South American Fruit: A Complete Nutrition Guide
Written by Isabel Vasquez RD, LDN
From acai to pitaya to passion fruit and more, South America is home to some of the most delicious fruit in the world.
Keep in mind that South America is a huge continent with a variety of climates and cultural cuisine. The southern parts of South America don’t produce fruits since it’s super cold there; most South American fruit comes from the Amazon region in Brazil since the climate is more conducive to growing and harvesting delicious fruit.
As a Latina dietitian, it’s so important to me to shed light on the delicious, nutrient-packed foods central to various Latine cuisines, fruit being one of them. People often overlook the nutrition of Latine cultural cuisines, but our countries have some of the most delicious fruits in the world.
Most Americans don’t get in enough fruit, and some common South American fruits may be unfamiliar to dietitians or others offering fruit recommendations; however, that doesn’t mean these fruits aren’t full of nutrition. These fruits are all good sources of antioxidants, fiber and micronutrients to promote health!
Read on to learn about the flavor, appearance, and nutrition benefits of 15 South American fruit, plus a bunch of other less common fruits native to South America.
Acai
Acai is a berry native to the Amazon region. Since its popularity in the U.S. exploded over the last few years, Brazil has become the biggest producer and exporter of this delicious, antioxidant-packed fruit.
Acai has a deep purple color and the frozen pulp is often used to make smoothies or smoothie bowls. In South America, you can even find frozen acai pulp as the base of a dessert similar to an ice cream sundae.
Acai is packed with nutrition. It’s especially rich in fiber and antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory benefits. These important nutrients may also help prevent or manage chronic diseases linked with inflammation like cardiovascular disease, some digestive diseases, and diabetes, per a 2023 review in Nutrients.
Cacao
Cacao is a large fruit with jelly-like pods inside that resemble lychee. Inside the pods are cacao beans, which have a bitter flavor and firm texture.
Cacao is commonly processed into cocoa, the foundation of chocolate. In fact, the nutrients in cacao are responsible for a lot of the potential health benefits of chocolate, especially dark chocolate. It’s rich in fiber, manganese, copper, magnesium, iron, potassium, and more, per the USDA.
The iron content of cacao makes it a great fruit for those with iron deficiency, particularly those who are vegan or vegetarian. Meanwhile, the magnesium in cacao may help alleviate symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), per a 2017 review in Magnesium Research.
Camu camu
Camu camu is a red-colored berry native to the Amazon rainforest. It has a sour flavor, so it’s commonly sold in powdered or supplement form.
This fruit stands out for its high vitamin C content; each tablespoon of camu camu powder has about 2,130 milligrams of vitamin C, per the USDA. That’s a whopping 2,360% of the daily value! The same serving size also has 5.4 milligrams of iron—30% of the daily value.
Camu camu is rich in antioxidants including anthocyanins and phenolics that help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, per a 2015 study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
That being said, the benefits of supplements like camu camu powder may not be the same as the benefits of eating the fruit itself. It’s always best to speak with a trusted doctor or registered dietitian before starting a new supplement.
Cherimoya
Cherimoya is a fruit that’s super similar to soursop or guanabana. It has a rough green exterior and a custardy white interior with big black seeds. The fruit’s texture is nice and creamy, and its flavor is pretty much a mix of banana and pineapple.
The biggest difference between cherimoya and soursop is that cherimoya is heart-shaped while soursop is oval-shaped.
Nutritionally, cherimoya is rich in fiber, with almost 5 grams per cup, or 17% of the daily value. Fiber is important for digestion, blood sugar regulation, and cholesterol reduction, and most of us could stand to eat more of it.
It’s also rich in potassium, amongst other vitamins and minerals, which is important for blood pressure control. That’s because it helps reduce sodium’s effect on blood pressure and it helps you excrete sodium in your urine, per the American Heart Association.
Cupuaçu
Cupuaçu is a brown, oval shaped fruit with a rough exterior and a soft white interior. It’s pretty similar to cacao and it can even be used to make a product similar to chocolate. It can also be used to make juice or ice cream.
This fruit is rich in polyphenols with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. If you’re looking for the biggest nutrition benefit, don’t avoid eating the seeds; a 2022 study in Foods reports that the seeds have much more antioxidants than the pulp.
Feijoa
Feijoa is a green fruit shaped just like an egg. It has sweet flesh with seed pulp inside, similar in color and texture to a cucumber. You can enjoy it by cutting it in half and scooping out the flesh.
Feijoas are packed with fiber; each cup has 13 grams or 46% of the daily value, per the USDA! Like the other fruits on this list, they’re also rich in antioxidants. In fact, a 2020 study in Food Research International identified thirty phenolic compounds—a type of antioxidant—in feijoa.
Goldenberry
Goldenberries, also known as Peruvian groundcherries, are small orange fruits tucked into a thin husk, just like a tomatillo. In fact, they’re in the same botanical family.
You can find them growing in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. They have a sweet yet tart flavor and are best enjoyed as a snack by removing the husk and eating the berry itself. You can also use them to make jam or as a salad ingredient.
When it comes to nutrition, they’re especially high in potassium and vitamin C, per a 2020 study in Plant Foods for Human Nutrition. Plus, they have withanolides, which are known for their anti-inflammatory properties and potential for helping manage inflammation-mediated chronic diseases like arthritis, cancer, and autoimmune disorders, per a 2016 study in Anti-Inflammatory Nutraceuticals and Chronic Disease.
