Patriotic Fruit Kabobs with Vanilla Bean Yogurt Dip

Red, white, and blue patriotic fruit kabobs are festive and easy to make. Serve them with creamy vanilla bean yogurt dip. Perfect for holiday picnics!

Just in time for Memorial Day and Independence Day, patriotic fruit kabobs are an easy dessert that’s a hit with all ages. With seasonal fresh fruit attractively displayed on skewers and a sweet yogurt fruit dip, the kabobs are both decorative and delicious.

For the colors of the U.S. flag, we’re going with red, white, and blue. If your flag has different colors, you can choose fruit that matches. In fact, you can match the fruit to any occasion from birthday parties to bridal showers. The fruit kabobs are fun to serve at brunches, picnics, and potlucks.

Have a picky eater? Kids love to dip things so fruit kabobs with creamy dip is really a great way to get them to eat fruit. It’s a fun after school snack that’s easy to make. Include them on a snack board especially made for kids.

I’m sure I’ll be whipping up batches of this vanilla bean yogurt dip all summer long and dipping anything I can find into it. You all know my long standing obsession with vanilla beans. Those little black dots of love make everything they touch so much better. I love this 3 ingredient no churn vanilla bean ice cream and vanilla bean cookie bars!

Vanilla beans also lend great flavor to this simply delicious dip which is perfect for dipping fruit and cake into (or a spoon!).

Why You’ll Love These Kabobs

• Versatile: Almost any type of fruit, cake, or even marshmallow can be threaded on the skewers. Keep reading for suggestions.
• Healthy: With fresh fruit and angel food cake, this is a low calorie dessert. Fresh fruit has lots of health benefits, too. The dip is made primarily with yogurt and is lightly sweetened. Each serving (2 tablespoons) is just 34 calories.
• Easy To Make: I can’t think of too many other desserts that take just 15 minutes to prepare. This is a quick and easy dessert.

What You’ll Need

• Greek Yogurt: Yogurt is the base of the dip. Greek yogurt is thicker than regular yogurt so it works better for dips. Be sure to buy plain, unflavored yogurt. It can be whole milk, 2%, or nonfat; I’ve tried all three and they all work fine.
• Cream Cheese: Either regular or reduced fat cream cheese is fine. Be sure to take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator an hour or so ahead of time so it has a chance to soften.
• Brown Sugar: The dip is sweetened with brown sugar which adds a hint of caramel flavor. Pack the sugar firmly into the measuring cup. The brown sugar slightly colors the dip. If you prefer a whiter dip, use granulated sugar instead.
• Vanilla Bean: Look for vanilla beans that are glossy and plump. If they are really wrinkled and dried, they won’t have as much vanilla inside. If you prefer, you can substitute vanilla bean paste.

• Vanilla Extract: Yup, double the vanilla flavor! Use pure vanilla extract, not the imitation vanilla flavoring.
• Fresh Blueberries and Strawberries: Look for firm fresh berries. If they are overripe and squishy, they won’t stay on the skewers as well. Be sure to rinse the berries well with cool water and pat them dry.
• Angel Food Cake: Purchase an already baked cake or bake your own. Cut the cake into bite-sized squares.

How To Make This Recipe

Prepare the vanilla bean yogurt dip first. It can be made ahead and refrigerated.

Put the softened cream cheese into a bowl and use an electric mixer to blend it until it’s smooth about 30 seconds.

Don’t worry if you forget and put everything in the bowl at once. We tested it both ways and found that beating the cream cheese first makes the dip a little smoother. The difference isn’t huge and your dip will be just fine either way.

Add the remaining dip ingredients and beat until the dip is smooth and creamy.

Assemble the fruit kabobs, arranging the strawberries, blueberries, and cubed angel food cake in the order you prefer. I like to start and end with a berry because the cake tends to fall off the end otherwise.

More Ideas For Fruit Kabobs

• Red: red raspberries, watermelon chunks, red apples
• White: banana slices, marshmallows, pineapple chunks, pound cake
• Blue: blackberries
• Any Color: grapes (any color), kiwi slices, melon balls or chunks, sliced oranges, mandarin orange segments, etc.
• Rainbow: (in this order) red grapes, blueberries, green grapes or kiwi, pineapple chunks, cantaloupe, strawberries

Storage Tips

Refrigerate dip in a tightly covered container until ready to use. It will keep for 5 to 7 days. Once it has been setting on the counter and dipped into frequently, it should be discarded.

The fruit kabobs can be assembled an hour or two in advance. Keep in mind that if the strawberries are sliced or cut, they may bleed a little juice into the cake. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

More Kabobs

If you’re liking the idea of food on a stick, try:

• Grilled Shrimp Kabobs with Pineapple
• Grilled Pork Kabobs with Apples (the apricot jam glaze is amazing!)
• Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu Kabobs with Swiss cheese dip
• Chai French Toast Skewers
• Shish Tawook – Lebanese Marinated Chicken
• Chicken Kofta Kebabs