Fruit Kebabs are a fun, refreshing and healthy treat but are also a great way to encourage your kids' creativity.
If you are looking to increase the variety of fruits your children consume then fruit kebabs are an easy and fun way to do this. Serve new fruits, alongside familiar fruits to introduce new flavours and textures in a comfortable way.
Prepare a pile of fruit, provide some skewers and let the fruit kebab party begin!
Fruit kebabs are pieces of fresh fruit threaded onto skewers. They can be served as a healthy snack or dessert.
Jump to:
Fruits that work well
Most fruits work great. I recommend using an array of shapes and sizes as well as a rainbow of colours. Some examples include
- Melon (all varieties)
- Grapes (red, green & black) (sliced lengthways for young children)
- Berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries)
- Kiwis
- Pineapple
- Dragon fruit
- Star fruit
Fruits to avoid
You can use any fruit to make kebabs but some fruits are only good if you plan to eat the kebabs immediately.
When preparing fruit kebabs ahead of time, I would recommend avoiding
- banana,
- apples
- pears
These fruits oxidise quickly, turn brown and will look unappetising on your skewers.
Type of Skewers to Use
Skewers come in a range of sizes and what you use will depend on how big you want your kebab to be.
You may feel uncomfortable offering your child a kebab stick with sharp ends and some school settings do not allow them in lunchboxes. If this is the case you can use lollipop sticks or purchase kebab sticks especially designed for children.
Helpful Equipment
- Knife - to prepare and cut the fruit
- Melon Baller (optional) - to add fruit balls to your kebabs
- Cookie Cutters (optional) - to cut fruit in different shapes.
Nutrition
By eating fruit kebabs, made using a selection of fruits, we are providing our children with a range of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Try serving the kebabs with some dips high in fat and protein to keep the kids satisfied for longer. Some suggestions include
- Greek Yogurt Peanut Butter Dip
- Peanut Butter Cottage Cheese
- Plain yoghurt
- Plain yoghurt with vanilla/lime/lemon
- Plain yoghurt mixed with nut/seed butter
- Plain yoghurt mixed with mascarpone/cream cheese⠀
- Crushed nuts/seeds
- Shredded Coconut⠀
⠀
Storage Instructions
Constructed fruit kebabs can be stored in an airtight container or placed on a plate and covered with plastic wrap or beeswax sheet.
It really depends on the fruit you use as to how long you can store them.
From a food safety perspective, the fruit kebabs can be stored for a longer period of time but from a visual point of view, the kebabs can only really be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 hours in advance.
Involving Kids
- Basic Involvement
Provide kids with bowls of prepared fruits and skewers and allow them to get creative.
- More Involved
Cut thick slices of fruit with larger surface areas (like pineapple and melon). Give children food cutters and allow them to cut shapes to thread onto the skewers.
Kids can help to prepare dips.
- Fully Involved
With supervision, allow children to chop fruits (you can purchase kid-friendly knives), skewer the fruits and make the dips.
More Fun Fruit Recipes for Kids
Looking for more healthy kid recipes?Sign up for my free recipe newsletter to get new family friendly recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more kid-friendly inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.
Fruit Kebabs
Ingredients
- 6 Strawberries
- 6 (approx 14g each) Chunks of Cantaloupe melon
- 6 (approx 14g each) Chunks Pineapple
- 3 Thick slices of kiwi (cut in half)
- 12 Blueberries
- 6 Grapes
Instructions
- Thread 1 strawberry, 1 cantaloupe melon chunk, 1 pineapple chunk, 1 half kiwi slice, 2 blueberries and 1 grape onto a bamboo skewer approx 9cm (7.5inch) long
- Place on a platter and serve with a dip of choice.
Recipe Notes
- This recipe is for the rainbow fruit kebab pictured. You can change the fruits to suit taste or season.
- Why not try making mini fruit kebabs for the lunchbox.
- Melon ballers and cookie cutters allow you to create different shapes for your fruit kebabs.
- Dip suggestions are given in above post.
- If making for young children, prepare fruit in an age-appropriate way to prevent choking.
Heiwan
Fun for kids, I make them for parties
Amy
Great, they are great for parties 🙂