Healthy 4th of July Fruit Pizza
The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays.
The fireworks, the food, the fun with friends, the BBQs, the brewskis, did I mention the food? Turkey burgers — and red, white and blue recipes — are about all I need to have a good time on the 4th.
As you know, I like playing with my food, and the opportunity to turn almost any dish into a patriotic American flag really gets me jazzed.
In past years, I played around with 4th of July flavors creating a Red, White & Blueberry Fruit Crisp, Red, White & Blueberry Fruit Salad, and Sugar-Free Strawberry Jello Shots.
This year, I decided to stick with the dessert theme (jello shots count as dessert in my book), and whip up an incredibly quick and easy dish: 4th of July Fruit Pizza.
In actuality, it’s more of a flatbread — so you could serve this as an appetizer as well — but “patriotic pizza” just has a nice ring to it, right?
This dish requires only six ingredients (three of which are fruit) and absolutely no baking, giving you more time on the 4th to focus on fun, instead of kitchen cleanup.
And because it’s made with whole wheat crust and fresh, organic ingredients, you won’t need to worry about wrecking havoc to your bikini bod — we’ll leave that job to the beer and hotdogs.
Enjoy.
- 1 Whole Wheat Pizza Crust, precooked
- 16 oz. Neufchatel Cheese (I used this)
- 2 T. Honey
- ½ C. Blueberries
- ½ Pear
- 1 C. Strawberries
- Using a mixer, blend together cheese and honey.
- Spread cheese mixture on pizza.
- Cut pear width-wise into thin rounds, then carve little stars out of the middle using a paring knife or cookie cutter if you have one.
- Arrange fruit into an American flag pattern.
- Serve with a sparkler!
Many fruit pizza recipes use regular cream cheese but I chose to use organic neufchâtel because I think it’s a bit more natural.
Your average cream cheese tends to have a lot of additives and neufchâtel is a pretty basic blend that is light, creamy, and delicious. It’s also lower in saturated fat than regular cream cheese.
You can buy a pre-made pizza crust for this recipe (the easiest route) or make your own.
Either way, you’ll want the dough fully cooked before you make your fruit pizza. If you buy pre-made, make sure it’s a plain crust without any spices added. A lot of pre-made crusts will have cheese or Italian seasoning baked in — not the best flavor combo with fresh fruit!
If you’re interested, you can find the “pizza my heart” cookie cutter on Etsy. I bought it for hubs for Valentine’s Day since he’s such a big pizza lover!
Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment says:
This looks perfect for the upcoming holiday! I am all about the fresh berries that have been in season. 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays too and I am definitely looking forward to the fireworks.
Whitney English says:
Thanks Lauren! Fresh berries have been a staple in my kitchen for the past few weeks and I’m loving it!!
Liz says:
I love desserts like these for the summer. This is a new twist on the traditional “flag cake” made with pound or angel food cake and whipped cream. I like how you added the Neufchatel vs regular cream cheese for a more natural spin! I’ll have to keep that in mind next time I want a bagel. :)
Whitney English says:
Oh yeah, I’ve been enjoying this cheese on bagels and english muffins recently too. So good!!
Krissy @ Pretty Wee Things says:
Yumymy! What a great idea for flat bread. Even though I live in Australia I want to try this out! xx
Whitney English says:
Yes, always take advantage of any excuse to eat dessert!
Giselle says:
It’s so pretty I don’t know if I could eat it! I’m sure it’s yummy too :-)
Whitney English says:
Thanks Giselle! I can vouch that it’s as tasty as it is pretty :)
Lacey @ Runs and Roses says:
Such a pretty dessert! Almost too pretty to eat haha :) I’m definitely going to try this one out this year!
Whitney English says:
Haha, almost :)
Bethann Wagner says:
I used to make this when I was younger, but not nearly as healthy. I’m talking full on cake, but but fave part was the fruit for sure. Thanks for this healthy version!!!
Whitney English says:
Oh yeah, I’ve enjoyed the unhealthy cookie version myself as well!!
Veronica says:
This looks so good! Where did you find the whole wheat pizza crust?
Whitney English says:
Hi! I used the organic whole wheat crust from Whole Food’s 365 line. It can be hard to find though – I always have to bug them to order it. You could also use the plain whole wheat dough from WF or Trader Joe’s and just cook it first! Don’t use Boboli – it has Italian seasoning :)