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A classic Piña Colada is flavored with pineapple, coconut, and rum. It’s shaken or blended until frosty and delicious, and it tastes like a fresh coconut on a sandy beach near the ocean.
Creamy, sweet, and delicious, a Piña Colada is the ultimate tropical cocktail. It might be the first thing you order pool-side at the bar of your next all-inclusive resort.
But why wait? A good Piña Colada has exactly what you think it does: coconut cream, pineapple, rum, and simple syrup. It’s easy to blend or shake with ice, and the paper umbrella is totally optional.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Coconut cream: Look for coconut cream (thick and unsweetened), not cream of coconut (syrupy and very sweet).
- Rum: For even more flavor, substitute coconut rum such as Malibu brand.
Step-by-step instructions
- To a blender, add coconut cream, rum, simple syrup, frozen pineapple, and ice cubes.
- Blend until smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed. Pour into a hurricane glasses and garnish with pineapple slices and maraschino cherries.
What’s the best blender for frozen drinks?
A frozen cocktail is only as good as the blender being used to make it. Otherwise you’ll be left with icy bits that makes sipping a little less smooth. I’ve relied on my trusty Vitamix Professional Series 750 Blender since Culinary School back in 2016, and I found that it’s the best blender for crushing ice without being too noisy—so it’s not a party crasher.
It’s an investment that will last you for years (and for many, many frozen drinks), but I think it’s absolutely worth it. You can get it for around $600 at Amazon, and I also like using the Blendtec Classic blender for frozen drinks. It’s a little louder but also cheaper for just $380 at Amazon.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 4 blended piña coladas.
- Glassware: The ideal glass for a piña colada is a poco grande glass (shown above). It’s a similar shape to a hurricane glass but has a longer stem and a smaller cup.
- Over the top: Dreaming of vacation? Get a little crazy and top your piña colada with whipped cream and toasted coconut, too.
- Tropical Party: Digging the Piña Colada vibes? I created a full Tropical Party menu featuring Coconut Shrimp, Hawaiian Macaroni Salad, Pineapple Salsa, and Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. My original menu features the Blue Hawaiian cocktail, but Mai Tais and Piña Coladas would both fit the theme.
Recipe FAQs
No, coconut milk doesn’t have the same texture/thickness as coconut cream. You can try to compensate with more ice, but this will be dilute the overall flavor of the cocktail.
More rum cocktails to try
Cocktail Recipes
Pirate Punch
Cocktail Recipes
Hurricane Cocktail
Cocktail Recipes
Hemingway Daiquiri
Cocktail Recipes
Mojito Recipe
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Piña Colada
Ingredients
- 15 ounces coconut cream (see note 1)
- 6 ounces white rum (¾ cup, see note 2)
- 2 ounces simple syrup (¼ cup)
- 16 ounces frozen pineapple chunks (about 3 cups)
- 8 ounces ice (about 2 cups)
- 4 slices pineapple for garnish
- Maraschino cherries for garnish, optional
Instructions
- To a blender, add coconut cream, rum, simple syrup, frozen pineapple, and ice cubes.
- Blend until smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed. Pour into a hurricane glasses and garnish with pineapple slices and maraschino cherries.
Notes
- Coconut cream: Look for coconut cream (thick and unsweetened), not cream of coconut (syrupy and very sweet).
- Rum: For even more flavor, substitute coconut rum such as Malibu brand.
- Yield: This recipe makes 4 blended piña coladas.
- Glassware: The ideal glass for a piña colada is a poco grande glass (shown above). It’s a similar shape to a hurricane glass but has a longer stem and a smaller cup.
- Over the top: Dreaming of vacation? Get a little crazy and top your piña colada with whipped cream and toasted coconut, too.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.