How To make - Fruit Pizza

pizza
How To make - Fruit Pizza
Homemade fruit pizza decorated in a artistic pattern with colorful fresh fruit.
In this fruit pizza recipe you get a soft and tender sugar cookie base that’s covered with a rich cream cheese topping, and layered with a generous amount of vibrantly flavored fresh fruit.
Then it’s finished with a sweet apricot jam which gives the pizza the perfect finishing sheen.
Simply put it’s a staple summer recipe! I love to make it at least once every summer and top it with a colorful variety of seasonal fruit.
You just can’t go wrong with a cookie topped with a sweet and tangy frosting, lots of tasty fruit and a simple fruit pizza glaze.
And the possibilities of how it can be decorated with creative patterns are endless. Such a fun dessert that everyone will love!
Side view of fruit pizza with one slice removed to show texture of interior.

Ingredients You’ll Need for Fruit Pizza

  • Flour: I like to use unbleached all-purpose flour it has a better flavor.
  • Baking soda and baking powder: These help the cookie crust rise.
  • Salt: Added to keep the crust from tasting flat.
  • Butter: Unsalted butter is recommended but if you only have salted then just omit the salt in the recipe.
  • Granulated sugar: This is added to both the crust and the frosting.
  • Egg: This binds the dough ingredients and helps give the crust a nice texture.
  • Cream Cheese: The main ingredient to the frosting. The rich tanginess pairs perfectly with the cookie crust and sweet fruit.
  • Vanilla extract: Adds a little extra flavor to the crust and frosting.
  • Fresh fruit: Don’t use frozen fruit, stick with fresh for best texture and flavor.
  • Apricot preserves: This adds a nice sheen to the fruit but you could skip it if you’d prefer. Another option would be just to brush with honey (mixed with a little water if needed to thin).

Can I use a store-bought sugar cookie dough?

Yes. Another option for the easiest recipe is to use a tube of store-bought sugar cookie dough (such as Pillsbury) instead of making the crust from scratch. Directions are noted in the recipe.
Image of fruit pizza ingredients including flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, egg, cream cheese, salt, fresh fruit and jam.

How to Make Fruit Pizza from Scratch

To make sugar cookie dough crust:

  1. Preheat oven, prepare pizza pan: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a rimmed 12-inch pizza pan (without holes), line with a round of parchment paper and butter parchment paper.
  2. Whisk dry ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. Cream butter and sugar in mixer: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer cream together 3/4 cup granulated sugar and butter until well combined. Scrape down bowl.
  4. Mix in egg and vanilla: Mix in egg and 2 tsp vanilla extract. Scrape down bowl.
  5. Blend in dry ingredients: Add flour mixture then blend just until combined.
  6. Spread into pizza pan: Drop batter onto prepared pizza pan, then spread into an even layer with hands coated in non-stick cooking spray.
  7. Bake then let cool: Bake in preheated oven about 11 – 13 minutes until just cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Collage image of 6 steps showing how to make cookie dough for fruit pizza crust.Collage image showing how to press cookie dough into pizza pan, and also showing crust after baking.

For the cream cheese frosting and toppings:

  1. Blend icing ingredients in a mixing bowl: In a mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), whip cream cheese, 6 Tbsp granulated sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla until light and fluffy.
  2. Top and decorate fruit pizza: Spread frosting over crust and top with fruit.
  3. Brush with glaze: In a very small mixing bowl whisk together preserves and water. Brush mixture over fruit.

Collage image showing how to make cream cheese toppings, spreading it on the fruit pizza crust and topping fruit pizza with fresh fruit and jam glaze.How to Store Fruit Pizza

Fruit pizza should be stored in the refrigerator once the frosting and fruit are added.

Can you make fruit pizza the day before?

  • Yes, but wait to add the fruit.
  • You can prepare the crust and even top with the frosting but wait to add the fruit and glaze until the day you’ll be serving it.
  • The fruit starts to break down and the liquids seep run which can alter the clean appearance and change the texture. To prevent a soggy crust just wait to add it.
Overhead image of fruit pizza with slice cut and lifted out.

Best Fruits to Use

There are a lot of options here but these are my favorites:
  • blueberries
  • kiwis
  • grapes
  • mangoes or peaches
  • mandarin oranges (bottled are fine if you drain well)
  • pineapple (I used that to cut a star shape as well)
  • raspberries
  • strawberries

Tips for the Best Fruit Pizza

  • If you have a kitchen scale use that to measure ingredients for the most consistent results.
  • If you find the dough is a little to sticky to work with you can chill it for 30 minutes before spreading into pan (then increase bake time by a few minutes).
  • Don’t skip greasing hands, it will make the dough more manageable to spread into pan.
  • Let crust cool completely or the icing will just melt.
  • Use bright sweet fruits for best flavor, also choose those with rich colors to create pretty patterns.
Slices of fruit pizza on a marble surface.