Pink Pitaya Dragon Fruit Smoothie
This perfectly pink pitaya smoothie made with frozen dragonfruit is one of the most beautiful vegan smoothies around. And with only four ingredients, it’s as easy as filling the blender with fruit, mixing in some plant-based milk, and blending until smooth.
Whether you’re whipping up a quick breakfast for yourself, serving up a smoothie snack for the kids, or a filling up festive party drinks, this smoothie is bound to become a favorite.
Star Ingredients
We absolutely love to feature fabulous, fruity, fiber-filled ingredients. In this bright and delicious dragonfruit smoothie recipe, these trio of fruits not only taste spectacular together, but are also super healthy to boot! Who can resist such a candy-sweet combination?
- Dragonfruit (aka pitaya) – Fair amount of fiber and antioxidants (such as vitamin C), also high in potassium and folate. Feel free to use fresh dragonfruit or frozen, just make sure you get the pink variety! Note: dragonfruit has very little flavor, so the other ingredients help create a super delicious, flavorful smoothie.
- Frozen Cherries – Rich in vitamin C, good source of B6, potassium, and magnesium. Also high in fiber.
- Frozen Banana – Fat-free, high in fiber and antioxidants (including vitamin C), and helps to boost iron levels. Use a very ripe banana (brown and spotty is great!) because the riper they are, the sweeter they are. Slice your banana before freezing, especially if you have a lower-power blender. Frozen bananas will give yuor smoothie that thick, creamy, sweet, delicious feel.
- Plant Milk – Use your favorite plant-based milk! We usually use soy milk, but any vegan milk will work. Cashew, almond, coconut, oat, hemp, rice, etc.
- Agave Nectar – While you don’t need to add agave to your smoothie if you’re trying to cut back on sugar, it does give this smoothie the perfect balance of flavor for the mainstream palate. Pitaya doesn’t have much flavor at all, so this helps balance that. And agave is a fantastic vegan alternative to honey!
What is Dragonfruit & Where Can I Find It?
Dragonfruit is a gorgeous tropical fruit notable for it’s hot pink dragon-looking exterior and either white or hot pink fleshy interior speckled with black seeds. Dragonfruit is natively grown in Southeast Asia and Latin America, but due to its popularity around the world, fresh dragonfruit can now be found in many mainstream grocery stores in the United States, the UK, Canada, Australia, and beyond. If you’re not lucky enough to have it at your local grocery store, you should be able to find dragonfruit at most asian markets.
You can also find frozen dragonfruit sold in plastic bags in the freezer aisle of any grocery stores. I’ve seen it at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and even more generic grocery chains. This will last a long time in the freezer and is a great way to have dragonfruit on hand for recipes like this! Dragonfruit also serves as a beautiful natural pink food coloring. I’ve used it to color frostings, oatmeal, pancakes, and beyond. You can even find pink powdered dragonfruit that works perfectly as a coloring agent in recipes.
There is no easy way from the outside to know if the interior will be white or pink, so take note of signs carefully, and hope that they are correctly labeled!
Dragon Fruit Smoothie Variations
Creating new smoothie recipes is fantastically fun and also inspires us with even more delightful ideas. It’s hard not to share a slew of suggestions on how to slightly change up a smoothie into something even more special. We’ve managed to narrow it down to three of our favorites:
- Valentine’s Day Smoothie Bowl – Use only ½ cup of vegan milk for the recipe and spoon the resulting smoothie into a heart-shaped bowl. Top with heart-shaped pieces of fresh dragonfruit and banana and sprinkle in a few fresh, dark, sweet cherries. Add a couple of decadent, vegan Valentine’s Day chocolates on the side for a very special touch for a loved one (including yourself!)
- Renegade Red Velvet Variation – Follow the directions as above, but also add in 1-2 tablespoons (or to desired chocolate-y level) of cacao or cocoa powder to the smoothie recipe. Before serving your smoothie, drizzle the inside surface of the glasses with rich, melted vegan chocolate. Garnish with cherries and chunks of dairy-free chocolate chips. A truly decadent dessert!
- Much Ado About Mango – Create a more tropical, breezy blend that is banana-free by swapping the same amount of mango for banana in this recipe. Adorn your glass with additional mango slices and consider substituting mango juice instead of plant milk for the liquid. Yum!
Simple Swaps & Smoothie Q&A
If you’re not a huge banana fan, you can make this smoothie without bananas! Just use frozen mango instead. You’ll still get the creamy sweetness from the mango, but without the slightly stronger banana taste. The color will be also be a bit more vibrant, too.
It is! Our Dragon Fruit Smoothie not only gives you three large servings of fruit, but also ten grams of fiber per recipe. Plus, added antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and nutrition. You’ll be giving your taste buds and overall health a lovely treat.
Of course you can. So glad you asked. The fruit is lovely and sweet on its own. You can simply omit the sweetener. No agave nectar needed!
Don’t worry! If you can’t find frozen or fresh dragon fruit, feel free to use another pinky red fruit (such as strawberry or raspberry) instead of dragon fruit in the mixture. Just keep in mind that using a different fruit will add a different (but also yummy) flavor to your smoothie. Another option is to use beet powder or freeze-dried dragon fruit, which you can find online. Start with ¼ teaspoon and see how you like the color. Add more if you like a brighter pink color.
More Easy Smoothie Recipes
Pink Pitaya Dragon Fruit Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 3½-ounce package frozen dragon fruit, or 1 cup fresh red dragonfruit
- 1 cup frozen sweet cherries
- 1 cup frozen banana, or one medium banana
- 1 cup sweetened vanilla almond or soy milk, or plant-based milk of your choice
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar or sweetener of your choice, optional
Instructions
- Add the dragonfruit, cherries, and banana to the blender.
- Pour in the plant milk and optional sweetener, then blend for one minute or until smooth.
- Pour the finished smoothie into one large or two small glasses.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Banana Substitute – If you’re not a huge banana fan, you can use frozen mango instead. You’ll still get the creamy sweetness from the mango, but without the slightly stronger banana taste. The color will be also be a bit more vibrant, if that’s what you’re looking for.
- Too Sweet? – Feel free to omit the added sweetener.
- Dairy-free, soy-free (or nut-free), gluten-free, high in fiber (about 10 grams for the full recipe!)
Nutrition
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Super thrilled to share this recipe! Dragonfruit is so vibrant and makes any smoothie more special. Love how sweet and delicious it is. Hope you enjoy it 😀
Made this for breakfast and it was amazing! Thank you.
Love the color on this smoothie!
Such a beautiful and tasty smoothie!!
So impressed by this recipe! I love dragon fruit. I will make this recipe for breakfast tomorrow.
saving this recipe when it gets warmer here! i love dragon fruits
I love dragon fruit so much! Great idea adding the frozen cherries. It was a perfect combo!
This smoothie is so delicious. This is the prettiest way to start my day!
I love this smoothie! It’s so much fun to make food that is so naturally vibrant like this smoothie!
Hey Michelle! Just wanted to let you know that I love this smoothie! I hadn’t had the time to make it before as I couldn’t get dragon fruit but yesterday I found it!! This was my breakfast today and my husband and I loved it. Now that we know where to find it, we will be making it often for sure! Cheers!
I’m so excited that you love it! Yay!
This is my favorite smoothie to make for v-day!! dragon fruit smoothies for the win!!