This classic piña colada recipe is creamy, balanced, and easy to make at home with simple ingredients! Perfect for summer parties, pool days, or anytime you need a tropical drink.
There’s something about sipping a piña colada that makes you feel like you’re on vacation, even if you’re just at home. Too many piña coladas taste way too sweet with only a hint of rum. But I’ve found out that the original recipe for this classic cocktail has a perfect balance between the pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and aged rum.
So here’s how to make a piña colada—the classic way! As a cocktail expert who has made over 300 cocktail recipes, I never get tired of this drink. Because who doesn’t love a good piña colada?
Why You’ll Love This Piña Colada Recipe
This piña colada recipe is a tried and true classic; here’s why you’ll love it:
- Classic tropical cocktail flavor: It has a true coconut flavor from cream of coconut paired with real pineapple
- Balanced sweetness: It’s not too sweet like many restaurant versions
- Creamy, slushy texture: The frozen pineapple chunks create the ideal texture
- Quick prep time: It takes just 5 minutes to make!
5 Star Reader Reviews
“This recipe is so good that it was my Super Bowl drink for my guests. Everyone loved it as much as me, especially my daughter, and she’s not an easy sell lol. Seriously tho, thanks loads for sharing my new favorite recipe.” -Mary
“Absolute best recipe ever, thank you so much keeping it classic!”-Giardino
Ingredients You’ll Need
The key to this piña colada recipe is using quality ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need and why each one matters:
- Frozen pineapple chunks: I use frozen pineapple chunks instead of fresh pineapple because they create a nice thick, slushy texture. It’s also more affordable than fresh.
- Pineapple juice: Look for 100% juice without added sugar (since the cream of coconut already provides sweetness).
- Cream of coconut: This is crucial: you need cream of coconut (like Coco Lopez), not coconut cream or coconut milk. Cream of coconut is sweetened and made for coconut cocktails. Coconut cream is unsweetened, and coconut milk is too thin. See my guide to cream of coconut vs coconut cream.
- Aged rum: Many bartenders use white rum for a pina colada, but I like aged rum because it has a deeper flavor, with notes of vanilla and caramel. But white rum works well if that’s what you have.
- Lime juice: Fresh lime juice is essential for adding brightness.
- Ice cubes: Regular ice cubes with the frozen pineapple create the slushy texture.
How to Make a Piña Colada
The pina colada is one of those blended drinks that comes together in minutes. Here’s what to do (or jump to the recipe for quantities):
- Add the frozen pineapple chunks and ice cubes to the blender. Pulse a few times to break them down into smaller pieces. Add the rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice, and lime juice.
- Blend on high speed until completely smooth and creamy. You want a thick, slushy consistency, similar to a milkshake. If it’s too thick, add a splash more pineapple juice. If it’s too thin, add a few more ice cubes and blend again.
Pro Tip: If you can, make sure all your ingredients are cold before blending. This prevents the drink from melting too quickly once served.
Variations To Try
Virgin Piña Colada: For a mocktail version, I simply blend frozen pineapple, maple syrup, and coconut milk. I love this variation! Go to my virgin piña colada recipe.
Less sweet version: Reduce the cream of coconut to 1 ½ ounces.
Extra thick version: Try my frozen piña colada that uses coconut milk for a smoothie-like texture. It’s almost like a piña colada smoothie, but with rum.
Serving & Garnish Ideas
The classic garnish for a piña colada is a pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry. To make it a little extra, add drink umbrellas! I found my drink umbrellas on Amazon.
A few other ideas: you could rim the glass with toasted coconut (like in this Coconut Margarita). Just moisten the rim with lime juice and dip it in shredded coconut that you’ve lightly toasted in a dry pan.
You can serve a piña colada at pool parties, backyard BBQs, or tropical-themed dinners, but I find myself most often craving them in the winter! They pair well with grilled shrimp or fish tacos. If you’re making more drinks, you could pair with Mai Tais or even a good Bushwacker.
Tip: If you love this drink, you can also try a Chi Chi (vodka piña colada) or a Painkiller (with orange juice).
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t have cream of coconut, you can try coconut cream mixed with simple syrup to achieve a similar sweetness and texture. But we recommend getting the real thing here! Or go to our Frozen Pina Colada recipe, which uses coconut milk.
It’s best to make a piña colada fresh for optimal flavor and texture. However, you can pre-measure the ingredients and store them separately until ready to blend with ice and rum.
Add more ice or frozen pineapple to thicken the consistency.
A pineapple wedge, maraschino cherry, and a cocktail umbrella are classic garnishes. You can also add a sprinkle of toasted coconut flakes or a sprig of mint for extra flair.
To make fresh pineapple juice at home, cut a ripe pineapple into chunks and blend them on high speed until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth to remove the pulp, and you’ll have fresh pineapple juice. While this gives you the freshest flavor, bottled 100% pineapple juice works fine in this recipe and saves time.
The piña colada was invented in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1954 by bartender Ramón “Monchito” Marrero at the Caribe Hilton. It became so popular with both locals and tourists that the Puerto Rican government declared it the national drink in 1978. The drink represents the island’s tropical flavors: rum, pineapple, and coconut.
Yes, though it won’t have the classic frozen, slushy texture. To make a piña colada without a blender, shake the liquid piña colada ingredients (rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice, and lime juice) vigorously with ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a glass filled with crushed ice. The result is more of an on-the-rocks version rather than a frozen blended drink.
Classic Piña Colada Recipe
Pin RecipeThis classic piña colada recipe is creamy, balanced, and easy to make at home with simple ingredients! Perfect for summer parties, pool days, or anytime you need a tropical drink. For a simplified spin with a smoothie-like texture, go to Frozen Piña Colada.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 drinks 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Blended
- Cuisine: Cocktails
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups frozen pineapple
- 1 ½ cups ice
- 5 ounces (½ cup plus 2 tablespoons) aged rum
- 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) cream of coconut (not coconut cream; see notes*)
- 4 ounces (½ cup) pineapple juice
- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) lime juice
- For the garnish: cocktail cherry
Instructions
- Blend pineapple and ice until chunky. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Serve garnished with a cocktail cherry and drink umbrellas.
Notes
*Cream of coconut is a special coconut product made for sweetening drinks, whereas coconut cream is unsweetened (read more at Cream of Coconut vs Coconut Cream). Don’t buy coconut cream or the drink will not taste sweetened! If you make this misstep and want to save your drink, you can add simple syrup to taste. You can also make a simplified version of this drink with coconut milk instead: go to Frozen Pina Colada.
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