4th of July is right around the corner and that means it is time to bring out some mini patriotic fruit skewers! These bite sized fruit skewers are perfect for a 4th of July party and give us all the red, white and blue vibes.
This fruity appetizer is made with strawberries, mozzarella cheese, blueberries and a sweet balsamic glaze. Each bite is skewered with a toothpick making it an easy and simple snack for guests to munch on. To finish it off the American way, you can use toothpicks that have the American flag on top! This is one of my favorite 4th of July recipes to pull out since it is refreshing, festive, and simple.
This post is all about how to prepare and serve mini patriotic fruit skewers for 4th of July. They incorporate all the red, white, and blue colors and consist of strawberries, mozzarella cheese, blueberries, and balsamic glaze.
What You Need to Make These Festive Bites
Anytime it gets close to a big holiday, I feel the anxiety rising within me to go grocery shopping and knowing that I may not find the specific ingredients I’m looking for. If you wait until the last minute to do your grocery shopping (which sometimes is inevitable) you really just gotta hope the first store you make it to hasn’t completely run out of what you need. The worst is when there aren’t even any alternatives or off-brand options available for what you need. For some reason, that tends to happen the most for me with cream cheese. If they’re sold out of the blocks of cream cheese, there aren’t any other brands of cream cheese available. It’s either Philadelphia or nothing. Always such a bummer when that one runs out!
Thankfully, the ingredients for this particular recipe aren’t as likely to completely sell out. It’s really just a matter of going somewhere that has super fresh produce and cheese. Here is everything you will need to make these mini patriotic fruit skewers.
- Strawberries
- Mozzarella Pearls (small balls, or a large round ball of mozzarella cheese also work great!)
- Blueberries
- Balsamic glaze – Alessi’s balsamic reduction is what really pulls all the flavors together in this recipe. It’s important that you use a balsamic reduction rather than a balsamic vinegar in this recipe. The reduction is much thicker, less sour, and more sweet. It compliments the fruit perfectly.
- American flag toothpicks – You can order a 50 pack from Amazon for under $30!!
I’m not sure if stores tend to carry American flag toothpicks or not, so I highly recommend ordering them online from Amazon. If you have a feeling you’ll be making this recipe for 4th of July. take 2 minutes to order these toothpicks so you have them in time for your party! They’re super cheap and with Amazon Prime I got them in less than 2 days. Big fan of that!
How To Make Mini Patriotic Fruit Skewers
As easy as this recipe is, the best way to get it assembled is with a few extra helpers! Once the strawberries are cut, it’s just a matter of assembling the ingredients on top of eachother. This would be a great recipe to have the kiddoes join in on or if you have a few friends that are looking for a activity that results in a nice little snack. It’s a 4th of July activity and appetizer that can be Assembling these are fun and easy to do.
Here’s how to make this recipe:
- Wash and dry the strawberries and blueberries
- Cut off the stems of the strawberries and cut them in half lengthwise. Arrange them cut-side up on a serving tray or platter
- Add a small mozzarella ball on top of each strawberry slice. If using a large block or round of mozzarella cheese instead, cut the mozzarella into small pieces and place on top of each strawberry half.
- Next, drizzle the balsamic reduction over the strawberries and mozzarella on the serving dish. Finish with add a blueberry and a toothic through the center.
Mini American Flag Toothpicks
Holidays are always the best time to do something a little out of the ordinary with the visual style of food. Taking a staple party food and adding a holiday theme toch to it is a good starting point. Simply adding in food dye, special sprinkles, adding shapes, or utilizing holiday specific serving ware are great options! For this recipe, I kept the holiday visual aspect simple and functional. Being a practical person, I wouldn’t have done it any other way. These toothpicks came in a pack of 50 from Amazon and were the perfect height for this strawberry, mozzarella, and blueberry stack.
Ways To Customize To Taste
If you’re feeling hesitant about the combination of fruit, cheese, and balsamic, I can promise you that you are not the only one. My entire family looked at me a little sideways when I made this recipe and asked them try it. They weren’t sure that these ingredients all went together and would taste right. To their surprise, they thoroughly enjoyed these and thought the flavors paired really well together. In fact, they actually ate more of these than I was expecting. And by more than I was expecting, I mean they devoured the entire tray!
If you want more ideas on how to make these suit yours and your guests tastebuds, try out these ideas below:
Dairy Free Option:
If you wanted to make these dairy free, you can swap out the mozzarella cheese for a slice of banana instead!
Change Up The Cheese:
Mozzarella is a very neutral cheese and is so versatile. If you wanted to try something other than mozzarella cheese, brie is another versatile option that pairs well with both sweet and salty foods.
Make It Dessert Instead:
Similar to the dairy free option, swapping out the cheese for a slice of banana and topping with a drizzle of chocolate sauce or peanut butter would make these a fruity dessert option instead.
Getting 4th Of July Ready
Summer is all about casual and laid back entertaining but when it comes to 4th of July, it is easy to become overwhelmed with getting your home ready for a celebration with friends and family. Celebrating America’s independence with fun summer foods, red, white and blue decor, and all kinds of fireworks and sparklers is the best way to do it. Here’s 3 quick tips to hosting the 4th of July fun.
Use year-round solid colored tableware and dishes for serving
Keep things simple and use any sort of solid white, blue, or red dishes and tableware for serving. Depending on how many people are attending, you can opt for paper plates and plastic utensils for guests to eat from instead of glassware.
Take your favorite party dish and spruce it up with 4th of July colors and decor
Taking an easy, popular dish and tweaking it to include festive colors or decorations is all you really need. This could be as simple as serving Jell-O in red and blue only, making chocolate dipped strawberries with blue dyed white chocolate and star sprinkles, or anything else you like! Or, you could always opt for decor to bring in that festive feel like the American flag toothpicks used in this recipe.
Cover the basics – Start with what everyone wants to see at a 4th of July party
Let’s be honest, when going to a 4th of July party people want to see food, flags, music and fireworks. As long as these four things are covered, guests will be happy. Anything additional to the food, flags, music and fireworks is a bonus.
Preparing Ahead Of Time
These fruity mini patriotic skewers can be made ahead of time, but only partially. I would recommend cutting the strawberries the morning of or the night before and patting them down with a paper towel. Drying off the strawberries before adding the cheese and blueberries will be helpful to allow the ingredients to stack on top of each other without sliding off! Assemble the skewers just before serving.
Mini Patriotic Fruit Skewers
Ingredients
- 2 pints strawberries
- 8 oz mozzarella pearls
- 6 oz blueberries
- Balsamic glaze
Instructions
- Wash and dry the strawberries and blueberries
- Cut the stems of the strawberries off and slice in half lengthwise. Arrange cut side up on a serving tray
- Add a pearl of mozzarella on top of each strawberry half. If you do not have the mini mozzarella pearls, you can use a block of mozzarella cheese and cut into small rounds or cubes.
- Drizzle the balsamic glaze on top of the strawberries and mozzarella. Finish with a blueberry on top of the mozzarella and put a toothpick through the blueberry, mozzarella, and strawberry. Serve and enjoy!
If you make these for your 4th of July gathering, leave a comment down below. What did everyone think of these red, white and blue bites?
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