Baked Honey Brown Sugar Grapefruit – Have a bubbly-sweet start to your day with this simple breakfast recipe that’s both beautiful and delicious!
Today’s breakfast-y and brunch-y recipe for Baked Honey Brown Sugar Grapefruit is a sentimental one for me. As a kid, my family would take an annual road trip from the busy Philadelphia area to the sleepy little village of Gambier, Ohio to visit my Aunt and Uncle. The village is home to a picturesque private college, and it possessed a midwestern idealism that made it feel safe for us kids to ride our bikes into the main village unsupervised.
We would often pedal over to the college book shop and stock up on drawing supplies and books full of Calvin and Hobbes and Far Side comic strips. We would then head over to the locally-owned, cozy little cafe to pick up a sweet treat before ending in the middle of campus under a giant old willow tree – the perfect spot for a couple of 10-year-olds to spend the afternoon enjoying the bliss of freedom.
Before beginning our glorious kid adventures, though, we always started the day with my Aunt and Uncle. At the time they owned an idyllic bed and breakfast. Even as a kid I loved cooking, so I’d wake up early and help my Aunt in the kitchen with the breakfast service. She made breakfast favorites like Belgian waffles and candied bacon. Another one of my personal favorites was baked grapefruit. It was my job to help segment the grapefruit and then sprinkle it with brown sugar. I would then watch them through the oven window as they were transformed from acidic to bubbly and sweet.
It’s been about 20 years since those simple summer days in Ohio, but the taste of baked grapefruit brings me back to the sweetness of it all. I can’t remember my Aunt’s exact recipe for Baked Honey Brown Sugar Grapefruit, but I promise my recipe is just as good and just as bubbly sweet!
- 2 halved grapefruits*
- 1 Tbsp melted butter**
- 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp honey
- salt to taste
- 4 mint springs (optional)
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Cut each grapefruit in half and then cut around each segment of the grapefruit with a serrated knife. If you don’t have a grapefruit knife, a sharp bread knife works well.
- Lightly brush each grapefruit with melted butter.
- Pour ½ Tbsp of honey and then sprinkle ½ Tbsp of dark brown sugar over the center of each grapefruit. Don’t spread the honey and and dark brown sugar, but instead let it melt over the fruit while baking.
- Bake at 400ºF for 12-15 minutes. Let cool for 3 minutes and then serve with a mint spring placed in the center of the fruit as a garnish.
**To make this recipe dairy-free and vegan, replace the melted butter with a non-dairy butter.
Some more breakfast and brunch ideas…
Carrot Cake Pancakes
Sweet Blueberry Muffins
Loaded Baked Denver Omelet Casserole
What a fun treat for a special brunch! I bet this would be very welcome by many on Mother’s Day! Really pretty photos, too!
Thanks Monica! I was thinking about making these on Mother’s Day. Actually, it’s simple enough, I bet I could get my son to do it with a little help with the oven. 🙂
I bet that is one amazing breakfast! I’m not a huge fan of grapefruit, but this would make me want to eat them!
This might be a good way for you to retry grapefruit. It really changes the flavor of the fruit!
This recipe looks like such a treat! I loooove grapefruit and think these would be so perfect for dessert.
Thanks!
This brings back memories for me too! Love your story and the photos are gorgeous..
Thanks Paige! Enjoy your happy memories!
What you can bake grapefruit?? Never seen anything like this and we are huge grapefruit eaters. breakfast, lunch or dinner dessert. I am so going to try this!
It’s true! Have fun enjoying grapefruit a whole new way!
How dreamy about your aunt and uncle’s BnB. I can picture glorious Summers with those Belgium waffles and these grapefruits. It looks delicious, thanks for sharing!
Thanks Tina!
So simple but I beset this is big on flavor. And the village in Ohio sounds just lovely.
Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best!
What a fabulous way to take that tart bite out of grapefruit! I’m loving this for a breakfast date morning
I hope you get a breakfast date morning soon!
My dad has been wanting to incorporate grapefruit into his breakfast a few times a week. I think he would really enjoy this!
Perfect! Baking the grapefruit also cuts on the acidity which can be helpful when eating a lot of citrus!
Our grocery store has had SUCH good grapefruit lately. I can’t wait to try this recipe out.
Enjoy!
This is my way to enjoy grapefruit! I’ve never put the mint sprigs with it, but now that I’ve read it in the ingredients, I can’t get it out of my mind! Totally going to try it!
To be truthful, the mint is more for the look. But a good recipe tastes even better when it looks pretty! That said, a lot of baked grapefruit recipes don’t call for salt. Sprinkling a little salt on at the end really enhances the flavor.
I love foods that provide a walk down memory lane! I grew up in a college town much like the one your aunt and uncle lived in, and there were few things better than roaming around the campus, hanging out under the giant cedar trees whose boughs hung all the way to the ground, or picking wild blackberries on the edge of town. Loved your story! And the grapefruit looks great too! 🙂
Sounds like such a simple and idilic childhood!Thanks for sharing.
This is my breakfast love language! Citrus in the morning is so refreshing and these are lovely!
Thank you Debs