14 Blackberry Recipes That Celebrate the Sweet-Tart Summer Fruit

Blackberry Salad with Creamy Feta

Fruit salads are often standard issue and rarely steal the show. But with accents of tangy pickled onions, salty feta crumbles, and verdant fresh mint, this blackberry recipe is ultra-refreshing and ready to step into the spotlight. One BHG fan deems it “fantastic and not at all hard to make. This salad is also BEAUTIFUL. [I] got loads of compliments!”

Blackberry Swirl Pie

If you start with refrigerated store-bought pastry, this pie recipe can be oven-ready in a matter of minutes, and only one bowl, spatula, and pie pan are required. The custard filling is as easy to make as the finished pie is easy to love; simply stir together sour cream, sugar, flour, fresh or frozen berries, and a tiny pinch of salt. Once baked, you’ll be treated to layers of buttery, flaky crust that’s hugging creamy pie filling spiked with vibrant sweet-tart berries.

Grilled Avocado and Pineapple Salad

Grilled fruit (avocado and pineapple) get the party started in this sweet, savory, and spicy salad. Feature those both on a bed of crunchy romaine leaves, chopped red onion, and chopped bell pepper. The blackberry recipe element comes in via the “croutons;” a scattering of fresh berries to echo the sweet pineapple. To bring it all together, finish with a drizzle of orange-cilantro vinaigrette. 

Test Kitchen Tip: Turn this salad into a meal by adding grilled shrimp or chicken, or pair it with a couple tacos to make the most of that cilantro bunch.

Roast Duck with Blackberry-Orange Sauce

Although we suggest this orange and blackberry recipe as a sauce for roast duck, it would be just as delicious spooned over roast pork, chicken, turkey, or even a goat cheese-schmeared crostini. It’s a totally separate creation from the duck itself, and comes together in a saucepan while the protein cooks. To recreate the sweet and syrupy sauce, whisk together orange juice and zest, brown sugar, orange liqueur, molasses, garlic, and fresh ginger. Once that thickens, mash in 2 cups of blackberries. The result is tasty enough to enjoy straight from the spoon, but is even better as an accompaniment to something savory.

Blackberry Margaritas

Lime and strawberry shouldn’t get all the margarita glory. This cool cocktail scores its eye-catching violet hue, an extra dose of sweet-tart flavor, and its thick, luscious texture from frozen blackberries. The icy fruit replaces the ice that might normally be called for in a blended cocktail recipe so you don’t dilute one drop of the citrus and berry notes in this tequila drink.

Blackberry Icebox Cake

Summer tastes like this 5-ingredient, no-sweat, and no-bake dessert, if you ask us! The fluffy, fruity, and tangy base starts with cream cheese, whipped cream, and blackberry spread. Just before layering that cream filling between stacks of graham crackers and plain whipped cream, fold in a couple handfuls of fresh blackberries. After going on ice for 4 to 24 hours, the cool blackberry recipe earns rave reviews like “a hit at our family gathering and it is so easy to make,” one BHG reader says. Feel free to get a head start, they add: “This cake tastes better the next day.”

Antioxidant Power Smoothies

This smoothie could have also been named “superfood power smoothie.” That’s because three nutrient-rich all-stars—blackberries, blueberries, and pomegranate—join forces in the blender pitcher. After that, all that’s required is a spoonful of honey and a carton of yogurt (berry-flavor, if desired). 

Berry and Stone Fruit Ricotta Pizzas

It’s not delivery, it’s dessert pizza! Come summer, when stone fruit and berries are at their best and juiciest, take a break from those sausage or supreme slices and perk up your menu with a sweet and savory fruit pizza. The “sauce” is lemon zest-boosted ricotta, and the toppings are thin slices of salty, savory prosciutto (which crisp up beautifully in the oven), tender peach wedges, and fresh blackberries that practically explode with flavor and juices after baking. 

Blackberry-Ginger Overnight Bulgur

Team BHG adores overnight oats so much, we couldn’t stop the overnight grain train there. Before bed, stir together nutty, chewy bulgur with yogurt, milk, honey, and ginger, then top with fresh blackberries. Cover and chill overnight, or up to 3 days. During that rest time, the grains soften and soak up the dairy and sweet, warm flavors from the ginger and honey. Just before diving in, stir to blend in the berries for swirls of fresh flavor.

Stovetop Peach-Blackberry Crisp

If you’re intimidated by baking and prefer to stay in the savory lane, listen up: Crisps and cobblers are a terrific option, as they’re almost always easier to execute than pies. And this might just be the easiest fruit crisp recipe our test kitchen has ever developed! Stir together the buttery pecan, cinnamon, and oat topping in a skillet, dump that onto a plate, and wipe the pan clean. Then in the same skillet, melt some butter and brown sugar to toss with sliced peaches and fresh blackberries. Dish up the fruit mixture into separate bowls, top with your quick-fix oat crumble, and add a scoop of ice cream. The showy, summery blackberry recipe can be yours in just 30 minutes.

Fresh Berry Bruschetta

Bruschetta need not be savory. We give the three-bite toasts a dessert-appropriate twist by dusting the crostini with cinnamon-sugar before crisping up the slices in the oven. Slather each piece with fresh mint-infused whipped cream cheese, then garnish with fresh berries. 

Test Kitchen Tip: To help the strawberries and blackberries stick better to the bruschetta—and to encourage them to express their naturally-sweet juices, in a small bowl, mash the fruit with a fork before adding them on top of the ricotta.

Apple-Blackberry Pie

There’s no wrong time of year to bake this apple and blueberry recipe. We developed the cozy cinnamon-scented dessert to work just as well with frozen berries as with fresh, so you can just as easily add this to your Thanksgiving menu (to use up your freezer stock) as you can for 4th of July potlucks (when fresh blackberries are at their peak). With a classic pastry crust and a brown sugar, oat, and pecan streusel topping, this fruit dessert will satisfy those who crave pie and crumbles.

Berry Slab Pie

For an even easier dessert option that will have your fellow diners begging for the recipe, consider this semi-homemade serves-16 pie. No cooking is required for the fruit filling, which stars thawed frozen mixed berries and warm and sweet crystallized ginger. Tuck that strawberry, blueberry, and blackberry recipe inside thawed frozen puff pastry, coat with an egg wash, sprinkle with coarse sugar, and bake until the exterior is golden and the filling is bubbly. The slab pie looks like you fussed over it all day. Only you need to know this easy dessert recipe takes less than an hour!

Chocolate-Berry Wreath Cake

Choose your own adventure with this decadent layer cake. Opt for either the coffee-chocolate cake or the chocolate chunk-cherry cake variation; either tastes incredible once stacked between layers of milk chocolate butter frosting. If it’s festive season, consider scattering the mixed berries around the edge of the frosted cake to resemble a wreath, then add a sweet and seasonal white chocolate bow. Or to make this any other time of year, simply scatter the berries evenly across the top.