How to Make Frozen Grapes (No Added Sugar or Sugared)
If you’re looking for a healthy snack that is perfect for warm weather, you’ll want to check out this guide on How to Make Frozen Grapes. You can include a sugar coating or leave them plain. This healthy snack is perfect for kids or anyone wanting a refreshing treat on hot days or at any time of year.
Frozen Grape Snack
Grapes are a seasonal fruit that are mostly grown in California in the United States. There are many different types of grapes, and they are usually available from May through January.
There are lots of nutritional benefits to eating grapes, including the fact that they are low glycemic and full of antioxidants.
Besides just eating them out of hand, grapes can be added to smoothies or sliced and served in a salad (I love them in my clean eating chicken salad recipe or included on my gluten-free dairy-free charcuterie board).
One of the most fun ways to use grapes is to make frozen grapes that are a sweet treat on a hot summer day. They are a perfect snack for any sweet tooth.
Are They Hard to Chew?
You might think that frozen grapes would be too hard to chew, but they are usually still fairly soft, even when frozen. If they do freeze solid, you can let them sit on the countertop for about 10-15 minutes before serving your frozen grapes.
Skip the ice cream on a hot day and try this after school snack instead!
Recipe Benefits
- Frozen grapes are a healthy snack that kids love to eat (see my full list of the best gluten-free and dairy-free snacks). You can cut the grapes in half or quarters before freezing to prevent them from being a choking hazard for young children.
- This healthy snack is dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, and paleo.
- Best of all, the natural sugars in the grapes taste even sweeter when they are frozen. This is because the freezing process reduces the water in the fruit and makes the natural sugary taste more concentrated.
Ingredients
- Not surprisingly, the key ingredient to making frozen grapes is fresh grapes. You’ll want to select seedless table grapes that are ripe, in season, and naturally sweet.
- You can use almost any type of seedless grapes for this sweet snack, including red seedless grapes, green grapes, white grapes, or purple grapes.
- If you want to make sugared frozen grapes, you’ll also need granulated sugar or a granulated sugar-free sweetener.
Recipe Steps
You won’t believe how easy it is to make frozen grapes that taste like grape popsicles. It’s one of my favorite recipes. But, there are a few tips I have to share with you.
Please see the recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredients and measurements.
Step One
The first step is to wash your fresh grapes. This ensures that you remove any residual dirt or debris on your grapes.
The easiest way to wash grapes is to put them in a colander in the sink. Turn on the faucet and let the water run over the grapes to clean them.
Step Two
Next, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and remove the grapes from the stems.
Place the grapes on the baking sheet in a single layer.
Step Three
Place the baking tray in the freezer for 2-24 hours to freeze grapes.
This will ensure that the grapes freeze individually in your freezer bags or plastic bag, as opposed to one giant clump.
Step Four
Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and serve the frozen grapes. Or, transfer the frozen grapes to a zip-top bag or an airtight container for long-term storage.
When you’re ready to eat the frozen grapes, remove them from the freezer and let them warm up for 5 minutes before eating.
You can also toss them into your morning smoothies to add extra nutrition instead of ice cubes. And, I have heard from plenty of people who like to place grapes into their white wine to help keep it chilled.
Frozen Sugared Grapes
Some people like to make sugared frozen grapes with lime juice that taste like sour patch kids. The combination of tart and sweet is very compelling!
To do this, you’ll need to dry your grapes after rinsing them well. Then, toss them in a bowl with the juice of two limes. Then, add about 2 tablespoons of a granulated sugar-free sweetener or sugar and make sure the grapes are coated completely.
See my list of the best natural sugar substitutes for recommendations (I like monk fruit).
Then, lay the coated grapes on your baking sheet and freeze for 2-24 hours.
Some people like to do this using a container of Jello mix, but I don’t like all the sugar and artificial colors and flavors in Jello packets.
Whether you make regular plain frozen grapes or the sugared grapes recipe (using a sugar-free sweetener), I know you are going to love these healthy recipes. They make great snacks for both kids and adults.
Recipe Tips
- Check out the different varieties of grapes in the grocery store. There are specialty varieties including Cotton Candy grapes that have a delicious texture and flavor. You can use any color of fresh grape to make frozen grapes!
- Fresh grapes can stay fresh in your refrigerator for up to several weeks. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t mildew or turn rotten.
