You Should Really Try Grilling Fruit. Here's Why

A Saturday afternoon grill party just wouldn't be complete without some juicy hamburgers, plump hot dogs, and fresh grilled peaches. Wait, peaches? Yes. There are several desserts that are healthier than you may think, including grilled fruit. You could be missing out on a delicious, low-calorie treat if you haven't tried grilling fruit.  Some fruits, such as peaches and figs, contain sugars that caramelize when grilled or heated in a skillet.

If you grill regularly, you may enjoy the experimentation aspect of grilling fruit. Many fruits come off the grill with new flavor profiles, ranging from sweet to savory. According to Treehugger, all it takes is a brush of oil to keep the fruit from sticking, and placing the fruit over the grill's indirect heat. Choose any fruit you like, from peaches to bananas, pineapple, mangoes, and even cherries (placed in a grill basket or foil to prevent the cherries from falling through the grates).

Grilled fruit is delicious on its own, but even better topped with Greek yogurt, whipped cream, or honey. If you crave a more decadent dessert, break out the ice cream and chocolate sauce. Can you imagine a banana split with all of the toppings – bananas, cherries, and pineapple – grilled? One recipe from the Food Network leaves the bananas in the peels, cuts one side open, and fills the opening with butter and chocolate chips before wrapping each banana in foil and placing it on the grill.

Need more grilled fruit topping ideas? The Spruce Eats suggests caramel sauce, nuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, rum, honey, or cheese. If you want to keep grilled fruit healthy, resist the urge to add sugar. Most fruits are sweet on their own, and you'll find that by adding the heat of the grill, those natural sugars are even more pronounced since reducing a fruit's water content concentrates its sugar (via Huffpost).