Try these delicious dragon fruit recipes for something new and exotic!
Dragon fruit provides you with many great health benefits, but not everyone enjoys its mild, lightly sweet flavor.
However, you can easily incorporate more dragon fruit into your diet with these dragon fruit recipes, even if you’re not a fan of the fruit eaten by itself.
Dragon fruit is high in fiber and magnesium, is one of the few fruits that contain iron, and provides you with numerous other nutrients.
It can also help strengthen your immune system and improve your gut health.
Some researchers even suggest that it can help fight chronic diseases!
With all that in mind, why wouldn’t you want to check out these 20 delicious dragon fruit recipes?!
1. Perfect Dragon Fruit Smoothie
If you enjoy eating (or drinking) things that are fun and colorful, you’ll love this dragon fruit smoothie. Luckily, it doesn’t just look nice, but it also tastes great.
Not only does it contain dragon fruit, but it also has bananas, pineapple chunks, mango, and lime juice – everything you’ll need for the perfect tropical smoothie.
Best of all, you can make it in only 5 minutes.
2. Tropical Dragon Fruit Smoothie
If possible, this dragon fruit smoothie is even more tropical, thanks to the addition of coconut milk.
This one is also the better option if you need more protein in your diet, as it contains a fourth cup of protein powder.
3. Dragon Fruit Banana Smoothie
This smoothie is just as pretty and vibrant purple as the others, but the ingredients are slightly different.
You’ll still use dragon fruit, banana, and almond milk, but you’ll also add strawberries and two tablespoons of chia seeds (which are also full of things that are good for you!).
It has a slightly more berry-heavy flavor than the others, but the texture is essentially the same.
4. Berry Dragon Fruit Smoothie
If berries are your fruit of choice, you’ll love the berry dragon fruit smoothie. It’s packed with raspberries, blackberries, and strawberry Greek yogurt!
That’s in addition to the dragon fruit, chia seeds, lime juice, and almond milk in most of these smoothies.
There’s also a teaspoon of grated ginger, which adds a bit of spice to each sip.
5. Mango Dragon Fruit Smoothie
Here’s another 5-minute dragon fruit smoothie, but this one features a bright yellow color with black spots.
It’s just as creamy as all the others, but it requires only three ingredients – dragon fruit, mango, and your sweetener of choice.
6. Dragon Fruit Smoothie Bowl
If you love the dragon fruit smoothie but want something with a little more crunch and texture, try this recipe for the smoothie bowl instead.
You can use one of the recipes for the smoothies above or this recipe, which uses dragon fruit, almond milk, banana, pineapple, and mango chunks.
Then top the bowl with whatever you like to add more flavor and texture – nuts, berries, fruit slices, shredded coconut, etc.
7. Dragon Fruit Waldorf Salad
If you’re looking for a refreshing but filling salad that’s both sweet and tangy, the dragon fruit Waldorf salad is the perfect option.
It has all kinds of great stuff, everything from Greek yogurt and mayo to dragon fruit, apples, and grapes.
There’s also ginger, honey, lemon, and salt on a base of cilantro and lettuce.
It’s healthy, hearty, and super tasty.
8. Dragon Fruit Cucumber Limeade
Whether you’re looking for the perfect pretty in pink cocktail or mocktail, this lovely limeade is the ideal option.
It’s tart and tangy, and it has a wonderfully complex but refreshing taste.
It’s a lovely drink with just a bit of a kick from the jalapeno.
You can make it with tequila or vodka, but I think vodka pairs better with the dragon fruit and cucumber flavors.
9. Dragon Fruit Salad
Dragon fruit salad is a beautiful addition to any brunch or special occasion table. Each one is just a mixture of berries, kiwi, and dragon fruit flesh.
However, instead of bowls, you’ll use the lovely pink dragon fruit shell to hold the various fruit pieces.
Each one is ideally sized for a single person to enjoy, and they’ll be the talk of the table.
10. Dragon Fruit Granita
To make this delicious, shaved ice-like dessert, all you’ll need is sugar, water, dragon fruit, and lime juice. That’s it – four simple ingredients.
It takes no longer than 10 minutes to whip up, though you’ll need to let it freeze for another 8 hours before serving it.
It’s a beautiful pinkish-purple and has the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness. While you’ll probably enjoy it, it’s a massive hit with kids.
11. Dragon Fruit Chia Pudding
Dragon fruit pudding is a bit like a dragon fruit smoothie, but the consistency is a little thicker and more pudding-like.
