Where do I start with this one? It's amazing. Simple to make. Just 4 ingredients. Ready in under 5 minutes. Delicious. Refreshing. AND... it will rival ANY piña colada made in a frozen drink machine!
That pretty much sums up this frozen pina colada, and I hope you love it as much as I do!
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In case you have never had a piña colada, it's usually an alcoholic drink made with rum, pineapple, and coconut. There are many ways and many different ingredients that can be used, but I found this recipe to be simple and delish.
The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender works magic with frozen drinks and this piña colada is no exception. I've tried to make piña coladas in the past with other blenders and they are never quite right.
A perfect piña colada should have a good balance of pineapple and coconut flavors, but more importantly should be frozen and SMOOTH. That's the hardest part to get right, but the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender takes care of this with the push of a button.
How do I know Which Function to Use on the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender?
I bring this question up because in this recipe I don't use the Frozen Drink Function and that might be confusing. After all, the piña colada is a frozen drink!
I said earlier that there are many ways to make a piña colada and this recipe uses fresh pineapple. If I was using pineapple juice, the frozen drink function would be just fine, but, with fresh pineapple we have to break the fruit down a little more to get that smooth consistency.
So, I use the extract button. Not only does this function crush the ice to a smooth consistency, it also processes the fruit into a smooth pulp. I've used this function for making cinnamon apple jelly from fresh apples that weren't peeled or seeded and it was amazing. Unfortunately, I didn't write up a recipe for that one, but it is on my list to recreate!
There are many other factors that go into choosing the best blender function for the job and I'm currently working on an in-depth article that goes into the specifics of each function. It's not quite ready yet, but it's coming soon!
Do I have to make this Piña Colada with Alcohol?
Absolutely not! It will be equally delicious without alcohol, for sure. There are a few changes I would make, though.
- Decrease your ice to 2 - 2½ cups
- Add 4 ounces* of a coconut-flavored seltzer or water
If you wanted to add 8 ounces of a flavored seltzer or water, keep the ice at 3 cups.
What type of Pineapple is best for a Piña Colada?
Personally, I think fresh works best. However, you can use canned pineapple or even pineapple juice, here are the changes I would make.
Changes for Canned Pineapple
There are several different types of canned pineapple; rings, chunks, crushed, and tidbits. There may even be more than that, but those are the ones I'm familiar with.
No matter what kind of canned pineapple you are using, you will want to drain off the juice. I know, this sounds horrible, but that extra liquid is going to make you frozen drink on the runny side. Yes, you can increase the ice to make up for it, but then you will be diluting the other flavors.
Rings or Chunks: Use at least 1 can (15 ounces) per batch of piña cololda and increase the ice by about ½ cup. The canned fruit is a little juicier and I think the added ice will help keep a nice frozen drink consitency.
Crushed or Tidbits: I would use 2 (15-ounce) cans and strain them really well. There is a lot of liquid and too much of it will lead to a runny drink.
Changes for Frozen Pineapple
If you want to use frozen pineapple, that is perfectly fine. I would decrease the ice by 1 cup.
What is Best to use for the Coconut?
I am pretty sure that a fresh coconut is best, but I haven't had a chance to try that yet. I had to save the coconut for the picture! I plan on cracking it open soon and whipping up a batch, so I'll update the post when I do.
If you wanted to use fresh coconut, I would use both the meat and the milk. I really don't know how much of each until I test it, but I would put the coconut meat and the milk into the blender by themselves and select the extract button to get it to a thick cream. Then, use that in your drink.
What I used instead, is coconut milk that you get in a can. This IS NOT the same as coconut milk that you get in the milk section of your grocery store.
Using the coconut milk in a carton will result in a very runny drink. Now, you can always increase the ice, but again you will be diluting your cocktail.
I haven't tried this yet, but you can probably use shredded coconut with a little water and use the extract button to get it to a good consistency. You may want to adjust your sugar amounts or omit it since the shredded coconut is usually sweeter (even the unsweetened kind in my opinion) than coconut milk is.
What Type Of Alcohol Should I use for a Piña Colada?
Rum is traditionally used and in this recipe I used a coconut rum because I think it gives a great flavor. You can use any kind of rum or even vodka that you like. There are no rules when it comes to mixing cocktails. Make them exactly the way you like them!
You can also skip the alcohol altogether! You will need to add in some liquid and I mentioned earlier that I would use a coconut flavored water or seltzer.
How to Make Frozen Piña Coladas in the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender
I used 3 cups of ice, 2 cups of fresh pineapple chunks, ½ cup coconut milk from a can, 1 cup of coconut rum, and 2 Tbsp of sugar.
The sugar is optional and, if your pineapple is really sweet, just skip it. Mine wasn't quite sweet enough and even with the 2 Tbsp of sugar, it could have used 1 more Tablespoon. You can adjust that to your taste.
Add the ingredients to the blender in the order they are listed in the recipe below and hit the extract button.
*You can freeze any leftovers in ice cube trays and if you want to whip one up, just put the frozen cubes in the blender and select frozen drink.
Pour and serve! Cheers!
If you want another delicious drink made in the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender, check out this 3-Ingredient Frosty Recipe!
