Virgin Pina Colada

A low FODMAP virgin pina colada of fresh pineapple, light coconut milk, lime juice, and maple syrup blended with ice.

Prep 5 min

Cook 1 min

Serves 1

Gluten-freeDairy-freeVegan

Ingredients

• 1 cup (140 g) fresh pineapple chunks, chilled
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) canned light coconut milk, well shaken, plus 1/4 cup (60 ml) cold water
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (about 1/2 lime)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup, to taste
• 1 cup ice cubes
• A lime wheel, for garnish (a pineapple wedge adds to the 140 g serve, so trim the chunks by the same amount if you use one)

Instructions

Blend

1. Add the pineapple, light coconut milk, water, lime juice, maple syrup, and ice to a blender.
2. Blend on high for 20 to 30 seconds until completely smooth and slushy. Scrape down the sides once if any pineapple chunks stick.

Taste

1. Taste and adjust. Add another teaspoon of maple syrup if the pineapple is tart, or an extra squeeze of lime if the coconut tastes too rich.

Serve

1. Pour into a chilled tall glass or hurricane glass.
2. Notch a pineapple wedge and a lime wheel onto the rim. Serve with a straw.

Tips & Substitutions

• Keep canned coconut milk to 1/4 cup. Monash University testing puts canned coconut milk, light or regular, at 1/4 cup (60 g) per serve, so the water makes up the rest of the liquid. For a creamier drink, use 1/2 cup of carton coconut milk (low FODMAP up to 3/4 cup) in place of both, and pick one with no inulin.
• Skip "cream of coconut" entirely. Bar-style cream of coconut is mostly coconut and sugar, with no tested low FODMAP serve at the amounts a pina colada uses. Coconut milk plus maple syrup gives the same sweet, creamy profile in measured amounts.
• No commercial pina colada mix. Bottled mixes often contain high-FODMAP sweeteners and additives (inulin, apple or pear juice concentrate, large pours of fruit juice) and make it easy to exceed a low-FODMAP serve without realizing it. Starting from fresh pineapple keeps the per-serve load predictable.
• Fresh or frozen pineapple is simplest. Fresh chunks or unsweetened frozen pineapple are the easiest way to stay within a Monash-tested serve. If you're using canned pineapple, drain it well, skip the packing juice, and use about 1/2 cup (90 g): the canned serve is smaller than the fresh one.
• Maple syrup, not honey or agave. Pure maple syrup is low-FODMAP in the amount this drink uses. Honey is low FODMAP only at about ½ teaspoon and agave is high FODMAP at recipe amounts, so neither is a good swap here.
• If some people want a cocktail. Rum is not low FODMAP in Monash testing; for a low FODMAP version add 1 ounce (30 ml) of vodka to the blender. Guests not eating low FODMAP can take the classic 1.5 ounces of white rum.
• Batch for a party. Multiply every ingredient by the number of guests and blend in batches that fit your pitcher. Hold the ice back until the final blend so the drinks don't water down while waiting.

Why This Works

Pineapple is low-FODMAP at 1 cup fresh. Monash lists fresh pineapple as low-FODMAP at 140 grams, which is right around 1 cup of chunks. That's a full serve of fruit in one glass.

A measured splash of coconut milk. Monash lists canned coconut milk as low FODMAP at 1/4 cup per serve, and that is what goes in. Blended with ice and pineapple, it is enough for the creamy pina colada texture; cream of coconut products stack added sugars on top.

Maple syrup handles the sweetener role. Pure maple syrup is low FODMAP at up to 1 tablespoon, and this drink uses a teaspoon or two. Honey is low only at about ½ teaspoon, and agave carries excess fructose at the amounts a drink uses.

No bar mix, no juice concentrate. Commercial pina colada mixes often stack high-fructose corn syrup, apple or pear juice concentrate, inulin, and large pours of fruit juice, which makes it easy to exceed a low-FODMAP serve. Building the drink from whole pineapple and plain coconut milk keeps the per-serve FODMAP load predictable.

Storage

Best made to order so the drink stays cold and slushy. If you're prepping ahead, you can blend the pineapple, coconut milk, lime, and maple syrup without the ice and hold the base in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 24 hours at 40°F (4°C) or below. Shake or re-blend with the ice just before serving so the texture comes back. Leftover canned light coconut milk keeps in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 4 days.