Passion fruit mojitos
These refreshing passion fruit mojitos are made with passion fruit juice, simple syrup, rum, limes, mint and sparkling water.
Who doesn’t love a fresh fruity cocktail on a warm day? Mojitos are one of my go-to cocktail recipes, there’s just something irresistible about that combination of mint and lime. It’s also one of those drinks that adapts to different fruity variations and can easily be converted into a mocktail version.
I’ve been obsessed with anything passion fruit since I was a little kid. I have so many memories of growing up in Ecuador and drinking the best passion fruit juice. I love using this fruit in everything from drinks, to desserts, and even savory dishes. In Ecuador, we mainly had the large yellow passion fruits. In the US and Europe, these are harder to find, it’s easier to get the smaller purple variety.
How to choose and store passion fruits
One of the things I get asked frequently is how to choose a good passion fruit. I usually pick them up and go with the ones that are heavier. Even if the sizes are similar, the heavier ones will have more fruit/pulp inside. If you are planning to eat them or use them immediately then choose ones that have started to wrinkle. Their pulp will be sweeter.
However, if you aren’t planning to use them quickly then you can pick ones with less wrinkles as they will last longer. I just keep them on the counter, but if they start to get a lot of wrinkles and I want them to last longer I will put them in the refrigerator. If you have a lot of them, you can also remove the pulp (with the seeds) and freeze the pulp in a freezer container, in small freezer bags, or even put the pulp into ice cubes trays.
Homemade fresh passion fruit concentrate vs store-bought juice
You can make your own pure passion fruit juice concentrate using fresh fruit or you can use the frozen concentrate. I would avoid using store-bought sweetened passion fruit juice because it usually has other ingredients (grape juice) and sugar. However, if you only have the store-bought sweetened juice, then simply use less simple syrup – you might still need some. You can also add extra lime juice if the store-bought juice is lacking the tartness that the fresh/frozen concentrate usually has.
According to my brother, he tries to avoid breaking up the seeds when blending pure passion fruit pulp because the seeds will make you sleepy. Some people also don’t like the visual element that the additional specs of seeds add to the drink. So, to keep the seeds from breaking it’s important to pulse and blend gently. The goal is to help the pulp part get released from the seeds without breaking the seeds. Of course, if you don’t care about these factors then you can blend it on a higher speed and then try to strain it to your liking.
The packs of frozen concentrate, usually found at Latin grocery stores, also work well for mojitos. Frozen concentrate is also a more affordable alternative when you live in countries where fresh passion fruits are expensive. My strategy for these cases is to use the frozen concentrate for the drink mix. I buy just a few fresh passion fruits to use the pulp (including the seeds) for the garnish or to mix into each individual glass.
A pitcher of mojitos vs individual cocktails
You can make this passion fruit mojito in individual glasses or in a pitcher. I find it easier, especially for a party or when entertaining to make them in a pitcher. Just add a small amount of sparkling water to the pitcher and let each person top off their own glass with extra sparkling water or club soda. I put extra ice cubes, a small amount of fresh passion fruit pulp, extra mint leaves, and lime slices in each glass.
You can also omit the rum from the pitcher and let each guest add their own. I find that some people like it extra strong and some people prefer less alcohol in their mojito. This also allows people to omit the alcohol if they prefer a mocktail version. For the mocktail version, I add extra sparkling water and/or some sparkling lemonade to replace the rum.
Passion fruit mojitos
Ingredients
- 1 cup passion fruit pure juice or concentrate no sugar added – from about 12 small purple passion fruits, you can also use store bought frozen unsweetened concentrate
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 8 ounces of mint with stems – about 3-4 stems or 10 mint leaves per drink
- ½ cup of simple syrup adjust to taste
- 1 cup of rum add more or less to taste
- 1 ½ to 2 cups of cold sparkling water adjust to taste
- Ice cubes or crushed ice
To garnish:
- Fresh passion fruit pulp including seeds
- Lime slices
- Extra mint leaves
- Extra ice
Instructions
- To make your own pure passion fruit juice concentrate using fresh fruit, I recommend that you put the fresh pulp in a blender with a small amount of water (1/4 cup) and pulse gently. You want to remove the pulp from around the seeds without breaking the seeds. Then strain the blended mix to remove the seeds. If the seeds still have a decent amount of pulp attached, you can add a little more water and give it an additional five seconds of pulsing in the blender. The strain again.
- Another option if you don’t want to use the blender is to simply put the pulp directly into a thin mesh strainer and using a spoon to get as much pure juice as you can.
- To make a pitcher of passion fruit mojitos you can muddle half of the mint in a pitcher, then add the simple syrup, the pure passion fruit juice/concentrate, the lime juice and the rum. Mix well and add a little bit of the sparkling water and some ice.
- You can add additional sparkling water and ice in each glass when serving. You can also omit the rum from the pitcher and let each person add the amount they prefer. Garnish each glass with extra mint leaves, fresh passion fruit pulp, and lime slices. Then pour the pitcher mix into the glasses and then top it off with extra sparkling water.
- To make the mojitos in each individual glass: add a couple of stems of mint or 5-6 leaves in the bottom of each glass, use a muddler to gently crush the mint. Add 1.5 to 2 ounces of passion fruit concentrate, ½ to 1 ounce of simple syrup, a dash of fresh lime juice, 1.5 to 2 ounces of rum and stir well. Add ice, additional garnishes and top off with sparkling water.
- Serve immediately.
Step by step preparation photos for passion fruit mojitos:
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