Colorful fruit pizza features a vibrant bounty of fruit atop a soft sugar cookie crust and thick, tangy cream cheese frosting. Choose your favorite fruits to customize this classic summertime dessert!
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more helpful success tips. I also made a few improvements to the recipe, which are reflected in the printable recipe below.
There’s just something so summery about a fruit pizza. Maybe it’s the bright, glossy colors… or the freshness of in-season fruits and berries… or the fact that it reminds me of a sunburst or a firework exploding in the sky. Out of our entire list of desserts for a BBQ cookout and 4th of July desserts, fruit pizza is usually the first one I recommend.
The combination of a soft, buttery sugar cookie crust with tangy-sweet cream cheese frosting and colorful fresh fruit is nostalgic AND irresistible!
Here’s Why You Need to Try This Fruit Pizza
- Completely from scratch dessert recipe, but easy!
- Tons of texture in each bite.
- Fun to make and decorate—a great one for kids to help.
- Endlessly customizable with various fruits + berries.
- Easy to slice and serve.
- It’s visually stunning without the need for any special decorating tools or skills.
- Slightly updated recipe is better than ever!
One reader, Sarah, commented: “I made a double batch for my niece’s graduation party. I’ve never had so many raves reviews for a dessert before! I did one with your frosting recipe here and one with your strawberry buttercream. Thanks for another winner—I’ve followed you for ages and you’ve never steered me wrong! ★★★★★“
Another reader, Severina, commented: “THIS WAS AMAZING!! My daughter turned 2 and isn’t the biggest fan of cake. She adores fresh fruit, so I figured what better than a fruit pizza in place of a birthday cake. It was a huge hit among the family and, most importantly, the birthday girl!! This recipe was super simple and turned out perfect. I will be making this fun summery recipe every chance I get! ★★★★★“
This recipe was good before, but I knew it could be even better.
8 Ingredient Sugar Cookie Crust
No pizza dough or pie crust needed today! This fruit pizza’s sugar cookie crust is soft in the center with a slightly crisp edge. It’s like a thicker, larger version of classic sugar cookies. And it’s really easy.
You’ll use familiar sugar cookie ingredients: flour, sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, baking powder, and salt; plus, we’re adding cornstarch to make the cookie crust extra soft. This recipe used to call for baking soda in the cookie dough, but it really wasn’t necessary or useful, so we’re using just baking powder now. You can read about the differences on this Baking Powder vs Baking Soda page.
Success Tip: Chill the Dough for Just 20 Minutes
The easy dough comes together with a mixer. It’s quite sticky and soft because there’s so little flour, so chill it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before pressing onto your pan. We want the sugar cookie crust to spread some in the oven, but not so much that it escapes the pan! The crust holds its shape much better if the dough is slightly cold. Then use your fingers to press the dough onto the pizza pan, shaping it into a 9–10-inch circle. (A 12-inch pizza pan works perfectly. Just make sure you aren’t using a pizza crisper pan with the little holes/air vents in it.)
Sugar Cookie Crust FAQs
- Could I use another cookie dough for the crust? Yes! You could change things up and make a chocolate chip cookie pizza as an alternative to the sugar cookie crust. I think this would be delicious with frosting + strawberries or raspberries on top. Maybe a little drizzle of melted chocolate, too? Why not!
- Can I make this without a pizza pan? Yes, you can press this crust into a 9–10-inch circle or square on a regular baking sheet or press into a 9×13-inch baking pan. You can also double the recipe for a giant 12×17-inch fruit pizza. See recipe Note.
4 Ingredient Cream Cheese Frosting
We’re using a scaled-down version of this cream cheese frosting for the pizza “sauce.” It’s smooth, creamy, and spreads with ease. You need 4 ingredients including cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract. Use brick-style cream cheese, not the cream cheese spread in a tub.
