Roasted Nectarines With Caramel Sauce

When you want an easy but special dessert that’s absolutely delicious and looks beautiful on the plate, Roasted Nectarines with Caramel Sauce is the perfect recipe. This is a favorite dessert for casual dinner parties, lunch with friends or any time you’re craving a simple, seasonal fruit dessert.

Jump to:

• Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients You’ll Need
• Tips for Making Caramel Sauce
• Step-By-Step Instructions
• Expert Tips and Serving Ideas
• Frequently Asked Questions
• More Recipes to Try
• Roasted Nectarines With Caramel Sauce
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Let’s get right to this recipe for Roasted Nectarines with Caramel Sauce, and I can’t wait to tell you about it.

I stumbled upon it in The Gourmet Cookbook, and I admit, it’s a recipe I would normally have skipped right over, thinking that roasting stone fruits might be too fussy or just too simple to be any good.

What I discovered was a really delicious and accessible dessert using ripe summer fruit that’s SO worth passing along. Next time you have a sweet tooth, try this wonderful recipe!

• Roasting fruit is an under-used technique, and why?  It intensifies the flavor and makes fruit like nectarine halves fork-tender and fabulous.
• You’ll make a simple caramel sauce to spoon over the top of the nectarines, one that’s not cloyingly sweet thanks to pureed nectarine that get swirled in during cooking.  This is an absolutely GENIUS step, and another reason this dessert is so special.
• A big scoop of vanilla ice cream is practically mandatory for this roasted fruit recipe….don’t skip this step 🙂

Love fresh fruit desserts? Try this Mini Strawberry Pies Recipe too!

Ingredients You’ll Need

There aren’t many ingredients in Roasted Nectarines with Caramel Sauce, and all are treated simply so the clean nectarine flavor really shines through:

1. Butter:  For smearing the inside of the baking dish so the nectarines don’t stick when roasting. Use melted butter to make this task easier.
2. Nectarines:  Two pounds, which is roughly 7-8 nectarines that are about the size of a tennis ball.  You’ll cut 6 of them in half, remove the pit and roast them, add them to a large bowl. The rest get chopped, cooked down a bit, and pureed in a blender or food processor, then swirled into the caramel sauce.
3. Salt: Just a little fine sea salt bit to really bring out the flavors.
4. Sugar: You’ll need 3/4 cup sugar to melt over moderate heat
5. Heavy Cream:  For that silky texture
6. Lemon juice:  Just a teaspoon to brighten things up, it also keeps the sauce from being overly sweet
7. Fresh Mint:  The leaves are so pretty on the plate, how can you resist?
8. Vanilla Ice Cream or Whipped Cream:  Either will work, but a good quality vanilla bean ice cream is highly recommended 🙂

Tips for Making Caramel Sauce

Making caramel sauce at home may sound like a scary and hard process, but that’s definitely not the case in this recipe.  You won’t need a candy thermometer or any special equipment to make this easy and really delicious caramel sauce.

Here’s what you do:

1. Add the sugar to a medium sized non-stick saucepan.
2. Heat the mixture in a heavy saucepan to melt the sugar over moderate heat while stirring it occasionally with a wooded spoon until it bubbles and turns a golden caramel color, around 4 minutes.
3. Add the cream, lemon juice and the nectarine puree, and continue to stir with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
4. Little warning!  When you add the cream, lemon juice and nectarine puree, the caramel will harden and steam very quickly, and will get really lumpy too.  DON’T WORRY.  This is totally normal, so just continue to cook the mixture on medium heat, stirring until the lumps smooth out and so the mixture doesn’t burn, another few minutes, just keep a kitchen towel handy!
5. Cover and set aside to keep the sauce warm until ready to use.

Step-By-Step Instructions

This Roasted Nectarines with Caramel Sauce recipe isn’t complicated, and here’s how you make it:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375, then place the pitted nectarine halves in a glass baking pan that’s been smeared with a little butter to prevent sticking.  Roast the fruit for 20 minutes, until soft but still firm. It may have a slight char or browning, and this is fine.
2. Chop the remaining nectarines to make a nectarine puree, by cutting them into small pieces and cook them down in a saucepan or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, using a wooden spoon to help crush the pieces of fruit.  Cook until very soft, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
3. Add the sugar over moderate heat to a non-stick saucepan and let it melt in the pan while you stir it occasionally.  Cook until it becomes bubbly and golden, around 4 minutes.  Add the cream, lemon juice and nectarine puree to the sugar and cook and stir until the lumps melt down and the mixture is syrupy, about 3 minutes on medium high heat.
4. To serve, spoon a drizzle of caramel sauce on the plate and two roasted nectarine halves on top, ad a scoop of ice cream, a little more sauce, and serve!
5. The fresh mint sprigs are optional, but makes for a pretty presentation!

Expert Tips and Serving Ideas

• It’s really worth it to seek out the best organic nectarines you can get your hands on for this recipe. Often times you can even taste the fruit before you buy, especially at the Farmer’s Market.

• Serve this dessert in small bowls with ice cream and (several) tablespoons of the hot caramel sauce …..(it’s one of the best ways to eat these delicious nectarines besides for breakfast the next morning!)

• This is a really nice dessert to serve after a dinner of Summer Pasta, or grilled chicken or fish with sides of Celery Salad with Hazelnuts, Modern Carrot Salad, Roasted Spring Vegetables with Vinaigrette   or Blackberry Salad with Toasted Hazelnuts.

• It’s also a fabulous brunch item!  Make some Spring Vegetable Frittatas, a Simple Chickpea Salad and you’re all set.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Recipes to Try

Mini Caramel Apple Pies

Cantaloupe and Ice Cream

Ice Cream Cake with Peanut Butter Ganache

Summer Fruit Crisp

Boozy Fresh Cherry Blackbottom Milkshakes

Coconut Milk Rice Pudding with Rose Rhubarb

Nectarine Toast with Honey Goat Cheese

If you’ve tried Roasted Nectarines with Caramel Sauce, or any recipe on Studio Delicious, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

Source: This recipe’s photos and content were originally posted in July 2018, with content updated July, 2021. Recipe adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook