This simple fruit pizza recipe is straightforward to mix and absolutely gorgeous! A buttery crescent dough crust is topped with a cream cheese frosting and then piled high with fresh seasonal fruit. A reliable light, summery dessert but one that can also be served up for holidays or any get-together!

For as long as we can remember, we have been absolutely obsessed with the veggie pizza appetizer that our mom used to make. It was one of the only things that could convince us to eat raw broccoli; most likely because it sat on a bed of ranch dressing and buttery crescent rolls. That appetizer was especially popular on New Year’s Eve and during the winter months. We fell equally in love with its sweet counterpart as soon as summer rolled around. Those same buttery crescent rolls were baked up and topped with a sweet cream cheese mixture and tons of fresh fruit.

Decades later, we are still in love with both versions of this “pizza” recipe. Now that we’re officially in the throes of summer, we just can’t get enough of fresh fruit, which makes this a reliable summertime dessert. Many versions of this recipe use a sugar cookie base, and we're sure that’s fabulous as well, but we just can’t budge from old memories when it comes to some things, this being one of them.

How to make fruit pizza from scratch

If you want to go the totally from-scratch route for your fruit pizza, you can use any of these recipes as a base for your “crust”:

Sugar cookie bars – soft and buttery like a standby sugar cookies should be!
Shortbread – For an even butterier but more crumbly texture, use this recipe.
Oatmeal crumb crust – Use the “oatmeal crumb” from this pumpkin pie bar recipe to give a heartier, chewier texture to your crust.

Now, onto the “sauce” for your fruit pizza! The traditional topping is a simple, sweetened cream cheese mixture that is easily spreadable (which is included in the recipe below). Here are some other ideas:

Cream cheese frosting – A richer, more decadent sauce!
Vanilla buttercream frosting – A simple, more buttery than sweet vanilla frosting. (There’s a chocolate buttercream version, too!)
Chocolate ganache – For amping up the decadence!

All about the fruit!

One of a standby parts about this fruit pizza is that you can use just about any fruit that you would like to top it! Use your favorites, what’s in season, or a special color combination for a sports celebration, graduation, or the holidays. Some of our favorites to use over the years:

Strawberries
Blueberries
Blackberries
Raspberries
Pineapple
Kiwi
Mango
Grapes
Orange (or clementine/mandarin) segments
Peaches
Nectarines

Cutting and Preparing the Fruit

We highly recommend washing and slicing whatever fruit needs to be sliced and then letting them dry completely on paper towels before adding them to the top of your pizza. This will keep extra moisture from running out of the fruit and allow the fruit pizza to stay fresher, longer.

If you are using fruit that will brown when left out (we usually skip these fruits, but you may want to use them!), such as apples, pears, or bananas, we recommend tossing them in pineapple juice until evenly coated, and then allowing them to dry as mentioned above. The pineapple juice will help to keep them from browning.

Baker notes

Mini Versions: You can cut rounds out of the crescent dough to make little individual pizzas (kids would love to help make their own!).
Optional Glaze: To create extra shine on the fruit, you can brush it with apricot jam or honey that has been thinned a little with water.
Make-Ahead: You can prepare the crust and top it with the cream cheese frosting the day before serving, but don’t add the fruit until the day you plan to serve it, within a few hours is best. The fruit will begin to break down and will make the filling runny and the crust soggy.
Transporting: If you make this to take to a picnic or BBQ, wait until the last possible moment to add the fruit to the top, cover tightly with plastic wrap and keep it as cool as possible for the trip.
Storage: Cover leftovers with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Expect that it will begin to get a bit soggy after the first day.

Straightforward Fruit Pizza

Yield: 12 to 16 servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 13 minutes
Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients

2 tubes ( 2 ) refrigerated crescent rolls
12 ounces ( 340.2 g ) cream cheese, at room temperature
⅓ cup ( 66.67 g ) granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon ( 0.75 teaspoon ) vanilla extract
Assorted fruit, for topping

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Unroll the crescent rolls and press into a 10x15-inch pan (or place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet), making sure to seal any seams. Bake until puffed and golden brown, 11 to 13 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until soft and smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and beat until completely combined, then mix in the vanilla extract. Using an offset spatula, spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled crust.
Top with assorted fruit of your choice. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Notes

"Crust" Options: Sugar cookie bars / Shortbread / Oatmeal crumb crust / Store-bought sugar cookie dough

"Sauce" Options: Cream cheese frosting / Vanilla buttercream / Chocolate ganache

Recommended Fruit: Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, pineapple, kiwi, mango, orange segments, grapes, peaches, nectarines

Mini Versions: You can cut rounds out of the crescent dough to make little individual pizzas (kids would love to help make their own!).

Shape: If you have a round pizza pan, you can press your "crust" into that for a more traditional pizza shape!

Optional Glaze: To create extra shine on the fruit, you can brush it with apricot jam or honey that has been thinned a little with water.

Make-Ahead: You can prepare the crust and top it with the cream cheese frosting the day before serving, but don't add the fruit until the day you plan to serve it, within a few hours is best. The fruit will begin to break down and will make the filling runny and the crust soggy.

Transporting: If you make this to take to a picnic or BBQ, wait until the last possible moment to add the fruit to the top, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and keep it as cool as possible for the trip.

Storage: Cover leftovers with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Expect that it will begin to get a bit soggy after the first day.

[Photography by Ari of Well Seasoned ]