by Julia | Appetizer Addiction / 4 Comments
Goat cheese wrapped grapes are an excellent appetizer for parties and family gatherings. Atasty combination of crunchy, soft and juicy makes these bite-size cheese balls a crowd’s favorite. Only 4 ingredients!
Super-simple sweet and savory bites for any occasion!
You don’t need any special tools to make these cheese wrapped grapes but a food processor is handy and if you have one, use it. It makes crushing nuts so easy. Just remember to avoid processing the nuts for too long – if you do, you will end up with a powder-like texture.
If you don’t have one, use a knife (preferably a chef’s knife for best results).
Serving suggestions:
You can serve these grapes wrapped in goat cheese with anything you like: As a part of a cheese board, with crackers or as is. Create the ultimate party menu and pair them with other tasty finger food recipes like olive stuffed cheeseballs (equally delicious), pear prosciutto appetizers – (easy to make, ready in no time and fancy-looking, perfect for New Year’s Party!), slow cooker meatballs (your guests will love these).
How to serve cheese wrapped grapes?
Either as is (on a serving plate or tray) or with toothpicks. Alternatively, you can also serve them in separate shot glasses as you can see in the photos.
Storing goat cheese wrapped grapes
Freshly prepared grapes wrapped in cheese are best stored in an airtight container in the fridge. They will need about an hour to set, but you can easily make them ahead and refrigerate overnight if needed!
The longer they chill the harder they turn.
Expert tips
- Avoid using very large or very small grapes.
- The cheese mixture will be sticky unless you chill it for longer. I prefer rolling the balls right away, even when the cheese seems to be too soft as it is still workable. You can leave it in the fridge to harden for at least 30-40 minutes or until it is to your liking.
- Tasty substitutions for pistachios are pecans or walnuts.
- You can use any cream cheese you like – regular, low-fat or flavored.
- If you like these grape appetizers, but don’t want to use goat cheese, you can substitute it with just cream cheese. However, some of you might find their taste bland. I would perhaps suggest using some sort of spice mix or a combo of black pepper and paprika.
More goat cheese appetizers you might like:
- Honey Pistachio Goat Cheese Log
- Apricot Goat Cheese Log
- Pear and Goat Cheese Crostini
- Goat Cheese Log with Chives
Yield: 16 bites, see note 2 & 3
Goat Cheese Wrapped Grapes
Goat cheese wrapped grapes are an excellent appetizer for parties and family gatherings. A tasty combination of crunchy, soft and juicy makes these bite-size cheese balls a crowd’s favorite.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 16 seedless grapes, see note 1
- 4 ounces cream cheese (120 grams), see note 2
- 4 ounces goat cheese (120 grams), see note 3
- ½ cup shelled pistachios, unsalted (60 grams)
Instructions
- Rinse and pat dry the grapes. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese and goat cheese until well combined. Take a little amount of the mixture and wrap it around the grape and roll it into a ball. Place onto a tray/baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Repeat until you have used all the mixture.
- Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile: Finely chop pistachios either with a knife or process in a food processor. Transfer them to a plate.
- When the cheese wrapped grapes are chilled, take them out. Roll them in pistachios and place them back on the same tray/sheet.
- Chill for 45 minutes or until hardened. When hardened, serve or transfer into an airtight container and put back in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Any color will work, preferably not extra-large ones.
- If you are a huge goat cheese lover, feel free to use goat cheese only.
- Make sure to buy a goat cheese log. Another type of goat cheese will not work well in this recipe.
- This recipe yields 16-18 pieces. It will serve 4 people when counting 4 bites per head. However, when served alongside other appetizers, you can count with 2-3 cheese wrapped grapes per person.
- You might get less/more pieces depending on how large the grapes that you are using are.
- For best results chill these grapes wrapped in cheese for about 1 hour. They can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge overnight.
- More tips and serving ideas as well as more appetizer ideas with goat cheese are in the post above this recipe card.
- This recipe can be easily doubled.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16 Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 47Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 55mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 2g
Reader Interactions
Comments
Lisa Montes
Can u substitute goat cheese with another cheese. I’m not crazy about goat cheese?
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Julia | Appetizer Addiction
I haven’t tried but I guess you could use cream cheese (and maybe mix it with parmesan) instead.
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Shaun
Any tips for covering the grapes with the cheese. It’s very messing and hard to get them completely covered.
Reply
Julia | Appetizer Addiction
Hi Shaun. I have a few notes in the post about this. Yes, it can be quite sticky but you should be able to cover them. If you prefer working with a harder mixture, chill the cheese mixture in the fridge until it hardens enough for you to roll it into balls easily.
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