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These grilled desserts make magical summer treats! Here are my favorite easy recipes to finish off any backyard meal.
Looking for the perfect dessert to finish off a summer meal? Try one of my favorite grilled desserts! These tasty treats are easy to whip up after grilling your main course. Who needs to bake when you can grill your dessert?
You can throw the fruit on the grill while it’s still hot, then wrap them in foil until it’s time for dessert. To me, the lightly smoky flavor of grilled fruit is one of my favorite treats! Topped with a little vanilla ice cream, it tastes restaurant style with very little effort. Here are my favorite grilled dessert recipes to try this summer.
Why Grilled Fruit Makes Such a Good Dessert
When ripe fruit hits a hot grate, the sugars caramelize and the flesh softens just enough to turn slightly jammy. It also gets the most delicious charred flavor that you just can’t get from an oven!
The other thing I love about grilling fruit is the how easy it is. When Alex finishes the burgers or chicken thighs, I have a foil packet of apples or peach halves ready to slide on after dinner comes off!
My Favorite Grilled Desserts
Here’s one of the best grilled desserts out there: grilled apples! Thinly slice those apples and throw them in a foil packet with sugar and spices. The grill turns them tender and velvety, with subtle nuance of smoke. Top with melty vanilla ice cream and doesn’t get any better than this! It’s easy to make up a packet and cook it while prepping the rest of a grilled dinner.
Another fantastic grilled dessert is grilled peaches! Throw these sweet, juicy fruits onto the grill and they get caramelized and lightly smoky. Then top them with vanilla ice cream and fresh mint for a summer dessert that everyone raves about. Only make this when you can find ripe, in season peaches.
This grilled dessert is a spin on the flavors of bananas foster, and the perfect end to a dinner on the patio. Each tender bite is flavored with maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. It’s made even more perfect with a little melty vanilla ice cream: restaurant quality with very little effort.
Grilled pineapple is one of my favorite endings to a summer meal. Pineapple is tangy and juicy as is. For the easiest grilled dessert, throw it on the grates, serve drizzled with honey and top with fresh mint. Or take it over the top and serve with melty vanilla ice cream or toasted coconut.
Pro Tips For Grilling Fruit
- Pick ripe but firm fruit. Overripe peaches and pineapple will juice too much and might not survive. If a peach dents under your thumb, save it for a peach smoothie.
- Oil the cut sides. A quick brush of oil keeps fruit from sticking.
- Use the cool side for foil packets. Direct heat is great for searing the cut side of fruit; indirect heat for foil-packet desserts.
More Grill Recipes To Try
Need ideas for grilled meals, too? We’ve got your back! Here are some of our favorite resources for tasty meals from the grill:
- 20 Vegetarian Grill Recipes All the veggie-forward grilled main dishes and side dishes you need for a summer party!
- Grilled Fish & Seafood Recipes These seafood and grilled fish recipes are full of big flavor! Seafood is fast and easy to make on the grill.
- 15 Easy Grilled Dinner Ideas Or try these grilled dinner ideas, including grilled salmon, tilapia, shrimp, red snapper, tuna, and scallops.
- 25 Best Grilled Vegetables Here’s the master method for how to cook each one of these vegetables on the grill! There’s a recipe for everything from potatoes and peppers to more unique veggies like Brussels sprouts and okra.
