My kids love store-bought fruit cups, but it’s hard to buy enough (without breaking my food budget)—enter homemade Fruit Cups. These work to make ahead of time and stash in the fridge and you can use them to repurpose leftover fruit. Win!
Fruit Cups
We love the convenience of store-bought fruit cups and have them often—but I have found that my toddler LOVES this homemade version and the method is so quick and easy that these have become a snack time staple for us.
This is a great way to use up leftover fruit–especially small amounts left on a plate—or to pack cut fruit for lunch. The juice (or lemonade) in the fruit cup helps prevent the cut fruit from browning.
This is so convenient for daycare lunches and preschool snacks. And big kid meals and snacks too!
Your toddler won’t eat? Help is here!
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Ingredients You Need
To make this recipe you’ll need:
- Diced fresh fruit: We have made them with apple, cherries, blueberries, oranges, peaches, strawberries, and pineapple.
- Water or juice: Lemonade (such as Honest Kids Berry Lemonade, apple juice, or coconut water are all options for the liquid.
TIP: You’ll want your fruit to be ripe so it has the best flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at how to make this recipe so you know what to expect. Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full info.
- Dice leftover fruit finely, especially making sure to cut hard fruits like apple into very small pieces to ensure they are easy to chew and not a choking hazard.
- Add to small storage containers.
- Cover with apple juice, lemonade, a 50/50 mix of water and juice, or coconut water.
- Cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve.
TIP: You can drain off the juice if you prefer when serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can really use what you have on hand or what the kids like and change it up each time. You can use diced apricots, peaches, cherries, strawberries, clementines, grapes, blueberries, and/or apples, depending on what I happen to have on hand.
I’ve made them with regular lemonade, Honest Kids Berry Lemonade, and apple juice. They all work well.
If you skipped the apples and just used soft fruits, you could serve over 12 months. If you include the apples, which are just a little crunchier, I would serve this 16/18+ months.
These are from Wee Sprout. You can take 20% off with my affiliate code YUMMYTODDLER when you shop here.
How to Store
Store in the fridge for 3-5 days in airtight containers. You can make sure that the fruit is submerged in the liquid to help keep it from browning near the lid.
Product we love
WeeSprout Storage Jars
These glass jars are durable and come in two sizes. They are perfect for snacks.
Best Tips for Success
- You can also freeze these into popsicles.
- Finely dice the fruit so it’s easy to eat with a spoon (just like store-bought fruit cups).
- To ensure that the apple is easy to chew for younger toddlers, remove the skin and dice it finely.
- Remove pits from cherries, apricots, and peaches.
- Use a mixture of fruit as shown here, or just do 1-2 that the kids like most.
- You can use lower sugar lemonade such as Honest Kids Berry Lemonade.
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I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe, so please comment below to share!
Easy Fruit Cups
Ingredients
- 2 cups finely diced fresh fruit (such as strawberries, blueberries, apricots, peaches, grapes, cherries and/or apple)
- 1 cup lemonade (low sugar if possible or apple juice or coconut water)
Instructions
- Gather a few small storage containers. (The ones I use are 4 ounces.)
- Fill about ¾ with the diced fruit.
- Add lemonade just to cover. Stir gently to make sure the fruit is coated.
- Secure lids and serve or store in the fridge.
Notes
- Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- You can also freeze these into popsicles.
- Finely dice the fruit so it’s easy to eat with a spoon (just like store-bought fruit cups). To ensure that the apple is easy to chew for younger toddlers, remove the skin and dice it finely.)
- Remove pits from cherries, apricots, and peaches.
- Use a mixture of fruit as shown here, or just do 1-2 that the kids like most.
- You can use lower sugar lemonade such as Honest Kids Berry Lemonade. You can sub in apple juice for lemonade or do 50/50 water and either apple juice or lemonade. Coconut water also works.
- This is a great way to use up leftover fruit or to pack cut fruit for lunch since the lemonade helps prevent the cut fruit from browning.
I can’t wait to try this!