Is Lilikoi (Passion Fruit) Good For You?

The quick answer is…YES, Passion Fruit or Lilikoi as we call it in Hawaii is very good for you. The Passion Fruit plant is an amazing plant. The entire plant can be used and has many different health benefits.

Read on to see just a few of the many health benefits.

The Passion Fruit Vine Leaves

Three-pronged passion fruit leaves

The leaves themselves can be used either raw or cooked. They are great used in salads, curries, soups, stir-fries, pasta and quiches. Passion Fruit leaves can also be boiled and used as a calming tea. The leaves contain alkaloids which may have a calming and soothing effect.

They contain fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, and Niacin.

The Passion Fruit Seeds

Inside each passion fruit are tons of little black seeds. Each little seed has a small sac of fruit around it that also contains some of the juice. Passion fruit seeds are edible and can be either chewed or swallowed whole. Not only are they are edible but they are high in fiber too. They are high in magnesium which may be relaxing to the muscles and aid the digestive system.

Separating the seeds from the pulp and juice is difficult. I like to scoop out the seeds, pulp, and juice and put it over my plain Greek yogurt or some cottage cheese.

The Juice

As you can tell by the photos, every passion fruit is a bit different as to how juicy it will be. I’ve opened large 3-4″ pieces of fruit only to find about 1 teaspoon of fruit, seeds, and pulp. On the other hand, I have opened little 1″ passion fruit that are filled with juice, seeds, and pulp. We water our vines daily and seem to get more juice out of each piece of fruit than the ones that I can find growing wild.

The fruit and juice inside are filled with fiber, vitamin A, and vitamin C. They have iron and potassium as well.  It is low in calories and low on the glycemic index at 30.

These are just a few of the ways that passion fruit can help you live a healthier life.

If you don’t have lilikoi or passion fruit available where you are, we carry passion fruit puree that is just the juice. It is shelf stable and freshest when used within one year from purchase. For our other passion fruit products and bundles you can click HERE! Finally, for recipes using passion fruit you can click HERE.

Enjoy!