If you're a fan of dragon fruit, you need to try turning it into a tropical syrup with this easy Dragon Fruit Syrup recipe! The pretty pink simple syrup can be used as anything from a cocktail and mocktail mixer to a pancake or yogurt topping.
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Isn't there something so fun about dragon fruit? Any time I see dragon fruit anything on a menu, I'm likely to order it for its fun color and unique flavor.
I also buy the tropical fruit from time to time, though it can be quite pricey and it's tough to find pink dragonfruit around me. I can usually only find white dragon fruit, but also always have a pack of pink dragon fruit powder on hand! I love making smoothie jars with it.
If you're looking for a delicious way to enjoy the unique fruit whenever you want it, this dragon fruit syrup it perfect. It's a tasty and fun simple syrup that can be enjoyed in so many ways!
❓ What exactly is dragon fruit?
Great question! Dragon fruit (sometimes spelled as one word: dragonfruit) is also known as pitaya and is a tropical fruit that comes from a cactus and is native to Mexico and Central America.
It's referred to as dragon fruit because its skin looks like the scales of a dragon. The prettiest dragon ever!
There are several kinds of dragon fruit, including pink skin with white flesh (the most common and the one I can find most easily in New England) and pink skin with pink/red flesh (often the sweetest). There's also a yellow skin with white flesh dragon fruit, though I've never seen one in person!
👅 What does dragon fruit taste like?
This is another great question as, in my opinion, dragon fruit doesn't have the most distinct taste and is definitely more subtle in flavor, especially the white flesh variety.
It's often described as a combination between a kiwi and a pear, which I definitely agree with.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
If you like or are intrigued by dragon fruit, you'll want to try this syrup. The fruit can go bad relatively quickly and this is a great way to preserve it to use longer.
The syrup captures the dragon fruit's subtle flavor with some extra sweetness and has so many uses, from adding to drinks to using as an ice cream topping.
🗒 Ingredients
You don't need much for this dragon fruit syrup... Just 3 or 4 simple ingredients (see recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):
- Diced dragon fruit
- Water
- Granulated sugar
- Dragon fruit powder: this is optional for color if you're using white flesh dragon fruit and want a pink syrup
If you can't find fresh dragon fruit anywhere, but still want to enjoy this syrup, you can make it with all powder instead. I recommend using 2 tsp of powder (see note on recipe card for instructions).
You can dice the dragon fruit right in the skin or you can scoop the flesh out of the skin and dice it from there.
🛒 Where to get dragon fruit
Believe it or not, most regular chain grocery stores carry dragon fruit in the produce section. They can usually be found with the mangos, starfruits, and other tropical type fruits.
🥤 How to make dragon fruit syrup
To start, put water, sugar, and diced dragon fruit in a medium-size saucepan and bring mixture to a boil.
Once boiling, lower heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes, until mixture has thickened a bit and dragon fruit is softening.
If you're using white flesh dragon fruit and want a pink syrup, stir in the dragon fruit powder at this time.
There's nothing wrong with a clear syrup, but when I hear dragon fruit, I think pink, so I really wanted the syrup to be have a vibrant color!
Stir until the powder is dissolved.
Strain mixture into a bowl, being sure to press down on the dragon fruit to extract as much juice as possible.
You can save the dragon fruit for another use (it's great on top of ice cream, yogurt, or oatmeal!) or discard it.
Keep syrup in bowl or pour into a mason jar and place in fridge to cool completely before using.
The syrup will continue to thicken as it cools.
This dragon fruit syrup is so sweet with the subtle flavor of the tropical fruit.
I generally like to recommend variations on my simple syrup recipes, like adding additional fruits and/or spices and flavors that would also work well... But I highly recommend making the dragon fruit syrup as is.
Adding other ingredients will likely dilute the already subtle dragon fruit flavor too much and you definitely don't want that!
However, the flavors that often go well with dragon fruit include acai, mango, pineapple, strawberry, and kiwi.
👩🍳 How to use
But there are also so many uses for the syrup and so many ways you can impress you friends and family with various dragon fruit concoctions!
- Mango Dragonfruit Refresher: Perhaps one of the ways dragon fruit has gotten so popular is because of Starbucks' Mango Dragonfruit Refresher. It's a delicious drink that you can replicate at home with this syrup! Check out my easy-to-make copycat recipe for it!
- Cocktail ingredient: This syrup is great in various cocktails from dragon fruit margaritas, dragon fruit vodka sodas, dragon fruit mimosas, and more.
- Homemade dragon fruit soda: Add a little of this syrup to a glass of carbonated water and you have a yummy beautiful pink soda!
- Tea sweetener: Drizzle this syrup into your hot or iced tea for added sweetness and flavor.
- Ice cream topping: This syrup will add a pop of color and flavor to vanilla ice cream.
- Yogurt or oatmeal topping: And it will add a little extra excitement to your healthy weekday breakfast.
- Syrup for pancakes, french toast, or waffles: It also works as a replacement for maple syrup with any of your favorite brunches.
- Cake moistener: Bakers often brush simple syrup on cakes to give them extra moistness, sweetness, and flavor. The dragon fruit flavor would be tasty on a vanilla cake.
- Salad dressing ingredient: The syrup adds delicious flavor and to a homemade salad dressing and will impress your guests with its bright pink color.
- Shave ice syrup: Drizzle this over shave ice or a snow cone for an instant tropical vacation.
⏲ How to store
This simple syrup is easy to store in an airtight container in your fridge. When stored properly, the syrup should stay fresh for about a month.
Though you can keep in any airtight container, I highly recommend storing in mason jars- either 8 oz. jars or 16 oz. jars.
🛍 Where to purchase
This dragon fruit syrup is incredibly easy to make, but if you don't have the ingredients or would prefer to have a shelf stable bottle on hand at all times, no problem! There aren't as many options for dragon fruit flavored syrups as many other flavors, but here are a few available for purchasing:
- Monin Dragon Fruit Syrup
- Jordan's Skinny Dragon Fruit Acai Syrup
- Bossen Concentrated Dragon Fruit Syrup
🥣 More simple syrup recipes
When it comes to simple syrups, the flavor options are basically endless. If you can dream it, you can turn it into a syrup!
I have an entire section of my website dedicated to simple syrup recipes and I'll be continuing to grow it, so be sure to check back for more recipes!
In the meantime, some of my favorites include jalapeño, cherry, honey, and blueberry. But bubblegum is so fun, too!
If you have a favorite dragon fruit recipe or product, let me know what it is!
📖 Recipe
Dragon Fruit Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup diced dragon fruit (from about ½ a dragon fruit)
- ½ tsp dragon fruit powder, optional for color if using white dragon fruit
Instructions
- Put water, sugar, and diced dragon fruit in a medium-size saucepan and bring mixture to a boil.
- Once boiling, lower heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes, until mixture has thickened a bit and dragon fruit is softening.
- If you're using white flesh dragon fruit and want a pink syrup, stir in the dragon fruit powder at this time. Stir until powder is dissolved.
- Strain mixture into a bowl, being sure to press down on the dragon fruit to extract as much juice as possible.
Notes
- If you don't have fresh dragon fruit, you can make this syrup with dragon fruit powder instead. Simply bring water and syrup to a boil and then let simmer for about 10 minutes. Before removing from heat, stir 2 tsp dragon fruit powder in until dissolved.
- This syrup is great in an at-home version of Starbucks' Mango Dragonfruit Refresher.
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