Piña Colada with Dark Rum & Fresh Pineapple

This quick and easy piña colada with dark rum is ready to drink in 5 minutes! Bring the taste of the tropics to your home with only 3 ingredients. It’s ice cold, sweet, creamy, and tastes like pure sunshine. The blend of coconut and pineapple flavors makes the perfect summer tropical drink!

What is a Piña Colada?

A piña colada is a pineapple, coconut, and rum cocktail. It originated in Puerto Rico. You will most often see them served frozen. Sometimes they are served shaken or on the rocks. 

There are a few different ways to make them. I’ll show you the best way + some variations to mix things up or help suit your preferences! 

Ingredients & Substitutions

You don’t need to buy one of those bottles of piña colada mix! This creamy blended cocktail only uses 3 simple ingredients + ice. Add an optional garnish if you’re feeling fancy.

Fresh pineapple chunks take it to the next level! You can use pre-cut frozen pineapple chunks if you prefer. Use canned pineapple chunks as a substitute if you’re in a pinch.

Use sweetened cream of coconut made for cocktails. Coco Real and Coco Lopez are two common brands. They are both great options. You can find it with cocktail mixers.

You can substitute canned pure coconut cream or canned coconut milk to make a less sweet version. Do not use refrigerated cartons of coconut milk. It will not be thick enough.

Pro-tip:  Choose Coco Lopez cream of coconut to make a vegan piña colada.

Dark rum makes the best piña coladas. It has a smooth, complex, and caramelly flavor. It complements the fruitiness and tropical vibes of the coconut and pineapple. My favorite is Myers dark rum. Not spiced rum! You can substitute your favorite white rum if you prefer.

Make a piña colada mocktail

Make a virgin piña colada by leaving out the rum. You can add a teaspoon of non-alcoholic rum extract or vanilla extract for a touch of richness. It’s basically a delicious coconut cream and pineapple smoothie. Yum!

Make enough for a party

Make a batch by tripling the recipe. You can make an even bigger batch, but you’ll want to make sure your blender has a high enough capacity. I’ve made it easy for you by including instructions for a full pitcher in the recipe card.

Pro-tip: Use the mocktail instructions for your party recipe, and let guests add rum if they choose!

Cut a pineapple for making piña coladas

• Lay the pineapple on it’s side and slice off the top.
• Slice a couple of 1/2 thick circles.
• Cut each slice in half.

• Continue to cut the slices into quarters.
• Cut a slit into the tip of each wedge.

• Place the wedge on the rim of the glass.

How to make piña coladas at home

Add your ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour, garnish, and serve!

How to serve a piña colada

They are a perfect summer cocktail and make you feel like you’re in the tropics no matter where you are! The traditional way to serve a piña colada is in a poco grande glass. I like to pour them into my shatterproof hurricane glasses. Garnish them with a pineapple wedge, a cherry, or both! 

• They are easy to make a single serving at home or a batch for your gatherings. 
• Bring along a blender and make these during your summer vacation!
• Serve them poolside, at the beach, or at the lake.
• Or sip them in your lawn chair while you daydream and wish you were knee-deep in the water somewhere…

Pro-tip: Serving these in hot weather? Pre-chill your glasses in the freezer and freeze the fresh pineapple chunks. It will help keep the piña coladas frozen when things get hot.

More cocktails 

• Tokyo Sunset Cocktail
• Watermelon whiskey sour
• Caribbean Rum Punch
• Grapefruit Margarita
• Strawberry daiquiri
• Apple Cider Bourbon Cocktail

How to make a Hawaiian Lava Flow Cocktail: Layer your piña colada in a glass with a frozen strawberry daiquiri.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy a piña colada? Let me know in the comments below!

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