10 Best Recipes with Dried Fruits

Dried fruits are so trendy these days. Not only do they have all the nutrients of fresh fruits, but also they last longer too. That’s great for the ones who don’t regularly eat fruits.  Apart from eating them solely, you can make many desserts, cookies, salads, and great foods with them. If you are searching for great recipes with dried fruits, read this post.

Best salad recipes with dried fruits

1. Chicken & Peach Salad

As you don’t always need to cook dried fruits, you can easily make different salads with them. One of the most delicious salads is chicken & peach salad.

Ingredients:

• Fat-free mayonnaise: ½ cup
• Raisins: ¼ cup
• Curry powder: 1 teaspoon
• Chopped walnuts: ½ cup
• Sliced peaches: 2 medium size
• spring mix salad greens: 1 package
• Cooked breast chicken (cubed): 2 cups

How to Make Chicken & Peach Salad with Sliced peaches:

• Mix the ingredients in a bowl. Add the mayonnaise and curry in the last step.

2. Almond Salad

As mentioned earlier, salads are the common dishes you can make with dried fruits. This salad is a bit sweet as we are going to add honey to it.

Almond Salad Ingredients

• Sliced kale: 4 cups
• Slivered Almond: ¼ cup
• Dried currants: ¼ cup
• Grated Asiago cheese: 2 tablespoons
• Balsamic vinegar: 1 tablespoon
• Olive oil: 1 tablespoon
• Honey: 1-1/2 tablespoons
• Ground pepper: ¾ teaspoon
• Sea salt: ½ teaspoon

How to make Almond Salad:

• In a large bowl, mix kale, slivered almonds, and currants together. In another bowl combine the remaining ingredients to make a dressing. Then drizzle over salad.

Best bread recipes with dried fruits

3. Apple Raisin Bread

You can easily make delicious bread at home. Adding dried fruits to bread’s recipe is one way to make it extra delicious.

Apple Raisin Bread Ingredients:

• Active dried yeast: 2 packages
• Warm water: 1-1/2 cups
• Sugar: 1 teaspoon
• 3 large eggs
• Applesauce: 1 cup
• Honey: ½ cup
• Canola oil: ½ cup
• Salt: 2 teaspoons
• All-purpose flour: 8 cups
• Peeled apples (diced): 1-1/2 cups
• Raisins: 1-1/2 cups
• Lemon juice: 2 tablespoons
• Cornmeal: 2 tablespoons
• Sugar and 1 extra egg (glaze)

How to cook Apple Raisin Bread:

• Combine yeast, ½ cup water and sugar in a small bowl.
• In another bowl, mix eggs, applesauce, honey, oil, salt and remaining water completely. Then add the previous mixture. When mixed completely, gradually add flour until in turns into a soft dough (Don’t add all the flour at once).
• Knead the dough on a floured surface about 10 minutes. Put the dough in a greased bowl and mix it until it become completely greasy. Then cover the bowl and put it in a warm place. If all the steps are done correctly, now after an hour this mixture should be doubled.
• While waiting for the dough to rise, in another bowl, combine apples, raisins and lemon juice.
• After one hour, divide dough in 3 parts (or if you would like you can divide in more slices). Add the apple mixture to each part, shape it into a round flat ball. Sprinkle cornmeal on a greased baking pan. Place each bread in the pan (It’s better to be 8 inch and round). Cover the pan and wait until 1 hour.
• Mix one egg and some sugar (based on your preference) and brush the mixture on each loaf. Put the loaves in oven and bake it at 350 degree for about 35 minutes.

4. Date Pecan Tea Bread

Date Pecan Tea Bread Ingredients:

• Diced dates: 2-1/2 cups
• Water (boiled): 1-1/2
• Baking soda: 1-1/2 teaspoons
• All- purpose flour: 1-3/4 cups
• Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger (grounded): ¼ teaspoon (each)
• Butter: 2 tablespoon
• Sugar: 1-1/4 cups
• 1 egg
• Vanilla: 1 teaspoon
• Pecans (chopped): 1-1/2 cups

Ingredients for dressing:

• Cream cheese: 3 ounces
• Dates (chopped): 2 tablespoons
• Pecan (chopped): 2 tablespoons
• Milk (low fat): 1 tablespoon

How to Cook Date Pecan Tea Bread:

• Combine dates, boiling water and baking soda in a bowl.
• In another bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
• In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar together until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and mix completely. Add the ingredients of first bowl (flour mixture) to it and completely stir. Add pecans and stir again.
• Preheat the oven to 350F. Pour the mixture into a greased and floured pan (better be 9×5 inch and round). Let it bake for 75 minutes. To check if it’s cooked well, insert a toothpick in the center of it after 65 minutes. If the toothpick comes out clean, the bread has been cooked.
• Remove the pan from the oven and let in cool for 10 minutes. Then remove the bread from the pan and put it in refrigerator to cool completely.
• You can add cheese and the remaining ingredients while serving.

Best dishes to make with dried fruits

5. Apricot Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 chickens
• Salt, black pepper
• Ground ginger: 1 teaspoon
• Bitter orange marmalade: 1-1/2  cups
• Apple juice: 1/3 cup
• Orange juice: 1/3 cup
• Dried apricots: 1-1/3 cups
• Dried currants: 2 cups
• Brown sugar: ¼ cup

How to Cook Apricot Chicken:

• Preheat oven to 375F. Add salt, pepper, and ginger to the chicken and spread marmalade over it. Pour apple and orange juice in the pan too. Put the chicken inside the oven and let it cook for 20 minutes.
• When evenly cooked, remove the pan from oven and add apricots and currants around the chicken. Sprinkle sugar over dried fruits and again put the pan to the oven and let in bake about 45 minutes. When top of the chicken turned into golden brown color, the chicken is ready to serve.
• In the end, you can add more dried fruits to it and make a sauce with remaining juice and dried fruits.
• This meal is enough for up to 8 people. So, it’s a great meal for big parties.

