You are going to love how easy it is to make homemade prickly pear syrup!! The cactus pear fruit is sweet and colorful! I have used this sweet syrup for cocktails, pancake syrup, and even as a natural coloring for frosting!
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What is prickly pear fruit?
Prickly pear fruit comes in several colors and varieties. I have found cactus fruit pulp in brilliant orange and vibrant hot pink.
I am lucky our little produce market often has cactus pears so that I can experiment with them!
If you like prickly pears, you will want to try these yummy Prickly Pear Margaritas!!
Have you seen other colors of cactus pear fruit? Check these prickly pears out! They come in some beautiful colors!! I have made syrup from orange and hot pink cactus fruits.
You can read a lot more about prickly pears and find many delicious recipes in my guide to prickly pears.
You are going to love how easy making this prickly pear syrup is. The hardest part is finding prickly pears. We are lucky to have a small produce market here, and they have different varieties of prickly pears most of the year.
This is what cactus fruit looks like when the thorns are removed. I don't recommend buying with the thorns, as they are really tough to pull off without hurting yourself.
This is what the hot pink prickly pear looks like inside. Prickly pears have a ton of tiny, rock-hard seeds. You definitely do not want these in your syrup!
Here is what the orange prickly pear fruit looks like. I used it to make the margarita I mentioned above.
For this golden prickly pear, I didn't cook the pulp into syrup; I just strained it to mash out the liquid to make margaritas. The strainer is important because it keeps all of the seeds out of the juice.
Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:
Step 1: To get the useable parts, I scoop out the flesh of the prickly pear.
Step 2: Grab a strainer and run the liquid and prickly pear through it. Use a spoon to press it into the strainer to get all of the juice out. (You can do this step before or after cooking the pear.)
Step 3: Put the flesh into a pot and simmer with ¼ cup sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. I simmer the syrup for about 30 minutes on really low heat until it thickens. If you didn't put it through the strainer to remove the seeds, do this now.
Step 4: Allow the liquid to cool, and you have your syrup! It tastes amazing with bourbon in this Prickly Pear Cocktail.
Tips and Recipe FAQ:
Prickly pear cactus fruit can vary from golden orange and green to hot pink.
You could technically swallow the little seeds but do not bite them. They are rock-hard. It is best to strain the cactus pear fruit to remove all seeds.
Most prickly pears are sold without the spines. If yours has the spines, you definitely want to find these with the spines (aka giant thorns) removed. The thorns are hard to remove and hurt if you accidentally prick yourself with one. Wear thick gloves and use tweezers or pliers to remove them.
This homemade cactus pear syrup will last a week in the refrigerator.
I store my prickly pear syrup in an air-tight jar. You can also keep it in an air-tight storage container.
More fun sauce recipes to try:
- Sparkly Cranberry Cocktail uses homemade cranberry reduction syrup.
- Homemade Vanilla Sauce
- Bourbon Butterscotch Sauce
Tools:
- A fine mesh strainer to prevent the hard seeds from getting into the syrup.
- You will want to use a cutting board that won't stain.
📖 Recipe
Prickly Pear Syrup
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups prickly pear
- 3 cups water
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Take your de-thorned prickly pears and cut them in half.
- Scoop out the middle fruit and add to a pot with the water and sugar.
- Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to simmer.
- Allow the mixture to simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. When the mixture thickens, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Take a soup ladle and add one scoop of the mixture to a strainer. (Make sure the strainer is over a bowl.)
- Use a spoon to press the prickly pear mixture into the strainer to get all of the liquid out. Empty the strainer of the seeds and thick pulp and repeat until you do this with all of the prickly pear mixture.
- Chill for one hour.
Notes
- I do not recommend eating the seeds. Use a strainer to press the prickly fruit pulp through it so you can get the juice without the seeds.
- Prickly fruit comes in many different colors from golden orange to green and hot pink. Any will work well in this recipe.
- This prickly pear syrup will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
Sandra
I want to make this as a gift. Will it be fine to freeze the syrup until right before I gift it?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Sandra, I have never frozen this syrup so I do not know how it will turn out when thawed.
Brenda
I use a potato masher instead of spoon works a lot faster and a lot easier. I went and picked the fruit myself. I make my on lemonade I use raw honey warmed up with lots of Italian lemons, Meyer lemons a lot.
Sandi Gaertner
What a great idea! I will try this next Brenda, thank you!
karen erixson
can I use this recipe for pancake syrup with regular pears
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Karen, I haven't tried with regular pears. If you try it, can you please let me know how it turns out?
Paula
Do you know if you can freeze the syrup? I'm not sure we can use it all in a week.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Paula, yes, you can freeze it. I recommend freezing it in an ice cube tray then storing the cubes in a freezer safe container.
Cyrena Allen
How long does the jarred syrup last for in the pantry?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Cyrena, I would not store it in the pantry, I would keep it in the refrigerator...about a week?
Carmen Barrera
Hi Natalie, I wanted to say regarding the Prickly Pear, they grow on a cactus which grows wild throughout the desert southwest, I have some in my front yard ready to be picked right now as they are ripe and ready every August. I live in Tucson, Arizona, where we are surrounded by every kind of cactus there is in existence. My tribe uses this fruit for syrups, jams, salads or fresh off the cactus, the thorns are easier to deal with than people make it out to be. They taste fruity with the texture of a papaya but not overly sweet.
Healthy Kitchen 101
wow, I've never heard of this fruit before, it looks really weird! How is its original taste?
- Natalie Ellis
Sandi Gaertner
It has a fun mild fruity taste 🙂
Jackie
Can this be made with honey instead of sugar?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Jackie, I am not sure. Since honey is a liquid, you will have to keep an eye on how wet it is. You may need to cut back on moisture, or simmer it longer to have some liquid evaporate.
AShton
when it's cooked it taste nice and sweet
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you liked this recipe Ashton 🙂