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If you like piña coladas, and eating ice cream (sung in the tune of the classic Jimmy Buffet song), this recipe is just for you! This Ninja Creami ice cream recipe brings the classic, tropical drink to life in creamy treat form.
With summer approaching, that means plenty of hot days to sit outside and enjoy a nice cocktail… Or cocktail ice cream, in this case.
There’s nothing that goes better with a hot summer day than a piña colada or ice cream, so definitely don’t skip out on this ice cream.
Even if you don’t like piña coladas, this ice cream can still hit the spot. One of my personal least favorite flavor profiles is tropical, so I was surprised when this ice cream turned out to be one of my favorites!
It’s actually funny, since Alex and I use cream of coconut to make our ice creams dairy-free, so we sometimes have coconut flavor when we don’t want it. This typically only comes through in flavors that aren’t super strong, like certain fruits or simple recipes. It was refreshing to finally use the cream of coconut and look for that flavor in the ice cream!
This recipe is adults-only since it contains rum, but that can be easily omitted for a fun, fruity virgin piña colada ice cream! We also used the Captain Morgan spiced rum, but feel free to substitute with any rum of your choice.
Our recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of the rum, which is the maximum amount of alcohol we put in our ice creams. Adding too much can cause them to not freeze as hard, resulting in them being more “soft” after spinning.
This recipe did come out a bit softer than others, but part of that is just the cream of coconut and the rum. I actually loved the softer texture in this ice cream!
So turn on some Jimmy Buffet, grab some pineapple and rum, a Ninja Creami pint, and get spinning!
To Make Dairy-Free Piña Colada Ice Cream, Use the Following:
- 1 tbsp vegan cream cheese for 1 tbsp cream cheese
- 1 cup oat milk for 1 cup whole milk
First Time Using the Ninja Creami or Looking for Tips?
While the Ninja Creami is a machine with only 7 (or 11) buttons, it can still be intimidating! Here are a few tips and tricks Alex and I have picked up since beginning our ice cream journey with the Ninja Creami!
- Why did my ice cream come out so soft? Adding alcohol to the ice cream base causes it to not freeze as hard, resulting in softer ice cream. If the ice cream is too soft for your liking, put it back in the freezer for a few hours after spinning. This will help harden it back up! We have to do this quite a bit with the cream of coconut, so you might just have to wait a bit longer to enjoy your delicious treat!
- If I put the pint back into the freezer, do I need to mix the ice cream up again before enjoying? Surprisingly, no! When using the typical base ingredients (whole milk, heavy cream), re-spinning is probably best to get the ice cream back to its original creamy consistency after freezing. However, we have found when using oat milk and cream of coconut, our first spin leaves the ice cream very creamy (almost like a soft-serve texture). After putting it in the freezer for 24 hours after this original spin, the ice cream is the perfect texture to enjoy without re-spinning! My suggestion is see how the texture is without a re-spin, and re-spin only as necessary!
- What button should I use to spin my ice cream? This all depends on the consistency you’re going for! Each button operates the machine at varying speeds. For thicker concoctions (like ice cream), the ice cream button is best. However, if using eggs in the recipe (like a gelato), use the gelato button! The sorbet button is best used with fruit mixtures. For example, if mixing a can of pineapples in heavy syrup, use the sorbet button to make a delicious fruity creation! Overall, it’s something you can experiment with to find your personal preference for your ice cream consistency!
Looking for More Ninja Creami Recipes?
If you’re on the hunt for more Ninja Creami recipes, be sure to grab one of our recipe e-books, Top 25 Ninja Creami Recipes ($2.99), or the great value of over 50 recipes in Ninja Creami Cookbook: Ice Cream & Gelato Edition! Each includes favorites such as cake batter gelato, red velvet ice cream, Shirley Temple ice cream, and many more!
If you’re like us and are running out of ice cream storage containers, grab a two-pack of Ninja Creami pints to keep your freezer full with all of your ice cream creations!
Or if you don’t have a Ninja Creami and are on the fence about getting one, check out my honest review!
Do You Want to Make Your Own Ninja Creami Cookbook?
If you want to make your own version of a Ninja Creami cookbook, check out our Ninja Creami Recipe Page Template! Besides the fun design, it has space to write the spin setting, number of servings, ingredients, directions, and notes (everything a Creami recipe needs)!
Ninja Creami Piña Colada Ice Cream
Description
Piña colada ice cream brings the classic drink to your ice cream bowl! Coconut and pineapple flavors combine to create a light and refreshing ice cream that you can enjoy on a warm summer day (or any other time you're feeling tropical)!
To make this recipe in the Ninja Creami Deluxe, multiply all ingredients by 1.5
Note: 1 serving = 1 pint
Ingredients
Instructions
Place 1 tbsp cream cheese in a medium bowl and microwave for 5-10 seconds. If the cream cheese was in the fridge, these 5-10 seconds in the microwave will help soften it up to mix well with the other ingredients.
Combine cream cheese with 1/2 tsp rum extract, 2 tbsp Captain Morgan spiced rum and 1/3 cup granulated sugar. Whisk until the ingredients are mixed together.
Open a can of crushed pineapple and drain the juice into a container. Mix 2 tbsp of the pineapple juice and 2 tbsp of the crushed pineapple into the mixture.
Slowly whisk in 1 cup whole milk and 3/4 cup cream of coconut.
Pour the mixture into a Ninja Creami pint container, ensuring it does not go over the max fill line.
You may have some extra liquid, so you may need to dump some out to ensure it does not go over the max fill line.
Freeze the pint for 24 hours, ensuring it is placed on a flat surface in the freezer.
After 24 hours, remove the pint from the freezer, and plug in your Ninja Creami machine! Time for the magic.
Remove the lid from the pint and grab the Ninja Creami outer bowl. Place the pint securely into the outer bowl and cover with the lid. Once the lid is on, place the outer bowl into the machine, twisting to the right until it locks into place. Press the "Ice Cream" button and (try to) wait patiently for the creamy treat coming your way.
Once the process is finished, press and hold the button on the left side of the Creami to twist the bowl to the left and remove it from the machine. Twist the lid off of the outer bowl and remove the pint.
Now your piña colada ice cream is ready to enjoy!
Note
If you don't like following recipes, don't worry - you can customize it however you want! We personally use oat milk and coconut cream to avoid most of the dairy, and it's some of the best ice cream we've ever had.
If you liked this recipe, check out our recipe for pineapple upside down ice cream here.
How can you make this into a smoothie
I have yet to make a smoothie in the Ninja Creami, but I think if you mash up the fruit, pour the liquid ingredients over it, and freeze before spinning on the smoothie bowl button it should work! The recipe might have to be adjusted a bit in terms of amounts, but if you Google a smoothie bowl recipe for the Ninja Creami it may be easy to adjust.
Hope this helps!