Are you craving the taste of the Caribbean? Try our virgin piña colada recipe, it's so easy, you'll want to make it all the time!
Love tropical drinks? Try our virgin versions of Cinderella Mocktail and Mango Daiquiri.
Want to see our latest recipes? Subscribe to our email newsletter to get our latest recipes, fun food facts, food puns, and behind the scenes news about our blog.
Ingredients
Let's talk about some of the key ingredients for this virgin pina colada, which are easy to find at your local grocery store. The cream of coconut can be found near the Thai food items, the drink mix area, or near the milk products in a health food store.
- Fresh Pineapple: This is what makes this drink taste amazing, so don't use canned. This is also what we use for garnishing the drink.
- Cream of Coconut: This is a key ingredient, don't substitute. We like the Coco Real brand the best.
- Pineapple Juice: This gives the drink its tropical taste.
- Crushed Ice: This is what makes the drink have a nice texture.
How to Make
- For our virgin piña colada, start with a fresh pineapple. Chop it into small chunks, keeping some of the fronds and peel to use as a garnish if desired.
- Place the fresh fruit, juice, and the cream of coconut in a blender. Make sure the cream of coconut is shaken or stirred well before adding to the blender.
3. Add the crushed ice last.
4. Put the lid on and blend until smooth.
5. Pour into a hurricane glass and add your garnish of choice. We used fronds, fruit, umbrellas, and bamboo picks.
6. Enjoy our virgin piña colada recipe with a loved one tonight. Since this drink has no alcohol, it is sure to be a family favorite! Bring in the kids, and let the taste testing begin!
Recipe FAQs:
Translated into English from Spanish, the words literally mean "strained pineapple." Traditionally, fresh pineapple is used and is pressed then strained to get the juice for this drink.
The dominant taste in a virgin piña colada is pineapple, followed by coconut. This drink uses crushed ice, so it tastes very cold, which is perfect for a hot day. When it is blended, it tastes more like a smoothie.
Coconut cream is similar to cow's milk in consistency, while cream of coconut is like sweetened condensed milk. Coconut milk is used in Asian cooking, and cream of coconut is used for mixed drinks and desserts. Both require a thorough shaking before using because the liquid and fat separate during storage. The latter will give more body to your mixed drinks and desserts because it is richer, sweeter, and thicker.
Decide on your consistency: slushy, thick, or creamy. Add the fresh fruit first and the ice last. Use more crushed ice that's cold and not half melted. Another option is to use frozen pineapple and very little ice.
Serve
To make this virgin piña colada look more tropical, spend a little extra time getting your garnishes ready. Cut up a pineapple to get some wedges. Pull off the fronds, and if desired, cut the outer skin to make strips.
Find some pretty maraschino cherries with stems to give your glass some color. You can also use some shaved coconut. To make the drink look more tropical, pierce a wedge of this fruit with a cocktail umbrella, or use a bamboo pick to show off a cube of pineapple with some cherries.
Store
Make Ahead: You can prep all the ingredients ahead of time for our virgin piña colada, including the garnishes, but it tastes best when served soon after it as been blended.
Freeze: Pour any leftover virgin piña colada into a freezer friendly container. Cover and freeze for up to one week.
Expert Tips
- Use Coco Real cream of coconut drink mix for a creamy, thicker virgin piña colada that has a more dominant coconut taste.
- Use Coco Lopez for a thinner virgin piña colada that allows the pineapple taste to shine through more than the coconut.
- Want to reduce the fat content? Lower the amount of coconut cream or use coconut milk and add superfine white sugar right after the pineapple chunks.
- Health conscious? Use coconut milk,pineapple chunks, extra fine sugar, freshly squeezed lime juice, and tons of shaved ice.
Other Mocktails You’ll Love
If you liked this recipe and found it helpful, give it some love by sharing!
Follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook for more crave-worthy recipes!
The pleasure of a 5-star review would be greatly appreciated.
Recipe
Virgin Piña Colada
Ingredients
For the Piña Colada
- ¼ cup fresh pineapple chunks
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- ¼ cup cream of coconut
- 1 cup crushed ice
For the Garnish
- pineapple wedge
- maraschino cherry with stem
- pineapple leaves
Instructions
Preparing the Garnishes (Optional)
- Traditionally, piña coladas use hurricane glasses, but any tall, 16-ounce glassware will work. Place it in the fridge or freezer.
- Cut off the top of the pineapple. Take the nicest, smaller fronds out to use as a garnish.
- If desired, cut the outer skin off. Rinse, then cut into ¼-inch strips.
- Cut the peeled pineapple in quarters lengthwise. Cut triangular wedges from one of the quarters, then round out the top edge with a knife if needed. Make a small slit with a knife near the point so it can rest on the rim of a glass.
- Select some pretty cherries with stems. Make a small slit at the base, so the cherry can sit securely on the edge of the glass.
Making the Piña Colada
- Core three quarters of a pineapple and cut into 1-inch chunks. If you like, you can freeze the leftovers.
- Be sure to shake the pineapple juice and the cream of coconut well before you start.
- Put the fresh pineapple chunks, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and crushed ice in a blender. Pulse until smooth.
- Pour into a glass and garnish with a wedge of fruit, maraschino cherry, pineapple fronds or pineapple skin strips. Insert a straw and enjoy.
Notes
- Use Coco Real cream of coconut drink mix for a creamy, thicker virgin piña colada that has a more dominant coconut taste.
- Use Coco Lopez for a thinner virgin piña colada that allows the pineapple taste to shine through more than the coconut.
- Want to reduce the fat content? Lower the amount of coconut cream or use coconut milk and add superfine white sugar right after the pineapple chunks.
- Health conscious? Use coconut milk, pineapple chunks, extra fine sugar, freshly squeezed lime juice, and tons of shaved ice.
Nutrition
This virgin pina colada recipe was originally published on April 20, 2018, and was updated on February 28, 2020 and on April 8, 2022 with refreshed photos and content.
Beth
The creaminess of the pineapple 🍍 goes with the coolness of the drink overall. Super tropical and summery!
Emma
Coconut and pineapple are such a refreshing tropical combination. Thanks for leaving a review!