In the previous version of this recipe, the frosting was extremely sweet and yielded A LOT. I reduced the confectioners’ sugar from 2 cups down to 1 and 1/4 cups, and I also slightly reduced the butter. I kept the same amount of cream cheese and vanilla extract. The result is a less-cloyingly sweet frosting with just the right amount of tang to balance out the sweet crust and fruit. You could add a bit of lemon juice for a little extra zing!
Pastry cream would also be a fantastic alternative to the cream cheese frosting—as would my strawberry buttercream frosting. A wonderful pop of color and flavor!
Best Fruits for Fruit Pizza
I especially like to use:
- apples, nectarines or peaches (brush with a little lemon juice to prevent from browning)
- grapes (2 colors to choose from!)
- kiwi
- plums
- cantaloupe
- mangoes
- oranges (or canned mandarin slices, drained)
- pineapple
- fresh berries like blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries
Fruits to avoid: I recommend steering clear of watermelon on fruit pizza because the water content can make the pizza soggy. Banana slices are fine to use, but they brown quickly, so brush them with a little lemon juice and serve the fruit pizza right away.
Whatever fruit you use, make sure to cut it into thin, bite-size pieces. When you slice the pizza, smaller pieces of fruit hold up better and are easier to serve (and eat). Small fruits like blueberries and raspberries are great choices because you don’t have to slice or peel them. It’s a prep-work shortcut you can always appreciate in recipes like blueberry pie.
Now Let’s Decorate!
The crust + frosting is your blank canvas, and now you get to make edible artwork! Decorate your fruit pizza in colorful patterns, get creative with elaborate designs, or simply just pile the fruit on top. You can really let your—or your child’s—creativity shine.
I usually make rings with the fruits, so that when the pizza is cut, each slice contains some of each fruit. If you’re in the USA, you could use strawberries and blueberries on top of the white frosting for festive holidays like Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day.
Here are a few more fun fruit pizza design ideas:
- Make a rainbow pizza with a stripe of each color made up of 7 different fruits. You could even tint the frosting blue with gel food coloring, and add fluffy marshmallow clouds!
- Make a sunburst design using all yellow and orange fruits.
- Create a funny face or a favorite animal—a colorful butterfly would be fun to design!
- Use small cookie cutters to cut shapes out of some of the larger, sturdier fruits, like apples, cantaloupe, papaya, or kiwi. Or simply slice up some star fruit—nature’s done the shaping for you!
More Favorite Summer Desserts
- Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches & Ice Cream Cake
- No-Bake Cheesecake (and mini no-bake cheesecakes)
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie
- Berry Cobbler or Berry Galette
- No-Bake Greek Yogurt Fruit Tart
- Strawberry Shortcake Cake
- Triple Berry Pie
See Your Fruit Pizzas!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge!
Print
Fruit Pizza
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: serves 10-12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Colorful fruit pizza features a vibrant bounty of fruit atop a soft sugar cookie crust and thick, tangy cream cheese frosting. Choose your favorite fruits to customize this classic summertime dessert!
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Crust
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Topping
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/4 cups (150g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups (about 400g) assorted sliced fresh fruit
Instructions
- Make the crust: Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until combined and creamy, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Beat in the egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. Once completely combined, cover the dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes and up to 1 day. (Let dough sit out at room temperature for 20-30 minutes if chilling longer than a couple hours because the dough will be quite stiff and flattening onto pan will be difficult.)
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 12-inch pizza pan with nonstick spray (even if it’s a nonstick pan). Remove chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator and press onto the pizza pan in a 9–10-inch circle, about 1/3-inch thick. Bake for 17–19 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned. Avoid over-baking. Cool crust completely before decorating.
- Make the frosting: In a medium bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute or until creamy and combined. Yields 1 and 1/2 cups (about 390g) frosting. Spread a thick layer over the cooled sugar cookie crust. Decorate with fruit.
- Cut into slices and serve. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Prepare the cookie crust and frosting 1 day in advance—cover each tightly and keep the cookie at room temperature and the frosting in the refrigerator. Frost and assemble the day of serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Nonstick Pizza Pan or Baking Sheet | Icing Spatula
- Pizza Pan: Make sure you aren’t using a pizza crisper pan with the little holes/air vents in it. The pizza pan I use is this nonstick pizza pan.
