The Best Dried Fruit For A Boost Of Energy And Flavor In Any Meal

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Experienced cooks know that dried fruits can enhance all types of sweet baked goods, charcuterie boards, and savory entrees, and it's easy to focus on raisins and dates for these dishes without considering another option. If you're looking for a delicious and nutrient-packed pick to enhance all your meals from breakfast through dinner, look no further than California prunes. These naturally sweet little bites can even star in satisfying midnight snacks, too.

Although often overlooked, prunes are more versatile than raisins and can be more nutritionally attractive than dates. With fewer carbohydrates and calories, choosing prunes can make more of an impact than you think, especially once you consider how many you'll need in a recipe. As tiny but mighty fiber heroes, prunes also have a low glycemic index, which keeps sugar spikes at bay. Their natural sugar content can actually make for better sustained energy than snacks packed with extra granulated stuff. 

People have been enjoying prunes and their health benefits for centuries. Longtime prune enjoyers will tell you all of this and more, but those who are new to the dried fruit will find them surprisingly delicious and naturally good for you. Most people probably already know that they're great for your gut, but they're beneficial for bone health, too. According to the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients, prunes could potentially preserve the density and thus strength of your bones. Today also highlighted prunes as a good source of magnesium — 1 cup of California prunes contains about 71 milligrams of magnesium — which helps support good mood, prevents fatigue, and regulates blood pressure and sugar levels.

In the United States, most of the plums that become prunes are grown in California, dried, and then sent off to be used in morning meals, comforting midday snacks, and evening feasts in kitchens all across America. Some of our favorite ways to incorporate prunes into both special and everyday dishes are easy to replicate at home. Check your recipe box, as these ideas could help you discover even more ways to add energy and subtle bursts of fruity flavor to your meals with prunes, whether you're preparing something sweet or savory. If there's a dish you think might benefit from the prune treatment, odds are that it already has.

Start your day with a cozy bowl of oatmeal topped with a warm California prune, apple, and pecan mixture. In this recipe by ¡Hola! Japapeño, apples, prunes, and pecans are gently sautéed in butter (or coconut oil for a dairy-free twist) until fragrant, then sweetened with brown sugar for a sticky, caramel-like topping. The oats are toasted with a cinnamon stick for extra depth before being simmered to creamy perfection. Finish each bowl with the prune-apple topping, a splash of milk, a sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg, and chia seeds, plus a drizzle of maple syrup. The result is a hearty, comforting breakfast that highlights the natural sweetness and richness of California prunes.

Prunes also shine in other breakfast staples. They're delicious in breakfast-friendly quick breads like this pumpkin muffin recipe by sports dietitian Leslie Bonci. They can also be quickly diced up and added as a topping to a variety of morning favorites. Shake up your pancake, waffle, and peanut butter toast-topping routine with the dried fruits, or jazz up cereal when you've sliced your last banana. You can also easily add prunes into any smoothie you're whirling up — including this strawberry smoothie from California Grown. Just make sure to give them a good chop beforehand so they blend better. 

Prunes are a surprisingly delicious addition to sandwiches, whether you're angling for a hearty prune bacon sandwich for lunch or a gourmet creation at dinner. Grilled cheese is a comfort food icon with its toasty bread and melty cheese, but a few prunes sends this classic sandwich into new and even tastier territory. This crispy grilled cheese with caramelized onions and prunes from nocrumbsleft is the perfect example, as both ingredients strike a satisfying balance of flavors and melt-in-your-mouth texture. Naturally sweet, jammy prunes work wonderfully with a mild Swiss, a smoky Gouda, or a more neutral cheese like mozzarella. You'll want to dice the dried fruits, just like at breakfast, and cook them with the caramelized onions. Layer the mixture between your cheese and bread slices, and the sandwich will be golden after a few minutes of grilling over medium heat. You could even add bacon, prosciutto, or thinly sliced leftover steak to make it heartier. Between the rich caramelized onions and subtly sweet, slightly umami prunes, this cheesy sandwich will help you power through a midday slump and keep you full until dinner. 

This sheet pan chicken teriyaki recipe by This Mess is Ours is a low lift way to make it seem as though you were working on dinner all day. Just add a bit of prune purée to your favorite scratch-made (or even store-bought) sauce, brush it over the sliced, salt-and-peppered chicken, then bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. You can add vegetables like broccolini a little later in the cook time when you flip the chicken. Serve with rice or your favorite grain.

While you can always snack on a handful of prunes like you would any other dried fruit, you can also incorporate them into a ton of healthy, energy-filled, easy-to-make munchies, like these viral chocolate and yogurt protein bites from MimsDaily.Life or these chocolate energy balls. Trail mix often adds raisins, which have a higher glycemic index (64), to more interesting ingredients like popped quinoa. But prunes have a GI of 29, which means slower rise in blood sugar. The added fiber also helps slow digestion and sugar absorption, making the sweet/salty mashup even better for you. And, for your next cocktail party, prosciutto-wrapped prunes like those on blog G-Free Foodie are the fun adaptation to the devils on horseback you might be more used to. We also love pairing baked brie with all manner of toppings to serve to a group, and prunes are no exception.

Given how long prunes stay fresh in the pantry, they're perfect for dressing up classic sides at the last minute. A handful of sliced prunes can make the French onion flavors in your green bean casserole even more dynamic. You can also use the jammy dried fruit in lieu of honey to sweeten Brussels sprouts like Heartbeet Kitchen does, or as the secret ingredient in all of your holiday dressing and stuffing. When your guests are so delighted by your creations, you can tell them about the unexpectedly delicious fruit that adds richness, nutrients, and balance to all kinds of dishes, sweet or savory. It's clear that California prunes are not only easy to incorporate into your cooking but worth experimenting with in the kitchen.