Turkey Fruit Platter Food Art for Thanksgiving Day
Want to make a healthy dessert recipe for Thanksgiving Day your guests will actually be excited to eat? Then you will love this super simple Turkey Fruit Platter Recipe. It is the perfect Thanksgiving food art idea!
If you search for turkey fruit platter food art online, you will see some really incredible creations. Some of these Thanksgiving food art ideas look so good I wouldn’t even want to eat them. But they also look really complicated to create. And honestly, who has time for that?!
That’s why I created this incredibly simple turkey fruit platter. All you need is a little fruit, some skewers, and a platter to place it on and you are in business!
How to make an easy turkey fruit platter with skewers
I’m going to share with you exactly how I made this turkey fruit platter, but feel free to adjust the types of fruit depending on the preferences of your family and guests.
The most important aspect of the turkey fruit platter is to create a realistic ‘turkey.’ The easiest way to do this is to select a fruit that is similar in shape to the body of a turkey. And I found the pear is the most realistic option. To make the ‘turkey’ take a medium sized pear, wash it, and then slide off a piece from the back of the fruit so the pear can lay flat on a platter without rolling.
Next, using two pretzel sticks (you can even use whole grain pretzel sticks if you want to up the nutrition a little more), insert them into the base of the pear to create the turkey’s ‘legs.’ To complete the turkey, add a pair of edible eyeballs or draw on eyes using edible markers. And then you can insert a slice of carrot stick or pretzel stick to create the beak.
How to create fruit skewers for Thanksgiving Day
My favorite part of this turkey fruit platter is the fruit skewer ‘feathers.’ I love that guests can just pull out a skewer and enjoy it as an easy Thanksgiving dessert or appetizer. Depending on the size of your crowd, you can make multiple turkey fruit platters or choose a larger fruit to make your ‘turkey’ so it allows more room for multiple skewers.
Creating the skewers for your turkey fruit platter is pretty simple. There’s really no rules. You can make each skewer identical to the next. Or you can mix them up for a really colorful turkey. It’s totally up to you. For mine, I tried to keep each skewer similar to cut down on the changes of my kids arguing over who gets what, but let’s face it… they will find something else to argue over anyway 😉
What skewers should I use when making a turkey fruit platter?
When choosing your skewer, you can use regular wooden or bamboo skewers which are the easiest to pierce the fruit with. However, if this turkey fruit platter will mostly be served to young children, I recommend skipping the sharp skewers and instead using paper straws.
If you use paper straws as your ‘skewer’ use a knife (or even a wooden skewer) to first create small holes in the pear and the fruit pieces before trying to assemble your turkey food art. Otherwise, it will be challenging to get the fruit onto the straws.
Assembling your turkey fruit platter
I recommend leaving about one inch at the base of the skewer to insert it into the pear. This make sure you have enough skewer available to keep the skewer from falling out, but not so much it goes right through the other side of the turkey body.
For our turkey fruit platter, I used a mix of clementines, sliced strawberries, kiwi, and apples, and then a few blueberries for an added pop or color. The combinations and fruit choices are really up to you. I based ours on what I had in the refrigerator already and what was in season at the store. Get creative!
So that’s really all there is to making an easy turkey fruit platter for Thanksgiving. So easy right?
If you will be transporting your turkey, I highly recommend using wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap (I use the this one for the best hold) so it doesn’t fall apart or shift when being moved.
Turkey Fruit Platter Food Art for Thanksgiving Day
Equipment
- A large platter
- Knife
Ingredients
- 1 medium pear
- 1/2 cup strawberries sliced
- 2 clementines peeled and sliced
- 1 medium apple cut into cubes
- 2 kiwis sliced
- 1/4 cup blueberries
- 2 edible eyeballs
- 2 whole grain pretzel sticks
Instructions
- Slice a small, flat section of the back of the pear so it can lay flat on your platter.
- Insert pretzel sticks into the bottom of the pear to create the turkey 'legs'
- Add edible eye balls (or use an edible marker) to draw eyes on to turkey
- Break off a small piece of pretzel (or use a slice of fruit) to create the turkey 'beak'
- Using six 8-inch skewers or paper straws (for young kids) layer fruit pieces onto skewers evenly, leaving one inch at the bottom of the skewer free to insert into pear.
- Insert skewers into pear to create 'feathers'
- Serve chilled.
Nutrition
https://jupiter.shop/embed/creator/erinpalinski/s/h
And if you are looking for an easy appetizer for centerpiece for the big day too, check out my Turkey Vegetable Platter food art for Thanksgiving Day. It’s just as easy and just as delicious.