6. Chutney Chicken

This recipe with dried fruits is a bit spicy. However, you can always change the amount of spice in recipes.

Chutney Chicken Ingredients:

• Skinless and boneless chicken thighs: 1 pound
• Chicken broth: 1 can
• Onion (chopped): 1/3 cup
• Sweet red pepper (chopped): 1/3 cup
• Carrot (chopped): 1/3 cup
• Dried apricots (chopped): 1/3 cup
• Dried figs (chopped): 1/3 cup
• Golden raisins: 1/3 cup
• Orange marmalade: 2 tablespoons
• Mustard seed: 1 tablespoon
• Garlic (minced): 2 cloves
• Curry powder: ½ teaspoon
• Red pepper flakes: ¼ teaspoon
• Ground cumin, cinnamon, cloves: ¼ teaspoons (each)
• Parsley (minced): 2 tablespoons
• Mint (minced): 2 tablespoons
• Lemon juice: 1 tablespoons
• Chopped Pistachios: 4 tablespoons

How to Cook Chutney Chicken:

• Combine the first 16 ingredients (from chicken to cloves, cinnamon, and cumin) in a bowl. Put the mixture in a slow cooler and let it cook for 4 hours. Check to see if the chicken is tender.
• When the chicken is cooked completely, stir it in a mixture of lemon juice, parsley and mint. Let it heat for some minutes. Add pistachio over it.

Best desserts and cookies recipes with dried fruits

7. Fruitcake Cookies

Cookies are great afternoon meals you can easily make with dried fruits.

Ingredients of fruitcake cookies

• Walnuts: 1-2/3 cups
• Raisins: 1-1/3 cups
• Dried apricots: 2/3 cup
• Dried cranberries: ½ cup
• Butter: 1 cup
• Sugar: ½ cup
• Light brown sugar: 1/3 cup
• Ground nutmeg: ½ teaspoon
• Egg: 1
• All-purpose flour: 2-2/3 cups
• Triple Sec: ¼ cup

How to Cook Fruitcake Cookies:

• In a large bowl, mix walnuts, raisins, dried plums, dried apricots, dried cranberries and Triple Sec together. Cover the bowl and keep it for one night.
• In another bowl, mix cream butter, sugars and nutmeg until they get fluffy. Add egg and flour and continue mixing. It’s better to use a mixer so they can completely mix together. Add the ingredients of the first bowl and mix.
• Divide dough in several rectangular shapes. Then cover it and put it in refrigerator overnight to firm.
• Preheat oven to 350 degree, put dough slices inside the oven and wait until they turn to a light brown color. 13 to 16 minutes is usually enough.
• Remove from pans and wait until cookies get cool.

8. White Chocolate Cranberries

Ingredients:

• Butter: ¾ cup
• Light brown sugar: 1-1/2 cups
• 2 large eggs
• Vanilla: ¾ tablespoon
• All-purpose flour: 2-1/4 cups
• Baking powder: 1-1/2 teaspoons
• Salt: ¼ teaspoon
• Ground cinnamon: 1/8 teaspoon
• Dried cranberries: ½ cup
• White baking chocolate: 6 ounce

Ingredients for frosting:

• Cream cheese: 8 ounce
• Confectioners’ sugar: 1 cup
• Grated orange zes (optional): 1 tablespoon
• Melted white baking chocolate: 6 ounces
• Dried cranberries (chopped): ½ cup

How to Cook White Chocolate Cranberries:

• In a large bowl, melt the butter and stir it with brown sugar. Wait until it cools.
• In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, vanilla and egg. Add butter mixture, and stir. After mixing completely, add cranberries and chopped chocolate to it.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degree. Spread the mixture on a greased oven pan and put it in the oven. It almost take 20 minutes to bake and turn golden brown. When done, put it out and let it cool completely.          
• In another bowl, mix the cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar and orange zest to make the frosting. Gradually add the melted white chocolate and mix thoroughly. Add the cranberries and drizzle over the cooked chocolate.
• Put it in refrigerator to cool down.

9. Apricot Biscotti

Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour: 3 cups
• Baking powder: 1 teaspoon
• Salt: ½ teaspoon
• Sugar: 1-1/2 cups
• 3 eggs and 2 egg yolk
• Vanilla: 2 teaspoons
• Dried apricots (chopped): 2 cups

How to Cook Apricot Biscotti:

• In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In another bowl, combine sugar, eggs and yolks. It’s better to mix them with a mixture so it becomes creamy. 3 minute will be enough. Add vanilla and then the previously mixed flour. In the last step, stir in the apricots.
• Divide dough in 4 pieces. Put it in an oven pan and bake in 350 degree F for 35 minutes. Check the cookies after 30 minutes to make sure it will not be overcooked.
• Put cookies in refrigerator to cool down then serve.

10. Mixed Yogurt

This one is the easiest recipe with dried fruits.

Ingredients:

• Golden raisins (based on your preferences)
• Mince garlic: 1 clove
• Salt
• Plain yogurt (based on your preferences)
• Peeled cucumber
• Dried mint
• Rose petal for garnish

How to Make Mixed Yogurt with Dried Fruits:

• Simply mix the ingredients together in a bowl. It’s better to soak the raisin in warm water for 10 minutes before mixing it with yogurt. Use rose petal to dress it.

Bottom Line

Here we tried to introduce some of the best recipes with dried fruits. As you see, you can add dried fruits to almost everything, from main courses to cookies, desserts and salads. Therefore, dried fruits can become your best friends in the kitchen. You can add them to any dish based on your preferences.