Grilled plums are a delicious snack for a cold winter’s afternoon, as part of a summer salad, or a fantastic addition to breakfast.
While grilling fruit may not seem like an obvious choice – even when it is you’re far more likely to think about pineapple or mango than plums – but that’s just because grilling fruit isn’t really a tradition in the United States, though it's one we're starting to see the merits of!
Keeping that in mind, grilled plums might just be the most flexible of all the grilled fruit options – I’m sure that once you try out this recipe, you will be exploring all the different ways you can incorporate grilled plums into your weekly meal plan.
How to Grill Plums
Grilling plums could not be easier – making sure that your grill or grill pan is at about medium heat and gently oiled, slice your plums in half and place them cut side down onto the grill; plums are naturally a very wet fruit, so you don’t need to add any oil or anything else to them.
Leave them on the grill for 3 to 4 minutes, or until your desired degree of grill marks appear – once you feel happy with the grill marks, flip the plums to grill them on the other side for another 2 to 3 minutes.
Skin on or Off?
For some fruit, there is a bit of a debate about whether you should leave the skin on or remove it before you grill it, as skins can be very nice or not so nice to eat, or because it is too thick and prevents the fruit from cooking completely – this isn’t the case with plums, which have a thin skin that cooks well when grilled, making it completely cool to leave the skins on!
In fact, I encourage you to leave the skin on because the skin is filled with chlorogenic acid, which is an antioxidant, and also contains Vitamin C!
How to Shop for Plums
Plums are one of the easier fruits to shop for in the grocery store; simply look for plums that have tight skins with little to no wrinkling or blemishes – bruises very quickly turn to rot and will infect the other fruit stored with it.
You will also want to find skin that has a white waxy look to it, indicating a ripe plum – the other way is pressing on them gently. A ripe plum will be firm with a little bit of give. Finally, give the plums a little bit of a smell, they should have a gentle sweet smell – if there is no scent at all they aren’t ripe yet, and if the smell is too sweet then they are likely overripe.
Serving Ideas for Grilled Plums
Grilled plums are incredibly versatile and can be used in a bunch of different ways with completely different results, working for any meal during the day, and also for desserts!
The possibilities really are endless, but here are just a few of my favorites.
- Breakfast Granola: Cut up pieces of grilled plum and put them in a bowl with your favorite Greek yogurt and homemade granola.
- Queen of Tarts: Grilled fruit of all kinds make a wonderful tart, though it’s best when you have a few different fruits in it.,/li>
- Plum Salad: A grilled plum salad makes a fantastic lunch or dinner option. With a bed of arugula and goat cheese sprinkled on top this recipe feels like you ate at a 5-star restaurant at diner prices.
- Sundae Treat: Finely chopped grilled plums are a fantastic, healthy topping for a sundae that is sure to make you feel a little less guilty about having a treat.
Topping Ideas
The previous ideas for serving grilled plums were fun, but they don’t have to be that complex; in fact, you can’t go wrong with a couple of grilled plums on your plate with toppings, and it works amazingly as a dessert, a breakfast, or a quick snack.
- Coconut Whipped Cream and a Caramel Sauce
- Vanilla Ice Cream (or Nice Cream)
- Maple Syrup and Pecans
- Honey and Oats
- Whipped Cream and Streusel Topping
- Fresh Basil and Goat Cheese
- Balsamic and Goat Cheese
- Mascarpone Cheese with Caramel Sauce and Gingersnap Cookies Crumbled
Other Plum Recipes
Plum is an ingredient we haven’t ventured into very much in the Slender Kitchen but I still wanted to include a few recipes that you can make with plums. My favorite is the grilled plum salad which this recipe for grilled plums is just begging to be a part of.
Other Grilled Fruit Recipes:
Of course, plums aren’t the only fruit you can grill! Here are a few more grilled fruit recipes you might be interested in trying out.