16 Fresh Fig Recipes to Make While This Special Fruit Is in Season (2024)

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From savory pizza to creamy tarts, these fresh fig recipes highlight the best of this summer delicacy.

By

Marie Viljoen

16 Fresh Fig Recipes to Make While This Special Fruit Is in Season (1)

Marie Viljoen

Marie is a freelance writer for MarthaStewart.com.

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and

Kirsten Nunez

16 Fresh Fig Recipes to Make While This Special Fruit Is in Season (2)

Kirsten Nunez

Kirsten Nunez is a writer who focuses on food, health, and DIY. She has been writing professionally for nearly 10 years and has contributed to digital and print publications such as Martha Stewart, Shape, Real Simple, Healthline, and SELF. She also creates original recipes, which have appeared on product packaging in stores.

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Updated on August 11, 2023

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16 Fresh Fig Recipes to Make While This Special Fruit Is in Season (3)

Fresh figs are a delicacy. Their richly-colored skin, velvet texture, and floral flavors are a world away from the concentrated chewiness of dried figs. A heaping platter of ripe figs, with a couple gently squeezed open, is reminiscent of a Dutch still life—and one of the most beautiful things you can serve to friends around a supper table. Just add fruit knives and an excellent cheese.

Beyond the fruit bowl, fresh figs are versatile and surprising. They improve simple savory salads and snacks and add complexity to easy or slow-cooked entrées. Their famous sweetness is a foil for tart vinegars and a natural for decadent desserts. Rich in potassium and vitamins K and B6, they are also a nutritious ingredient.

Pounce on ripe figs when you see them in the summer and plan to use them quickly, since they don't ripen at home. Look for smooth, plump specimens when you shop; wrinkling or stickiness indicates over-ripeness and an under-ripe fig will feel woody. Don't squeeze them too hard, though: A light touch will tell you if it is ripe. Store figs for up to two days in the refrigerator, covered, in a single layer.

Read on for our favorite fresh fig recipes. They'll inspire your own delicious meals and desserts to come.

30 Cakes With Fruit Fillings and Toppings for Every Occasion

Caramelized Figs With Honey and Cheese

16 Fresh Fig Recipes to Make While This Special Fruit Is in Season (4)

This simple fresh fig recipe proves you don't have to do much to bring out the best of the fruit. It only takes 10 minutes on a hot skillet to coax out its complex flavors and syrupy texture.

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Fig-and-Plum Cake

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The best of early fall fruit is combined in one delectable cake, featuring frangipane and a buttery crust. Use dark-skinned mission figs for the best color.

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Figs and Prosciutto

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A classic that will never grow old, sweet figs and salty prosciutto make the quickest and most eye-catching of appetizers or light lunches.

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Grilled Pork Chops With Rosemary Gremolata and Figs

16 Fresh Fig Recipes to Make While This Special Fruit Is in Season (7)

Ripe figs perfumed by fresh rosemary skewers are the outstanding partner that top-quality pork chops deserve. The unusual, orange-inflected gremolata provides an intense finishing touch.

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Arugula Salad With Figs, Pine Nuts and Radicchio

16 Fresh Fig Recipes to Make While This Special Fruit Is in Season (8)

This bright, nutrition-packed salad looks as good as it tastes. Crisply bitter radicchio is made for the sweetness of fresh figs. Serve alongside a roast chicken or seared steak.

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Fresh Figs wWith Mascarpone and Warm Spiced Honey

16 Fresh Fig Recipes to Make While This Special Fruit Is in Season (9)

The flavors and textures of this quickly assembled dessert are sublime. Smooth mascarpone, cardamom-spiced warm honey, and fresh figs come together in the most delightful way.

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Broiled Green Figs With Pancetta

16 Fresh Fig Recipes to Make While This Special Fruit Is in Season (10)

Broiled green figs sprinkled with fennel seeds and wrapped in crisped pancetta are the perfect chaser for an evening's aperitif.

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Pickled Beet and Fig Salad

16 Fresh Fig Recipes to Make While This Special Fruit Is in Season (11)

Plump figs pull together the acid of pickled beets, the heat of mustard, and the pepperiness of watercress in a hearty and intensely flavored salad.

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Pizza With Fresh Figs, Ricotta, Thyme and Honey

16 Fresh Fig Recipes to Make While This Special Fruit Is in Season (12)

For an eye catching appetizer, assertively herbal thyme turns honey savory, and a careful seasoning with salt and pepper steers the sweet figs into grown up territory.

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Fig and Strawberry Tart

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This hazelnut-rich tart is an excellent excuse to combine those out-of-season strawberries you see at the supermarket with perfectly ripe figs. Live wildly—combine seasons!

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Prosciutto Crostini and Fresh Figs With Gorgonzola

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For a quick but substantial snack, raise the bar on the prosciutto-fig combination and add crusty baguette with vibrant, fresh herbs. The fresh figs tame the bite of gorgonzola.

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Fresh Fig and Feta Salad With Mint

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In this deconstructed, dramatic salad, the mouth watering saltiness of feta is tempered by the floral sweetness of fresh Smyrna figs and the bite of fresh mint. Add a hunk of bread for mopping.

