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You are here: Home » Recipes » Drinks

Prickly Pear Drink

Published: May 30, 2014 · Updated: Oct 24, 2019 by Mely Martínez

JUMP TO RECIPE

These past few weeks I’ve found myself making Aguas Frescas (Mexican Fresh Fruit Drinks) a lot more often, a sign that summer has arrived. The possibilities for making Aguas Frescas are endless, especially if you live in a big multicultural city like we do. The international and ethnic markets here are overflowing with all sorts of tropical fruits.

Prickly Pear Drink

Prickly Pear Drink | Agua de Tuna


I know that it’s not the case with everyone, but here even at the flea market you can find vendors with wooden crates full of fruit, and to my surprise, they also sell prickly pears. While I was picking the fruit, a woman approached me and asked me how we eat them.

I told her that the easiest way to eat them is to just peel them and eat them as you would an apple or banana, but I was buying them to make a prickly pear drink. The recipe is really easy, and she was amazed when I gave her the instructions to make it herself.

Prickly Pear Drink | Tunas photo

Mexico is not the only country were prickly pears grow, but we do have a large share of them growing all over the central states of Mexico. They are sold at markets and as street food, peeled and ready to eat as a snack. The peel has some fine needles, and the pulp is juicy and sweet with lots of seeds (that are edible).

The green prickly pear that grows in the central states of San Luis Potosi, Hidalgo, Puebla and Estado de Mexico is more common than the red prickly pear.

They come in many varieties and colors, some in different tones of yellow and some with fewer seeds, like the Queen Green Prickly Pear, which has more pulp than seeds. Prickly Pears are used to make different types of drinks and even desserts. The seeds are used in some regions to make salsa after they’ve been sun-dried.

How to make prickly pear agua fresca

Prickly Pear Drink | Step by step instructions

JUMP TO FULL INSTRUCTIONS

  • Rinse the prickly pears and dry them with a paper towel. With a sharp knife, cut both ends off and discard. (Please check the ingredients list below)
  • Make a slit along the side and, with your finger, pull the skin and peel. Proceed to peel the rest of the prickly pears.
  • Place the peeled prickly pears in your blender with 2 cups of the filtered water.
Prickly Pear Drink | Step by step instructions, quick and easy
  • Puree for a few seconds, the fruit pulp is so soft that it doesn’t need a long time to puree. The seeds will remain intact.
  • Pour the mixture into a pitcher using a strainer. Discard the seeds. Add sugar, ice cubes, and the rest of the filtered water to the pitcher and mix. Add more sugar if needed, according to your taste.

¡Buen provecho!
Mely,

More recipes:

Flavored Milk
Mexican Fruit Drinks 
Mango Agua Fresca

Prickly Pear Drink

Mely Martínez
These past few weeks I’ve found myself making Aguas Frescas (Mexican Fresh Fruit Drinks) a lot more often, a sign that summer has arrived. The possibilities for making Aguas Frescas are endless, especially if you live in a big multicultural city like we do. 
4.20 from 5 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 0 mins
0 mins
Total Time 15 mins
Course Drinks
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 8 servings
Calories 104 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 6 Prickly Pears tunas
  • 6 cups of filtered water
  • ½ cup of sugar*
  • 2 cups ice cubes

Instructions
 

  • Rinse the prickly pears and dry them with a paper towel. With a sharp knife, cut both ends off and discard.
  • Make a slit along the side and, with your finger, pull the skin and peel. Proceed to peel the rest of the prickly pears.
  • Place the peeled prickly pears in your blender with 2 cups of the filtered water.
  • Puree for a few seconds, the fruit pulp is so soft that it doesn’t need a long time to puree. The seeds will remain intact.
  • Pour the mixture into a pitcher using a strainer. Discard the seeds. Add sugar, ice cubes, and the rest of the filtered water to the pitcher and mix. Add more sugar if needed, according to your taste.

Notes

• Adjust the sugar to your taste.
• First of all, handle the prickly pears with care, since the tiny thorns sometimes are not easy to see. If you’re not familiar working with them, use gloves as a precaution.

Nutrition

Serving: 1.25cupsCalories: 104kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSodium: 13mgPotassium: 90mgFiber: 3gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 25IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 15mgIron: 1mg
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. shelby shafford

    June 05, 2021 at 6:32 pm

    HELLO,
    HOW CAN I BUY 1/2 OF CASE TUNA RED PEAR, I LIVE CHICAGO , ILL.
    I HAVE WITH TO SOME STORE HERE AND THEY DONOT SELL IT ANY MORE..HELP
    ME OUT EVEN IF I HAVE TO BUY OUT OF STATE.

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      June 06, 2021 at 10:27 am

      Hello Shelby,
      Have you tried El Guero in Cicero?

      Reply
  2. Paul Herman

    July 19, 2020 at 10:24 am

    5 stars
    Exactly how I make this! I was turned on to "tunas" by a Mexican friend, and this is a required beverage during the summer, for me.
    I do have a small alteration, however, though the proportions are the same. Being diabetic, I use the equivalent amount of Splenda instead of the sugar.
    The previous comment suggesting the lime juice sounds great, as well, and I plan to try it out in just a few minutes.

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      July 19, 2020 at 1:53 pm

      Hello Paul,
      I'm so glad to know you like "Agua de tunas", about the addition of lime juice. We love to add lime juice to many of our Aguas Frescas, like the Papaya Agua fresca, it tastes so refreshing! Enjoy!

      Reply
  3. Andy King

    August 15, 2015 at 10:12 pm

    This is very delicious. We made this and your flour tortillas with our fajitas tonight and it was a huge success. Also played around with the recipe and added lime which was also delicious. Thank you very much.

    Reply
    • mmartinez

      August 15, 2015 at 10:46 pm

      Hello Andy,

      Thank you for telling me about the addition of lime. I will do that too next time.

      Reply
  4. Lidia

    June 03, 2014 at 9:13 pm

    I am so making this awesome drink!! My neighbor has a LARGE cactus that overflows to my garage so I guess I will be picking some later and making this refreshing drink. Thanks for taking the time and sharing all of your amazing authentic Mexican recipes. Love your blog!! I always look forward to your new entries. Thanks.

    Reply
  5. Carmen Lagunas

    June 02, 2014 at 1:09 pm

    I must say I that I had never tried this agua de tuna before. I did it yesterday and I LOVED it! Its so refreshing! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  6. Prieta

    May 31, 2014 at 2:54 pm

    I like! It looks very refra what a great color.

    Reply
  7. Catherine

    May 30, 2014 at 5:34 pm

    This looks refreshing, delicious and I am sure very healthy. Blessings dear. Catherine

    Reply
  8. Nammi

    May 30, 2014 at 4:40 pm

    I have never had or seen a prickly pear would love to taste one. have a nice week end

    Reply

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Mexico in my kitchen | Mely Martinez

Hi, I'm Mely Martinez, a former Mexican school teacher, home cook, and food blogger. I moved to the United States about ten years ago, after living in Mexico my whole life. Now I love to share home-style recipes for authentic Mexican food.

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