Red Dragon Fruit Popsicles

I have long been a fan of dragon fruit — the melon-like, kiwi-like fruit with its red exterior and slightly-sweet, slightly-earthy tasting fleshy interior speckled with black seeds. This fruit is so unique that it just feels special to eat one and is truly a fest for the eyes. Classic dragon fruit with white, fleshy interiors can be found pretty much year round, but a few weeks ago, I received some “good mail”— an entire box of dragon fruit. And you can’t imagine my surprise when I sliced into one to discover that is was red inside.

To my surprise, I discovered that red dragon fruit are much tastier than their white-interior counterparts. They just have a lot more flavor and are pleasant and refreshing to eat. My favorite way to eat one is to slice it in half, and scoop out the flesh with a spoon, bite by bite.

I was always surprised to learn that the juicy red flesh dyed my fingers and fingernails much like beets. Which means they’re packed with more antioxidants than the white-flesh ones.

In an effort to preserve the fruit I didn’t eat fresh, I decided to make popsicles with a couple of them. I simply scooped the flesh out of two dragon fruit, added some coconut water, fresh lime juice and a little honey, blended it, and poured it into a popsicle mold before freezing.

Dragonfruit Popsicles

2 cups chopped, fresh dragonfruit
1/2 cup coconut water
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (2-3 limes)
3-4 tablespoons honey, to taste

Blend the ingredients together. Taste to determine if more lime juice or honey is needed. If not sweet enough, add a little more honey. If too sweet, add a little more lime juice.

Pour into popsicle moulds. Place the top on the mold and add the popsicle sticks.  Freeze for six hours.

Once the popsicles are completely frozen, place the mold under running water so that they will loosen.  Remove the popsicles and enjoy immediately, or place in the freezer in an air-tight container with parchment paper dividing each row of popsicles.  These are an easy grab-and-go breakfast for summer, or a cool treat for any time of day.

Note: Don’t store the frozen popsicles in the molds. They will be very difficult to remove. It’s best to remove once they are set, then store in the freezer with parchment paper between each popsicle!

This post has been generously sponsored by Frieda’s, the specialty fruit company.