Dragon Fruit Smoothie

This easy pink Dragon Fruit Smoothie is packed with vitamin C, tropical flavor, and is the prettiest pink color! Save $$$ by skipping the local smoothie bar and make this one at home for busy mornings.

There's this adorable smoothie shop in town that makes this incredible Dragon Fruit Smoothie that I'm obsessed with. What I'm not so obsessed with is the price tag when I can make the exact same thing at home for less than half the cost!

Don't get me wrong, there are still days when I can't be bothered to "cook" even a smoothie or times when I'm out and about and need something stat, but for the days when I'm trying to not spend all my money on takeout, this Dragon Fruit Smoothie recipe is perfect!

These days, dragon fruit seems pretty easy to find at most grocers. You'll find it in the frozen section of grocery stores. I like to purchase the frozen cubes instead of the dragon fruit puree packs but either will work just fine.

The pink flesh creates the most stunning color of a smoothie I've ever had. You can also make dragon fruit smoothie bowls. I alternate between this smoothie and açaí bowls for breakfast, so refreshing!

Jump to:

• So, what is Dragon fruit?
• 🍊 Ingredients
• 🔪 Instructions
• 🍌 Substitutions
• 🍋 Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

So, what is Dragon fruit?

Dragon fruit is also called pitaya, I'm sure you've seen or had a pitaya smoothie bowl before. The origin of dragon fruit is unclear, but it's thought to be native to Central America but today it can be found growing all over the globe in Ecuador, Israel, Vietnam, Nicaragua, California, and Florida.

There are both white dragon fruit and pink flesh dragon fruit but the most commonly used in smoothies is pink for its vibrant gorgeous color. Here's the difference between the three types of dragon fruit:

White-Fleshed Dragon Fruit - the most common variety and the least sweet, has a pink skin, white flesh, and tiny black seeds.

Pink-Fleshed Dragon Fruit - the bright magenta color is not only stunning but packs a ton more antioxidants that the white variety. It gets it color from growing in Nicaragua where it is fertilized in the rich volcanic soil lending it its color.

Yellow skin / white flesh - this third variety of dragon fruit is also the sweetest!

I think dragon fruit has a pretty mild taste, like a mashup of kiwi and pear.

🍊 Ingredients

• Frozen dragon fruit - This recipe uses frozen dragon fruit but if you can find fresh, feel free to use it! You'll need to slice and freeze it or use less liquid when blending. I used these dragon fruit cubes from Pitaya Foods.
• Frozen pineapple
• Frozen strawberries
• Orange juice

See recipe card for quantities.

🔪 Instructions

🍌 Substitutions

You can sub in different fruits like ripe bananas or fresh fruit and/or other tropical fruit. I sometimes buy the tropical fruit blend from Trader Joe's since it's cheap. This smoothie is delicious with any type of fruit really. If you can't find cubed dragon fruit, dragon fruit smoothie packs also work!

You can also sub in different orange juices. My go-to is Uncle Matt's Orange Juice so sometimes I buy their immunity blend, so good! Coconut water or pineapple juice are also pretty great!

Remember, if you use fresh dragon fruit instead of frozen, either slice and freeze it beforehand or reduce the liquid so that the smoothie is still thick. You could also add a handful of ice cubes to the smoothie but I find that makes smoothies too watery for my liking.

🍋 Variations

Here are a few fun ways to make this smoothie your own plus a few optional add-ins.

• Make it creamy - add unsweetened almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk, or another plant-based milk instead of orange juice to give the smoothie a creamy texture.
• Add some protein - protein powder, hemp seeds, nut butters (almond butter, peanut butter, or sunflower butter are all great), or chia seeds are a great way to add some extra protein to the smoothie
• Add some tang - a squeeze of lime juice or lemon juice in this tropical smoothie is SO good!
• Make it sweeter - the smoothie is already pretty sweet from the fruit and orange juice but if you want, a drizzle of maple syrup or agave is pretty tasty.

Equipment

You simply need a high-speed blender.

Storage

Leftover smoothies aren't really a thing but I do have a fun hack for you! If you ever have a leftover smoothie, the Ninja CREAMi machine is so fun!

It can make ice cream out of just about anything. When I have leftover smoothies I'll pour the leftovers into the container, freeze it, then spin for a sweet treat.

Obviously, this only works if you have that machine but as someone who's married to an ice cream lover, this saves us from consuming a year's worth of sugar in the form of ice cream each week 😉

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📖 Recipe