Dragon Fruit Smoothie Bowl

Dragon Fruit Smoothie Bowl - a healthy fruit-packed breakfast that tastes like dessert! Made with dragon fruit puree, banana, mango and pineapple.

This Dragon Fruit Smoothie Bowl is every bit as delicious as it is beautiful! The bright pink hue comes with tropical flavors of mango, pineapple and of course, dragon fruit.

This smoothie is made extra cream thanks to frozen banana. You can use either almond milk or orange juice as the liquid in this recipe. OJ makes it tangier and milk gives it a sweeter creamier feel. It's like a choose your own smoothie bowl adventure!

Reasons to love this recipe!

• It's a healthy treat that tastes like sorbet!
• Ready in under 10 minutes.
• You can customize your bowl with your favorite add ins and toppings!

Ingredient and substitutions:

• Frozen banana: I like to freeze my bananas with the peel on. When you're ready to use one in a smoothie, run it under hot water until the skin feels squishy and then just slide it off - it should easily separate from the fruit.
• Dragon fruit - look for the frozen packets in the freezer section of your health food store. Sometimes Trader Joe's and Costco carry them too! If you cannot find frozen, you can use 1 tablespoon of dragon fruit powder or 1 fresh dragon fruit, previously peeled, chopped and frozen.
• Frozen pineapple - adds tropical flavor.
• Frozen mango - adds sweetness.
• Milk or orange juice - milk makes the smoothie bowl creamier while orange juice adds tang. You can use all of one or half of each!
• Peanut butter - optional, but I like the oomph and nuttiness it gives to this smoothie bowl. You could also use almond butter or sunflower seed butter.

Dragon Fruit vs Pitaya

You may have heard of both dragon fruit or pitaya smoothie bowls. They look and taste the same, so what's the difference?

Nothing! Dragon fruit and pitaya are two different names for the same fruit. It is most often labeled dragon fruit in stores, but if you see it called pitaya rest assured it is the same fruit.

Can I use fresh dragon fruit or dragon fruit powder?

There are three ways to make a dragon fruit smoothie bowl - with dragon fruit puree, dragon fruit powder, or frozen dragon fruit pieces.

Most often, smoothie shops use dragon fruit puree which is blended up and frozen dragon fruit. This is also the most readily available form of dragon fruit. I can find it in the freezer section of most grocery stores, especially health food stores.

To use these pureed packets, simply run them under warm water to loosen them from the packet. Then cut open the top of the packet, break them into a few pieces and add the pieces to your blender.

If you can't find dragon fruit packets, you can use 1-2 scoops of dragon fruit powder in its place.

Or if you can find fresh dragon fruit, you can peel, chop and freeze it for use in this smoothie bowl. I would recommend using ½ to 1 dragon fruit in this recipe depending on the size of your fruit.

Note that dragon fruit comes in two colors - white flesh or pink flesh. To get the signature pink color of a dragon fruit bowl, make sure you are purchasing pink dragon fruit. If you use white dragon fruit your smoothie bowl will still be delicious, it will just have a different color.

How to make a dragon fruit smoothie bowl:

Blend on low: Add your fruit to the blender. Let it sit in the blender for 2-3 minutes to soften slightly. Turn the blender on low and let it slowly chop up the fruit into small pieces.

Add liquid: Add in the milk and blend, starting on low and working the speed up slowly, until smooth. Use a tamper or scrape down the sides as needed.

Top and serve: Spoon the smoothie into a bowl and top with your favorite toppings! There are lots of ideas below :)

Storage:

I have had success storing smoothie bowls in a lidded container in the freezer. Like ice cream, you will want to let it sit out for 10-15 minutes before enjoying. This lets the smoothie soften to a spoonable, but still frozen, consistency.

What Tools Do You Need For This Recipe?

• High Speed Blender - I use a Vitamix and LOVE it! It has been conquering 1-3 blends a day for 6 years now and is still going strong!
• Spatula

Optional Add-Ins:

I include a basic recipe below, but you can really jazz up your dragon fruit smoothie bowl with some add-ins. You can add any of the following in at the end, once the smoothie is smooth.

• 2 tablespoons nut or seed butter - I especially like peanut butter or coconut butter here.
• 1-2 scoops protein powder - note that if it is sweetened, it will make your bowl extra sweet!
• 2 teaspoons chia seeds or flax seeds
• 1 tablespoon honey - I especially recommend adding this if you are using unsweetened protein powder.
• Superfood powders – greens powder, mushroom powder, adaptogens, etc.
• ½ cup yogurt – regular, greek, or dairy free.

Smoothie Bowl Toppings!

Half of the fun of the smoothie bowl is layering on the toppings!

For this tropical bowl, I kept it simple with banana, kiwi, chia seeds and coconut!

Here are some more ideas to up your topping game:

• Granola – any flavor is great! I especially love vanilla or peanut butter.
• Fresh fruit: berries, pineapple, mango, etc.
• Frozen fruit: frozen berries are great!
• Freeze dried fruit: a new find for me, freeze dried fruit adds amazing crunch to smoothie bowls! Freeze dried berries, banana, pineapple, and mango, are favorites. I usually purchase them at Trader Joe’s or online.
• Nuts: almonds, walnuts, pistachios...
• Nut butters: peanut butter is almost always a must for me! Almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower butter, etc. are all great!
• Seeds: chia seeds or hemp seeds.
• Chocolate chips or cacao nibs.
• A drizzle of honey or agave.

More smoothies and smoothie bowls you'll love!

• Strawberry Smoothie Bowl
• Raspberry Smoothie
• Banana Smoothie Bowl
• Strawberry Blueberry Smoothie
• Banana Peach Smoothie
• Acai Smoothie Bowl

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