Grilled Desserts Make Sweet Endings for Summer BBQs

Grilled Blackberry Brioche Bread Pudding
Photo by Mackenzie Schieck.

Sweet meets heat!

Turn summer desserts into something a touch more special with the help of your grill. The heat of the grill transforms summer's fresh fruits into something even more sublime, creating mouthwatering grill lines on plump summer peaches or caramelizing the sugar in a thick slice of pineapple. Get recipes and inspiration for desserts you can serve hot off the grill.

Grilled Fruit Ideas

Fresh fruit fired up on the grill is so hot and sweet, you'd swear you were eating cobbler or pie, minus the excess calories. That is until you pile on the ice cream.

Grilled Pineapple
Photo by lutzflcat.

This easy recipe for Grilled Pineapple is a great example of how you can elevate the taste of simple grilled fruit by adding a little of this and a dash of that. Rings of fresh pineapple are soaked in a sweet, buttery marinade with a dash of hot pepper sauce for eye-opening flavor, and quickly grilled to get those gorgeous char marks. Serve as is or with ice cream and chocolate or caramel sauce.

You'll love how a touch of honey and a dollop of cream cheese makes Grilled Peaches and Cream taste ultra rich and decadent.

Thread fruit onto skewers for a party-worthy presentation. Try Skewered Cantaloupe or Pineapple and Mango Skewers with Coconut Dip.

Grilling S'Mores

It's a childhood classic, the perfect end to the perfect summer night. Don't worry, you don't have to dust off your scout skills and build a fire when the grill is already roaring. Stick to tradition, or give the old chocolate marshmallow combo a makeover with a few sweet tweaks.

A Peanutty S'more
Pictured: A Peanutty S'more | Photo by KGora.

Take a classic s'more and sandwich a peanut butter cup candy with a toasted marshmallow between graham crackers, and you've got yourself A Peanutty S'More. Not a graham cracker fan? Try Campfire Banana Splits, a Girl Scouts classic. Or make a crowd-wowing Grilled S'mores Pizza with pizza dough topped with chocolate, marshmallows, graham cracker crumbs, and a dash of flaky sea salt.

Classic Desserts, Remixed with the Grill

There are a few tried and true recipes that will always be a hit. Give them a boost with a little heat from the grill. It makes a familiar favorite unexpected and exciting, while intensifying the flavors you know and love.

Strawberry Shortcake with Balsamic
Pictured: Strawberry Shortcake with Balsamic | Photo by SunnyDaysNora.

Slices of angel food cake are toasted on the grill and topped with sweet/tart balsamic-soaked strawberries and fluffy whipped cream for this Grilled Strawberry Shortcake with Balsamic. If you like the sound of that, you could grill any of the shortcakes or biscuits for these popular strawberry shortcake recipes. For something a little more boozy and decadent, try Bananas Foster on the Grill.

Grilled Cocktails

If an after-dinner drink is more your speed, the grill is still your friend. Add flavor and flare to your next cocktail by mixing in grilled ingredients. Watch the video to see how to make this Grilled Grapefruit Paloma.

More: Get more recipes and ideas for grilled cocktails.

Check out our collection of Summer Dessert Recipes.

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