There is an intense need to reduce the post-harvest food loss to improve global food security, public health and sustainable natural resource use. Fruits are categorized as one of the most perishable food products and need proper packaging, storage, and transportation systems for their preservation. This research design was aimed at evaluating the application of different cellulose nanocrystal (CNC)-based coatings for the shelf-life enhancement and preservation of fruits. The effects of the CNC-based edible coatings, unified with Aloe vera, the essential oil of lemongrass, and gelatin, were studied on bananas, limes, button mushrooms, and fresh-cut mangoes. Firstly, CNC emulsion-based coatings of rice bran oil (0.1 wt%) with or without Aloe vera extract were prepared through the method of sonication. The storage analyses of bananas and limes revealed that the CNC-based coatings maintained their physicochemical attributes (e.g., visual freshness indication performance and pH) and significantly prevented the lime peel’s Fourier- transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) profiles at 5 ± 1 °C for 12 days. Secondly, the effects of lemongrass essential oil in CNC-based coating displayed higher contents of total phenolic compounds compared to the control button mushrooms, which were stored at 4 ± 1 °C for 16 days. Finally, the gelatin/CNC-conjugated edible coatings resulted in a significant delay in the change of color and weight loss and maintained the extensive firmness of fresh mango pulps, which were stored at 100% relative humidity and 5 °C for 16 days. Overall, the findings demonstrated that different formulations of CNC-based edible coatings could maintain the fruit quality parameters such as the natural color, weight, and respiration rate, as well as enhance its shelf life and visual freshness indication performance. This study paves the way for the commercial preservation of various fruits.