12 Best Fruits To Put On Pizza That Aren't Pineapple

Everybody needs a little bit of sweetness to help balance out all of the savory, sour, and salty flavors we find in our lives, our meals, and, naturally, on top of our pizzas. Luckily, one type of sweet ingredient makes a fantastic topping for any pizza, flatbread, calzone, or otherwise deconstructed pizza experience (aka charcuterie). The sweet pizza topping we're referring to is the world's most abundant, naturally occurring dessert: fruit.

Before going any further into the concept of fruit as a pizza topping, let's address and dismiss the elephant in the room: pineapple. The dichotomizing decision to pair this particular tropical fruit with the typical pizza ingredients may be the most contentious culinary stance a person can take; no one has a say in their sense of taste either way. Let's put the pineapple aside for a second and consider some other outstandingly delicious ways you can use fruit to enhance all your favorite pizza flavors. After all, a little sweet alongside all the bread, cheese, veggies, sauce, and meat is precisely what some pizzas need to go from "good" to "so good I can never go back." Here are the 12 best fruits to put on pizza that aren't pineapple.

Figs may not fall under the category of "fruit" in the most scientific sense of the word. However, for all culinary intents and purposes, these delicious little inverted flowers are fruit-adjacent enough to make the cut. Technical definitions aside, these sweet purple pouches are still considered a phenomenal — and popular — fruit. 

The flavor of figs can vary drastically depending on the variety, where it was grown, and at what stage of ripeness it is eaten. For example, a very ripe Greek Royal Black fig boasts a dark purple exterior and a taste and consistency similar to the best jam you've ever had. If the same fig variety is picked earlier in the short season of fig-eating when the outside still hasn't turned from green to full purple, the flavor is significantly milder and more floral. The texture retains much more crunch than the jam-like consistency you'll find later in the season.

Using figs on top of pizza adds a subtle hint of sweetness and is far from an uncommon menu item in the world of fruit-laden flatbreads. Fig pizza is popular enough for a fair few famous pizzerias, such as Santa Cruz, California's iconic Pizza My Heart, where they serve up an award-winning pie topped with black fig, bacon, feta, sage, olive oil, and garlic pizza called the Figgy Piggy. Another amazing recipe for fig pizza includes blue cheese, arugula, and salami. 

Although nothing lends itself to dessert quite like a perfectly ripe peach, there is something to be said about this particular fuzzy fruit's ability to enhance even the most savory of flavors, making your tastebuds play sweet and savory jump rope around every bite. One example of this simple pleasure is a two-ingredient dessert often enjoyed in the summertime: high-quality vanilla ice cream melting slowly over a hot roasted peach. There's something special about the incomparable charm of charred peaches paired with dairy. As you may have guessed, the concept also applies to using this fruit on pizza.

Since the flavor of a peach is bright, sweet, and sometimes even a little tart, it pairs well with a wide array of ingredients, even some of the more unusual, funky, and downright fun ones. For instance, our grilled peach and gorgonzola pizza recipe showcases this fruit's incredible ability to balance bold flavors like blue cheese, arugula, and hot honey. So, feel free to get creative and let your imagination run a bit wild with all the possible peach pizza recipes. That said, don't get so carried away that you forget peaches are a very juicy fruit, which could lead to a soggy bottom crust if you aren't careful.

One favorite flavor combination is the humble green apple paired with a slice or two of well-aged white cheddar cheese. Though some may doubt these ingredients can dance in harmony rather than perform a discordant duet, an undeniable undercurrent of pure culinary magic occurs between the two and is just as true if served on top of a pizza. The second you taste the interplay of tart, slightly sweet, oh-so-crisp apple as it melds across your tongue, first in contrast and then in combination with the sharp, creamy zing of white cheddar ... well, it's hard to think of a fruit more suited to pizza than this one. When considered in the style of Pizza My Heart's award-winning Watsonville Apple pizza, which is topped with green apple, pepperoni, sausage, bacon, green onions, gorgonzola, olive oil, and garlic, there are few better fruits to put on your pizza.

However, green apples aren't the only variety of this fruit that makes a great pizza topping. Other delicious combinations include Pink Ladies with Gruyère or Honeycrisp with Roquefort, all of which are expert-level apple and cheese pairings. With fruit and cheese combos like these, it's easy to see how the humble apple is among the most apt fruits to put on a pizza. You might also consider this possibility: Orchestrate an entire apple-centric dining experience with an apple-topped pizza for dinner and a classic apple pie for dessert.

