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    Home / Recipes / Ice Cream

    Dragon Fruit Ice Cream

    Sep 20, 2016 · Updated: May 30, 2023 by Dee Dine · Affliate links disclosure.

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    This dragon fruit ice cream is made with pitaya, also known as dragon fruit, and is creamy and delicious, plus high in iron, magnesium and fiber.

    Vegan Dragonfruit Pitaya Ice Cream

    Dragon fruit ice cream taste fresh and creamy and has a citrus flavor thanks to lemon juice. Dragon fruit, also called pitaya, is a tropical fruit that comes in a dinosaur-egg-like pink shell with odd little horns, and can be white or pink inside. The fruit has the flavor of kiwi, and is wonderful in dragon fruit smoothies, and dragon fruit popsicles, and even dragon fruit water.

    Why You'll Love This

    An interesting way to experience dragon fruit. Dragon fruit, when blended with milk and mango, makes a fantastic ice cream texture. And dragon fruit is considered a super food with tons of nutrition.

    Dragon fruit is healthy. It is high in magnesium which helps with sleep, and in vitamin C, B1, B2 and B3, and minerals calcium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. Dragon fruit, or pitaya, are also a good source of fiber, protein and omega essential fatty acids. Read more about the health benefits of pitaya here.

    Ingredients

    Frozen milk cubes - Just freeze milk in ice cube trays, a creamy one is best such as canned coconut milk or cashew or almond milk. You can also use frozen bananas instead.

    Mango chunks - Freeze this fruit beforehand, or again use bananas instead.

    Pink dragon fruit - You'll find it in the freezer section of most high-end grocery stories. You can buy a fresh dragon fruit, but it mostly like is white inside.

    Extra add ins - I added vanilla extract to reduce the icy texture, and lemon juice to boost the vitamin C and add a fresh citrus flavor.

    How to Make

    Step 1: Pour milk into ice cube trays and freeze overnight. Freeze mango chunks overnight.

    Step 2: I used a frozen pink pitaya packet but if you use fresh pitaya, chop the correct amount and freeze overnight.

    Step 3: Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

    Step 4: To make the ice cream, first let the milk ice cubes thaw for 10 minutes before blending. You want them to be easy to blend.

    Step 5: Then, blend all ingredients, pour into ice cube trays and freeze for 1 hour.

    Step 6: Add the cubes to a blender, allow to thaw 10 minutes and blend again.

    Step 7: Line the loaf pan with new parchment paper, pour in mixture and freeze again, at least 4 hours or until it reaches a texture you want.

    Step 8: If you let it freeze overnight, let the mixture thaw 20 minutes or more until it is scoopable.

    Variations & Substitutions

    Use banana instead of mango for a sweet creamy support.

    You can freeze any milk, but the higher the fat, the creamier  your ice cream will be.

    You can add lime juice instead of lemon juice for that tart bright additional flavor.

    FAQS

    How Does Dragon fruit or Pitaya Taste?

    Pitaya, either the pink or the white, basically looks and tastes like kiwi, only a bit more watery.

    How to Find Dragon Fruit or Pitaya?

    I find pink pitaya in frozen packets found in the frozen fruit area of Whole Foods. If you can't find frozen fresh pitaya, then use freeze-dried powder found online.

    Add mangos, frozen milk cubes, and energizing baobab, and you have a super healthy frosty treat. Blend, freeze, blend again and serve. If you prefer, you can use 1 cup of chopped frozen bananas instead of the milk cubes - it will be more of a soft serve.

    More Dragon Fruit Recipes

    Dragon fruit smoothie
    Pitaya (dragon fruit) smoothie bowl
    Dragon fruit Limeade
    Dragon fruit protein bites
    Dragon fruit pina colada popsicles

     

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    📖 Recipe

    Vegan Dragonfruit Pitaya Ice Cream

    Dragon Fruit Ice Cream

    Created by Dee Dine
    This dragon fruit ice cream is made with pitaya, also known as dragon fruit, and is creamy and delicious, plus high in iron, magnesium and fiber.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe SaveSaved! Rate Recipe
    Prep Time 1 day d
    Cook Time 17 minutes mins
    Total Time 1 day d 17 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 6
    Calories 47 kcal

    Equipment

    • blender
    • ice cube trays
    • loaf trays, parchment paper

    Ingredients
      

    • 8 frozen milk cubes
    • 1 cup mango, frozen
    • 1 cup fresh (pink inside, not white) pitaya meat (or 1 packet of frozen pink pitaya found in grocery store freezer section - PitayaPlus.com)
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    Prep

    • Pour milk into ice cube trays and freeze overnight.
    • Freeze mango chunks overnight.
    • I used a frozen pitaya packet but if you use fresh pitaya, chop the correct amount and freeze overnight.

    Make Pitaya Ice Cream

    • Let the milk ice cubes thaw for 10 minutes before blending. You want them to be easy to blend. Then, blend all ingredients, pour into ice cube trays and freeze for 1 hour.
      8 frozen milk cubes, 1 cup mango, frozen, 1 cup fresh (pink inside, not white) pitaya meat, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • Blend the cubes. Line the loaf pan with parchment paper, pour in mixture and freeze again, at least 4 hours or until it reaches a texture you want.
    • If you have let is freeze overnight, let the mixture thaw 10 minutes or more until it is scoopable.

    Notes

    Use banana instead of mango for a sweet creamy support.
    You can freeze any milk, but the higher the fat, the creamier  your ice cream will be.
    You can add lime juice instead of lemon juice for that tart bright additional flavor.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 47kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 0.2gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.03gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.03gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.05gSodium: 26mgPotassium: 52mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 298IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 5mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword dragon fruit ice cream, dragonfruit, pink ice cream, pitaya
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    About GSG

    Welcome to GSG, a healthy food blog sharing plant based recipes for healthy desserts and recipes, making clean eating easy!

    About Dee

    Chocolate and ginger enthusiast. Animal lover, a nutritional juicing aficionado, and probably chopping chocolate in my Washington DC kitchen right now. Read about Dee → »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Anna

      September 21, 2016 at 6:32 am

      5 stars
      love how pitaya turns everything into this gorgeous pink color!!! They are quite tricky to find in UK, but as soon as i will get my hands on any, I will be trying this for sure! Hugs! xxx

      Reply
      • Dee

        September 22, 2016 at 9:53 am

        Hi Anna,

        Thank you! Oh, really? You can't get Pitaya Plus either? The frozen online version. Hope you do find it some day! Have a great Thursday! Dee xx.

        Reply

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    dee dine

    I'm Dee! Welcome to GSG! Eating healthier and lighter, with plenty of fruits and veggies, can be fun, especially when chocolate and desserts are involved. Here you'll find plant-based recipes that everyone will love. About Dee →

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