There is nothing more iconic in summer than a backyard barbeque. Gather your friends and family around and enjoy everything from chicken to ribs, to burgers and hot dogs, and even fish and vegetables like corn on the cob. I’m afraid you might be missing out on one of the best-grilled things. Something that will be sure to impress your guests. If you know you know. When I throw a barbeque, you can be sure I’ll be grilling fresh fruit. It’s one of those crazy good things that so many of us don’t think about. Why? It's not a common application. When we think of fruit, we think of biting into a peach, apple, a slice of watermelon, or whatever your favorite might be. You might think about a big bowl of strawberries or blueberries. I urge you to not put the idea of grilled fruit on the let’s just back burner.
Grilling fruit is a great way to bring out all that juiciness and sweetness in fruits. During the grilling process, the sugars in the fruit start to caramelize and become more concentrated. Pineapples, bananas, peaches, watermelon, and mangos are all fruits that can be cooked directly on the grill. You can even make grilled fruit kabobs using strawberries, cut-up pineapple, cantaloupe, and whatever you can think of.
Bonus, grilled fruit is extremely versatile—add sliced, grilled pineapple to a burger, or make a grilled peaches a la mode for dessert drizzle with a little honey on top. You can’t beat it. How about you grill up some fruit and surprise your guests by using it as a topper for salads? Toss it with some cheese and balsamic and you have a great wow factor. (You can thank me later). How do I go about grilling my fruit you ask? That’s a great question.
- Whole pieces of fruit or fruits that you can cut into larger pieces or cubes are great for the grill.
- Be sure to grill your fruit flesh side down. In most cases, you want to cut the fruit so that the inner flesh is exposed. Placing a hearty piece of fruit flesh side down, you'll get that caramelization you want.
- Don’t place it skin side down, you'll miss the caramelized texture, and the heat won't get through the rest of the fruit evenly.
- Be sure to spray your grill with a grill spray or rub some olive or avocado oil on the grates before turning the grill to keep your fruit from sticking, and leaving those delicious, caramelized pieces on the grill.
- Keep an eye on your fruit. Some fruits take longer than other to cook you can close the lid of your grill but be sure to check every 5 minutes or so.
Now that you’ve got your fruit grilled serve it up. Here you have so many different options.
- Top with vanilla Greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey or even olive oil
- Some sweeter fruits like pineapple, mango, peaches, and even bananas go great with a simple sprinkle of spiciness. I suggest a little pinch of cayenne pepper.
- Cheeses go great with grilled fruits as well. I love whipped mascarpone cheese with a touch of powdered sugar.
Our website has a foolproof recipe for grilled peaches. You can find it here.
You can also try this recipe for Grilled Mangos with Jalapenos.
- Peel three mangoes and cut them into 1/4- to 1/2-inch slices.
- Season both sides of the slices with black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper.
- Drizzle with oil.
- Grill the mango slices for 3 minutes on each side.
- Place grilled mangos on a platter and drizzle them with lime juice, thinly sliced jalapeño peppers, and fresh cilantro.
No matter what you do. Enjoy your summer and grill some fruit. You don’t know what you’re missing until you’ve tried it. Happy grilling.