Grilled Fruit: Top Tips and Tricks
Summer is an awkward time for the dessert chef. Most people associate summer holidays with grilling and hot weather, and cake people know both will deflate their work in a hurry! However, there is a secret key you can use to get your desserts through the summer door–grilled fruit!
Why Grilled Fruit…
There are a number of reasons you should grill fruit, top of the list being that it adds a bit of smoky caramelization to delicious fruit, but other reasons include:
- Making under-ripe fruit softer and sweeter
- Making off-season fruit more delicious
- Adding complexity to a fruit-based dessert or sauce
- Grilling is a blast and carnivores shouldn’t have all the fun!
My recommendation is to buy a variety of your favorite fruit and start experimenting. Grilled fruit goes with darn near any meal. However, if you’re looking to skip past some growing pains, here are some tips to speed you along!
Top Tips for Grilling Fruit
High Heat
This might sound obvious, but fruit isn’t chicken–you don’t need to cook it all the way through. All we’re looking for is a quick sear to soften the fruit, caramelize the exterior, and give it some grill marks, so the hotter the better!
Nonstick
You don’t need me to tell how you sticky caramel can get, so you know you want to keep everything as lubricated as possible. Be sure to spritz down your fruit with non-stick before it goes on the heat to be sure you can get it back off the grill!
Glaze
This one’s optional, but we’re in the business of layering flavors here, so why not put on a glaze? My favorite is a honey glaze that’s equal parts honey and water–brush that on over your fruit as soon as it’s on the heat and it will get sticky and shiny by the time you pull it back off! That’s not the only glaze though–think simple. Maple syrup, agave, caramel, all of these will work! Get creative with it!
Tinfoil
If you’re worried your fruit is too soft or to ripe, it probably is! That doesn’t mean it can’t be grilled–make a little tray out of tinfoil, put it on the grill, and use that to hold your fruit while it cooks. If it gets too soft and falls apart, it’ll still absorb that smokey flavor and you’ll wind up with a nice compote or sauce!
Chill
Grilling is supposed to be fun! If you go to pull a piece of pineapple and it doesn’t want to come up, that’s okay! Use your spatula and pull it up as best you can, and then turn up the heat (it probably stuck because it wasn’t hot enough). Just stay chill! That pineapple might look rough but it’ll taste great, and you’ll get it next time! 🙂
What are the Best Fruits to Grill…
You can grill pretty much any fruit in one way or another. Generally speaking though, if you’re looking for classic “grill marks” fruit, you’ll want to stick to fruit that’s fairly firm and slightly under-ripe. The heat of the grill is going to weaken the fibers holding the fruit together, so the tougher those fibers are, the less likely you’ll end up with mush.
- Peaches
- Melons (cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon)
- Pineapple
- Pears
- Bananas or plantains
- Apples
- Plums
- Cherries
Unlearn some of the things you’ve learned about fruit in the past–if it’s rock hard and kinda green, it’s not nice to eat fresh but fantastic to grill! For more about types of fruit and how they grill up, check out this post all about fruits that were made to be grilled.
Tools Needed to Grill Fruit…
–Charcoal grills will give you the best flavor when you’re grilling fruit. I’ve no doubt sparked a fierce debate somewhere with this statement, but in my experience charcoal the king of the grill in terms of practicality and flavor. That said, a gas grill will also work and you can take some steps to shore up some of the weaknesses (see below).
–Heavy duty tinfoil is a must. Whether you’re making a pan to grill softer fruit or you’re making a pouch that will hold some of your wood chips, it’s not easy to succeed without this item!
—Wood chips in a tinfoil pouch will add a great deal of smokiness to your grilled fruit, particularly if you’re using a gas grill. Put a cup or two of the chips into your tinfoil pouch, poke some holes for the smoke to escape, and you’re good to go.
–Nonstick spray is another must, but a word of warning–don’t spray nonstick directly at the grill–the aerosolized oil will just flame up and disappear. Pull the grill off the fire and spray away from the flame. A second option is to use a bowl with vegetable oil that you apply to the grill with either an old basting brush or with a paper towel held in a set of grilling tongs
–You’ll need standard grilling tools like tongs, spatulas, or basting brushes, and things like grilling mats and stones would also be handy. But keep in mind we won’t be grilling this fruit enough to cook it entirely through, so be mindful of cross-contamination! Is your fruit sharing a grill with the bbq chicken? It shouldn’t be!
