Yellow Dragon Fruit Lemonade (Dragon Fruit Benefits)

Yellow dragon fruit lemonade is made from this unusual and delicious tropical fruit that tastes like kiwi, is sweeter than pink dragon fruit and, like its pink cousin, has a lot of digestive health benefits. Enjoy this dragon fruit in a sweet lemonade recipe.

This yellow dragon fruit lemonade is easy to make and made from a version of dragon fruit that is more flavorful than most. Yellow dragon fruit, also called yellow pitaya or golden dragon fruit, is a baseball-sized melon with Jurassic-park-like spikes that is showing up increasingly now in the produce areas of grocery stores. These tasty pitayas are worth a try if you come upon one.

Sweet and syrupy like kiwi without the sour aftertaste, yellow dragon fruit benefits are powerful, including higher fiber than is found in many fruits, including yellow pitaya's more common cousin, pink dragon fruit - here is my post on how to eat dragon fruit featuring the pink version. So not only is the melon's flesh delicious to eat, but it can also reverse constipation. Yellow dragon fruit, or yellow pitaya, can be eaten in a dragon fruit smoothie with yogurt, scooped like a melon, or spooned straight out of the shell.

Jump to:

• Yellow Dragon Fruit Benefits
• How to Eat Yellow Dragon Fruit
• Lemonade Ingredients
• Step by Step Instructions
• Expert Tips
• Recipe Variations
• More Lemonade & Dragon Fruit Drinks
• 📖 Recipe

Yellow Dragon Fruit Benefits

Yellow dragon fruit, a type of cactus native to Central America, has become popular in the United States largely because of attention on TikTok lately has focused on its ability to reverse constipation. Experts say while the yellow dragon fruit is high in fiber, it really only reverses constipation dramatically in those whose diets are low in fiber. Both the pink dragon fruit and yellow dragon fruit, or golden dragon fruit, normally appear in season summer into fall, but lately both types of dragon fruit are appearing in grocery stores in early spring.

Yellow dragon fruit is higher in sugar. Yellow dragon fruit is much sweeter than other pitayas, with about 20 grams of sugar per cup, compared to only 15 grams in pink dragon fruit. However, not to worry, both colors of dragon fruit have a low glycemic index however, so neither type spikes blood sugar.

How to Eat Yellow Dragon Fruit

How to cut yellow dragon fruit. Start by choosing a firm fruit with a green clear tinge to the scales, wash off the surface well with soap and water so when you cut it you don't drag germs inside the edible area. Holding it steady on the cutting board, push tip down, and slice the fruit in half with a sharp knife.

How to eat. You can eat the inner flesh straight from the sliced shell or spoon the fruit inside into a glass with water, lemon and ice for a refreshing yellow dragon fruit lemonade (recipe in this post.) Here is a detailed tutorial on how to eat dragon fruit using pink dragon fruit.

Storage. Once cut, the fruit cannot be stored at room temperature or even refrigerated for very long. If cut, its best to put the fruit inner flesh into a sealed container and freeze. It can last at least two months if sealed tightly.

Lemonade Ingredients

It's easy to toss fresh yellow dragon fruit into a blender for a smoothie or make melon balls to drop in a salad, but the melon is so sweet it makes a wonderful sweetener for refreshing drinks. Here are the ingredients you'll need to make a dragon fruit fruit-sweetened lemonade recipe.

• yellow dragon fruit flesh, throw out the skin.
• pure lemon juice
• pinch of salt
• water

See the recipe card at the bottom for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

For more detail, visit the complete and printable recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.

1. Wash a yellow dragon fruit with gentle soap and water, rinse well.
2. Using a sharp knife, point the tip down and cut the fruit in half.
3. Using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out the inner flesh, seeds and all, and add to a blender.
4. Add lemon juice, water and a pinch of salt and blend into a white froth.
5. Pour the drink into a glass filled with ice and lemon slices.
6. Enjoy cold. Refrigerate leftovers for 2 days.

Expert Tips

• To choose a ripe yellow dragon fruit, look for one that is firm but has a little give when you press your finger onto the shell. Also avoid any that have cuts, rotten areas, and if the scales are looking blackened.
• The black seeds are not only edible but contain considerable fiber so feel free to eat them and leave them in your lemonade for an interesting black speckled effect.
• Given the effect dragon fruit has on triggering digestion, it is best to not eat more than one a day.
• If you buy more than one yellow dragon fruit - for instance if you found them on sale - remove the flesh using a melon baller or press it into ice cube trays and freeze.

Recipe Variations

• Swap the lemon juice with lime juice for a sweeter accent.
• Blend in some flesh from a pink dragon fruit as well as yellow dragon fruit to combine the two fruits creating a mix of sweet with sour notes.
• Though dragon fruit is typically eaten raw, it can be cooked. For instance, it can be added to the grill and blackened. However, since yellow dragon fruit flesh is incredibly moist, freeze it first before grilling it and grill it directly out of the freezer.

More Lemonade & Dragon Fruit Drinks

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📖 Recipe