I have a newfound love for pineapple. Whenever the weather starts getting warm, I can’t get enough of it. I caught up with Kelly Boyer, the amazing founder of Paleta, one of my favorite juice + meal delivery companies, to see if she could help me come up with new ways to enjoy one of my favorite summer flavors.

Her answer was better than I could have ever imagined…a grilled pineapple sundae. Say what?

In Kelly’s words, “Grilled fruit brings out the natural sugars and creates a crunchy caramelized surface that takes any simple fruit to the next level. Just add ice cream!” In my case, I went for dairy free obviously but you could use regular vanilla ice cream, fro yo, or even fresh Greek yogurt for this recipe.

I plan to recreate these for my dad’s annual Memorial Day BBQ this weekend because I know they’ll be a huge hit. I cannot put into words how delicious this sundae is, you guys! The salt from the peanuts mixed with the tropical pineapple, sweet vanilla ice cream and slightly tart strawberries was a crazy good combo. I put them in margarita glasses but you can use any bowl obviously.

On top of it, I thought it was the perfect time to create my first pineapple vase, something that I’ve been wanting to do for quite a while now. Considering I’m the worst at DIY ever, this was a pretty huge accomplishment even though it wasn’t all that difficult. Below find the recipe for grilled pineapple sundaes and instructions on how to make your own pineapple vase.

HOW TO: GRILLED PINEAPPLE SUMMER SUNDAES
Prep: 5 minutes | Cook: 15 minutes | Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 whole large ripe pineapple, peeled, de-cored and sliced to ¾ inch thickness
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 scoops vanilla ice cream (or frozen or fresh Greek yogurt)
• 2/3 cup organic dark chocolate sauce
• ½ cup chopped peanuts
• 1 cup sliced strawberries

Instruction

• Heat your grill to medium. Brush sliced pineapple very lightly on each side with olive oil.
• Cook for about 2 minutes on each side just until you get clear hash/grill marks.
• Give the slices a ¼ turn to get crossed grilled marks on each side.
• Remove from heat and stack in a bowl or on a plate in this order: pineapple rings, scoop of vanilla ice-cream, Greek yogurt (fresh or frozen), or dairy-free ice cream, drizzle with chocolate sauce, layer with strawberries, and cover with chopped nuts.

PINEAPPLE VASE

What you need:

• A pineapple
• Your favorite flowers (I used a peony, blue hydrangeas, and pink tulips)
• A sharp knife
• A spoon

What to do:

• Cut the top off of the pineapple as close to the top as possible so you can have a tall enough vase.
• With a sharp knife, cut along the inside of the pineapple as close to the edge as possible.
• Cut the inside section into four quadrants so that it’s easier to pull it out.
• With a spoon, scoop out the four quadrants .
• Clean out the vase. Use a knife, the spoon, whatever to clean out as much of the pineapple as you can.
• Add water and flowers.
• Voila! You have a pineapple vase.