Agua de Xoconostle

Mexico has an infinite variety of aguas frescas. Enjoy this one prepared with xoconostle, a sour cactus fruit. The peak season for xoconostle is summer and fall but you can often find it year-round.

Mexican Cactus Fruit Drink in Glass with Ice

How to Make

Gather your ingredients. You’ll need:

4 xoconostle cactus fruits
½ cup brown sugar
8 cups water

Where to Buy Cactus Fruit

There is a good chance that your local Mexican or Latin market will carry fresh xoconostle cactus fruit. Look for it in the produce section.

Ingredients to Make a Cactus Fruit Agua Fresca

How to Clean Cactus Fruit

Don’t be intimidated by the cactus fruits. They are very easy to clean. Slice the ends off the cactus fruit then score the skin lengthwise. Use the blade of you knife to peel off the outer layer. Scoop out the seeds with small spoon. See the cleaning cactus fruit tutorial.

Cleaned Xoconostle Cactus Fruit on Cutting Board

Preparing the Base

Blend the cleaned fruit with 4 cups of water and ½ cup sugar for 1 minute. After blending, strain the mixture to remove the pulp. Add the remaining 4 cups water and stir well.

Serving

Serve over ice. Enjoy aguas frescas with your mid-day meal. They are a healthy alternative to sodas.

Storing

It will keep in the fridge for 3 days but we like it best when served freshly made.

More Agua Fresca Recipes

Here are some of our favorites. Give them all a try.

Print Pin

4.50 from 2 votes

Sour Cactus Fruit Agua Fresca

Tangy Mexican agua fresca prepared with a sour cactus fruit called xoconostle and brown sugar. An easy to make drink which is a delicious healthy alternative to sodas.

Course Drink

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword agua fresca, cactus fruit, drink, xoconostle

Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Servings Medium glasses

Calories 43kcal

Author Andrés Carnalla

Ingredients

4 xoconostle cactus fruits
½ cup brown sugar
8 cups water

Instructions

Clean the cactus fruit by removing outer skin and seeds
Blend the cleaned cactus fruit with 4 cups of water and ½ cup sugar for 1 minute.
After blending, strain the mixture to remove the pulp.
Add the remaining 4 cups water and stir well.
Serve over ice.

Notes

You don’t need to add lime. The drink is already quite tart from the xoconostle.
Add more sugar is you prefer a sweeter drink.
Try preparing this drink with tunas, the sweet prickly pear cactus fruit.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 43kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Sodium: 3mg | Sugar: 9g

Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Comments

S says

May 04, 2021 at 3:52 pm

Xoconostle are known as tunas and are tart or sour prickly pears not the prickly pairs common in most grocery stores. One easy way to know you have Xoconostle and have paid for Xoconostle and not the sweet prickly pear is the seed will be centralized and not throughout the fruit, the core is also where vibrant color is with the seed core and is with green fruit surrounding it.