When it comes to fruit, we all intuitively know some flavor combinations that work well. Apple and caramel? Check. Pineapple and rum? Of course! But, when you start to dig deeper, you can discover some amazing and truly unique flavor combinations.
When I am experimenting in the kitchen, I love to try and find these unique flavor pairings. After stopping by the farmer’s market to see what fruit is in season, I like to think about what spices and flavors might pair well with that fruit. Oftentimes, the best pairings can be a bit unexpected. To me, this is what makes food and baking so exciting! There is always something new to discover and try out.
To help you out with your baking, I’ve created the ultimate fruit flavor pairing chart. Honestly, the reason behind making this chart is a bit selfish—I wanted a resource that I could refer to while experimenting with new recipes. After searching online, I struggled to find any resources out there that showed all these great flavor pairings. I hope this chart helps you out and empowers you to make even more delicious desserts in your kitchen!
For ease of access, you can customize the chart below to whatever works for you. You can modify the number of entries shown, as well as press the ‘Next’ button at the bottom to load more rows. In addition, you can use the search bar at the top right to look up a particular item. As time goes on, I will continue to update this chart so it can keep being a great resource for you!
Fruit Flavor Pairing Chart
| Fruit | Herbs and Spices | Nuts | Spirits | Miscellaneous | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | Apricot, cherry, cranberry, currant, lychee, mango, orange, pumpkin | Allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, rosemary, star anise | Almond, chestnut, pecan, walnut | Brandy, kirsch, Madeira, rum, vermouth | Caramel |
| Apricot | Apple, coconut, lemon, orange, peach, pineapple, plum, strawberry | Cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, | Almond, hazelnut | Amaretto, brandy, kirsch, orange liqueur | Caramel, vanilla |
| Banana | Blueberry, cherry, coconut, lemon, lime, mango, orange, papaya, pineapple | Cinnamon, ginger | Hazelnut, walnuts | Brandy, calvados, Madeira, rum | Caramel, chocolate, coffee, molasses |
| Blackberry | Apple, apricot, blueberry, lemon, mango, peach, plum, orange, raspberry, strawberry | Cinnamon, clove, ginger, mint | Almond, hazelnut | Brandy, champagne, orange liqueur | Vanilla |
| Blueberry | Fig, lemon, mango, peach, watermelon | Cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, lavender, mint, nutmeg | Hazelnut | Orange liqueur | Honey, vanilla |
| Cherry | Apricot, lemon, nectarine, peach, plum | Cinnamon, sage, thyme | Almond | Amaretto, bourbon, brandy, Grand Marnier, kirsch, rum, vodka | Caramel, chocolate, vanilla |
| Coconut | Banana, guava, lime, lychee, mango, passion fruit, pineapple | Basil, cilantro, Kaffir leaf, lemongrass, mint | Almond, brazil nut | Rum | Caramel, chocolate, honey, vanilla |
| Grape | Apple, lemon, pear, raspberry, strawberry | Ginger, mint, rosemary | Almond, hazelnut, pecan, walnut | Brandy, rum | |
| Grapefruit | Banana, coconut, lemon, lime, melon, papaya, pineapple, pomegranate, raspberry, strawberry | Basil, ginger, mint, rosemary, thyme | Campari, gin, Grand Marnier, rum, tequila, vodka | Caramel, vanilla | |
| Lemon | Cherry, coconut, nectarine, peach, plum | Basil, cardamom, ginger, mint, rosemary, thyme | Almond, hazelnut | Rum, vodka, orange liqueur | Vanilla |
| Lime | Apple, papaya, plum, strawberry | Ginger | |||
| Mango | Apple, banana, coconut, melon | Cilantro | Caramel, vanilla | ||
| Melon | Blackberry, strawberry | Cilantro, ginger, lemongrass, mint | Champagne, Cointreau, curaçao, port, sake, tequila | Vanilla | |
| Orange | Banana, cherry, cranberry, grape, grapefruit, lemon, persimmon, pineapple, pomegranate | Basil, cilantro, clove, ginger, mint, nutmeg, rosemary | Almond, hazelnut, walnut | Amaretto, brandy, tequila, vodka | Chocolate, coffee, vanilla |
| Peach | Apricot, blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, cherry, lemon, plum | Basil, cinnamon, cloves, ginger | Almond, hazelnut, pecan | Bourbon, brandy, Cassis, champagne, Grand Marnier, Kirsch, rum | Brown sugar, caramel, honey, vanilla |
| Pear | Apple, raspberry | Cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg, rosemary | Almond, chestnut, hazelnut, pecan, walnut | Brandy, port, crème de cassis, Grand Marnier, kirsch, rum, whiskey | Caramel, chocolate, vanilla |
| Pineapple | Banana, coconut, lime, mango, orange, raspberry, strawberry | Basil, cilantro, cinnamon, ginger, rosemary | Macadamia | Brandy, orange liqueur, rum | |
| Pomegranate | Apple | Cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, mint | Port, tequila, vodka | ||
| Raspberry | Apricot, nectarine, peach, plum, rhubarb | Cinnamon, ginger, mint, thyme | Almond, hazelnut | Brandy, champagne, orange liqueur, rum, tequila | Chocolate, vanilla |
| Rhubarb | Apple, apricot, nectarine, peach, plum, strawberry | Ginger | |||
| Strawberry | Apple, banana, melon, peach, pineapple, rhubarb | Coriander, mint | Almond, walnut | Brandy, champagne, elderflower liqueur, rum, sake | Chocolate, honey, vanilla |
I really hope you found this fruit flavor pairing chart useful! If you enjoyed this post, you should read the 10 baking tips I wish someone told me a long time ago. There are some important ones that will help bring your baking game to the next level!