For a fruity, sweet, and savory experience sure to satisfy even the most particular pizza eaters, consider including the ever-classic cantaloupe on your list of pizza topping ingredients. This popular orange melon is one most supermarkets carry all year round, and during its peak season (which is late summer for most but will vary from place to place), the warm weather will transform this otherwise underwhelming fruit into an unparalleled culinary delight. 

All sense of seasonality aside, there's something to be said for cantaloupe's ability to play nice with the more savory side of the culinary spectrum, often celebrated in an appetizer served across many a silver platter around and just after summer. That appetizer is, of course, cantaloupe paired with prosciutto, mozzarella cheese, basil, and sometimes balsamic vinegar (either fresh or cooked into a complex, complementary reduction). Instead of slamming all those ingredients raw onto a stick, we suggest combining them as pizza toppings for a uniquely umami-forward fruit-on-pizza experience.

For a fruit-forward pizza that isn't overly fruity in flavor, it may be worth considering the addition of an underutilized — yet obvious — choice that can be found at any supermarket. Look no further than a perfectly ripe pear, sliced thin and even and artfully laid out on top of cheese, sauce, and dough to make the most delicious pear pizza. Whether you use Bartlett pears, a green or red Anjou, or even one of the deliciously crisp Chinese white pears, it's bound to pair well with whatever pizza you want to "wow" with some sweetness.

Based on global fruit popularity statistics alone, pears easily rank among the top 10 beloved fruits of all time. Since they are among those staple fruits that are most often used to enhance the overall quality and experience of charcuterie boards (which, as we all know, share the same base ingredients as a pizza), it's easy to see how cheese, bread, pears, and possibly meat are ingredients that make sense to put together. This fruit can be featured with other complimentary toppings such as arugula, walnuts, prosciutto, or even gorgonzola, a pizza topping Giada de Laurentiis loves to pair with pears. 

Dates are one of the most flexible, deceptively multifaceted fruits you could use as an ingredient in your kitchen, especially since dates can hold the line between savory and sweet. Dates do this so well that they are equally suited toward being served as a snack, as part of a dinner, or as an entire dessert. In the case of Palm Springs' most famous desert dessert, maybe even a citywide culturally iconic milkshake as well. Amazingly, this dried-out, incredibly strong-in-taste, unique, and downright sticky-to-the-touch ingredient is, of all fruit, perhaps the most transient in its use. What's even more amazing is how good dates taste on top of pizza.

Other than dates being a dynamic, versatile ingredient that can be used to add a rich sweetness to just about any dish that requires a dash, there is another quality about dates that makes them great on pizza. That quality, ladies and gentlemen, is its ability to pair with bacon to become something truly transcendent-tasting. And if you add in some chèvre of bleu cheese to the date and bacon pizza equation, it'll become an already established but still oh so enlightening sweet and savory culinary revelation.

Nothing sounds better than a bite of something refreshing, sweet, and perhaps a little bit juicy during the hot summer months, and few fruits can contend with watermelon. Watermelon and pizza may not be considered a common combination, but that doesn't mean it doesn't still have some merit to it. After all, people enjoy eating this classic summertime fruit as a pizza-shaped watermelon wedge salad topped off with herbs and cheese, and real watermelon pizza is only a crust away.

Based on experience, the trick to putting watermelon on top of a pizza is focusing on fresh, complimentary flavors that won't get lost or fade away with the sweet watermelon taste. To match this fruit with a pizza flavor profile, throw some fresh herbs like mint, basil, and oregano, or consider trying blends of chili peppers onto your watermelon pizza with some fresh feta or chèvre, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, and even bacon or prosciutto for adventurous artisan pizza-makers out there who want a cutting edge summertime pizza that pops.

Many may be confused by the suggestion of strawberries on pizza, but there is something to this seemingly unusual combination of ingredients that sings a sweet melody of summer and late spring. Although strawberry shortcake and other desserts featuring this fruit are rather iconic, there is an underrated, underutilized, and uncommonly amazing assortment of savory recipes these berries bring to life. Pizza is one recipe where strawberries' savory capabilities can show their full breadth of character.

