Banana-Pineapple Kabobs

Fresh banana and pineapple on skewers over a hot grill, basted several times with a brown sugar glaze made from a whole vanilla bean. The heat concentrates the natural fruit sugars, the glaze caramelizes into a sticky coating, and the whole thing takes about 10 minutes once the grill is ready.

The vanilla bean makes a genuine difference here. Slitting the pod and scraping out the seeds gives you specks of real vanilla throughout the glaze, with the remaining pod simmered in the sugar syrup to extract everything else. A whole vanilla bean delivers flavor depth that extract can’t replicate in a simple syrup.

Baste two or three times per side while the fruit is on the grill. If the glaze hardens between basting (the recipe notes this happens), a quick reheat loosens it back up. Keep it warm near the grill.

At 94 calories a serving, this makes a compelling case for grilled fruit as dessert.

Kitchen Tips

• Use firm bananas. Ripe but not overripe - soft bananas fall apart on skewers and through the grill grates.
• If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes before grilling to prevent burning.
• The glaze sets quickly as the fruit cools. Serve immediately off the grill for best texture.

Variations

• Add mango or papaya chunks to the skewers for a broader tropical fruit mix.
• Serve over vanilla ice cream - the warm, caramelized fruit against cold ice cream is a natural pairing.
• A pinch of cayenne stirred into the glaze adds a subtle heat contrast against the sweet fruit.