Frozen Piña Colada

This pina colada recipe combines creme de coconut, pineapple juice, cream, and white rum to create a popular cocktail. This drink is known for its sweet and tangy flavor and is often served with a pineapple or cherry garnish. It’s a refreshing choice for summer gatherings or a relaxing evening.

I have a love/hate relationship with frozen piña coladas! I love them because they are delicious, and I hate them because they are delicious. When I have one, I want more. But you know what? That’s not a bad thing because the alcohol ratio in this cocktail is low, so have that second colada!!

I feel that everyone who drinks cocktails has had at least one piña colada in their lifetime. I am probably underestimating the amount of coladas people have imbibed because I only imagine people drinking them while on vacation.

Hmmm, I wonder if most of the piña coladas are imbibed on cruises. Do you know? If you do, please leave me a comment. I would also like to know, do you personally order these in restaurants?

When I tended bar at the Mexican restaurant, I made many piña coladas over the years and although I liked the ones I made back then, I love this piña colada recipe.

Why? Because restaurant management taught me to make this drink with the addition of sweet and sour. I don’t use (or recommend) any in this recipe, which makes the taste even better.

We are a participant in Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and other affiliated sites. #CommisionsEarned. You can read my disclosure here.

Helpful tips

• If possible, use fresh pineapple as your garnish, not canned pineapple chunks. There is no substitute for fresh, and I’m not a fan of heavy syrups.
• You can use clear rum or gold rum but I wouldn’t recommend dark rum. In my opinion, dark rum has too heavy a taste for this cocktail.
• Although they are pretty popular, if you plan to make frozen cocktails, do NOT use a blender with the blades in the cap of the device. It makes it hard to open the top and add more ice without creating a mess.
• After many years of holding out, I now own a Vitamix blender and I’m telling you, I’d never go back to another brand.
• Whenever I use maraschino cherries for garnish, I always rinse the cherries off so there is minimal syrup transfer.
• Some recipes use either coconut cream or coconut milk, and I don’t like to use either because the sweetness of the creme de coconut is perfect.
• Adjust the servings in the recipe card if you want to make a pitcher. It will probably separate in the pitcher, so it might need a stir before you pour it out.

How to make a frozen pina colada

Pre-steps

Get your blender, measuring glass and glassware.

Also, cut a pineapple wheel and cut a few wedges out of it for the garnish. Then cut a slit in each of the pineapple wedges so you can place them on the rims of the glasses.

Lastly, rinse a few maraschino cherries under cold water, take two martini picks or toothpicks and spear a cherry on each. Set aside.

You will be adding the ingredients directly to the blender so once they are measured out, add to the container.

Step one

Gather the ingredients – rum, creme of coconut, light cream, and pineapple juice.

Step two

Measure 5 ounces of rum. (A)

Step three

Measure 3 ounces of creme of coconut.  I used the Coco Reàl brand.  I usually use Coco López but the store didn’t have any. (B)

I am glad that this is a good substitute.

Step four

Measure 2 ounces of light cream. (C)

Step five

Measure 10 ounces pineapple juice. (D)

Step six

Add two cups of ice to the blender and blend until smooth. You may need to add more ice, depending how thick you like your colada.

Note: with a blender like the Vitamix, you can control the speed it blends, so I start low and work up to medium/high until the frozen piña colada is smooth.

Step seven

Fill two glasses with the luscious liquid and add the cherries and pineapple wedges. You can see that there is a lot of the drink still in the blender container. Woohoo.

I wanted to show you that this drink has a tendency to separate. That’s totally normal, just stir it with a straw to re-mix.

Let’s look at a vertical view of this delicious frozen piña colada.

Yum, YUM!

Look at how frosty that looks in the tall glass!

I hope you enjoyed this frozen pina colada recipe! I love the creaminess of this cocktail.

And as always, may all your dishes/drinks be delish!

If you’ve tried this recipe, I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!