Shake up this bright pink Starbucks dragon drink recipe at home with a few simple ingredients. The dragon fruit flavors shaken with creamy coconut milk make this violet drink as much fun to look at as it is to sip on. It's a favorite Starbucks copycat recipe because it takes minutes to make.
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There's nothing like an ice cold, tropical drink on a hot day. Especially when that drink is dairy-free, slightly sweet and has a fun, bright pink color. Our toddler went crazy over the color so we had to make them for her weeks in a row (sans caffeine).
Rather than breaking the bank, why not make them at home? It's a healthier alternative with a lower sugar content. Win all around.
What Is the Starbucks Dragon Drink?
This vibrant colored drink came on the heels of the ever popular pink drink, when everyone was posting about it on social media circa 2019. The dragon drink is a variation of the Starbucks Mango Dragonfruit Refresher, which includes dragonfruit flavors, white grape juice and apple juice. Starbucks took that drink and added dairy-free coconut milk to create the dragon drink and give it this beautiful pink color.
There are 3 dragon fruit inspired drinks on the Starbucks menu and they are all a variation of the mango dragon fruit refresher. You can read more about each one on the Starbucks website.
Why We Love Making It at Home
- You get the health benefits of real pitaya powder in your drink. Pitaya is known to be high in fiber and vitamin C and rich in antioxidants and healthy fats.
- You know exactly what whole ingredients go in it (no additives, fillers, or weird gums!).
- Adjust the sweetness by adding more or less mango juice. We love that this version has less sugar than the original. Our homemade
- You have the option of keeping it caffeine free or using green coffee bean extract for a little jolt.
- It's much cheaper than purchasing from your local Starbucks. We purchased all of the ingredients for around $20 whereas the original drink costs approximately $5 every time. Once you have all of the ingredients you don't need much more and it ends up being $1-2 per serving to make it at home.
If you love making Starbucks drinks at home(for all of the reasons above) then you will love our copycat recipes for the insta famous pink drink, and pumpkin cream cold brew as well as our favorite iced pumpkin spice latte and our tutorial on how to make sweet cream cold foam at home.
Starbucks Dragon Drink Ingredients
- Mango juice: It can be kinda tricky to find a pure mango juice at home, which is why most recipes include white grape juice or apple juice. We were able to find this pure mango juice on Amazon, but any juice with mango as the main ingredient will give the drink a tropical flavor.
- Pitaya powder: this is freeze-dried dragon fruit powder (aka pitaya powder) that you can purchase online or even at whole foods. Buy this once and you can make this recipe several times.
- Lite unsweetened coconut milk: we use the canned coconut milk you can find at the grocery store in the baking aisle. Be sure to grab the lite version or it will be very thick. You could also use carton of coconut milk.
- Top it: freeze dried dragon fruit is gorgeous on top. The longer is sits in the drink the more beautiful color it adds to the drink. You could also use fresh dragon fruit if you have that on hand.
- Optional ingredient: green coffee extract for caffeine.
How to make this Starbucks Dragon Drink Recipe (step by step)
- Pour the mango juice and pitaya powder into a tall glass or tall glass measuring cup then use a spoon or whisk to mix it vigorously until all of the powder is dissolved and the clumps are gone. We used a handheld milk frother and found that to be the easiest method. The mixture should be a dark pink or violet color.
- Add ice to tall glass or fill a separate tall serving glass with ice and pour the mixture on top
- Pour the coconut milk on top then use a straw or spoon to stir everything together.
- Top it with freeze dried dragonfruit and enjoy right away.
Prefer to watch instead of read?
Our Favorite Dragon Drink Products
I went all out and purchased an organic cold pressed mango juice and it was worth it. It was a little thick because of all the real mango, so I thinned it out with a bit of water.
Get your bartender on and use a cocktail shaker to mix up this drink. Or be boring like us an use a long spoon.
A cute little mason jar to fill with the dragon drink and snap some pics for Insta. Or use these Iced coffee tumblers and use them for our iced pumpkin spice latte too.
The cutest little nugget ice molds for next level iced coffee. Or you guessed it, a full blown nugget ice maker for a fancy set up (again).
A Handheld milk frother to really blend the pitaya powder well.
Frequently Asked Questions
A 16 ounce dragon drink from Starbucks contains 45mg of caffeine. You have the option of making the homemade version with or without caffeine by adding green coffee bean powder.
A grande dragon drink at Starbucks has 23 grams of sugar. This homemade version has around 15 grams of sugar. Both can be customized by adding more or less of the mango juice mixture.
If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. I'd love to hear from you! You can also tag me on Instagram so I can see it!
More Starbucks Recipes
- Keto Pink Drink
- Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
- Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Sweet Cream Cold Foam
- Ice Cinnamon Dolce Latte
Recipe
Starbucks Dragon Drink Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons dragonfruit (pitaya) powder
- 1/3 cup mango juice
- 1/2 cup light coconut milk
- 2-3 tablespoons freeze dried dragon fruit
- Optional: green coffee extract for caffeine
Instructions
- Add the dragonfruit powder to a measuring cup with the mango juice and stir well until it’s completely combined and the dragonfruit powder is completely dissolved. We used a handheld frother to make sure all of the clumps were gone.
- Fill a tall glass with ice and pour the mango mixture over it. Add the coconut milk then use a straw or a spoon to stir everything together until it's combined. Taste test and adjust the sweetness as needed. If you want it more sweet, add a little more mango juice or pitaya powder.
- Top it with freeze dried dragonfruit and enjoy right away.
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