If you’re going to make a Piña Colada at home, why not make it a frozen one? A Frozen Piña Colada is just as easy to make as a regular one and far more fun to drink. All you need is some rum, fresh pineapple juice, cream of coconut, lime juice and ice. Blend it up and enjoy this craft cocktail at home!
Piña Colada directly translates to English as “strained pineapple” and refers to the fresh pressed juice of the pineapple. Not coincidentally, fresh pineapple juice is always preferred in cocktails to the dull, metallic flavored canned juice.
I’ve fortunately (or unfortunately) enjoyed my fair share of piña coladas at our local tiki bar on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, called Tiki Chick. They’re known for their tiki drinks, but most notably their piña coladas.
So, in an effort to put my education to good use, I’ve developed this frozen piña colada recipe over the past few months so you can make this at home any time. It’s fun and easy to make, and most importantly it’s absolutely delicious and the prefect way to beat the summer heat.
Ingredients Needed
- Pineapple juice: fresh is best, but if you can’t find it, canned will also work. Look for fresh pineapple juice near the fresh pressed juices in your grocery store.
- Rum: I recommend using white rum. The bright, clean flavor allows the other flavors to take center stage.
- Cream of Coconut: Cream of coconut is an absolutely dreamy ingredient. Think sweetened condensed milk made with coconut milk. It’s thick and syrupy and often used in place of sweetened condensed milk in baking, cocktails and coffee drinks. You can find it near other non-alcoholic mixers or in the Asian condiment section of your grocery store.
- Lime Juice: fresh is best! If you don’t have lime juice, use lemon. It’s just as tasty.
- Ice
How to Make a Frozen Piña Colada
- Combine the pineapple juice, rum, cream of coconut, sugar and ice in a blender.
- Blend until thick and smooth.
- Divide between glasses and garnish with a lime wedge or pineapple chunk.
Helpful Tip
The secret to making a flavorful frozen piña colada is to start with frozen cubes of pineapple juice. It’s an optional but effective step to ensuring a thick, cold drink that isn’t watered down from too much ice. If you don’t have time to freeze the pineapple juice, simply add it to the blender with the other ingredients.
Make Ahead Tips
- The pineapple juice can be frozen up to a month in advance.
- Combine the rum and cream of coconut up to 3 days ahead of time. Store in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator until ready to blend up the cocktail.
Flavor Variations
- Peach: add 12 frozen wedges of pineapple to the batch of cocktails.
- Strawberry: add 12 frozen strawberries to the cocktail and blend until smooth.
- Navy Strength: top each piña colada off with an ounce of navy strength rum (how Tiki Chick does it).
- Spicy Mango: add 1 ½ cup frozen mango chunks to the batch of cocktails and blend until smooth. Rim the glass with Tajin and garnish with candied mango.
History of the Piña Colada
According to Simon Difford, the modern piña Colada cocktail was created between 1952 and 1963 and credit is claimed by three different Puerto Rican bartenders (Ramón Monchito’ Marrero Pérez, Ricardo Garcia and Ramón Portas Mingot).
The first printed reference of the piña Colada cocktail actually appears much earlier in 1922 in an issue of Travel Magazine. With a simple ingredient list of Bacardi Rum, pineapple juice, lime and sugar, the cocktail is more daiquiri than piña colada, and is now referred to as a Cuban-style piña colada.
It’s thought that one of the three Puerto Rican bartenders used this drink as a guide and riffed on it by adding Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut (which was a new product at the time).
More Frozen Drinks to Try
Frozen Piña Colada
Description
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fresh pressed pineapple juice
- 8 ounces white rum
- 4 ounces cream of coconut
- 2 ounces fresh lime juice
- Large pinch salt
- 12 ounces ice
Instructions
- Freeze pineapple juice in 1-ounce cubes until frozen solid, about 4 hours.* If you don’t have time to freeze, simply add it to the blender fresh and use more ice.
- In a blender, combine frozen pineapple juice, rum, cream of coconut, salt and ice. Blend until thick and smooth.
- Divide between 4 Collins glasses, add more ice as needed and garnish with a lime wedge.