- Can I make this without a pizza pan? Yes, you can press this crust into a 9–10-inch circle or square on a regular baking sheet or press into a very thin crust in a 9×13-inch baking pan. Bake time is about the same, usually a minute or two less if using a 9×13-inch pan. No need to chill the cookie dough if using a 9×13-inch pan.
- Can I make this in a half sheet/jelly roll pan? Yes, but double the crust, frosting, and fruit. Press crust into a greased 12×17-inch pan. About the same bake time. No need to chill the cookie dough if doubling and pressing into a 12×17-inch pan.
- Cornstarch: You can skip the cornstarch if you don’t have any. No need to replace with anything.
- Adding Flavor to Frosting: Feel free to add 2–3 teaspoons of fresh lemon or lime juice, plus the zest of either fruit. Alternatively, you could add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract.
- Updated in 2022: The crust used to call for 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda (in addition to the baking powder in the recipe), but it wasn’t necessary so we no longer use it. Additionally, the frosting used to be extremely sweet and yielded a lot. I reduced the confectioners’ sugar down from 2 cups (240g) to 1 and 1/4 cups (150g). I also reduced the butter from 4 Tablespoons down to 3. The recipe above reflects these changes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made this fruit pizza for dinner with friends, and it was a hit! The cookie crust is SO GOOD! Thank you for another wonderful recipe, Sally!!!
I’m going to use this recipe for the 4th of July
Same
The perfect fruit pizza recipe!!
I have made this recipe so many times and love it every time! I always double and fill my cookie sheet. Highly recommend this recipe to anyone wanting a perfect summer dessert for a big gathering. Just be prepared to take the pan home empty!
Baker beware! This is addicting! I made this a few weeks ago, and now my family is asking for more! Just the right amount of sweetness and everyone loves adding their favorite fruits. I was wondering how I could change the baking temperature and time to make is recipe into mini pizzas? Then, we could have our own customized pizzas and help accommodate those with allergies a little more easily. Any thoughts?
Hi Davina, so glad you love this recipe! You can keep the temperature the same for minis. We’re unsure of the exact bake time–-it will really depend on the size of the miniature pizzas. Keep a close eye on them and bake until the edges are very lightly browned.
I made this for Father’s day and everyone loved it. Instead of pizza topping, I made a clown face and the family loved it. Granddaughter requested oreo crust for the next time I make it. The other dessert was the mocha chocolate pie. No offense to Cook’s Kitchen, but your website has replaced the baking cook book.
I have a pizza stone, but I guess this is not the same as a pizza pan? Could I use a ceramic tart pan/quiche pan with fluted edges instead of a pizza pan?
Hi Kristi, we’d recommend using a regular cookie sheet instead. A pie dish won’t allow much room for the cookie to slightly spread.
Very easy to prepare, a fun activity to assemble, and then tasted pretty good! Not too sweet but just sweet enough. Will absolutely make again.
This was fun to make and delicious to eat! I let the cookie crust cool on the pizza pan, which had been well coated with non-stick spray, but I could not get the cookie off the baking pan. I completed making the pizza and served it from the pan. After the addition of the cream cheese and fruit the slices came off the pan easily. Should I have removed the cookie from the pan while still slightly warm to prevent this problem? I would prefer to serve it on a plate rather than the baking pan.
Hi Corinna, you could certainly try carefully removing the cookie while it is still slightly warm. Glad it was a hit!
I have made this recipe several times for summer events and everyone loves it! It’s fun to get creative with designs and different fruits as well. I have made the rectangle and circle versions and they both turned out great. Thanks for another great recipe!
Great fruit pizza! My son picked out this recipe and had so much fun making it with me. Made it gluten free and came out great!
Hi. This looks delicious. There is a grocery store that does something similar with a thin layer of chocolate on top of the crust. Have you tried the thin layer of chocolate? Any thoughts on how that might go? Can hardly wait to try this and many more of your recipes.