The process for making it, though, is just as simple, taking only 5 minutes.
The pudding tastes best served cold, so be sure to give it between 1 and 3 hours to chill.
Additionally, this will give the chia seeds time to fully expand, giving you all the benefits that come from them.
12. Dragon Fruit Yogurt Parfait
I love dragon fruit yogurt parfaits!
Granted, I’m a huge parfait fan anyway, but there’s something about these gorgeous purple and white parfaits with their sweet, smooth consistency that’s better than others I’ve tried.
They’re the perfect vegan-friendly breakfast for kids and adults alike.
Between the dragon fruit, banana, honey, yogurt, blueberries, and granola, there are so many delicious tastes in this one small cup – tons of vitamins and nutrients, as well.
13. Dragon Fruit Salad With Lemony Chicken and Butternut Puree
You may see the 40 minute prep time on this salad and think, “No way am I going to spend that much time making a salad.”
Usually, I’d agree with you, but this salad is exceptional.
It combines fruits, veggies, and protein in ways that I would never have thought to put together myself.
The result is something that somehow manages to be sweet, tangy, savory, light, and filling all at the same time.
The whole salad is a study in scrumptious contrasts.
The puree base adds a creamy, rich, earthy flavor, while the lemon chicken adds zest and herb flavor.
The salad itself combines so many different things that you’ll be getting new flavors in every bite, and you won’t mind a bit.
14. Dragon Fruit Salad With Ginger-Lime Dressing
This fruit salad isn’t quite as pretty as the fruit salad that uses dragon fruit hulls as bowls (although you could do that with this one as well).
However, it has so much flavor that most people won’t mind that it doesn’t look as elegant.
All the various fruits add their respective flavors, of course, but the real star of the show is the dressing.
You’ll toss the fruits in a ginger-lime dressing that’s just unbelievably good.
With only three ingredients – lime juice, ginger, and brown sugar – it’s simultaneously zesty, sweet, and spicy.
15. Dragon Fruit Mojito
If your favorite summer drink is the minty mojito, you’ll love this dragon fruit variation.
It contains light rum, lime juice, diced dragon fruit, simple syrup, soda water, and mint sprigs.
It’s just as strong, minty, and refreshing as you’re used to enjoying with a regular mojito, but the dragon fruit adds an exotic sweetness that’s hard to match with any other fruit.
Plus, it looks stunning, especially if you have a red-flesh dragon fruit instead of a white one.
16. Dragon Fruit Lemonade
If you’re looking for a refreshing drink using dragon fruit that doesn’t contain alcohol, try this recipe for dragon fruit lemonade.
You’ll need only four ingredients – a large dragon fruit, water, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and agave nectar.
I’ve substituted plain sugar in the past, and it tastes just as good but isn’t as healthy.
It’s a lovely light pink color and has a tart, crisp taste that’s perfect for summer.
17. Coconut Chia Dragon Fruit Smoothie Jars
At first glance, these smoothie jars might look like something a 6-year-old would create in her Little Tikes Super Chef Kitchen.
However, once you take one bite of its smooth, tropical tartness, you’ll know it’s a real dish that’s delicious.
These have more of a coconut taste than the smoothies, though, so if coconut isn’t your thing, these may not be the right choice for you.
18. Dragon Fruit Salsa
Do you know what goes great with dragon fruit? Chives, lemon juice, salt, and jalapenos!
Wait… what? That was my first thought when someone told me about this recipe.
However, I decided to give it a try anyway, and I was beyond pleasantly surprised.
Because dragon fruit is so mild, it doesn’t make the salsa sweet or off-putting.
Instead, it gives you the same great heat that salsa always provides, along with a delightful freshness that’s hard to beat.
Feel free to go heavier on the jalapenos if you prefer hot salsa.
19. Dragon Fruit Popsicles
To be honest, you can’t really taste the dragon fruit in these easy-to-make popsicles.
If you’re not a huge dragon fruit fan but are trying to eat more of them, these are the way to go.
Plus, they’ll give the popsicles a gorgeous purple color.
Mostly, you’ll taste the raspberries and the oranges, and there’s a light underlying sweetness, as well.
20. Bavarian Cream Dragon Fruit Cake
If you’re looking for a gorgeous sweet treat that’ll impress everyone not just with its taste but with its elegant appearance, Bavarian cream dragon fruit cake is it.
The cake is light, fluffy, and sweet with a spongy cake base and a topping of raspberries and mint leaves.
In short, it’s gorgeous, and luckily, it tastes heavenly, too.