This dragon fruit juice recipe is a sensational blend of fresh pink pitaya with tart passion fruit and extra-sweet pineapple. It's a colorful, thirst-quenching tropical drink, and the great news is it's made without sugar!
You can use any type of dragon fruit with its tiny black seeds, though the red varieties make an undeniably gorgeous, show-stopping summer cooler.
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⭐ Why it works
- Whole fruit - Healthy real fruit recipe includes beneficial fiber and nutrients.
- Flavor twist - The perfect flavor mix of sweet, tart, and exotic.
- No sugar - No added sweeteners of any kind.
- Hydrating - Natural electrolytes and antioxidants.
- Nectar - Concentrated, silky texture without added water.
- Beautiful - Pretty tropical drink made with any variety of dragon fruit.
🍉 What is dragon fruit?
Dragon fruit, also called pitaya, is a colorful exotic fruit with crisp, juicy, mildly sweet flesh. Technically a berry, it's low in calories and high enough in nutrients to be considered a superfood.
For many, its real attraction is its intriguing appearance. It comes in many varieties with cultivars in different hues, but the inside is always studded with tiny, edible black seeds.
Check out my post on the Dragon Fruit Plant where you can learn everything from its Hawaiian name of paniniokapinahou to how to grow your own night-blooming dragon cactus.
🥣 Equipment
- Blender - standard kitchen blender to puree dragon fruit
- Strainer - small size with fine mesh to remove seeds from passion fruit.
- Juicer - optional for fresh pineapple juice. You can use store-bought frozen if needed.
📋 Ingredients
All you need for this sensational drink is three natural whole foods.
- Passion fruit - 3 or 4 ripe ones to make fresh juice.
- Dragon fruit - Whole fresh pitaya of any color.
- Pineapple - Extra ripe, low-acid varieties like Maui Gold and Aus Jubilee are ideal.
🔪 Steps
Plus, I love how uncomplicated this 3-ingredient recipe is. You simply blend fresh pitaya flesh with passion fruit and pineapple juice.
- Chop - remove pitaya from the shell and chop coarsely.
- Blend - chopped pitaya with seeds included.
- Strain - the seeds from passion fruit to make juice.
- Juice - your chunks of fresh pineapple in a juicer that separates pulp.
Then, stir the prepared ingredients together in a bowl or shake them up in a jar. It's so simple, but it looks and tastes like it was crafted at a five-star resort on a luxury island!
👩🏻🍳 Expert tips
- Cool start - Chill all your ingredients before making the recipe so juice won't melt ice in the glass.
- Pineapple - Select a very ripe pineapple for the sweetest taste.
- Swap - Use frozen, 100 percent pineapple juice and not canned if you need to make a substitution for fresh pineapple.
- Garnish - For an optional pretty garnish, make melon ball spheres or cut wedges of fruit and set them aside to decorate your filled glass.
- Serve - Pour over ice for the most refreshing beverage.
- Store - You can store freshly made juice for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.
💭 FAQ
Yes, you can. Juicers that extract pulp will yield juice without any seeds. Sometimes this is desirable, as when coloring cakes with pink pitaya. Alternatively, you can simply blend whole dragon fruit in a blender without adding water. Then, the nutritious seeds are preserved and make a stunning addition to tropical drinks and desserts.
Dragon fruit is low in calories and high in fiber, with enough nutrients and antioxidants to be considered a superfood. In particular, pitaya has notable levels of betalains, flavinoids, Vitamin C, magnesium, iron, and beneficial fatty acids.
🍍More tropical fruit
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📖 Recipe
Dragon Fruit Juice
Ingredients
- 4 medium dragon fruit, to yield 4 cups chopped fruit
- 1 medium pineapple, about 2.5 lbs. for 2 cups juice
- 4-6 medium passion fruit, to yield ¼ cup juice
Instructions
Make dragon fruit puree
- Remove the peel from the dragon fruit and chop it into coarse chunks. Measure out 4 cups.
- If desired, make a few melon ball shapes or cut diced squares and set aside to garnish juice.
- Blend dragon fruit chunks on low speed in a standard kitchen blender until pureed smooth.
Make pineapple juice
- Juice pineapple and measure out 2 cups. If desired, reserve 6 small wedges for garnishing.
Make passion fruit juice
- Press passion fruit pulp through a fine mesh strainer with a fork or small spoon. Measure out ¼ cup of passion fruit juice.
Mix
- Combine dragon fruit puree with pineapple juice and passion fruit juice. You can whisk them together in a large bowl or simply shake them together in a quart jar.
Serve
- Fill glasses with ice and pour the juice blend over the top. Garnish as desired with pieces of fruit.
Store
- Store freshly made juice in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Juice can also be frozen for up to one month, but the silky texture will change slightly.
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