Piña Colada

By
Colleen Graham
Photo of Colleen Graham
Colleen Graham
Freelance writer and cocktail book author Colleen Graham is a seasoned mixologist who loves sharing her knowledge of spirits and passion for preparing drinks.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 02/22/24
Tested by
Tom Macy
Photo of Tom Macy
Tested by Tom Macy
Tom wears many cocktail hats. He is a professional bartender, bar owner, recipe creator, and drink writer, though he prefers the title "obsessive cocktail nerd."
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Prep: 3 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 3 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 1 cocktail

The piña colada is a classic Puerto Rican cocktail made with pineapple juice, white rum (also called light rum), and cream of coconut. While piña coladas can be shaken or stirred, this shaken recipe is a more recent adaptation of the original frozen piña colada from the 1950s. You'll require a cocktail shaker, but if you don't have one, don't worry—just use a lidded Mason jar instead.

The type of rum you use is important. White or light rum is more neutral in flavor compared to dark rum and is largely produced in Puerto Rico. It's what's traditionally used in piña coladas as well as cocktails in general. While some piña colada recipes call for a mix of light and dark rums, this recipe stays truer to its origins, which reportedly date to the 1800s.

Piña colada cocktail garnished with cherry and pineapple wedge

The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck
What You'll Need to Make This Piña Colada Recipe
Cocktail-kingdom-leopold-jigger
A Cocktail Jigger
Cocktail Boston Shaker Set By Kotai (Silver)
A Cocktail Shaker
MAKO Stainless Steel Hawthorne Cocktail Strainer
A Good Cocktail Strainer

"The piña colada shouldn't just be a guilty pleasure. It should just be a pleasure—because it is. The combination of coconut and pineapple is the iconic beach combination. It is indeed a sweet drink, but the creaminess helps mitigate that. But if it's too much, a squeeze of lime or lemon helps a lot." —Tom Macy

Piña colada in a canning jar with a cherry garnish
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces light rum

  • 2 ounces pineapple juice

  • 1 1/2 ounces​ cream of coconut

  • 1 lime wedge, optional

  • Pineapple wedge, for garnish

  • Maraschino cherry, for garnish

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for piña colada recipe gathered

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  2. Pour the light rum, pineapple juice, and cream of coconut into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. For a slightly less sweet colada, squeeze the juice of a lime wedge into the shaker.

    Pour the light rum in shaker

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  3. Shake well for at least 30 seconds. When thoroughly shaken, the drink should be creamy with a luscious foam from the pineapple juice.

    Shaking together ingredients for piña colada

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  4. Strain into a chilled collins glass. Alternatively, it will fill 1 large or 2 small cocktail glasses.

    Piña colada ingredients strained into a collins glass

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  5. Garnish with the pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry. Serve and enjoy.

    Piña colada in a collins glass with a cherry and pineapple wedge

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

Tips

  • The piña colada is a very thick drink, even the shaken version. To lighten it up, fill the glass with crushed ice before straining the cocktail.
  • If you can't find cream of coconut, you can use coconut cream—just be sure to add sugar or simple syrup, to taste, to compensate for the lack of sweetness. However, try to avoid the coconut milk in cartons, as it tends to be a little too runny for shaken cocktails like this one.
  • Canned pineapple juice is convenient. The small cans are 6 ounces and will make a few drinks. Unless you transfer it to another container, it can be difficult to keep large cans of pineapple juice fresh.
  • If you prefer, use fresh pineapple juice The average pineapple weighs 2 to 5 pounds, and yields about 6 ounces of juice per pound with an electric juicer. Without a juicer, crush 1 cup of pineapple chunks in the shaker using a muddler before shaking the drink. You can also blend fresh or frozen pineapple chunks and strain the resulting mixture through a fine-mesh strainer.

What Is the Best Piña Colada Mix?

While we don't have one single brand to recommend, the more expensive option is almost always better when buying cocktail mixes. Note that most piña colada mixes contain dairy, even though the original recipe does not, in case that's a concern. Regardless, because a piña colada has just three ingredients, it truly isn't worth your time or money to buy a mix. If you're understandably concerned about splurging on ingredients, you can save money by buying mini liquor bottles instead of a pricey handle of rum. While you might not get higher-shelf rums in this size, the added cost benefit can justify buying the cream of coconut and pineapple, which are likely to cost less than a mix anyway.

What Is Cream of Coconut?

Cream of coconut is similar to condensed milk, except that it's made with coconut milk instead of cow's milk. It's thick, syrupy, and sweet, and typically comes in a can. Note that cream of coconut is different from coconut cream, which is the fatty, creamy part of canned coconut milk that you can skim off the top. Canned coconut milk can come sweetened or unsweetened and has a milder, butterier flavor than cream of coconut. Cream of coconut is the best choice in this recipe because of its thickness and richness; Coco Casa and Coco Lopez are two popular brands.

Recipe Variations

  • Try an aged or flavored rum (either commercial or a homemade infusion). Coconut rum is an obvious choice, but other fruits can work just as well.
  • If you prefer vodka, pour it instead of the rum. To add flavor, try either coconut or pineapple vodkas, or a combination of the two.
  • Brandy is used in the frozen kappa colada, and it's a great alternative in the shaken drink.
  • For a virgin version of the piña colada, skip the rum and shake 4 ounces of pineapple juice with 2 ounces of cream of coconut.

How Strong Is the Piña Colada?

This piña colada recipe is pretty average. It's not the lightest drink, nor is it the strongest cocktail you can make. With an 80 proof rum, the alcohol content is a reasonable 13 percent ABV (26 proof). It's similar to a glass of wine, only far more delicious.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
776 Calories
40g Fat
75g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 776
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 40g 52%
Saturated Fat 33g 164%
Cholesterol 51mg 17%
Sodium 258mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 75g 27%
Dietary Fiber 12g 43%
Total Sugars 51g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 87mg 436%
Calcium 84mg 6%
Iron 2mg 12%
Potassium 609mg 13%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)