Want a fun way to change up the way you serve fruit? Throw it on a skewer. Fruit skewers are a great way to add fun to the fruit game. Kids love them (and can help make them!) and so do adults. They’re a great way to showcase seasonal fruit, use leftover fruit and offer bite-sized pieces, plus it ups the presentation game. Here are a few tips on how to make better fruit skewers.

The Best Fruit for Fruit Skewers

When it comes to durability as you prep the skewers, firmer fruits like melons and strawberries are the best choices to spear. Grapes work well, too as do some stone fruits and pineapple.

There are a few fruits that you should probably avoid when making fruit skewers. Those that oxidize quickly — bananas, apples and pears — aren’t the best picks to pierce if they’ll be sitting for a bit. However, if you want to include them, a little lemon juice can slow down the oxidization process.

How to Maximize Freshness

Ideally, it’s best to skewer your fruit right before you are going to serve it. If that’s not an option, store the skewers in the fridge until you’re ready to serve them. Just make sure to wrap the serving tray in plastic wrap or store the skewers in an airtight container.

Make a Rainbow

Diversify the flavors, look and nutrients of your selection by creating a rainbow on a stick. Rainbow fruit skewers are a great way to showcase your bounty of fruit and their bright colors. Kids can help pick out a fruit for each color of the rainbow. This healthy version uses chocolate-dipped strawberries, but feel free to use regular strawberries as well.

It’s also easy and fun to theme the skewers with colors and patterns for holidays – red, white and blue for Fourth of July, or red and green for Christmas, or oranges at Halloween.

Try Making a Dip

It’s not uncommon to see fruit kebabs served with some kind of dip. Popular options include chocolate dips, Ree Drummond's sweet yogurt dips for her creative breakfast skewers (pictured above), marshmallow fluff or a cream cheese based dip.

Make It Savory

All fruit skewers need not be super sweet. Consider putting a savory spin on your fruit skewers to create summery appetizer snacks, like Tomato, Watermelon, and Basil Skewers (pictured above) from Giada De Laurentiis, which are drizzled in a balsamic glaze. You can do the same with peaches and fresh mozzarella, or even make it a full meal using teriyaki chicken and pineapple.

Dress It Up

Have fun with your fruit skewers! Turning your pieces of fruit into different shapes is simple and fun. Grab a few fruit cutters (some cookie cutters will also work) or a tool like this one. Melons and pineapple work best for shapes. Use your imagination – flowers, stars, hearts and even butterflies are fun, easy shapes to include.

You can even add a little flair to your skewers. These one-bite skewers have cute little paper fruits at the end of them. The O-Yaki skewers are easy to use on the grill and make a nice centerpiece, just be careful with the metal skewers for kids.

Throw Fruit Skewers on the Grill

Fruit skewers don’t just have to be raw fruit — grilling the skewers is a great way to bring out flavors in a different way. Grilled skewers can make a great side to grilled meats. It’s also a great way to experiment with different complementary spices. These pineapple, mango and watermelon skewers are grilled with chile and lime or grill fresh stone fruit and garnish with mint. Play around with a variety of spices like cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, ginger and chipotle. Maple syrup, honey, vanilla and, for the adults, even rum can all be used to add some sweetness.

Or how about these grilled strawberry shortcake skewers (pictured above)?

No matter how you stack them, fruit skewers make a great addition to any meal as an appetizer, main or dessert.

Related Links:

Grilled Summer Fruits

Fun, Frozen Desserts

The New Fruit Salad