Fresh Passion Fruit Agua Fresca Recipe
This passion fruit agua fresca is the perfect refreshing Summer drink. Aguas Frescas are very popular in Mexico and Central America, where various fruits are blended with water, sugar, and maybe some lime to create a refreshing beverage. I’m very lucky to live near many delicious markets that serve aguas frescas, but fresh passion fruit ones are harder to find. I make my own!
This recipe is tailored to my taste preferences in regards to the water/fruit ratio and sugar. Feel free to make it your own! Guests are always blown away by the intense, tropical flavor.
Fun Passion Fruit Facts
Passion fruit grows well in sub-tropical and tropical regions that don’t freeze over the Winter. It is technically an evergreen vine. Their vigorous vines can grow almost 30 feet long or more! In fact, our current passion fruit vine now has a trunk that is thicker than my arm! For information on the kind of passion fruit I grow, you can read HERE.
You might see a few different names for passion fruit depending on the region you are in. Some popular names are: lilikoi, maracuya, or even granadilla.
Passion fruits actually drop to the ground when ready for harvest. Their inner pulp contains a lot of seeds, but I show you how to remove the seeds and enjoy the juice on its own!
Passion fruit vines are the host plant for the gulf fritillary butterfly!
This is the inside of a ripe passion fruit. You can scoop out the pulp and eat it fresh or process the pulp for recipes like curd, popsicles, and other desserts.
Passion Fruit Agua Fresca Recipe
*this whole recipe is a ratio. So, if you have less pulp, you can cut the recipe in half or more! Scale up or down as needed.
4 cups passion fruit pulp with seeds removed *this blogpost shares how to strain out the seeds
6 cups filtered water
1/2 cup-1 cup sugar *sliding scale based on your preference. If you use the full amount of sugar, this juice is very sweet and makes the BEST popsicles. If you like tart juice, start with less sugar and add more to taste.
Blend all the ingredients together to be sure the sugar dissolves. Remember, you can scale the recipe up or down as long as you follow the same ratio of ingredients.
Chill before serving.
NOTE: it is natural to have some separation over time in your passion fruit agua fresca (between particles and the juice). Simply stir well before serving.
TIP: if you have reserved any passionfruit seeds from processing and straining any homegrown passionfruit (as discussed in my How to Process Passion Fruit article), use those seeds to “infuse” your filtered water for the juice above. See how I do this in the video below. ⇓
Serving passion fruit agua fresca
As for serving, this passion fruit agua fresca is best served chilled. As I’ve mentioned, it is a delicious summer treat for those hot afternoons. Additionally, I also drink a less sweet version for breakfast—almost like a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. The best part about making your own agua fresca is that you can tailor the sweetness to your own preferences. Enjoy!
Have you tried passionfruit? Do you have a favorite way to enjoy this tropical treat? Don’t forget to check out all my suggestions for eating and how to choose a ripe passionfruit in How to Eat Passion Fruit. Enjoy!
Meet Randi
Mmm, love passionfruits! I need to be more pro-active this fall to getting some edible ones started. I have a ‘incense’ which doesn’t produce fruit but regularly invades through roots all over my garden!
A long time ago I wrote a post about pollinating them by hand: http://oceanicwilderness.com/2012/07/02/how-to-pollinate-a-passiflora-vine/
PS: I’ve got to get you onto the podcast soon!
Hi Misti! I just checked out your pollination post and that was so well done! Your photos and detail are amazing! Thank you for sharing. Next year I would like to add to my passion fruit collection. I don’t know that I would ever grow a non-edible one due to space constraints in my backyard, but I definitely think they are a fruit worth exploring and growing. Good to hear from you!