- Buy grapes in season (May through January in North America) for the best results.
- Be careful about giving regular grapes or frozen grapes to young children who might choke on them.
- For an adult treat, drop a few frozen grapes into your glass of chilled white wine or in a fruity cocktail. The grapes will add a bit more sweetness and act as ice cubes, keeping your drink cold longer!
Recipe FAQs
Yes, absolutely! Red and green grapes have slightly different flavors and sweetness levels, so a variety and different combinations is great.
It is ideal to buy organic grapes whenever possible since they are on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list of produce most often sprayed with pesticides. It’s a good idea to buy organic grapes when you can.
Yes, for most people grapes are a healthy food. They are high in vitamin C, antioxidants, and polyphenols, including resveratrol. If you have blood sugar issues, you may need to limit your consumption of grapes as they are high in natural sugars.
More Healthy Snacks You Might Like
- Air Fryer Kale Chips
- Dehydrated Watermelon
- Vitamix Fruit Sorbet
- Double Chocolate Almond Butter Energy Balls
- Homemade Gummy Bears
- 2-Minute Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
Or, check out my entire index of healthy snack recipes, all made gluten-free and dairy-free, with no refined sugars.
Don’t Miss These Yummy Snacks!
How to Make Frozen Grapes (No Sugar or Sugared)
If you’re looking for a healthy snack that is perfect for warm weather, you’ll want to check out this guide on How to Make Frozen Grapes. You can include a sugar coating or leave them plain. This snack is perfect for kids or anyone wanting a refreshing treat on hot days or at any time of year.
- Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds fresh green or red grapes (see notes if you want to make the sugared version)
Instructions
- Place the grapes in a colander. Place the colander in a sink and give them a good rinse.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the grapes from their stems and place them on the baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet in a freezer for 2-24 hours.
- Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and serve the grapes or transfer them to a zip-top bag.
- When you’re ready to eat the frozen grapes, remove them from the freezer and let them warm up for 5 minutes on the countertop before eating.
Notes
- To prevent the frozen grapes from being a choking hazard, you can cut them in half or quarters before freezing them. Never feed grapes to an infant or someone who can choke on them.
- Frozen grapes will keep in the freezer for up to several months.
- Check out the different varieties of grapes in the grocery store. There are specialty varieties including Cotton Candy grapes that have a delicious texture and flavor.
- Fresh grapes can stay fresh in your refrigerator for up to several weeks. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t mildew or turn rotten.
- Buy grapes in season (May through January) for the best results.
- For an adult treat, drop a few frozen grapes into your glass of chilled white wine or in a fruity cocktail. The grapes will add a bit more sweetness and act as ice cubes, keeping your drink cold longer!
- To make sugared grapes, follow the directions but dry the grapes after you wash them. Toss them in the juice of two limes and then add 1-2 tablespoons of a sugar-free granulated sugar such as monk fruit. Freeze according to the directions and enjoy.
- The nutrition label for this recipe is for just plain frozen grapes, not the sugared version.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Snack
- Method: Freezer
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Diet: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 52
- Sugar: 11.7 g
- Sodium: 1.5 mg
- Fat: 0.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.7 g
- Fiber: 0.7 g
- Protein: 0.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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About the Author: Carrie Forrest has a master’s degree in public health with a specialty in nutrition. She is a top wellness and food blogger with nearly 10 million annual visitors to her site. Carrie has an incredible story of recovery from chronic illness and is passionate about helping other women transform their health. Send Carrie a message through her contact form.
This is a great healthy snack for a hot summer day!! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks so much, Natta! 🙂
I ABsolutely adore frozen 🍇 they are unequivocally my Favorite snack 😋 😋 😋 NOM NOM!!!
Thanks JD!!!
I’ve never tried frozen grapes, but I’ve heard wonderful things about them! I’ll be sure to try them out, especially with this South Carolina heat. I’m sure they will be an amazing and healthy treat! Thank you so much for posting this recipe! 😊
Thanks, Jennifer! I so appreciate the nice message! 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! I’ve only made frozen grapes once so it’s awesome to have this as a guide and all your tips are so helpful! (Plus the photos are so beautiful and summery! 🙂 )
Awwww you are so kind. Thank you, Caitlin! XO.
Delicious!
Thank you so much! 🙂
This is such a fun treat for summer. If you’ve never made this before, you’ve got to try it!