Hi Kim, we haven’t, but you could certainly try adding some chocolate ganache to the top—yum!
This is one of our favorite summer recipes!! I wanted to make fruit pizza cookies with this for easier serving for a party, how long should I bake them as cookies?
Hi Katie, exact bake time will vary depending on the size of your cookies, but you can use our sugar cookies recipe as a guide. Enjoy!
I used this recipe for a treat for my class, and everyone enjoyed it.
Has anyone tried making this without adding the sugar to the cream cheese? Trying to save on carbs.
Great Fruit Cookie Recipe ! What’s the nutrition of cookie crust ?
Hi Cecil, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
This was a huge hit with my family! I used coconut extract instead of vanilla in the cookie and it sent it over the top! I used vanilla in the frosting. Buy the combination of the coconut flavor in the cookie and the fresh fruit on the creamy frosting was insane! It was the only dessert eaten and there were no leftovers. So I am back to make this again for my ladies Bible study for tonight.
Can’t wait to make this but am con earned about getting the sugar measurement correct. In the narrative you say you reduced the confectioner’s sugar from 2 cups to 1-1/4 for a less cloyingly sweet frosting. Great! But when I gwt to the recipe it calls for 3 cups of sugar. Reducing that much from three obviously is a big difference in expected outcome. Guess I’ll start with the smaller amount the add more to taste if necessary since I haven’t (yet) found the answer in the comments as I hoped.
Hi Susan, you’re correct—the frosting calls for 1 and 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar (listed in the ingredients). Are you seeing the 3 cups of fruit by chance? Hope you enjoy the fruit pizza!
I love this recipe! New cook, and this always makes my family happy! Thank you!
Oh, can you do regular granulated sugar as a substitute for the other sugar
I loved this recipe so much! I’m a new cook, turning 12, and this is one of my favorite recipes! Thank you a lot! It always makes my family happy!
Made this today, it was a hit!! Definitely will make again!
Can this frosting be piped on to the cookie?
Hi Olivia, it won’t hold up to intricate piping, but you could do some simple piping instead of spreading on the sugar cookie base.
Could I make the crust thinner?
Certainly! Bake time will be shorter.
Hi Sally! Can the egg be substituted with anything successfully? Thanks!
Hi Chelsey, we haven’t tried this recipe with any egg substitutes, but perhaps another reader can chime in if they have. If you’re interested, here are all of our egg-free recipes.
Do you think you could make it on a pizza pan with the holes if you put parchment paper down?
We don’t recommend it!
I made this recipe as dessert on “pizza night” with some friends. I portioned the dough into 4 smaller pieces and shaped them in rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet for individual “pizzas.” I got rave reviews from everyone, including and especially my husband, who claimed he’d never heard of fruit pizza! Excellent, easy recipe with fantastic results. Thank you!
This recipe was wonderful! I made it to bring to our church ladies meeting. It was prepared as written, no changes. Not too sweet, and everybody loved it. (Who doesn’t love a dessert with fruit?!?!) I transferred it from my metal baking pan to a serving platter and was afraid it would break apart, but it stayed intact! I was also afraid it wouldn’t travel well, but it arrived intact. Thanks for a great recipe, I hope to make it again soon.
I used this recipe becasuse my sons birthday cake fell and I needed something easy. I LOVED IT!!!
I love the way this recipe turns out! Could it be used for sugar cookie cutouts?
Hi Monica, This is our favorite cut out sugar cookie recipe.
I’m just wondering if it would be possible to make the cookie, frost it, and then freeze it until ready to use, then decorate with the fruit and eat. ???
Hi Rita, I wouldn’t recommend it, as the moisture from the frosting may seep into the cookie when it thaws and make it soggy. I would wrap and freeze the baked and cooled cookie separately from freezing the frosting in a freezer-safe container, then thaw them overnight in the refrigerator (the cookie you could thaw at room temp) before spreading the frosting on the cookie and topping with fruit. Hope this helps!