Turkey Fruit Platter

Make an adorable Fruit Turkey using a variety of fresh fruit! This Turkey Fruit Platter makes a perfect healthy appetizer or snack tray for Thanksgiving gatherings.

Whether you are waiting to sit down and enjoy a brined turkey and mashed potatoes or you need a snack before enjoying homemade pumpkin pie, this Fruit Turkey, is an easy, fun, healthy option!

The Cutest Thanksgiving Appetizer

As you may have guessed by my Christmas Tree Deviled Eggs and Kid-Friendly Halloween Snacks, I LOVE to play with my food!

And what better way to have some fun with food than to create a Fruit Turkey?!

This adorable turkey makes a healthy appetizer that not only staves of hunger while you wait for the big Thanksgiving dinner, but also is fun to make as well.

This Turkey Fruit Platter is the perfect option for a light, refreshing appetizer--and you can even put the kids in charge of crafting the fruit turkey. Which keeps them entertained and out from under your feet in the kitchen!

What You Need

• Platter: Select a platter that is long and narrow and has a neutral background. You can even use a wooden cutting board if you don't have a suitable platter.
• Pear: For Turkey's body you will need to use half a pear. Any pear, any color works.
• Carrot: I use little pieces of a peeled carrot to create the beak and legs.
• Cloves: For the eyes of the turkey, I find that cloves work best. They have a stem that can be stuck right into the pear and don't need anything else to adhere to the turkey's body. Of course, feel free to use candy eyes or mini chocolate chips, you will just need to use frosting or melted chocolate to help adhere the eyes to the turkey.
• Variety of Fresh Fruit: For the feathers, use a variety of colorful fruit. During the fall I can easily find kiwi, grapes, strawberries, and fresh cranberries that when combined together, create a colorful, beautiful replication of a turkey's feathers.

How to Create a Fruit Turkey

• Cut a pear in half to create the body of a turkey. Place the pear half on the bottom third of a large platter or cutting board.
• To create the feathers for the turkey, arrange fruit in alternating colors. I use layers of sliced kiwi, followed by red grapes, then green grapes finished with a row of fresh strawberries. Add a pop of color and definition by dotting the feathers with fresh cranberries.

• Peel and thinly slice a carrot. Cut off a tiny triangle on one of the thin sticks to form the nose. Arrange thin slices at the bottom of the pear to create the turkey's legs.
• Pierce two cloves into the flesh of the pear to create the eyes of the turkey.

Preparing in Advance

It is always a great idea to prep as many things in advance when it comes to the holidays. However, this fruit platter is best prepared within 12 hours before serving. To prepare the fruit turkey much further in advance, would cause the pear to brown and kiwi and strawberries to become watery.

However, you can wash the grapes, cranberries, and pears up to 72 hours in advance. you can also peel and slice the carrots up to 72 hours in advance as well. I would suggest waiting until right before assembling this fruit platter to wash the strawberries and slice the kiwi.

Grab my EASY tips for setting the table and easy recipes for appetizers over on YouTube.

And if you made this Fruit Turkey, I would love to hear about it in the comments below.