Lulada is a citrusy, tangy, refreshing Colombian drink made with lulo fruit and limes. Iced and wildly thirst-quenching, this drink will be your new favorite summer drink!
Lulada Recipe
If you’re not familiar with Lulada, it’s a popular Colombian drink from the Valle area, it’s perfect for hot summer days because it’s iced, tangy, citrusy, and not too sweet!
The star ingredient is lulo which is also called “naranjilla” in neighboring countries, it’s a very tangy tomato-like fruit that’s a bit similar to passion fruit! Depending on how ripe it is, the lulada can be greener or more yellow like mine!
Most Latin grocery stores sell this fruit frozen outside of South America and it’ll work just as good for this drink but if you can find fresh lulo, definitely get fresh!
This Lulada is:
- Iced, tangy, citrusy, and refreshing!
- Ready in 10 minutes.
- Easy to make with fresh or frozen lulo!
- Perfect for summer days.
- Naturally dairy free.
Lulada Ingredients
Lulo or naranjilla, it’s the same fruit but outside of Colombia it’s called “naranjilla”. Some Latin grocery stores sell frozen lulo, if you can’t find fresh lulos.
Depending on how ripe it is, it’ll be greener (unripe) or yellow/orange (ripe), most prefer greener lulos so their Lulada also looks greener but I love riper lulos so my Luladas are always more yellow. Lulo is very tart, similar to passion fruit.
Lime juice, for flavor.
Sugar, for sweetening. Luladas are supposed to be tart but because lulos are *very* tart, you still want to add a bit of sugar. I love a good lulada with panela which is unrefined cane sugar but you can also do brown sugar or simple white granulated sugar.
If using panela or brown sugar, the lulada will be more of a brown color so for these pictures I made it with white sugar so you guys can see the lulo color but I prefer it with panela hehe!
Ice, lots of crushed ice, this is a heat wave drink! You can make crushed ice at home with a blender (make sure it’s okay to blend ice in your blender) or with a ziplock bag and a rolling pin! For a lighter flavor, you can also add some water.
Optional: sweetened condensed milk (lechera), this is more of a modern addition but you can try it if you want a milky, creamy drink with a sweeter flavor. I don’t love condensed milk in luladas but so many people do hehe!
How to make Lulada
STEP ONE: Make the base of Lulada. Slice the lulos open, using a spoon, remove the pulp from the lulos (seeds are edible). Use a knife to chop the pulp then add it to a small bowl. Pour in the lime juice and add the sugar, mix and let marinate while you prepare the rest of the drink.
You can also cover the bowl with some plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days, if you’re doing a big batch.
STEP TWO: Assemble the Lulada. Layer the Luladas in your serving glasses: make a layer of chopped lulos followed by a layer of crushed ice and repeat until you fill the glass. If adding sweetened condensed milk, add a layer after each of the chopped lulo layers!
HAPPY COOKING!! I hope you'll love this Colombian Lulada Recipe as much as I do!
PS: Please leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ if you make it! Your comments make my day!! You can also tag me on Instagram @itsdamnspicy 🌈💘
More Colombian recipes you’ll love:
- Arepa Boyacense
- Colombian Rice Pudding
- Colombian Fruit Salad
- Coconut Rice Pudding
- … or check out all of my Colombian Recipes!
Lulada
Ingredients
- 8 large lulos (fresh or frozen lulos if you can't find fresh)
- 2 limes
- 1/4 cup (50 g) white granulated sugar, panela, or brown sugar
- Crushed ice (crush ice cubes with a blender or even a ziplock bag and a rolling pin)
Instructions
- Make the base of Lulada. Slice the lulos open, using a spoon, remove the pulp from the lulos (seeds are edible). Use a knife to chop the pulp then add it to a small bowl. Pour in the lime juice and add the sugar, mix and let marinate while you prepare the rest of the drink. You can also cover the bowl with some plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days, if you're doing a big batch.
- Assemble the Lulada. Layer the Luladas in your serving glasses: make a layer of chopped lulos followed by a layer of crushed ice and repeat until you fill the glass. If adding sweetened condensed milk, add a layer after each of the chopped lulo layers!
Leave a Reply