The perfect Piña Colada with Strawberry starts with frozen strawberries and frozen pineapple juice. Blend in cream of coconut and your favorite white rum and you have yourself a restaurant-quality tiki cocktail at home.
I’ve 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. They have all kinds of flavors of piña coladas to choose from, but when we go out with our friends, the strawberry piña colada is the most popular.
So, in an effort to put my education to good use, I’ve developed this piña colada with strawberry recipe over the past few months so you can enjoy it at home. It’s fun and easy to make, and can endlessly be riffed on.
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.
- Strawberries: to make a frozen strawberry piña colada use frozen strawberries. For a regular piña colada with strawberries, use fresh strawberries and fresh pineapple juice, then strain the cocktail over ice.
- 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
- Combine the pineapple juice, strawberries, 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.
Best Rum for a Strawberry Pina Colada
Since there are a lot of flavors (and ingredients) in a strawberry piña colada, I recommend using an affordable yet quality white rum. You want something crisp and clean. I like Pa’lante, Diplomático, El Dorado 3-year or Banks Five Island Blend.
Mixology Tips
- The secret to making a flavorful frozen strawberry piña colada is to start with frozen cubes of pineapple juice and frozen strawberries. 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.
- For a regular piña colada with strawberry, use fresh strawberries, fresh pineapple juice and no ice. Strain the cocktail over ice before serving.
Variations
- Malibu: make the drink a bit more coconutty (and much more college-y) by using malibu instead of white rum.
- Frozen Pineapple instead of juice: for a thicker, more smoothie-light consistency, swap the pineapple juice out for frozen chunks of pineapple.
- 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.
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Piña Colada with Strawberry Recipe
Description
Ingredients
- 5 ounces fresh pressed pineapple juice
- 6 large fresh or frozen strawberries (6 ounces)
- 4 ½ ounces light rum
- 2 ½ ounces cream of coconut
- 2 ounces fresh lime juice
- Large pinch salt
- 8 ounces ice (about 8 cubes)
Instructions
- Freeze pineapple juice in 1-ounce cubes until frozen solid, about 4 hours. If using fresh strawberries, freeze those as well.* If you don’t have time to freeze, simply add the juice and strawberries to the blender fresh and use more ice.
- In a blender, combine frozen pineapple juice, strawberries, rum, cream of coconut, salt and ice. Blend until thick and smooth.
- Divide between 2 Collins glasses, add more ice as needed and garnish with a lime wedge.
