Name: Prickly Pear Lemonade
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2/3 cup freshly squeezed and strained lemon juice; 1/3 cup freshly squeezed and strained lime juice; 6 tablespoons (85 grams) prickly pear syrup; 1/4 cup (85 grams) agave nectar; 2 1/4 cups water; 1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) vodka (optional)

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When I’m out West, prickly pear margaritas are my go-to drink of choice, but why not mix things up with some prickly pear lemonade for a change?

The Grand Canyon gave me the inspiration for prickly pear lemonade. I first encountered the drink at the Bright Angel Lodge coffee shop in 2010, where it was called cactus lemonade.

Spiked with vodka, the cactus lemonade was a refreshing reward with my early-bird dinner after a snowy hike. Yes, we managed to arrive at the Grand Canyon in the middle of a snowstorm that obscured the famous canyon views!

glass of prickly pear lemonade surrounded by cactus fruit and lemons — Photo: Casey Barber

Later that evening, I downed a few more cactus lemonades in the Bright Angel cocktail lounge as I watched The Dude himself, Jeff Bridges, win his Oscar.

Nearly a decade passed until I had another prickly pear lemonade, but it remained bright in my mind.

And when we returned to the Grand Canyon for a day trip during our Route 66 cross-country adventure, I was thrilled to see that cactus lemonade was still on the menu.

girl drinking a cactus lemonade at the Grand Canyon — Photo: Dan Cichalski

Sadly, the Bright Angel coffee shop and cocktail lounge have been rebranded as Fred Harvey Burger and Fred Harvey Tavern and taken the cactus lemonade off the menu, it’s simple to relive the memories with this recipe.

You can have all the prickly pear lemonade you want, without the need to hike through snow or fight crowds on the South Rim.

Oh, and if you happen to be at the Grand Canyon and craving prickly pear margaritas, the lounge at El Tovar, the historic hotel just east of the Bright Angel Lodge, is still shaking up excellent ones.

glasses of prickly pear lemonade surrounded by cactus fruit and lemons — Photo: Casey Barber

Prickly pear lemonade is easy to make

Prickly pear lemonade is simple to stir up at home, since it only consists of four ingredients: fresh juice, prickly pear syrup, agave nectar, and water.

(And vodka as a fifth ingredient if you want to turn it into a cocktail!)

Truthfully, I cheat a little bit by combining fresh lemon juice and lime juice in my lemonade.

It adds a little bit of that margarita frisson without being obvious about it. Feel free to use all lemon juice if you’d rather be more traditional.

This Southwestern drink is even easier to make because it uses agave nectar instead of simple syrup. You don’t have to simmer anything!

And agave nectar has a flavor all its own, bringing in a bit of caramelized depth to the lemonade instead of a neutral sweetness.

This honeyed note plays well with the key ingredient of prickly pear syrup, which gives the drink its shocking pink color, and a unique, subtly vegetal sweetness as well.

If you have questions about prickly pear syrup, well, read on!

The key ingredient: prickly pear syrup

As noted in my recipe for fresh prickly pear margaritas, you can make prickly pear syrup from scratch if you happen to find fresh tunas, as the ripe magenta fruit of the opuntia cactus family are called.

But it’s not always easy to find these bulbous fruits out of season, so I always keep a bottle of Cheri’s Desert Harvest prickly pear syrup in my refrigerator.

fresh prickly pears, aka cactus pears or tuna verde — Photo: Casey Barber

This Tucson-based company makes quality prickly pear products with real fruit, not artificial flavors or colors. The taste of prickly pear comes through clearly in his syrup and I appreciate that it’s not sickly sweet.

You can order syrup and other items directly through Cheri’s or on Amazon.

Note:

On Good. Food. Stories., compensation never dictates site content.

As with all product recommendations on this site, I do not receive any compensation from any company for inclusion beyond my Amazon Associate affiliate links.

All recommendations that I make are earned the old-fashioned way: through my own purchases, testing, and daily use.

Prickly Pear Lemonade

Yield: 4 drinks

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Prickly pear lemonade is a Southwestern version of homemade lemonade. Its bright pink color comes from prickly pear syrup, made from cactus fruit. Enjoy it plain or make it into a cocktail with vodka.

Ingredients

2/3 cup freshly squeezed and strained lemon juice
1/3 cup freshly squeezed and strained lime juice
6 tablespoons (85 grams) prickly pear syrup
1/4 cup (85 grams) agave nectar
2 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) vodka (optional)

Instructions

Stir the lemon and lime juices, prickly pear syrup, agave nectar, and water together in a large pitcher or lidded container.
Divide between 4 ice-filled glasses.
To make spiked prickly pear lemonade, add 1 fluid ounce (2 tablespoons) vodka per 8 fluid ounces (1 cup) lemonade.

Notes

You can use 1 cup lemon juice in place of the lemon-lime juice mixture, if desired.

Prickly Pear Lemonade (Cactus Lemonade)

Prickly pear lemonade is easy to make