Virgin Piña Colada Recipe

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.
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Updated on 01/3/23
Virgin Pina Colada

The Spruce / Cara Cormack

Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 5 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 1 drink

A coco colada (or virgin piña colada) is a nonalcoholic version of the frozen piña colada. This refreshing, blended mocktail is perfect for summer afternoons.

There is so much to love about the coco colada. It has that tropical fruit combination of pineapple and coconut and it is very easy to blend up. Best of all, it's a drink the entire family can enjoy.

Of course, you could always toss a nonalcoholic piña colada mix in a blender with ice if you like. However, I think that one of these made-from-scratch recipes produce a much tastier drink!

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Virgin Pina Colada ingredients

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  2. Add ice, pineapple juice, and cream of coconut to a blender

    ice, pineapple juice, and cream of coconut in a blender

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  3. Blend until slushy.

    ice, pineapple juice, and cream of coconut blended together

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  4. Pour into a chilled hurricane glass and garnish with an orange slice. Serve and enjoy.

    Virgin Pina Colada in a chilled hurricane glass and garnished with an orange slice

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

Coco Colada Smoothie With Fresh Coconut and Pineapple

If you have the desire to make a really fresh Coco Colada, try this smoothie recipe!

You will need to find a young Thai coconut and open it using this tutorial. The surprise inside is fresh coconut water and the sweet, white flesh and both of these elements can be used to create a fresh drink for two.

To make this smoothie, blend the meat and water from 1 coconut with 2 cups fresh and cubed pineapple, 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, and 1/2 cup ice (use more if needed). Makes 2 drinks.

Note: If you do not have a fresh coconut, substitute about 2 ounces of coconut cream and add more if needed.

Tips

  • Just like the piña colada, you can skip the blender and shake your coco colada. The coconut cream will give it that great creamy texture and the pineapple juice in the recipe above should be more than enough. Serve it over ice and, if you like, top it with a little cream soda or ginger ale.
  • The beauty of using the blender to create drinks and smoothies is that you can make adjustments as you go. If you have blended it and it's not quite the consistency you were hoping, you can still create a perfectly blended drink.
  • The mix is too thin: If your colada is too thin and watery, you need to add more solids. This could be chunks of fruit or ice.
  • The mix is too thick: For drinks that are too thick in the blender, add a small amount of liquid. Choose between your pineapple juice, coconut cream or water.
  • To create a creamier colada: You may want less of a slushy and more of a creamy smoothie. In this case, ice cream, milk (plain or coconut) or more cream of coconut should do the trick.

Recipe Variations

The tropical taste of the coco colada is a fantastic base for taking the drink as far as your imagination can take you. Here are a few ideas to get you started

  • Add more fruit to the blender. Banana, mango and strawberry are among the best options for the coconut-pineapple mix.
  • Make it a toasted coco colada. Add about 1 tablespoon of caramel syrup to the blender and garnish with toasted coconut.
  • Add chocolate ice cream or syrup. Coconut, pineapple and chocolate, it's a tough combination to resist! Add a scoop of chocolate ice cream to the blender and skip the ice. Or keep the ice and squirt some chocolate syrup into the blender.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
664 Calories
45g Fat
64g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 664
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 45g 58%
Saturated Fat 36g 181%
Cholesterol 67mg 22%
Sodium 270mg 12%
Total Carbohydrate 64g 23%
Dietary Fiber 9g 32%
Total Sugars 47g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 65mg 326%
Calcium 79mg 6%
Iron 2mg 10%
Potassium 554mg 12%
*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.)

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