Baked Grapes With Labneh And Pistachios + Video!

This delicious baked grapes with labneh and pistachios recipe makes a great dessert that is a combo dessert/cheese course. You can also serve it as a snack or as part of a party spread. How versatile is that!

When I was living in Crete the end of summer brought grapes to the table. every bar always serves little dishes of fruit in season to go with your drinks. All through September and October it was grapes.

Grapes are a lovely autumnal yet still summery fruit and this simple recipe makes them sing. But these baked grapes with labneh yogurt cheese can be served any time of year.

Ingredients

There are only 3 main ingredients in this simple baked grapes with labneh and pistachios recipe.

Grapes

Labneh (yogurt, salt and honey)

Pistachio nuts

Then there are the little store cupboard extras that bring everything together;

Maple syrup and Balsamic vinegar.

What grapes to use

I’ve used a mixture of black and green grapes for this baked grapes with labneh recipe.

You can use any grapes that you have to hand. Using seedless grapes is always kinder to your guest’s teeth if you’re making this for friends though.

This is a great little recipe for using those grapes that have been lurking in the fruit bowl for a while. It doesn’t matter if they are passing their best, baking them will sort that out.

Baking grapes

If you have never baked grapes in the oven before then you are missing a treat. Baking grapes brings out their sweetness even more. it adds a richness and depth of flavour. Even the dullest of supermarket grapes can come to flavourful life with a bit of TLC in the oven.

Pistachio nuts

I like to use a good old fashioned psetle and mortar for breaking up the pistachios for this recipe. Actually I love using a pestle and mortar for breaking up any type of nuts and also for making pestos and sauces.

There’s something back-to-basics and relaxing about using such primative tools.

Of course you can use the side of a wide knife blade on a chopping board for this. But be careful of pieces of pistachio nuts flying everywhere.

If you use a food processor just pulse the pistachios. If you leave the processor on too long you’ll end up with nut dust or even nut butter.

Fast food

These baked grapes with labneh and pistachios is real fast food. Everything is ready in a mere 15 minutes tops from start to finish.

Toasting the pistachios

To get more flavour from your pistachio nuts you can toast them in a dry pan for just a minute or so. This is not the time to use your phone or pop to the loo. do that and those pistachios with burn to a crisp!

How to make this

Spread the grapes out on a baking tray and drizzle over the maple syrup and balsamic vinegar.

Now pop them into the oven for about 10 minutes till they have gone all wrinkly and the juices are pooling in the tray.

Scrape up all juices and the baked grapes into a serving dish.

Labneh

Okay, so what the heck is Labneh? Labneh is a middle Eastern yogurt cheese. It is super easy to make and has only 2 ingredients.

Yogurt and salt

You just mix these two ingredients together in a piece of muslin/cheesecloth (yes, that’s how it got it’s name) and leave it to drip over a bowl in the fridge overnight.

The result is that the whey ends up in the bowl and you end up with Labneh/yogurt cheese! I have then added a little runny honey so this is a sweetened labneh.

Check out my video below on how to make labneh yogurt cheese.

And also my post on labneh in herb oil that I used when I was a finalist on Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas TV show.

Labneh (yogurt cheese) in Herb Oil

Sweet and savoury perfection

This simple dish of baked grapes with labneh and pistachios brings together everything you could want in a dish.

There’s the sweet juiciness of the grapes that melt in your mouth, yet have the almost savoury tingle of the balsamic in them. The crunch of the toasted pistachios. And finally that creamy tanginess of the labneh.

This simple baked grapes with labneh and pistachios is a feast for the senses.

Alternatives;

Don’t have labneh on hand. Then panic not. You could use cream cheese with a pinch of salt stirred through it or even simple Greek yogurt. Again stir through a pinch of salt.

Looking for more super simple dessert recipes? Then check these out before you go;

Deconstructed peach melba

Roasted figs with honey and orange

Baked apricots with mint and nuts

Baked figs with feta mint and walnuts

Sweet cheese with raspberries and rhubarb

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.