Let’s make a summer fun drink that the whole family can enjoy together. Succulent pineapple and sweetened coconut combine with ice in this frozen piña colada recipe. It is fast and easy to make – just throw everything into the blender and let it rip. And, after a few seconds of whizzing blades, we end up with a sweet frozen drink.

A piña colada without the rum is basically just a dessert smoothie. Not a healthy one, mind you, but a smoothie nonetheless. The pineapple and coconut flavors become their own unique flavor when combined. But it is all about the balance. Have too much of either and that flavor is mostly the only thing you can taste. So make sure to measure it out or you’ll have a lot of adjusting to do.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe I had on a different site. Well, still have up on a different site. My piña colada from the site The Smoothies 101. It is an old site that I still have up and have not made any updates to in a long time. It has terrible photos. But the recipes and information are solid. So I thought I’d borrow from myself. Why start from scratch when I could reference something I know works?

So try out this virgin piña colada recipe to make a refreshingly sweet frozen drink. Or, even better, make a flight of summer drinks by pairing this with frozen mint lemonade and a blended watermelon drink.

A What of Coconut?

This recipe uses cream of coconut as one of the main ingredients. Do not confuse this with coconut milk. They are two entirely different products and are made for different things. Though a coconut milk piña colada would be healthier, it would not be quite the same.

Cream of coconut is a smooth, thick, and super-sweet mix of condensed coconut. It is similar to sweetened condensed milk that is used in some baking recipes. The syrup is basically a super-concentrated sweet coconut flavor bomb. No wonder it makes the perfect addition to a dessert smoothie.

If you are looking to buy it at the store then make sure to look near the alcohol aisles. There is typically a section for making mixed drinks that has things like grenadine, lime juice, margarita mix, and seltzer water. Somewhere within that group of items, you are likely to find an option or two of buying cream of coconut.

And if you can’t find it locally or would rather buy it online, you can always buy cream of coconut for delivery.

Pineapple for Piña Colada

For this recipe, I chose to use frozen pineapple. It is fairly easy to come by, can be bought in large quantities at stores like Costco, and it makes it so we don’t have to use as much ice so the drink is more potent. It is easy to just keep some frozen pineapple on hand. And I don’t have to make sure that I have a fresh pineapple that is ripe and ready to slice.

Plus it can be kind of messy cutting up a pineapple.

But you can also make this drink with fresh cut pineapple instead of frozen. Use the same amount of pineapple and then use more ice when blending the drink together.

In that original recipe for the virgin piña colada, I list a 20-ounce can of pineapple chunks in 100% juice as one of the main ingredients. That was for ease of use and to not buy multiple items at the store. No need to have separate juice and pineapple, just buy them together. Genius. However, the quality of that pineapple is not always the best. In my opinion, canned pineapple in juice is lower than frozen which is lower quality than fresh-cut pineapple. But if you want, replace the juice and pineapple in the recipe with one 20-ounce can of pineapple in 100% juice and add some extra ice.

Note that sometimes it can take a powerful blender to really get a smooth frozen drink. If it is not blending well, then you may need to add a little bit more liquid – the pineapple juice in our case – to make sure it can blend smooth. Or you can invest in a high-quality blender like the Vitamix that I have to easily make smoothies without issue.

So try making this cocktail without the rum for a family-friendly virgin piña colada and let me know what you think.

Family Friendly Piña Colada

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: Drinks, DessertDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Total time

5

minutes

Juicy pineapple and creamy coconut combine in the blender for this perfect piña colada recipe that the whole family can enjoy

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup pineapple juice

• 1/2 cup cream of coconut

• 2 cups frozen pineapple

• 2 cups ice

Directions

• Add the ingredients in the order listed into a blender
• Blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth – stopping and stirring if air pockets are created between the blender blades and the drink
• Pour and serve, garnish with fresh pineapple or maraschino cherries for extra flair
  

The post Easy Family Friendly Piña Colada Recipe appeared first on Do You Roux?.

Pineapple, bell peppers, and coconut make these grilled shrimp kabobs a tropical treat. Cooking them on the grill gives them that perfect char. So bust out your skewers, fire up the grill, and get to cooking.

Because the shrimp are marinated before cooking, these grilled shrimp kabobs are some of the most tender I have ever had. And if you have never had grilled pineapple before then you are in for a surprise.

