Persimmon Yogurt Bowl (Healthy Winter Breakfast)

Name: Persimmon Yogurt Bowl
Prep time: 5 min
Cuisine: Jewish
Ingredients: 1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt; ¼ tsp ground cardamom or cinnamon; 1 fuyu persimmon, cut into 1/4 inch wedges (peeled if desired but you don't have to); 2 tbsps toasted and salted almonds, diced or sliced (pistachios would be great too); ½ tbsp honey or date syrup; 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

You don’t need my persimmon to declare Persimmon Yogurt Bowl as your new favorite winter snack!

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Sooorry for that pun. I definitely did not make a New Year’s resolution to be any less cheesy, so here we are. Just us and our Persimmon Yogurt Bowl. You told me you wanted easy, everyday recipes and some healthy ones too. Well here is my favorite snack I just can’t get enough of! I first fell in love with the persimmon in Israel- aka the Sharon Fruit. Their variety is extra sweet and so good I tried to sneak some on the plane home before I remembered you cannot bring fruit back from a foreign country. Sad. So I ate all three before boarding the plane.

What is a Persimmon?

I am not exaggerating when I say persimmons are my favorite fruit ever. Unless lemon meringue pie is a fruit. Which I don’t think it is. I love it even more than watermelon soaked in Everclear on a summer day! So when I saw a case of them on a Costco run, I was pumped. But what is a persimmon?

Persimmon are ripe usually October through February. So get them while you can. There are actually two main kinds of persimmon: Fuyu and hachiya. Fuyus are more round and sweeter and are great raw, while hachiyas are more tart and best for baking. I used fuyu here.

This is hardly even a recipe, just Greek yogurt, cardamom, toasted almond, sesame seeds, and honey, but when I posted about it on Instagram you were excited about it, so here we go. I gave some alternatives so you can make it your own. Hope you love Persimmon Yogurt Bowls as much as I do!

What Is a Persimmon Yogurt Bowl?

It is a five minute breakfast: thick Greek yogurt spiked with cardamom, spread into a shallow bowl and fanned with slices of ripe persimmon, then finished with toasted almonds, a drizzle of honey and sesame seeds. No cooking, no blender, no recipe skills required.

What makes it feel like more than the sum of its parts is the contrast. Cold tangy yogurt, honeyed sweetness, the soft snap of a fuyu persimmon and crunchy toasted nuts and seeds all in the same spoonful.

Fuyu vs Hachiya: Use the Right Persimmon

This matters more than anything else in the recipe. There are two persimmons in most markets and they are not interchangeable.

Fuyu are squat and flat bottomed, like a small tomato. They are eaten firm and crisp, skin and all, and slice cleanly. This is the one you want.
Hachiya are larger and acorn shaped, and they are aggressively astringent until they are completely, almost alarmingly soft. Bite a firm one and your whole mouth puckers. They are for baking and puddings, not for slicing.

If you have only ever had a bad persimmon, there is a good chance you were handed an underripe hachiya. Buy fuyu, eat it firm, and you will understand what the fuss is about.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Full fat Greek yogurt. One cup. Full fat is doing real work here, since the whole dish rests on that thick, tangy base.
A ripe fuyu persimmon. Sliced into quarter inch wedges. Peel it if you like, though you really do not have to.
Ground cardamom or cinnamon. Just a quarter teaspoon whisked into the yogurt. Cardamom is the more interesting choice.
Toasted salted almonds. Two tablespoons, diced or sliced. Pistachios are wonderful here too.
Honey or date syrup. Half a tablespoon. Date syrup, or silan, leans the whole bowl in a Middle Eastern direction.
Toasted sesame seeds. A teaspoon, for a nutty finish that ties it together.

How to Make It

Whisk the cardamom into the Greek yogurt and spread it into a shallow bowl with the back of a spoon, making a few swooshes.
Slice the persimmon into thin wedges and fan them over the yogurt.
Top with the almonds, a drizzle of honey or date syrup, and the sesame seeds. Eat immediately.

Variations

Make it vegan. Use a thick coconut or almond yogurt and swap the honey for date syrup or maple.
Add tahini. A spoonful swirled through the yogurt makes it richer and more savory.
Change the fruit. Sliced figs, pomegranate arils or roasted grapes all work when persimmons are out of season.
Make it a dessert. Use labneh instead of yogurt and be generous with the honey.

Make Ahead and Storage

This is a bowl to assemble and eat, not to store. Sliced persimmon browns a little and the almonds and sesame lose their crunch against the wet yogurt within about half an hour.

What you can do ahead is stir the cardamom into a larger container of yogurt so it is ready to go, and keep toasted nuts in a jar on the counter. Then assembly really is a two minute job on a weekday morning.

Persimmon Yogurt Bowl FAQ

How do you know when a persimmon is ripe?

For fuyu, ripe means deep orange and just barely yielding, still firm enough to slice. For hachiya, ripe means almost liquid inside, like a water balloon. A firm hachiya is unpleasantly astringent and no amount of honey will fix it.

Do you peel persimmons?

You do not have to. Fuyu skin is thin and completely edible, much like an apple. Peel it if you prefer a softer texture, but it is genuinely optional.

What does a persimmon taste like?

A ripe fuyu is mildly sweet and honeyed, somewhere between a mango, a date and a crisp pear, with a gentle floral note. Much less acidic than most fruit, which is why it pairs so well with tangy yogurt.

When are persimmons in season?

Late fall into early winter, roughly October through December in the northern hemisphere. That is peak persimmon time and when they are cheapest and best.

Can I make this dairy free?

Yes. A thick coconut yogurt holds up best to the toppings. Use date syrup rather than honey if you want it fully vegan.

Is this a healthy breakfast?

It is a solid one. You get protein from the Greek yogurt, fiber and vitamins from the persimmon, and healthy fats from the almonds and sesame. The honey is the only added sugar and you control how much goes on.

Can I use a different nut?

Pistachios are the natural partner with cardamom, and walnuts or hazelnuts both work. Toast them first either way, since raw nuts taste flat against the yogurt.

More ways to use good honey and fruit: poached figs with honey and orange, apples, honey and goat cheese crostini, or a bowl of whipped goat labneh.