Mountain Dew Dragon Fruit Review: This New Tropical Soda Is A Sugary Highlight Of Summer 2025

It sounds like something out of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign — a piece of fruit that can morph into its namesake creature, perhaps appearing like an egg that cracks open to reveal a roaring beast, leaving a path of fire in its wake. In reality, dragon fruit is a sweet and earthy cactus fruit with a magenta exterior, green spikes, and white flesh bearing little black seeds. 

Thankfully, unlike a typically lengthy D&D session, it doesn't take much time to learn how to peel, cut, and eat dragon fruit like a pro. But anyone who wants to skip those steps can now enjoy an approximation of the same flavor with this summer's eagerly anticipated debut of Mountain Dew Dragon Fruit soda. 

This fruit definitely has enough mystique to be an intriguing flavor for consumers. Starbucks is already cashing in on it with the Mango Dragonfruit Refresher, while Chick-fil-A 's new menu items of spring 2025 included the Pineapple Dragonfruit Frosted Lemonade, and Taco Bell is now offering a limited-time-only Dragonfruit Freeze. Mountain Dew — never a brand to shy away from a good time — is playing the same game this summer by launching its own dragon fruit beverage, available only at Walmart. I tried this new Dew flavor to see if it deserves a place in your cart.

Recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

This new soda is marketed as a drink based on the classic citrus tang of Mountain Dew's original flavor, enhanced by the sweetness of dragon fruit. The Mountain Dew PR team boasts that this beverage imparts tropical flavors, and its packaging reinforces this spirit with a vibrantly colored graphic design of a secluded oceanfront paradise complete with palm trees, overwater bungalows, towering peaks, and the protruding fin of some gigantic sea creature. 

Up to now, this product is a Walmart exclusive, and it's sold in 20-ounce bottles and a 12-pack of 12-ounce cans. The cans have slightly more muted colors than I expected, giving off the feel of an early-morning sunrise — the kind you see illuminating the sky just before heading to the beach on the first day of vacation. The liquid itself is light pink, and looks every bit like the type of drink you'd receive from a poolside tiki bar. 

Mountain Dew Dragon Fruit is made with both natural and artificial ingredients, although the nutritional details do not specify which ingredients fall into the respective categories. Each 12-ounce can packs 170 calories, 44 grams of added sugars (comprising 87% of the recommended daily value), and 55 milligrams of caffeine. Not surprisingly, the ingredients list begins with carbonated water, and heavily features high fructose corn syrup. For coloring, this soda utilizes Red 40 to achieve its pink hue.

This dragon fruit soda offers ingredients similar to what you'll find in the original flavor of Mountain Dew, but there are some interesting differences. The classic Dew has the same amount of calories, a little more sugar, and one less milligram of caffeine. Curiously, Mountain Dew's iconic Baja Blast — flavored with notes of tropical lime — has essentially the same nutritional content as this dragon fruit variety, but Baja Blast is charged up with even more caffeine, totaling 59 milligrams per serving. 

Starting with its debut on June 15, Mountain Dew Dragon Fruit is currently available exclusively at Walmart locations. A 12-pack of cans is sold there for just under $8.50, while a 20-ounce bottle costs about $2.40. Although a new Mountain Dew Baja Blast flavor is hitting Taco Bell menus this summer — the mysterious Midnight variety — for now there is no indication that this dragon fruit Dew will be flowing from fountain dispensers anytime soon at Walmart stores or elsewhere.

Mountain Dew Dragon Fruit is prominently marketed as a fruity and summery flavor ripe for paradise vibes, but it remains unclear whether the flavor will only be a limited-time offering, or if it has a chance of joining the permanent lineup. Nonetheless, since some brands offer dragon fruit drinks year-round, and this new Dew concoction certainly is fruity and summery, Mountain Dew Dragon Fruit could certainly be feasible as a recurring seasonal release, if not a constant presence on store shelves. 

I have always found that regular Mountain Dew packs a heavily flavored punch of citrus. The taste of different Dew varieties, on the other hand, hasn't generally come across with that same sharpness. For instance, take the Mountain Dew Baja Blast that's now a mainstay at Taco Bell. This flavor isn't as harsh as original Mountain Dew. In much the same way, I found that Mountain Dew Dragon Fruit offers something of a lighter taste. It is still heavily flavored, but it didn't make me pucker in the same way that original Mountain Dew does. 

On the other hand, some Dew flavors were produced that are substantially more flavorful than this dragon fruit variety. Little Caesars and Mountain Dew recently teamed up to create a Mango Rush soda that resulted in an extremely flavorful drink. In fact, the fruit taste of the mango soda was much more realistic than the dragon fruit taste in this variety — the flavor seemed like it wants to be dragon fruit without actually committing to the fruit itself. 

I had the opportunity to taste this soda with my family, and the reactions and comparisons absolutely spanned the board. My brother-in-law said it tasted similar to the Calippo Shots frozen treats that were once popular in the U.K., and my sister felt confident that Mountain Dew Dragon Fruit would make a great slushie. (We're definitely planning to give it a spin in the Ninja Slushi.) Meanwhile, my husband commented that it tasted like a fancy version of Mountain Dew Code Red.

One thing was for sure: This soda begs to be enjoyed under the sun, with ocean scents enhancing that sweet sound of waves crashing onto the shore. Since Mountain Dew Dragon Fruit is a little lighter in flavor than the original Dew, it had the effect of being easier to drink, and felt more refreshing than other sodas I have tried. We also found that it was an enjoyable and convenient mocktail alternative.

I couldn't shake the feeling that this drink was reminding me of cranberry-flavored Sprite. Although the flavors are different, the light and fruity taste felt similar. I think it was the balance of sweetness and tartness that made these two pink sodas hit the same taste buds. 

For this flavor of Mountain Dew to perform at its best, you'll want to purchase it in the summertime. So, if you're looking for a strongly caffeinated beverage that has a light, fruity, summery flair, then yes — rush out to pick up a case of this dragon fruit soda before your next beach day.

Though I was sent a sample pack, I would've gladly purchased this soda to keep on hand as the warmer months blaze on. Mountain Dew Dragon Fruit is an ideal addition to mix up your home beverage selection. For a fun summery taste test, you could always grab this variety along with a few other seasonal Mountain Dew flavors to fill the cooler during your next barbecue party. And if you've enjoyed some of the more creative discontinued Mountain Dew flavors, this dragon fruit soda will be an option that you might want to stock up on. 

To decide if Mountain Dew Dragon Fruit was a flavor worth rushing out for, my criteria was simple: It had to taste good. I was looking for something of a fruity, refreshing, satisfying sip that tasted like it truly belonged in a can koozie during the summer. Thankfully, I didn't need to make such a decision all on my own — I had family in town to help taste and assess the soda.