How to Grill Fruit Without a Grill…
If you live in an apartment like me, sometimes grilling isn’t an option. However! You can “grill” fruit from your oven or stovetop! Sometimes it’s as simple as using a stovetop grill pan–it won’t add smoke to your fruit, but it will give them the grillmarks your IG followers will love!
You can also make use of your oven’s broiler–spray your fruit down with some non-stick and put them under your pre-heated broiler until the tops of the fruit have gotten bubbly and caramelized with some blackening along the edges. It’ll take some time to dial in how close you should get to the heat (every broiler is a little different) so experiment on a small batch and go from there!
You can also go the route of this indoor outdoor portable grill! This can be used as an electric grill indoors, or a charcoal grill outdoors! Perfect for apartments, soccer games, and beach trips!
Different Ways to Use Grilled Fruit…
This is where things can get silly because what can’t use use grilled fruit for? Maybe you grilled some pears and you want to put them on a Belgian waffle with some whipped cream? Or maybe you grilled some bananas and now you can make the best banana bread you’ve ever had in your life? Grill some cherries and use them to fill your next black forest cake.
Or you can go summer classic, grill some pineapple and use it to top your burgers? Maybe you have some ripe mango that you grilled into a compote, and now you can mix it with your favorite bbq sauce to make a sweet and smoky coating for your chicken? Or heck, you can grill up some lemon halves and use that to make a nice smokey curd that you can spread on literally anything!
Or let’s be honest here: Maybe you grilled some peaches, and now you want to eat a grilled peach! That is completely legit! Grilled fruit will add complexity to pretty much any dish that calls for fruit, but it will also add sweetness and smoke to a dish that doesn’t!
Spoiler Alert: we’ll be releasing two summer fun grilled fruit bruschetta for you to test this new technique out with, soon! Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss them!
What fruits do you like to grill? What type of grill do you prefer to use? How do you use your grilled fruit? Share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comments below!
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How to Grill Fruit
Materials
- Grill of choice (see above for several ideas)
- Grilling tools of choice (tongs, trays, spatulas, etc)
- Foil, skewers, or grill trays (for smaller fruits)
- Choice of fresh fruit firm for best results
- Vegetable Oil
- optional Glaze (simple syrup, honey, maple syrup, etc.)
Instructions
FOR LARGER PIECES/FRUITS (pineapple, mango, peaches, etc.)
- Prepare fruit by cutting, coring, peeling, slicing, etc. Keep in mind, larger pieces will be easier to grill.
- Preheat grill of choice to high heat. Spray grate (away from flame) or rub oil on with oil-soaked cloth and tongs.
- Add fruit to hot grates/surface and let it be for at least 2 minutes. Brush on glaze if desired.
- Once you see the edges starting to soften and brown, flip, turn, or remove.
- Serve as desired.
FOR SMALLER PIECES/FRUITS (cherries, strawberries, etc.)
- Wash and prepare fruit by removing pits, stems, etc. Add to pre-soaked skewers, if using.
- Preheat grill of choice to high heat. Add grilling trays, if using, and spritz with vegetable oil.
- Add fruit to tray, foil, skewer and let it be for at least 1 minute (size of fruit dependent). Shake or gently move around to allow more surface contact with grill/tray.
- Brush with glaze if desired.
- Remove and serve.
Notes
If you have any questions or comments to share, please leave a comment below, or reach out to me directly at thesumofallsweets@gmail.com
such a ripping tips for grilling fruits!
yes, pineapple is a yummy fruit!
thanks for sharing!
Thank, Hari! Pineapple is a great one to grill, for sure! Thanks for stopping by!
I love grilled fruit. Thank you for all these wonderful tips. I will try something different next time I grill fruit.
You’re so welcome, Patricia! It’s a great way to switch up a familiar favorite! 🙂 Enjoy!
Looks delsih. Don’t know why I have never thought of doing this!
It’s such a fun twist for fruit, especially to highlight it’s freshness in the summer, or to help bring out flavor for out-of-season fruit!
Wow, this looks delicious! I have grilled pineapple and peaches but had never thought to grill strawberries. Those look amazing! These would be great as a side dish or on top of ice cream. Thank you for sharing!
Cassie, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! Grilled fruit would definitely be an awesome ice cream topping, what a great idea!