One way to pair strawberries as a pizza topping is to utilize the same combination as seen in a favorite spring and summer strawberry salad recipe, which is comprised of strawberries with chèvre, balsamic vinegar, arugula, and maybe even some walnuts if you're feeling like a fully decked-out savory use of fruit experience that goes great on pizza. For an even more out-there strawberry pizza, consider Utah's The Pie Pizzeria's iconic Bacon-Berry Pie approach and try topping your pizza off with some cilantro, bacon, garlic, and red onion bits and see how well this fan-favorite fruit can balance its sweet-to-meat ratio.

For some reason, nectarines tend to fall to the wayside when it comes to which fruits are considered to be the best. Maybe it's because getting your hands on a ripe, juicy, in-season nectarine isn't as easy as it seems, because people don't like nectarines all that much, or because most places stack nectarines next to peaches and get everyone confused. We think this un-fuzzy peach lookalike deserves the spotlight, especially when considering the top contenders of fruits that can top a pizza with no ease.

Nectarines have an incredibly bright and refreshing flavor that combines sweetness, tartness, and what can only be described as the taste of sunlight. You know, like how SunnyD said it should taste. That's about what nectarines bring to the plate, except they're the real deal — and really delicious. If you want to use nectarines on top of your next homemade pizza, consider contrasting them against creamy mozzarella, spicy arugula, and umami-packed pork like in our sweet and savory Italian salad pizza recipe. Or, if you're inclined toward the spicy side, this fruit makes a good base for trying out different chili oils and hot honey for a bit of a kick.

Persimmons are a difficult fruit to attempt to describe to those who have yet to partake. This isn't because they're wholly unique or unlike anything else we eat, but because they taste more like a complex meld of many ingredients that not many people can agree on. Some liken them to quince and others to mangos, but to me, persimmons taste a lot like all the best qualities of a delicata squash, but if it were served raw, dusted with some cinnamon, and had more a pear-like taste and bite to it. In other words, persimmons are a beloved favorite fall fruits, and a perfect fruity addition to put on top of a pizza. 

Although you can combine whatever ingredients your heart desires, we have found that plain cheese, persimmon, and basil are the best way to go for a perfect persimmon and pizza combo. Plus, if anyone needs more convincing than has already been addressed, then perhaps taking a look at this delicious recipe for broiled cheese dip with persimmons will help show that persimmon is already an excellent and established ingredient in savory dishes. Therefore, putting persimmons on top of pizza does make a whole lot of sense for anyone who likes the interplay between sweet and savory.

For a seasonal approach toward sprucing up your pizza, few fruits can compete with the perfectly autumnal pomegranate. Each seed within a pomegranate is a perfectly contained burst of simultaneously sweet and tart, acting as a tangy accent on top of your homemade pizza. And since pomegranate on pizza is an established, well-known fruit forward topping, it's easy to come across in restaurants and pizzerias all over the world — Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, for instance, has an excellent rendition to contribute to the culinary canon with its Mediterranean inspired lamb and pomegranate pizza,served with stunning fresh mint, red onion, and more on top to compliment the existing ingredient flavor profile.

However, keep in mind that this autumnal crop requires a little bit of patience to prepare for your at-home pomegranate experience since it takes some time and effort to separate all the jewel-toned, sweet seeds from the tightly packed pomegranate interior. Luckily, learning to deseed a pomegranate like a pro is as easy as putting it in a water-filled bowl where all the seeds and husk and juice with separate with ease, leaving you more time to eat as much pomegranate pizza as you please.

Pizza is, at its core, comprised of the same ingredients and along the same conceptual thread as the common charcuterie board. Therefore, it's safe to assume quince would work as well on a pizza or flatbreads as it would with the same disassembled foodstuffs when uncooked and stacked on top of a cutting board. Quince, for those out there who have not yet had the opportunity to try it, is a sort of marriage between an apple and a pear — but with all of the starch of a potato. 

In other words, this fruit is crispy, mild, a bit sweet, and starch-forward. Quince is easy to combine with savory flavors and can act as a subtle, perhaps even imperceptible, pizza ingredient; it lends a touch of the crisp, starchy sweetness you crave from fruit, but without inviting any possibility of overpowering the other toppings on your pie. If you're feeling the quince experience in a more in-your-face quince way, try to emulate classic charcuterie and use some quince jam to add a more sweet and condensed quince dip.