Flavors

Prickly Pear Shaved Ice: Flavor & Pairings

A little love letter to prickly pear: watermelon-bubblegum, fuchsia, and completely huggable.

Prickly Pear Shaved Ice: Flavor & Pairings

What does Prickly Pear taste like?

Prickly Pear shaved ice is watermelon-bubblegum — the kind of flavor that makes people close their eyes on the first spoonful. Its fuchsia color comes through beautifully in fluffy hand-shaved snow, so it looks as good as it tastes.

Because our snow is shaved fresh rather than crushed, prickly pear syrup soaks evenly through every ribbon instead of pooling at the bottom. That means the last bite is just as flavorful as the first.

Where Prickly Pear comes from

Prickly Pear traces back to the desert Southwest, and it carries a little of that place in every spoonful. Prickly pear fruit, or tuna, grows right on the cactus pad.

Part of the fun of a shaved ice menu is that it's a passport — a single counter can hop from a Hawaiian beach to a Taiwanese night market to a desert roadside stand.

Best toppings for prickly pear shaved ice

Our favorite way to serve it is with lime and mint, which balances the sweetness and adds texture. A few more combinations worth trying:

  • Fresh fruit that echoes the flavor, cut into little cubes
  • A jelly or boba for a chewy contrast
  • A drizzle of condensed milk or coconut cream to round it out
  • A tiny sugar blossom on top, because we can't help ourselves

Meet the cutest ice on earth 🌵

Prickly Ice is opening soon in Hawaii, Arizona, Michigan and San Diego. Every bowl is hand-shaved snow sculpted into a smiling little cactus and buried in fresh fruit.

Get Opening-Day Alerts