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Roasted Chicken With Polenta and Balsamic-Poached Figs

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Here's a comforting start-ahead, quickly-assembled dish for cold evenings in a warm home. The rich pan drippings from a roasted chicken are blended with balsamic-poached figs for an unforgettable sauce that might make you lick your plate.

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Spiced Poached Figs

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The sweetly-tart botrytis character of Sauternes spiced with peppercorns and star anise, turns simple fresh green figs luxe.

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Fresh Fig and Almond Crostata

16 Fresh Fig Recipes to Make While This Special Fruit Is in Season (18)

A food processor is all you need to make this sweet and nutty crostata, or Italian baked tart.

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Fig Tart With Cream Cheese Filling

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Equal parts creamy and sweet, this tart recipe is perfect for using up an abundance of fresh figs. Serve it with a generous dollop of homemade whipped cream for the ultimate treat.

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16 Fresh Fig Recipes to Make While This Special Fruit Is in Season (2024)

FAQs

Are fresh figs in season now? ›

There are two seasons for domestic fresh figs; the first or "breba" season is the first few weeks in June. The second or "new wood" season typically runs from August through October. The most common variety is the Black Mission fig followed by the Brown Turkey fig and the Green Kadota fig respectivly.

What season is best for figs? ›

Fresh figs are available May – November and can be found in the produce section. Dried figs are available year-round and can be found in the produce section or snacking aisle with other dried fruits.

Can you do anything with unripe figs? ›

In a climate such as the UK's, where figs don't often ripen fully, it's good to know that this glorious fruit doesn't have to go to waste. Green figs preserved in syrup, or vye konfyt, as they're called in South Africa, can be enjoyed on cheeseboards, pancakes and other desserts, or even eaten straight from the jar.

What season do you eat figs? ›

The season is incredibly short! You can find them during an early summer season, or pick up a few during the main crop that runs from late summer to early fall. You can enjoy dried figs the rest of the year, but they taste better fresh if you know to eat them!

Should fresh figs be refrigerated? ›

Since fresh figs are perishable, they need to be kept in the refrigerator, between 32ºF-36ºF. Like strawberries, which can get moldy if exposed to too much moisture, it's generally not recommended that you wash figs as soon as you bring them home from the market.

Why did Jesus curse the fig tree? ›

In cursing the fig-tree, he shows "His justice on the sinners who bring forth not the expected fruits of grace." Since even though a person should only expect fruit from a tree in its season, God by contrast always has the right to expect from mankind the fruits of righteousness and piety.

What are the best figs to eat raw? ›

Kadota figs have light green skin with pale interiors that are less sweet than other figs. Kadota figs are good raw.

How long will figs last in the refrigerator? ›

Fresh figs can last for two to three days when you store them at room temperature in a dry place. Figs will keep for up to a week if you refrigerate them under the right storage conditions with plenty of room to breathe in the crisper drawer. Frozen figs have a shelf life of up to a year.

Why do you soak figs in water? ›

It is said to boost their fiber content. This makes them easy to digest and amplifies their health benefits on digestion. We just mentioned that figs are rich in dietary fiber. Soaking them in water overnight may boost their fiber content even more.

Can you eat too many fresh figs? ›

Regular intake of figs in large quantities along with its seeds can possibly cause bloating and upset stomach. This will in turn create pressure on intestines and liver. In addition, an over-consumption of figs can cause calcium deficiency in the body.

How many figs should I eat a day? ›

The General Guideline: On average, 2-4 figs per day can be a sweet spot for most people, balancing taste and nutritional benefits. Your Personal Needs: Your individual needs, health condition, and lifestyle can affect the ideal amount of figs for you.

How do you eat raw figs? ›

They taste best eaten straight off the tree, ideally still warm from the sun. The entire fig is edible, from the thin skin to the red or purplish flesh and the myriad tiny seeds, but they can be peeled if you wish. Always cut off the stem. Wash the figs and gently pat dry to serve whole.

How do you eat figs in the summer? ›

Figs in summer

It is believed that dried figs can be eaten only in winters. But tender rip fig filled with hundreds of tiny seeds can be consumed if soaked overnight. And, only 2 pieces of figs are enough to give you all the benefits you need in the summer season.

What time of year can you buy fresh figs? ›

Dried or frozen figs are available all year long, however fresh figs are only in season in the U.S. for short periods of time during mid- and late-summer, respectively. The first harvest of the year, which delivers the Breba crop – happens around mid-summer (usually June).

Why aren t fresh figs sold in stores? ›

Because figs are strongly seasonal and don't travel well. They are ripe for just a few weeks a year and can't be preserved. Beside, they are very soft, don't ripen much once picked (so you can't pick them green and hope they are ripe by the time you sell them), and being very soft they get squashed easily.

Can you buy fresh figs all year? ›

True fig lovers are well-practiced in the art of patience. We watch the calendar, dreaming of summer and the fruit's silky, sappy flesh. The season lasts through June and July, with another crop from August to October.

Why is it so hard to find fresh figs? ›

Fresh figs are fragile and difficult to ship and store. In the United States most figs for commercial use are grown in California, as the fruit does not tolerate cold temperatures.

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