eye are your best friends here.

Stir in the butter and vanilla. Let it cool to room temperature.

Step 2: Bring it all together

In a large bowl, combine the apples, grapes, celery and walnuts.

Add the dressing.

Toss gently. Refrigerate the salad until serving.

Editor’s Tip: The fruit can easily bruise if tossed roughly. Keep a light hand and gently toss the salad to maintain the proper texture.

Recipe Variations

• Add different nuts: Your choice of nuts can change the overall flavor of this crisp apple salad. Walnuts add a slight bitterness, toasted almonds contribute a nuttier taste and candied pecans can further enhance the salad’s sweetness.
• Use yogurt: Swap in 1 to 2 cups of sweetened yogurt for a gluten-free alternative to the flour-based dressing. Its natural thickness makes it a great foundation for creamy salad dressings.
• Include cinnamon: Apple cinnamon recipes combine the delicious match made in heaven, and those same flavors can also work well in this recipe. The spice’s sweet, woody flavor can be a great complement to the fruit and celery, adding a different dimension to the apple and grape salad.

How to Store Apple and Grape Salad

Refrigerate leftover apple and grape salad in an airtight container. It should last for up to four days.

Can you make apple and grape salad ahead of time?

You can make the dressing for apple and grape salad ahead of time, but we don’t recommend preparing the salad too far in advance. It should sit for an hour or two so the flavors have time to mingle, but keeping it longer than that runs the risk of mushy fruit and wilted celery. We suggest keeping the salad ingredients and dressing separate if you’re preparing the dish in advance and then combining everything when you’re ready to serve.

Apple and Grape Salad Tips

Which types of apples work best in this salad?

Of the many types of apples available, we prefer to make this sweet fruit salad recipe with Honeycrisp, Fuji, Granny Smith, Pink Lady or Cosmic Crisp. These varieties offer a nice balance of crispness and sweetness, and they do a better job of resisting browning after being cut.

Can I use a different type of nut or skip the nuts entirely?

We add walnuts to this recipe because their slight bitterness balances the sweet dressing, but you can easily swap in another nut to provide a welcoming texture with a distinct flavor. You could use almonds for their enhanced nuttiness or pecans to accentuate this salad’s sweetness. If you’re allergic to nuts or want to avoid them, try nut-free options like sunflower or roasted pumpkin seeds that provide a similar crunch factor.

How can I keep the fruit from browning?

You can keep apples from browning by soaking them in cold water treated with salt, honey or lemon juice. Fruits turn brown because of oxidation, which occurs when some produce comes into contact with air. These treated water solutions keep air away from the fruit. Dressing your fruit salad is another effective way to prevent it from coming into contact with oxygen, although dressing it too far in advance may make the fruit soggy.