I’ve never made a vegan ice cream before experimenting with Pina Colada Ice Cream. It was surprisingly still very good with no eggs or animal fat. The only thing that I need to adjust with No Churn Pina Colada Ice Cream to get a less icy finish is the amount of cream. I used fresh coconut milk, vanilla beans, coconut cream and “cream of coconut” to boost the coconut flavor. This is a no churn ice cream so I set it in the freezer before blending with a food processor to make it smooth before resetting. I then added cooked pineapples to the mix and reset the whole thing over night.
Here are a few things to know before getting started:
Coconut Milk vs. Cream:
I made my own coconut milk from scratch for this ice cream. However, having to add water to extract the milk caused some unnecessary iciness that I did not like. I have adjusted the recipe to include half coconut milk and half coconut cream (both unsweetened) to ensure there is less water and to make the overall texture of the ice cream creamier. I also added some “Real Coco” cream of coconut to boost the coconut flavor in the ice cream.
Vanilla beans:
I love vanilla beans because what’s not to love? I added both vanilla beans and vanilla extract to the mix to give maximum flavor to the ice cream. Since I used vanilla extract, I only added the beans from one pod. If you add beans from two pods you will not need to add any extract. As always be careful with vanilla use as too much of it can become toxic.
Rum:
In this recipe I only used a teaspoon of Wray and Nephew Jamaican white rum. If you do not have this on hand, feel free to use your favorite white or dark rum to give this ice cream a little spike. You wont regret the rum addition but I’m pretty sure you will regret leaving it out.
No churn method:
This is a no-churn method but if you have an ice cream maker, you can churn the cream once it’s chilled and freeze it to set. For this method, I froze the cream, divided it and added it to my food processor with ¼ cup of additional coconut cream, swirled in pineapple coulis and added it back to the freezer to set for a few hours. This way is the way to go without an expensive ice cream maker or ice cream attachment.
Pineapple coulis:
To make the delicious pineapple coulis addition I started with fresh pineapple slices that were diced into ½ inch pieces and cooked down in sugar and a bit of water to soften them up. I then blended half of the cooked pineapple and kept the other half whole to get good pieces of pineapples throughout the ice cream. Make sure this is completely cooled before adding it to the cream before the second freeze. Add the pineapple coulis is completely optional and you can also add in other fruit or preserves that you like to change the whole flavor profile of this ice cream.
If you want to skip the ice cream, try this pina colada recipe instead 🙂
For this recipe you will need:
Tools:
- Frozen Loaf pan
- Large mixing bowl
- Food processor
- Spatula
- Small saucepan
- Blender
- Cling film

Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups coconut milk
- 1 ¾ cups coconut cream + ¼ cup for processing
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp cream of coconut
- Beans from 1 vanilla bean pod
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp Jamaican white rum
- Pineapple Coulis:
- 2 slices fresh pineapple
- 2 tbsp sugar
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Combine coconut milk, coconut cream, sugar, vanilla, salt and white rum. Mix well to dissolve sugar and incorporate all ingredients well.
- Pour cream into a frozen loaf pan and freeze overnight until properly set.
- The next day, cut pineapple into 1 inch pieces. Cook pineapples in a small saucepan over high heat with sugar and water until the water reduces and becomes syrupy, about 5 minutes.
- Blend half of the pineapple mixture and add it to the other half of the pineapple pieces in the saucepan. Cook on low heat until thick, about 2 mins. Set aside until fully cooled.
- Remove frozen cream from the freezer. Cut through the cream with a sharp knife and remove from the loaf pan with a spoon. Add all frozen pieces to the food processor along with the reserved ¼ cup of coconut cream. Blend until smooth but not runny, about 1 minute.
- Add half of the blended cream back to the loaf pan. Spoon in half of the pineapple mixture and use the tip of a knife to swirl the coulis into the cream. Top with the remaining half of cream. Spoon the remaining coulis on top and swirl with the tip of a knife.
- Set the ice cream back into the freezer to set for at least 4 hours. Remove from the fridge about 10 minutes before serving so the ice cream is easier to scoop. Enjoy!
What are the ingredients of pina colada ice cream?
1 ¾ cups coconut milk 1 ¾ cups coconut cream + ¼ cup for processing ½ cup white granulated sugar 2 tbsp cream of coconut Beans from 1 vanilla bean pod 1 tsp vanilla extract ¼ tsp salt 1 tbsp Jamaican white rum Pineapple Coulis: 2 slices fresh pineapple 2 tbsp sugar ½ cup water
Combine coconut milk, coconut cream, sugar, vanilla, salt and white rum. Mix well to dissolve sugar and incorporate all ingredients well. Pour cream into a frozen loaf pan and freeze overnight until properly set. The next day, cut pineapple into 1 inch pieces. Cook pineapples in a small saucepan over high heat with sugar and water until the water reduces and becomes syrupy, about 5 minutes. Blend half of the pineapple mixture and add it to the other half of the pineapple pieces in the saucepan. Cook on low heat until thick, about 2 mins. Set aside until fully cooled. Remove frozen cream from the freezer. Cut through the cream with a sharp knife and remove from the loaf pan with a spoon. Add all frozen pieces to the food processor along with the reserved ¼ cup of coconut cream. Blend until smooth but not runny, about 1 minute. Add half of the blended cream back to the loaf pan. Spoon in half of the pineapple mixture and use the tip of a knife to swirl the coulis into the cream. Top with the remaining half of cream. Spoon the remaining coulis on top and swirl with the tip of a knife. Set the ice cream back into the freezer to set for at least 4 hours. Remove from the fridge about 10 minutes before serving so the ice cream is easier to scoop. Enjoy! How to make no chum pina colada ice cream?