Over to you: what flavor combinations do you like to use in your recipes? Let me know in the comments below!
hi i want to make a banana smoothie any idea on what i could add to it
I just stumbled into Japanese flavor Pairing for healthy weight loss, & then I found Fruit flavor pairings! I love Fruits.
I am at a loss as to how to use this info. Recipes available for bananas, blueberries, strawberries, cantaloupe & pineapple?
To rhubarb, think about adding blueberries as a good fruit pairing. A few years ago I stopped at an apple orchard while driving in MA. In their jam selections they had a blueberry rhubarb one. I’m a big fan of rhubarb paired with strawberries as a compote or in a pie. Blueberry was so unexpected that I bought it figuring if I didn’t like it on toast it would be okay as a meat glaze with other things. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was delicious. Unfortunately I’ve never seen it again and I haven’t a clue where that little farm was located as it was on a meandering drive back to NY.
What a great idea! I bet that combination would be delicious.
Many many thanks 🙏🙏
I’ll try it
I would love it if this was a printable list so that I could hang it in my kitchen!! It really is a big help. By the way, I made nectarine jam the other day and had only mxscovado sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Everyone says it’s like summer in your mouth. Wonderful.
That’s such a great idea. I’ll look into it and try and create a printable PDF for this 🙂 Also, that jam sounds wonderful – I wish you could send some my way!
Strawberry and pistachio are awesome together. I just made strawberry pistachio cake and it was amazing.
That sounds delicious!
I just put a Danish Almond Puff pastry in the oven, I dont have any slivered almonds for the top; i have cashews, peanuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, no almonds. Thoughts?
I plan on making an upside down orange cake with satsuma orange liquor in the mix but I was going to serve it with a spiced butter rum sauce. I noticed rum was not a pairing for orange. Thoughts?
I definitely think the rum sauce would go well with orange! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
so I have an idea for a cinqo de mayo desert. Im calling a choclate margarhita tart. Soft baked Lime Sugar cookie base, tequilla infused mexican chili chocolate filling, coco and seasalt dust, fresh whip with lime zest. I am wondering if, since there is lime in the cookie base, is the zest on top to much? Also should I flavor the whip with something, if so, got suggestions?
I think the zest would be a nice touch and that it would tie everything together well! Something like a coconut whip might be nice to go on top 🙂 Definitely let me know how it turns out – I’d love to see a picture of the final tart!
What a wonderful and useful resource. Do you have suggestions for persimmon pairings? I’m thinking cinnamon, clove, ginger, etc might be quite nice.
I’m glad you found it helpful! Those all seem like they would pair great with persimmon – in addition, you could also try apple, black pepper, almond, hazelnut, or walnut. I’m planning on expanding this list soon, so I’ll make sure to add persimmon on then.
I love cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberry, blueberry and green grapes.
Lemon and blueberry is good. Also lemon and oregano is good.
Could you please add cranberries?
I was wondering about doing passion fruit, myself and the other people im baking it for do not like coconut so was wondering about other options to pair it with,
Orange, guava, mango
Lemon goes with rasperry
I see you have peach in the second column, however it’s not listed in the first column.
Thank you so much for letting me know! I just updated the chart so that peach is in the first column – I hope that helps 🙂
I can’t seem to see the whole page, maybe because I’m on a mobile device, some help would be greatly appreciated
Hi Aly — I apologize for that inconvenience! I just accessed the page on mobile as well, and it does seem to have difficulty loading the entire table on there. This is a technical error with the site itself, and I will look into it as soon as possible. In the meantime, I would recommend loading the page on the computer if possible. Thank you for letting me know!
If you turn your phone rotation sideways to landscape then the whole table is visible.
Thank you for this resource!
That’s great to hear! Thanks for your note, and I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Yea it is you have to go at the top of the chart and click the arrow by the foods