Fictitious dragons may live in childhood fables but a vibrant real-life fruit is blowing into the foodservice narrative. Dragon fruit is finding its way onto US menus in applications from beverages to desserts, a little closer to home than Honah Lee. 

Dragon fruit is an edible flower of the Hylocereus cactus, also known as the Honolulu queen. Although this native fruit of the Americas is a newer produce item on today’s culinary scene, the tropical fruit was first introduced during the 16th century. Now, chefs commonly find dragon fruit grown in tropical zones all over the world. It is also known by other names, including pitaya, pitahaya and strawberry pear.

No, the fruit is not spicey, hot like a dragon’s fire breath. The inside flesh is vibrant pink/red or white and filled with edible black seeds, while the bright-red outside skin is covered with green scales very much resembling a dragon’s fictional scale covering. Its taste is described as a slightly sweet cross between a kiwi, watermelon and pear.

This low-calorie food offers plenty of fiber, supports a healthy gut with a diverse microbiome, includes vitamins C and K and is chock-full of antioxidants. Health-focused consumers have led the charge in this fruit gaining popularity driven by the growing awareness of its health benefits and versatile applications across food and beverage products. 

The fruit’s mild flavor and striking color make it a flexible component of smoothies, juices, jams, desserts and alcoholic beverages. Moreover, the demand for exotic and visually appealing ingredients in the food industry has further fueled the market for dragon fruit extract and puree.

In April 2024, Starbucks released a new lineup of Spicy Lemonade Refreshers to their limited-time spring menu that included a spicy dragon fruit beverage. Another foodservice giant, Taco Bell, has added a dragon fruit beverage to its spring lineup: the Dragonfruit Freeze. The company first launched the frozen drink in the fall of 2020 but eventually removed it to make way for additional Freeze flavors. However, the bright pink-and-yellow swirled beverage was a fan favorite and the restaurant brought it back this year.

According to Nation’s Restaurant News, the fruit’s trending popularity is showing up in places other than in beverages, for instance, Vespera Resort in Pismo Beach, Calif., uses dragon fruit as a stand-in for tuna in a vegan ceviche. From dragon fruit ceviche from The Bazaar by Joes Andres in Washington D.C. to dragon fruit salsa, the elegant and beautiful produce might just be heralding the year of the dragon, dragon fruit that is.