Guava
Guava is a fruit about the size of a golf ball. It has a green exterior and bright pink flesh inside with small seeds. It has a delightful sweet flavor and its texture is pretty similar to a pear. You can enjoy guava raw, with or without the skin and seeds.
Guava, like the other fruits on this list, is rich in fiber; each fruit contains over 10% of the DV for fiber, per the USDA.
This fruit is also a great source of vitamin C, an antioxidant important for collagen formation and iron absorption, per the NIH. It’s also a good source of potassium, which is important for maintaining intracellular fluid volume and regulating sodium in the body, per the NIH.
Huito
Huito is a small South American fruit that’s usually brown or black. The flesh and juice are typically transparent. Interestingly, researchers are evaluating the use of huito as a natural blue food dye since it turns blue upon exposure to oxygen.
There’s not much research on huito’s nutrition composition and benefits besides as a natural blue dye. That being said, it is likely a great source of fiber, antioxidants, and some micronutrients like most other South American fruits.
Jaboticaba
Jaboticaba is a fruit from Brazil, specifically from the Brazilian grapetree. It grows along the trunk of the tree almost like ivy grows on a brick wall. Just like a grape, it’s small, dark purple in color, and can be enjoyed raw with the skin on.
Research has found that jaboticaba is a great source of polyphenols—potent antioxidants with anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and lipid-lowering effects.
Pepino melon
Pepino melon is a medium-sized, oval-shaped fruit like cantaloupe, but it has a yellow or purple exterior with green or yellow flesh. Inside, the center is hollow with some seeds that should be removed before eating.
The flavor is interesting, but if you speak Spanish it may not surprise you. Pepino means cucumber in Spanish, and this fruit tastes like a cross between a cucumber and a melon, just like the name suggests.
There’s some research examining pepino melon’s potential benefits on bone health, cancer prevention, immune health, and hypertension, but most studies have been done on animals or in test tubes, so we can’t be sure the results translate to humans yet.
Pitanga
Pitanga is also known as the Surinam Cherry. It’s a tiny fruit that almost looks like a miniature heirloom tomato. It’s bright red in color and it has a sweet yet tart flavor. Unsurprisingly, the flavor resembles a cherry with a mix of cranberry.
Pitanga has small seeds inside, but you can enjoy it raw like a grape; just be careful with the seeds.
As you might expect, this fruit is jam-packed with antioxidants that exert anti-inflammatory benefits on the body. It has been used in traditional medicine to treat digestive illness, fever, and inflammation, per a 2022 study in the Arabian Journal of Chemistry.
Passion fruit
Passion fruit (also known as chinola, maracuja, or parcha) is a small round fruit with a yellow, red, or purple exterior. It’s filled with a gooey, deep yellow-colored pulp and black edible seeds. This little fruit really packs a punch: it’s full of flavor and different textures that makes it fun to eat.
Passion fruit has its origins in Southern Brazil, but now it also grows in the Caribbean.
You can crack open the skin and eat the pulp and seeds raw, or you can use the pulp and seeds to make juice or desserts. Its tart flavor pairs well with the sweetness of cake or custard.
Passion fruit is full of fiber, particularly if you eat the seeds. Each cup has an impressive 24.5 grams of fiber—about 88% of the DV, per the USDA! It’s also rich in iron, vitamin C, potassium, and phosphorus.
Soursop
Soursop (aka guanabana) is an interesting-looking fruit similar to cherimoya. It’s native to Central America and the Caribbean, but it’s commonly eaten in South America and parts of Africa and Asia, according to a 2022 study in Molecules.
Soursop has a green spiky exterior with cream-colored flesh and big black seeds inside. The flesh can be eaten on its own raw, but its creamy texture also makes it a great addition to smoothies.
In South America and Africa, soursop has been used in traditional medicine, and research is starting to evaluate the potential health benefits of this fruit.
For example, the Molecules study we mentioned above found that the antioxidants and vitamins in soursop give it potential anticancer, antiulcer, antidiarrheal, antidiabetic, and antihypertensive properties.
Star apple
One of the most fun fruits you’ll ever see is the star apple (or caimito). It’s purple and similar in size to an apple, but when you slice it open, you’ll see that the core is shaped like a star. Hence the name “star apple”.
This fruit is found in parts of northern South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. It’s commonly enjoyed just by slicing it and eating it raw.
You can find lots of antioxidants in the star apple. It’s sometimes used in traditional medicine to treat diabetes or fight infections, per a 2020 study. However, the studies on star apple for diabetes have been conducted on animals and use the leaf extract rather than the flesh of the fruit.
More South American Fruit
We just dove into 15 South American fruits, but there are so many more out there! Here’s a list of other less common South American fruit that are also delicious and packed with nutrition:
Aguaje
Araza
Babassu
Borojo
Charichuelo
Lucuma
Macambo
Nance fruit
Pacay
Pitomba
Tumbo
Umbu
Final Thoughts
South America is a continent full of nutrient-dense fruits. If you can get your hands on these fruits, they’re a great way to add nutrition to your day. They’re full of antioxidants to help reduce inflammation in the body, and they’re often also rich in fiber and vitamins.
For education on how to ADD nutrition to your favorite Latine cultural dishes, make peace with food, and focus on your health without dieting, join our nutrition library for only $27 per month.
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