Pina Colada
Equipment
- Ninja Foodi Cold and Hot Blender
Ingredients
- 3 cups ice
- 2 cups pineapple fresh and in chunks
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- ½ cup coconut milk canned
- 1 cup coconut rum
Instructions
- Add the ingredients to the blender as listed and select the Extract function.
- Serve & Enjoy
Nutrition
ABOUT THE RECIPE AUTHOR, LOUISE LONG
Louise is a full-time recipe creator and food blogger @ The Salted Pepper. She has over 30 years of experience with cooking and recipe development. She owned a restaurant for several years and was a full-time RN until retiring to blog full-time.
Louise has several very active Facebook groups that help people with the basics of cooking and getting the most out of the Ninja Foodi.
Ninja Foodi Fresh & Healthy Meals
Seeing the need for easy, delicious, and high quality recipes, she is focusing all of her efforts creating recipes specifically for the Ninja Foodi. Her recipes are easy for the home cook to follow and provide step-by-step instructions.
Louise is also a YouTube creator and you can find most of her recipes in video format on The Salted Pepper YouTube channel.
She is very responsive to messages and eager to help in any way she can.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE WHAT YOU ARE COOKING UP IN YOUR NINJA FOODI! TAG ME @THESALTEDPEPPER ON YOUR FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM WHEN YOU MAKE A DISH!
BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE SALTED PEPPER RIGHT HERE ⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓
Garry Lucas
I felt the same. If you have any feedback with Ninja can you ask them to stop messing about with the buttons. It's hard enough translating cups /ozs/grams/millilitres/etc
Louise
Agreed! I don't have any influence with Ninja though.
Garry Lucas
Made a batch of the Pina Colada last night . It was fabulous. Only problem would be the rum doesn't have the usual kick. Could easily become legless without even trying. (OK,not much of a problem)
Louise
What kind of rum did you use? If you want to increase the rum, decrease on of the other liquids a tad so it isn't too watery. Enjoy!
Debbie
Do you have a pina colada recipe without alcohol?
Louise
In the post I give my suggestions for making it without alcohol.
J
Louise
This is our favorite holiday drink, but I kick it up a notch - try;
Adding 2-3 large scopes of ICE CREAM SHERBET and 1/2 - 3/4 cup quality rum, I use 151 proof
Sherbet flavor dictated by the color you want for your drink.
Holiday favorite at our house is lime with a splash of lime juice; strawberry with a few strawberries in the mix; or pineapple . Always make a virgin batch for the kiddies they feel so grownup!!
Louise
All of those sound delicious! That's awesome that you make a batch for the kids, I remember drinking shirley temples with my pop-pop! Great memories.
Kristina Walker
Hi Louise!
In Disney there is an AMAZING pineapple 🍍 soft serve called Dole Whip, ever heard of it? I have been messing around with different recipes in my foodi trying to get it right (If not the texture, definitely the taste!) But so far NADA! I even purchased the actual dole pineapple soft serve mix off Amazon which is the stuff they really use in the parks. It says to use an ice cream maker but I'm hoping I can figure it out in the foodi! If you have any ideas for a delicious foodi dole whip please share! Millions of ppl all over the internet are trying in other blenders but since you are the foodi queen, I thought I'd ask! 💛
Louise
Hi Kristina! I'm not sure if I've had one before, but it sounds interesting. I'll have to order some of that from Amazon and give it a go. Do you mind if I email you when I start testing it so you can be my taste tester since I have no idea what it is supposed taste like?
Tracey
I know exactly what you mean! I love those, they’re served with a spear of pineapple, I think you can have a shot of rum too now. We’re in the UK so I’ve only been about 8 times, but I have to head straight to adventureland to have one. I’d love to know if you recreate this, it would be amazing to make at home 🍹
Melody Stoops
Me too!
Dianna Wadkins
I going have a card game Thursday night with the girl. Going make this drink of yours. The Piña colada drink. Hope mine will be as good as your look I try thank you for all your cooking that you do love that. Got to think of a meal that would be good or a Snack
Louise
Enjoy! Coconut shrimp would be wonderful with a pineapple dipping sauce. Here is my recipe: https://thesaltedpepper.com/coconut-shrimp/
Amanda
Dear Louise, thank you so much for all the wonderful videos, I love watching them all. I really want to make the pina collada tomorrow but I'm in the UK and my Ninja Hot and cold blender doesn't have an extract function so I wondered if you could help me with which function I should choose please, my functions are
Smoothie / Frozen Drink / Smooth Soup / Chunky Soup / Dessert /Milkshake / Jam / Sauce / Chop / Saute / Blend / Cook and Pulse. Thank you so much for your time. Amanda x
Louise
I would use the frozen drink function.
Karen
Happy belated birthday Louise. Finally made this drink - fabulous. Used frozen pineapple and my Blendtec blender. Excellent results.
Louise
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Janet Kimberley
I live in the UK. My blender and soup maker is different and doesn't have an extract, ice cream or mixer, water and cocktail settings - what do I use for this recipe and others in the Ninja Foodi cold and hot blender recipe book (different name in the UK)? Does my blender /soup maker have less functions or just different names?
Louise
I think just different names. I'm in the process of writing a detailed article about all the functions that I have, but unfortunately there is no way for me to purchase the UK model to compare them. You should be able to use this guide to determine which function it is on your model. I have no idea why they make these things with different names.