Grape Salad with Almonds & Cilantro

An unusual fruit salad, savory and sweet at the same time. This easy recipe takes familiar ingredients like fresh fruit, almonds and cilantro and turns them upside down. Start with your favorite fruit – so far I've tried grapes, mango and apples – and then just stir in the rest, including a touch of salt, a key ingredient. There you go, fruit salad in a whole new way!

Real Food, Fresh & Flexible. Simple Healthy Dessert or Breakfast Salad. Not just easy, Summer Easy. Budget Friendly. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Easily Scales from Grape Salad for One or Two to Grape Salad for Big Groups. No Added Sugar. Low Fat. Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Naturally Gluten Free. Whole30 Friendly.

~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~

Grocery-Store Math

Even practiced frugal grocery shoppers suffer temptation.

The other day, my local grocery had big bunches of gorgeous-looking red grapes, one group for $1 a pound, another for $2.

Closer inspection revealed that the more expensive grapes were seedless. I reached for them, almost unconsciously weighing the value of a dollar to the convenience of seedless grapes.

But if a penny saved is a penny earned, a dollar saved is a dollar earned, times a hundred. I picked the grapes with seeds.

Turns out, there were hardly any seeds in those $1 grapes. Turns out, the seeds were so soft, I didn’t even bother scooping them out. Turns out, they were some of the best grapes ever, fat and juicy and sweet and really really grape-y.

I saved $1 but learned a $100 lesson.

Grapes, Yes, But Also Mango and Apple ... So Far

For something so simple, this salad is spectacular.

I’ve made it six times in the past couple of weeks, once with fresh mango (gorgeous!), another time with chopped apple (very good!).

Twice I’ve served it atop lightly dressed greens as a dinner salad, twice as a simple after-supper dessert and twice, well, a larger serving made for a luxurious, indulgent salad supper.

What's In This Grape Salad? Familiar Ingredients!

In all my recipes and most well-written recipes, every ingredient serves a purpose. Each one matters. Each one contributes to the overall dish. It's not that an ingredient can't be substituted by something else but when choosing the substitute, it's important to understand why the original ingredient was present in the first place.

• Fresh Fruit, Especially Grapes I prefer red grapes or black grapes for their dramatic appearance, plus they're a bit sweeter than green grapes. For convenience, you definitely want seedless grapes. That said, this is a lovely way to enjoy early fall's amazing Concord grapes, at least for people who don't mind the seeds.


• Toasted Nuts, Especially Almonds Almonds are denser than other nuts, they're a good choice because of the texture contrast with the fruit. But don't stress if you don't have almonds because walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans and other nuts would work well, even pine nuts. These Maple-Glazed Pecans would work really well too but I'd sprinkle them on top, I think.


• Fresh Herbs, Especially Cilantro Cilantro is intoxicating here, it's unexpected with fruit. But if you have another herb, go for it. Basil? Tarragon? Dill? All would work beautifully.


• Good Oil, Especially a Fruity Olive Oil If you have a good-quality oil, now's the time to pull it out. It doesn't have to be olive oil, it could be a walnut oil (and use walnuts instead of almonds) or avocado oil (and maybe add some chopped avocado).


• Fruit Juice, Especially Lemon The combination of olive oil and acidic lemon juice creates a vinaigrette. Would lime juice work, especially paired with cilantro? Absolutely. But let's say you're out of lemons and limes. A gentle vinegar serves the same purpose, an "acid" to contrast with the sweet fruit. Try sherry vinegar or a good balsamic vinegar, even a rice vinegar.


• Good Salt A tiny sprinkle of good salt (fleur de sel, a flaky sea salt, even the delicate Diamond Chrystal kosher salt) makes all the difference here, actually emphasizing the sweetness of the fruit without the introduction of any added sugar or honey or maple syrup.

Here's What's NOT In This Recipe

Sometimes, what's left out of a recipe is just as important as what's put in. That's definitely the case here because wow, what people put into grape salads.

• No cool whip, no marshmallow cream, no sweetened condensed milk, no jello, no pudding mix.
• No sour cream, no cream cheese, no mayonnaise.
• No butterfingers, no snickers, no Heath bars.
• No bacon.

Bookmark! PIN! Share!

How do you save and share favorite recipes? recipes that fit your personal cooking style? a particular recipe your mom or daughter or best friend would just love? If this a simple grape salad hits the mark, go ahead, save and share! I'd be honored ...

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GRAPE SALAD with ALMONDS & CILANTRO

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 10 minutes
Serves 4

• 1 pound red grapes, halved or quartered
• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Sprinkle of good salt (don't skip!)
• 1/2 cup toasted almonds (how to toast nuts)
• Generous handful of chopped cilantro

Mix all the ingredients. That's it! Now serve and savor!

KEEP CILANTRO FRESH! How do you keep cilantro fresh for a few days? I wash it well, then slip into a tall glass with about an inch of water, then put into the refrigerator. If the water gets grungy, I change it and give the stems a quick rinse too. This is a great way to keep fresh cilantro on hand! You never know when you’ll get a hankering for a grape, almond and cilantro salad!

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Serving: 187 Calories; 10g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 39mg Sodium; 24g Carb; 3g Fiber; 18g Sugar; 4g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 4 & PointsPlus 5 & SmartPoints 8 & Freestyle 3 & myWW green 3 & blue 3 & purple 3

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Fruit Salads to Savor

more
~ fruit salad recipes ~

• THE RECIPE Winter Fruit Salad Colorful fruit salad when fresh fruit is available.
• ANOTHER TAKE Five-Minute Fruit Salad It's all in the presentation!

• THE RECIPE Orange & Avocado Salad Simple but sumptuous.
• ANOTHER TAKE Savory Orange Slices A simple and surprising orange salad.

• THE RECIPE Spinach Salad with Fruity Vinaigrette, Fresh Fruit & Maple-Glazed Pecans A big green salad with a rainbow of fruit.
• ANOTHER TAKE Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing The traditional spinach salad with bacon, hard-cooked eggs, mushrooms.

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Shop Your Pantry First

(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

~ grape recipes ~
~ nut recipes ~

~ All Recipes, By Ingredient ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries ~

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Quick Links to This Page

(for easy bookmarking and searching)
~ How to Keep Cilantro Fresh ~

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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