Easy ways to eat fresh figs

Sweet and luscious, delicate and pretty — fresh figs make an easy, rich pairing with a variety of dishes (hello, cheesecake!). In Ontario, they’re typically available from June to November due to the short growing season, but I’ve been finding black mission figs at grocery stores almost all year round.

Biting into a perfectly ripe and juicy fig feels like a treat. They’re ideal not only with desserts and other fruits (like berries, pears, dates), but also with savoury things like bread, pizza, pasta, salads and nuts.

I dream of having a backyard someday, just so I can grow my own fig tree. If you’re not already fig obsessed, check out these ideas below.

Figs on toast, oatmeal, granola, flatbread and pizza

Sliced figs and berries on toast will induce Instagram envy for #breakfastgoals.

• figs and raspberries
• rosemary
• tahini and a drizzle of olive oil

More ideas

• orange spice granola with figs and pistachios by Tasty Yummies
• fig almond and cardamom oatmeal by Honey What’s Cooking
• fig and caramelized onion flatbread by Plant Tribe
• fig and arugula pizza by Eat Figs Not Pigs

Figs with smoothies, ice cream and yogurt

Decorate your smoothie bowl with an assortment of fruits, nuts and seeds.

• the smoothie: spinach, banana, strawberries, cashew milk, flax seeds, maca powder
• the toppings: figs, blueberries, kiwi, sunflower seeds, cacao nibs

More recipes:

• fig and red wine ice cream by Gormandize
• fig parfait by Sweet Potato Soul
• raw vegan fig, blueberry and coconut cream ‘cheesecake’ by Frankie
• fig, peach and chia smoothie by One Green Planet

Figs in salads

This Mediterranean-style spinach salad packs the sweetness of figs with the savouriness of olives and artichokes. Toss with extra virgin olive oil, sunflower seeds and rosemary or basil.

More ideas

• kale, eda mame, pear, fig and walnut salad by The Flexitarian
• winter fig buckwheat salad by The Vegan Cookbook Aficionado
• puy lentil, cauliflower and fig salad by Sprinkle of Green
• pasta with figs and walnuts by The Veggie Table