This Dragon fruit smoothie recipe is fruity and delicious made with frozen berries and bananas. It gets its vibrant shockingly pink hue from red-fleshed dragon fruit. Throw in a little spinach and optional protein powder for a tasty healthy frozen smoothie.
I first fell in love with red-fleshed dragon fruit when I set out to make my crazy (and tasty) vegan pink sauce ranch copycat recipe. To be honest, never had I ever ventured to try a dragon fruit before!
While I’m still not sure about the taste the somewhat flavorless dragon fruit brings to the table, you can’t argue with the stunning bright fushia color the red-fleshed fruit imparts!
Using the fresh fruits of the season is the perfect way to enjoy Mother Nature’s healthy bounty. Blueberry chia pudding and fresh fruit salad with poppy seed dressing both use fresh berries and fruit.
Ingredients (and suggested substitutions) needed to make a dragon fruit smoothie
Please see the recipe card below for the exact measurements and ingredients used.
- fresh dragon fruit – To make the smoothie bright pink like pictured, you will need to use the red-flesh dragon fruit, not the white. You can also use frozen fruit instead of fresh dragon fruit because you will be freezing it before making your smoothie anyway. You will be using a one-half of a medium-sized dragon fruit. You can find dragon fruit in the produce department, generally near the other “interesting” fresh fruits like mangos and papyrus. If you can’t find fresh dragon fruit, then see if you can find any frozen dragon fruit in your freezer department with the other frozen fruits.
- 1 cup of berries (mixed) – Use what you love. Today I used a mix of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Again, you will be freezing the berries before making the smoothie, so substitute in frozen berries if desired. Just make sure you actually try some first and are okay with the flavor of your frozen berries – which can be a little iffy…
- 1 banana – I prefer yellow bananas, not brownish spotted bananas. The more spotted the banana is, the sweeter the smoothie will be. It’s just a personal preference for me.
- 8 ounces pineapple canned in its juice – This is the smallish can. You will not be freezing the pineapple and juice.
- oat milk – sub in another plant-based milk of choice. I suggest either cashew milk or almond milk. But I do enjoy the creamy texture and mild flavor of oak milk the best!
- vanilla extract
- baby spinach – I swear you can’t taste the spinach!
- (real) maple syrup – The recipe calls for two teaspoons. I’d give it a taste first before adding the maple syrup in case you don’t need it. OR in case you’d like to use a little bit more.
- a squeeze of fresh lime – to taste
- OPTIONAL vegan vanilla protein powder – I personally am not a fan of protein powder, however, I know that some of my readers like to add in a little extra protein. My go-to brand of vegan vanilla protein powder is Earth Chimp Organic Protein Shake Mix
- You are also going to need a really good blender.
Some FAQs about dragon fruit
Well…on a good day dragon fruit tastes a bit like a watery pear. On the other days, you can’t really taste the pear – it’s just watery. In fact, according to this article by National Post about dragon fruit, “It tastes like a fruit that gave up on life.”
There would literally be no point. Dragon fruit adds very little flavor to the smoothie -BUT you can’t beat red-fleshed dragon fruit for its lovely vibrant color. There are two colors of dragon fruit: white-fleshed dragon fruit, which is actually a creamy white color, or red-fleshed dragon fruit. Because of its flavorless flesh, there is really no point in making a dragon fruit smoothie if you aren’t going to use the red-fleshed variety. Just make a berry banana smoothie instead!
With its exotic appearance, you might think that dragon fruit is a tropical fruit. I’ve even heard it suggested that dragon fruit comes from China or Japan. While it might now be grown in other parts of the world, dragon fruit actually originates from countries in both South and Central America and is a cactus. Read more about Dragon Fruit Catus on The Spruce.
How to make this lovely pink dragon fruit smoothie recipe
The exact ingredients with measurements can be found in the recipe card below along with more concise abbreviated instructions. Read on for more details, tips, and tricks so that you will feel confident making this recipe.
Step 1: cut and freeze the fruit
You will be freezing all of the fruit except for the pineapple. In fact, just leave the pineapple unopened in its can until you are ready to make the smoothie.
Cut the dragon fruit into bite-sized pieces. Slice the bananas. Cut any large fruit you are using such as strawberries into smaller pieces. There is no need to cut smaller berries such as raspberries and blueberries.
Freeze the fruit for at least six hours before you plan to make the smoothie. I find it’s best to feeze the fruit flat in as close to a single layer as possible. After the fruit is frozen, you can transfer the frozen pieces to a container with a lid – or just leave in the large freezer bag.
If you start out by freezing the fruit in a bowl-type of airtight container with a lid, the fruit will freeze together and be big frozen chunk of fruity ice when you are ready to blend your smoothie. This is why it is best to freeze in a single layer. You can then transfer the frozen fruit to another airtight container with a lid and place it back in the freezer.
If you are using frozen dragon fruit or frozen berries that you buy in the freezer department, do not thaw and then refreeze. Measure out and use the frozen fruit when you make your smoothie recipe.
Step 2: Make the frozen fruit smoothie
Add the oat milk (or cashew or almond milk) along with the frozen fruit to a high-speed blender. Add the canned pineapple (with juice), vanilla extract, baby spinach, maple syrup, and optional protein powder to the frozen fruit mixture.
The vanilla protein powder is optional. As I said, I’m not a fan of protein powder. If you aren’t sure, blend it up first and add a little bit, give it a taste, and if you enjoy the flavor and texture of the protein powder then you can add more.
Blend for a few minutes until everything is nice and smooth and bright pink. If your blender comes with a tamper to push the frozen fruit to the blades, use it. Not all blenders need or come with this tool.
Squeeze a half lime and blend or stir into the smoothie. Give it a taste and add more lime and/or more maple syrup to taste.
Serving suggestions
This dragon fruit smoothie recipe makes two generous servings. It does not keep well so if you want to make only one, then half the recipe.
Add a fruit kabob to garnish the top along with a little sliced lime and mint.
For some other delicious vegan frozen treats from Veggie Fun Kitchen
Try all my Homemade Vegan Ice Cream, Sorbets, and other Frozen Treats. Here are some of my favorites:
Ready to make your yummy dragon fruit smoothie? Here is the printable recipe card.
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Fruity Pink dragon Fruit Smoothie
Equipment
- high-speed blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup dragon fruit
- 1 cup berries mixed
- 1 banana
- 8 ounces pineapple canned in it's juice
- ¼ cup oat milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups baby spinach loosely packed
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup more to taste
- 2 scoops optional vegan protein powder
- squeeze of fresh lime
Instructions
- Cut the dragon fruit into bite-sized pieces. Slice the bananas. Cut any large fruit you are using such as strawberries into smaller pieces.
- Freeze the sliced banana, dragon fruit, and the one cup of berries of choice. Freeze for at least six hours. It's best to freeze in a flat layer rather than in a large chunk
- Add the frozen fruit, oat milk, canned pineapple, baby spinach, vanilla, maple syrup, and (optional) protein powder to a high-speed blender. Blend for several minutes till nice and smooth.
- Taste and add more maple syrup if not sweet enough.
Excellent eye appeal, interesting ingredient selection. Sure to be a hit. Another success!💕
It tastes as good as it looks!
Delicious! Forgot to hit the 5 stars first time.