The marinade for this dish is mostly coconut milk with soy sauce for salt, honey for sweet, garlic for flavor, olive oil for non-stick, and orange juice for a citrus punch. This results in a slightly citrusy yet really creamy coconut-y flavor with tender shrimp and charred pineapple and peppers.

Skewered Shrimp

I highly recommend getting yourself some metal skewers for grilling kabobs. I bought this set of 10 skewers that I love. They are flat, so they make it less likely that your food will spin when you try to flip it. The skewers also have a metal disc to help push the cooked food off. And they are reusable with no prep work required before making the dish.

If you do elect to use wooden skewers, then you will have to soak them for at least an hour before they go on the grill. I would typically throw them in a glass baking dish and cover them with water the night before making kabobs. I have not found any good flat wooden skewers to help combat spinning food. So if you know of any, then give me a heads up. Also, please do not try and re-use wooden skewers.

You’ve got to love the oxymoron that is jumbo shrimp. When selecting your shrimp, I recommend getting the largest that you can. Larger shrimp will take the heat of the grill better. Plus you get more to eat for your effort.

Note that with the number of ingredients I have listed here, it took me about sixteen 12-inch long skewers to grill all of the food. Also, do not leave the shrimp in the marinade for longer than the given thirty minutes. We don’t want it to start breaking down the shrimp to mush. Wipe the grill grates down with canola or vegetable oil before grilling to get those mouthwatering grill marks.

Serving Shrimp Kabobs

The grilled shrimp, pineapple, and peppers can be served over rice or quinoa. When cooking either of the starches, use half a cup of unsweetened coconut milk along with the remaining cooking liquid. This helps give a bit of flavor to it that will make it an even better pair for the tropical flavors.

For sides, add some type of grilled vegetable or a simple salad to round out the meal. I would even use my oven-roasted asparagus recipe, but cook it on the grill instead. Grilled corn, hot peppers, zucchini, or green beans could all be great sides for this dish and could be cooked while the kabobs grill. Two for one.

The accompanying sauce can be used to pour over everything, or as a dipping sauce. I have used it both ways and it adds great tropical sweet notes to the dish. It is quick and easy to make the sauce, combining just three ingredients. The corn starch and coconut milk are whisked together, then combined with the cream of coconut, and then brought to a boil. After thickening up a bit, just remove it from the heat.

Finally, to round out the meal, serve it with frozen mint lemonade. Then you have the perfect summer meal. Grilled shrimp kabobs, a sweet coconut sauce, pineapple, bell pepper, and a refreshing frozen drink. Enjoy!

Grilled Shrimp and Pineapple Kabobs with Sweet Coconut Sauce

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: EntreesDifficulty: Intermediate

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Marinating Time

30

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

Fire up the grill and follow this recipe to get grilled shrimp, pineapple, and pepper kabobs with a slightly citrusy yet creamy coconut-y flavor with a perfect char

Ingredients

• Marinade

• 2 cups unsweetened coconut milk

• 2 tablespoons honey

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• Juice of 1 orange

• 1 large clove garlic, minced

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• Kabobs

• 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail on

• 2 large bell peppers, any color

• 1 pineapple

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

• Sweet Coconut Sauce

• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

• 2 teaspoons corn starch

• 1 cup cream of coconut

Directions

• Make the marinade by combining all marinade ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and whisking together
• Reserve about half a cup of the marinade for brushing the kabobs while grilling
• Add the tail-on peeled and deveined shrimp into the remaining marinade and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes
• While the shrimp is marinating, chop the pineapple and bell peppers into about 1-inch sized pieces
• In a small saucepan, whisk together the corn starch and coconut milk and then add in the cream of coconut
• Place the saucepan on medium heat and stir until the mixture starts to boil
• Let it cook for just a few more minutes while stirring, then remove from the heat and reserve until serving the kabobs
• Just before the shrimp are ready, light and preheat the grill to high heat
• Remove the shrimp from the fridge, get out the skewers, and start assembling the kabobs by sliding shrimp, peppers, and pineapple onto the skewers until full – leave about 1/2 inch at the end of the skewer clear so that you don’t lose your last item while grilling
• Sprinkle the kabobs evenly with salt and pepper
• Place the kabobs on the grill, brush each side with the reserved marinade, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side until the shrimp are opaque and everything has a slight char
• Take the skewers off the grill and serve the kabobs with the coconut sauce made earlier

Notes

• Wiping the grill grates down with canola or vegetable oil before grilling will easily get you those mouthwatering grill marks
• Do not leave the shrimp in the marinade for much longer than 30 minutes

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