Tropical Rambutan Smoothie

This sweet and refreshing summery smoothie will transport your mind to your favorite beach! The exotic and unique rambutan is the star of the tropical drink, which also includes banana and pineapple.

Smoothies are my favorite breakfast or on-the-go snack. And in the summer, the more refreshing and fruity, the better.

This Rambutan Smoothie is full of tropical flavors: exotic rambutan, creamy banana, and tangy pineapple -- and blended with ice, it's incredibly refreshing.

About the Ingredients

• rambutans - From Southeast Asia, rambutans are a pretty, albeit bizarre-looking, fruit that’s closely related to lychees. They're very sweet and juicy with subtle floral and nutty notes. Varying from bright red to dark maroon, rambutans have hair-like soft spines protruding from their skins. The flesh is a slightly translucent white, with a chewy, grape-like texture, and a white seed inside. Available more or less year-round, peak season is May through November. Choose those that are on the bright red side. Substitution: Lychee is the perfect substitute. (Lychees are a bit sweeter and softer.)
• banana - Use ripe but not mushy bananas for smoothies.
• pineapple - Fresh or canned. If you use canned, be sure to drain it well. Choose pineapples that smell the way you want them to taste. They should be firm without dark spots. A good indicator of ripeness is the “petals” -- the small hexagon shapes that cover the surface. As a pineapple ripens, these petals flatten. In the center of the petal is a small nub, which should be almost flat.
• honey - We only use a little -- mostly for flavor. If your fruits are especially sweet, and you'd rather not have the extra sweetness, it's okay to omit it.
• pure vanilla extract - The flavor of the vanilla is a delicious complement to the tropical flavors.
• almond milk - This brings out the nut-like flavor of the rambutan. Be sure to use unsweetened plain almond milk that's made from just almonds. Substitutions: Good substitutes are pineapple juice and coconut water.

How to Make a Rambutan Smoothie

- Prepare the fruits. Here's how to peel and cut pineapple, and below are instructions for peeling and seeding the rambutans.

- A ripe rambutan should be easy to peel with your fingers. (You might need to make a small cut at the top to get you started.) Use your fingers to dig into the flesh to remove the seed. A thin, white layer from the seed might remain on the flesh -- don’t try to remove this -- it’s very soft and doesn’t detract from the flavor.

- Add all of the prepared fruit to a blender, along with the honey, vanilla, ice and almond milk and blend until smooth.

* BLENDING THE SMOOTHIE * Of course a blender is fantastic, but if you have something like a NutriBullet, that's great too. I love using it for smaller amounts, like 1 to 2 servings. (Not sponsored.)

Recipe Tip: Smoothies are best made right before serving, otherwise they'll become thin and warm.

Variations

For variations you can try one of the substitutions for almond milk, like coconut water or pineapple juice.

More Must-Try Exotic Fruit Recipes

And if you love rambutans as much as I do, you might also love this Rambutan Cocktail.

I hope you try this refreshing smoothie on a warm sunny day, and love it!

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