The longan fruit is sweet, juicy and succulent in superior agricultural varieties. The seed and the shell are not consumed. Apart from being eaten fresh, is also often used in Asian soups, snacks, desserts, and sweet-and-sour foods, either fresh or dried, sometimes canned with syrup.

The taste is different from lychees; while longan have a drier sweetness, lychees are often messily juicy with a more tropical, sour sweetness.