Pineapple Coconut Smoothie

Michael Eisenwasser

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A single-serve tropical smoothie using Monash serve sizes for pineapple and coconut milk, brightened with lime and sweetened with maple.

Prep 5 min

Cook 1 min

Serves 1

Gluten-freeVegan-option

Ingredients

• 1 cup (140 g) fresh pineapple chunks
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) canned light coconut milk
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) lactose-free cow's milk or unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 cup ice
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)

Instructions

Blend

1. Add the lactose-free milk and coconut milk to the blender first, then the pineapple, ice, lime juice, maple syrup, and vanilla.
2. Blend on high for 30 to 60 seconds, until smooth and frothy. Scrape down the sides once if any pineapple sticks.
3. Pour into a tall glass and drink right away. The coconut flavor is strongest in the first few minutes.

Tips & Substitutions

• Use canned culinary light coconut milk, not regular. Monash lists canned light coconut milk as low at 1/2 cup per serve. Regular (full-fat) canned coconut milk drops to 1/4 cup, so if that's what you have, cut the amount in half and top up with lactose-free milk. Coconut cream is a different product and sits lower still. Skip any can that lists inulin, chicory root fiber, or "prebiotic fiber," and don't swap in refrigerated "coconut drink" from the milk aisle — that's a different product.
• Cut the fat if fat is a trigger. Coconut milk adds real fat, and fat can bother some people with IBS even when the drink itself is low-FODMAP. If that's you, start with 1/4 cup light coconut milk and top the rest with lactose-free or almond milk.
• Add a firm-yellow banana. For a thicker, creamier pour, add a small firm-yellow (still slightly green) banana. Choose fruit that isn't brown-spotted, since riper bananas become higher-FODMAP at smaller serves. Weigh it and check the Monash app for the current gram limit.
• Frozen pineapple works one-for-one. One cup of frozen pineapple chunks is still the 140 g serve. Skip the ice and add a splash more milk if the smoothie is too thick to pour.
• Pick a safe milk. Lactose-free cow, unsweetened almond (up to 1 cup / 250 ml), macadamia, hemp, or rice milk (up to 3/4 cup / 187 ml) all pair with the coconut milk. Oat milk is brand- and serve-dependent; use a Monash-certified carton or skip it. Avoid any milk with inulin, chicory root fiber, or added "prebiotic fiber."
• Skip the honey. Honey and agave are high-fructose and not low-FODMAP, so the tropical "pina colada" recipes you'll find elsewhere often need a swap. Pure maple syrup is low at 2 tablespoons, and a teaspoon is plenty here with ripe pineapple. A few drops of pure stevia or sucralose also work — just skip stevia packets or blends cut with erythritol, xylitol, sorbitol, or mannitol.
• Make it a protein smoothie. Add 1 scoop of whey isolate, rice protein, or egg-white protein powder. Skip plant-protein blends that list inulin, chicory root fiber, or "prebiotic fiber" on the label. You'll see these ingredients on a lot of labels.
• Coconut water is not the same. A splash (under 100 ml) of coconut water is low-FODMAP, but it's a different product from canned coconut milk and won't give you the creamy body this recipe is built around.

Why This Works

Pineapple serve. Monash lists 1 cup (140 g) of fresh pineapple as low-FODMAP. Past that serve, pineapple climbs into moderate-FODMAP territory for fructans, so stay at one serve per glass.

Coconut milk math. Canned light coconut milk is low at 1/2 cup. The FODMAP issue in coconut products is polyols (often sorbitol), which concentrate as the product gets richer — which is why regular canned coconut milk drops to 1/4 cup and coconut cream sits lower still. Light coconut milk and a measuring cup keep this smoothie safely in range.

Why lime, not lemon. Both are low-FODMAP, but lime pairs with pineapple and coconut the way a real pina colada does. A teaspoon is enough to brighten the sweetness without making the drink tart.

Sweetener rule. Pure maple syrup is low-FODMAP at 2 tablespoons, and it keeps honey and agave (both high-fructose) out of the glass. Most tropical smoothie recipes online default to honey; this one doesn't.

Storage

Blend and drink right away. If you need to hold one, cap it in a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 24 hours at 40°F (4°C) or below. Shake or re-blend before drinking; coconut milk separates as it sits. To prep ahead, freeze the pineapple in a zip bag and add the milks, ice, lime, and maple at blend time.

Not sure about an ingredient? FODMAP Tracker includes a database of 1,000+ foods with FODMAP ratings to help you cook with confidence.