A 3-year (2009–2011) grazing study was conducted to assess the effects of purple prairie clover (PPC, Dalea purpurea Vent) on fecal shedding of total Escherichia coli in cattle. Three pasture types were used in the experiment; bromegrass (Check), mixed cool season grasses with PPC (Simple) and mixed cool and warm grasses with PPC (Complex). Pastures were rotationally grazed (5, 10 and 10 cattle for Check, Simple and Complex) during a summer and fall grazing period. Purple prairie clover was grazed in summer at the vegetative/early flower stage and at the flower/early seed stage during the fall. Weekly and biweekly fecal samples were collected from each animal for enumeration of E. coli and chemical analyses. Forage samples were collected throughout the season for analysis. Condensed tannins (CT) were only detected in Simple and Complex pastures that contained PPC, with concentrations being higher in the fall than in the summer. Fecal counts of E. coli in cattle grazing Simple and Complex pastures linearly decreased (P < 0.05) over summer to fall in all 3 years, an outcome not observed in cattle grazing the Check pasture. Across the 3 grazing seasons, fecal E. coli was lower (P < 0.05) in cattle grazing Simple and Complex pastures than Check during the fall. During the fall, feces collected from cattle grazing the Check pasture had higher (P < 0.05) pH, N, NH₃-N, total volatile fatty acids (VFA) and branched-chain VFA, but a lower (P < 0.05) acetate: propionate ratio than that collected from cattle grazing Simple or Complex pastures. In a second experiment, 2 strains of E. coli were cultured in M9 medium containing 25 to 200 µg/mL of PPC CT. Growth of E. coli was linearly (P < 0.01) reduced by increasing levels of PPC CT. The scanning electron micrographs showed electron dense filamentous material associated with the outer membrane of E. coli cells exposed to CT. Incorporation of PPC into forage reduced the fecal shedding of E. coli from grazing cattle, likely due to the anti-E. coli properties of PPC CT.