Tropical fruit smoothie {with papaya, pineapple, banana, mango, and orange}

This refreshing tropical fruit smoothie is made with papaya, banana, pineapple, mango, and orange. As a kid I had fruit smoothies made with different combinations of these tropical fruits on an almost daily basis. My mom used to make us fresh smoothies or fruit juices for breakfast or as an after school drink. We had papayas, bananas, and oranges growing on the farm so they were usually included in our smoothies. The ingredients in the smoothie are almost the same ones that we use in the traditional Ecuadorian come y bebe fruit salad.

We also had passion fruits, tree tomatoes (tamarillos), and naranjillas (also known as lulo) growing (or readily available) so these were also common additions. You could easily replace the orange juice for passion fruit or naranjilla juice. Every time I prepare one of these tropical fruit smoothies here in the US, it reminds of my childhood.

I didn’t add any sugar to this smoothie because the fruits were sweet enough on their own. In some cases when I need to sweeten the smoothie I prefer to add some honey – this was also something my mom used to do. The flavor of the honey especially goes well with that mix of acidity from the orange/pineapple and the smoothness of the mango/papaya.

En Español

Step by step photo preparation for the tropical fruit smoothie: