This tropical Homemade Hawaiian Punch recipe is a delightfully easy and refreshing non-alcoholic fruit punch that is perfect for any party or luau! You’re going to want to make this all summer long!
Planning a backyard luau? You might also like to try some of our Hawaiian-inspired recipes like Coconut Macadamia Nut Ice Cream, Kalua Pork, and Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi-Mahi!
Table of Contents
- Homemade Hawaiian Punch Recipe
- What are the 7 fruits in Hawaiian Fruit Punch?
- Hawaiian Fruit Punch Ingredients
- How to make Hawaiian Punch at home
- Fruit Punch is Good With…
- Fruit Punch Recipe Storage
- FAQs for How to Make Fruit Punch
- More Tasty Non-Alcoholic Drink Recipes for the Whole Family
- Hawaiian Punch Recipe Recipe
One of our favorite activities when we go to Hawaii is to visit a luau. I’ll be the first to admit that the food at these large luaus tends to be only okay, but nothing special. It’s really the music, dancing, and ambiance that I’m there for.
But this last time we went to Kauai we tried the Smith Family Luau in Kauai and instead of the Mai Tai I opted for their kid-friendly Hawaiian Punch. It was delicious and took me right back to my childhood!
When I was a kid, Hawaiian punch was one of my very favorite beverages that would show up all the time at parties. Everybody’s lips would be stained red after a glass of Hawaiian punch, but I never even cared.
The classic “fruit juicy red” will always be my favorite, but like so many things, I’ve learned that I have a strong preference for homemade over store-bought. This simple Hawaiian Punch copycat recipe is no exception.
I wanted to include it as part of my American Eats series representing the foods Hawaii is known for because it’s tied to our memories of our most recent trip!
Homemade Hawaiian Punch Recipe
Homemade Hawaiian Punch is just a combination of a variety of fruit juices and nectars including tropical favorites like pineapple and guava. There is a little extra sugar to sweeten things up and some optional red food coloring (affiliate link) to get the classic punch look, but that’s it. It takes less than five minutes to make and there is no cooking involved.
Even with the sugar, it’s got to be better for you than the store-bought kind, which only contains 5% juice, not to mention a bunch of other unpronounceable ingredients. Which makes this homemade Hawaiian punch the perfect beverage to serve at all your summer events like parties, cookouts, showers, family reunions, picnics, and barbecues. It’s wonderful with Hawaiian macaroni salad and grilled cilantro lime chicken!
If you opt not to add the food coloring (affiliate link), the punch is still a pleasing orangey-pink color, so the red food coloring (affiliate link) is totally optional.
This little cutie definitely approves.
What are the 7 fruits in Hawaiian Fruit Punch?
The seven fruits listed on the Hawaiian Punch Fruit Juicy Red label are apple, apricot, guava, orange, papaya, passion fruit, and pineapple. In my version, I swap out papaya nectar for mango nectar (personal preference)
Hawaiian Fruit Punch Ingredients
- pineapple juice
- passion fruit juice
- guava nectar
- orange juice
- apple juice
- mango nectar (or papaya nectar, if you prefer)
- apricot nectar
- water
- sugar
- red food coloring (affiliate link)
The trickiest ingredient to find tends to be passion fruit juice, which is why I tend to just buy a couple of passion fruit and blend the seeds and pulp with some of the water, then pour that through a mesh sieve before adding to the other ingredients. But if you have a hard time finding passion fruit or passion fruit juice, the punch still tastes wonderful without it.
All of the other ingredients are easy to obtain. Kern’s makes a bunch of fruit nectars that I can always find in the juice aisle. Another place to look for some of the juices is in the refrigerated section at the grocery store.
Sun Tropics makes guava and mango nectars that you can find there next to the refrigerated orange juice that I have used before, and you can also get their POG (a blend of passion fruit, orange, and guava juices that is popular all by itself in Hawaii). Neither of those brands are sponsoring this post, but I’ve used them both and know they are great products.
How to make Hawaiian Punch at home
- Cut passion fruit in half and scoop the seeds and pulp into a blender. Add 2 of the cups of water and blend well, then pour through a fine mesh sieve into a large pitcher or punch bowl.
- Add the remaining water and all the other ingredients to the pitcher or punch bowl and whisk until the sugar is dissolved.
- Chill in the fridge until cold, then serve over ice.
Fruit Punch is Good With…
Pretty much everything! We aren’t big on carbonated beverages so we serve fruit punch at parties and cookouts. It’s great with all kinds of burgers and grilled meat. And it’s just as good with roast chicken or pork chops as it is with cheesy appetizers at a party like spinach artichoke dip or bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers.
Fruit Punch Recipe Storage
A batch of fruit punch will keep well in the fridge for about 7 days. You should not leave your fruit punch out on the counter, although you could freeze it if you wanted to and have some delicious fruit punch popsicles!
FAQs for How to Make Fruit Punch
I’m not a nutritionist but I can at least say that my homemade Hawaiian Punch is made with plenty of natural fruit juice and only a minimal amount of added sugar, which you can eliminate entirely if you prefer. So it’s loaded with lots of great vitamins and less sugar than most sodas, and quite a bit more real fruit juice than the store bought version which is only 3% real fruit juice.
No, I don’t believe that Hawaiian Punch is actually from Hawaii. The original Hawaiian Punch recipe was created in the 1930’s in a garage in southern California as a fruit syrup flavor!
I started wondering why this kind of drink was called “punch” and found an article that explained that it was invented by sailors in the Indian Ocean who used local ingredients of citrus, spices, and rum to create a replacement for the beer that would go bad on the journey there. They brought these concoctions back to Britain, then to the Americas, and the alcohol was eventually removed in many punch recipes so they would be appropriate for “ladies and children”.
But another explanation, at least according to wikipedia, is that there was a drink in Persia known as “panch” that was made with water, lemon, herbs, sugar, and rum, which made its way across Europe to Spain where the name changed to “ponche” and then on to Mexico. Which makes sense from a linguistic standpoint as well as if you consider the tradition of aguas frescas – refreshing drinks made with fresh fruit, water, and sugar – that are popular in Mexico.
More Tasty Non-Alcoholic Drink Recipes for the Whole Family
- Horchata
- Orange Julius
- Blackberry Lemonade
- Italian Cream Sodas
- and see all my DRINK RECIPES here!
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Hawaiian Punch Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cups water
- 2 passion fruit
- 4 cups pineapple juice
- 4 cups guava nectar
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1 cup Kern's mango nectar
- 1/4 cup Kern's apricot nectar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring (affiliate link) (optional for taste, but necessary for the classic red color)
Instructions
- Cut passion fruit in half and scoop the seeds and pulp into a blender. Add 2 of the cups of water and blend well, then pour through a fine mesh sieve into a large pitcher or punch bowl.
- Add the remaining water and all the other ingredients to the pitcher or punch bowl and whisk until the sugar is dissolved.
- Chill in the fridge until cold, then serve.
Notes
- You can use papaya nectar in place of mango nectar if you prefer. Papaya is actually one of the original fruits in Hawaiian Punch Fruit Juicy Red so it is more authentic. I just prefer mango instead.
- Yield: Makes 1 gallon.
Nothing like homemade Fruit Punch. Most from the store taste like 100 % sugar and nothing else.
leave out the passionfruit?? no way!! Latino markets–and many regular–have frozen fruit purees–they come in rectangular packets (about 8″ X 6″) –they have not only passionfruit (“maracuyá” and “parcha”), but also other tropical fruits. so, yea–you cannot leave out the passionfruit!
I am also finding it difficult to secure passionfruit. However, my local kroger has passion fruit juice mixed with pear juice. Would this be okay, perhaps?
Absolutely!
Hi there, here in the U.K. it’s difficult to find fruit nectars, so I’m a little unsure as to what they actually are. Is it essentially a purée? That being said with regards to the mango nectar and guava nectar could I substitute this for just mango juice and guava juice? Would it change the overall taste? Thanks!
Yes, you could substitute mango juice and guava juice. They might be slightly sweeter, but I think the flavors would be close.
Question
If using passion fruit juice, how much? Does that change the amount of water used?
If you mean you want to use bottled passionfruit juice, then I think yes, you will have to make slight adjustments. Substitute the two passionfruits and the two cups of water for two cups of passionfruit juice, maybe.
With the red food coloring, is that liquid or gel coloring?
I’ve been trying to find a good punch recipe for rum punch. This is it! I added coconut rum and dark rum – delicious!
Thanks for the recipe!
I want to stay away from processed white sugar. Is it possible to use agave or honey or would that completely though off the flavor?
I’ll be honest, it might throw off the flavor and the consistency of the punch a little bit, but hey it might be worth a shot? You could even try something like liquid flavor stevia or plain stevia. Or just leave the sugar out. It might be perfectly satisfying for some people without the sugar. I just love the classic Hawaiian punch flavor. I hope that helps!
Hi how much punch does this recipe make? I have a 3 gallon container. Thank you!
It makes about 1 gallon (16 cups) as written.