A pineapple coconut margarita with tequila blanco, fresh lime, pineapple juice, and cream of coconut to give it a silky finish. Rimmed with toasted coconut and served over ice. This drink sits somewhere between a margarita and a piña colada. You get tangy lime and the crisp tequila of a margarita, plus coconut and pineapple sweetness that makes a piña colada. The toasted coconut rim ties it all together.
About this recipe
This recipe uses cream of coconut, which is not the same as coconut cream. Cream of coconut (Coco Lopez is the most well-known brand) is a sweetened coconut product, thick and syrupy, used in piña coladas. Coconut cream is unsweetened and closer to a thick, rich coconut milk. You want the sweetened cream of coconut for this recipe. It brings both the coconut flavor and the sweetness, which is why you don’t need any simple syrup.
Store-bought Coco Lopez works perfectly here, but if you’d rather make your own, my homemade cream of coconut takes about two minutes and uses just two ingredients. It’s not quite as thick as the store-bought version but the flavor is cleaner.
The rim is toasted desiccated coconut. I toast the coconut for these rims because raw desiccated coconut is a bit boring. Toasted, it’s golden and tasty and clings to the glass rim so much better.
If you like a tropical margarita, you might also love the white Christmas margarita, which uses coconut in a very different way, or the frozen peach margarita if you want something blended.
A peek at some of the key ingredients
Full amounts are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Tequila blanco. Also called silver or white tequila.
- Fresh lime juice. Fresh only.
- Pineapple juice. Carton or fresh, both work. Whatever you use, shake it well before measuring so it’s evenly mixed.
- Cream of coconut. This is the sweetened coconut product used in piña coladas, not unsweetened coconut cream. Coco Lopez is the most common store-bought version, or you can use my homemade cream of coconut which takes two minutes. Stir the can well before measuring, or shake the container hard. Cream of coconut separates in storage into a thin sweet liquid and a thick coconut fat, and you want them recombined before you measure.
- Triple sec. The orange liqueur that goes into any classic margarita. Cointreau if you have it, any triple sec if you don’t.
- Toasted desiccated coconut for the rim. Toast a small handful in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it turns golden.
Method
- Add a small handful of desiccated coconut in a dry pan over medium heat until golden. Tip it out onto a plate to cool.
- Run a lime wedge around the rim of a rocks glass, then dip the rim in the toasted coconut to coat.
- Add the tequila, lime juice, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and triple sec to a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice.
- Shake hard for 20 to 25 seconds. Fill your rimmed rocks glass with fresh ice. Strain the margarita over the ice.
- Garnish with a pineapple wedge on the rim.
Tips
More margaritas and coconut cocktails
- Frozen Peach Margarita – a blended, tropical margarita with a chili lime rim
- Strawberry Margarita On The Rocks – a fresh strawberry version with a homemade strawberry syrup
- Cardamom Margarita – a warmly spiced margarita with cardamom simple syrup
- White Christmas Margarita – a festive coconut margarita for the holidays
- Coconut Daiquiri – another coconut-forward cocktail, this one with white rum
Pineapple Coconut Margarita
Ingredients
For the rim
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut for toasting
- lime wedge to moisten the rim
For the drink
- 2 oz tequila blanco
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 oz pineapple juice carton or fresh
- 0.5 oz cream of coconut not coconut cream. Coco Lopez, or use homemade cream of coconut. Stir the can well before measuring
- 0.5 oz triple sec
- ice
To garnish
- pineapple wedge
Instructions
- Toast the desiccated coconut in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until golden. Tip out onto a plate to cool.
- Run a lime wedge around the rim of a rocks glass, then dip the rim in the toasted coconut to coat.
- Add the tequila, lime juice, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and triple sec to a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice.
- Shake hard for 20 to 25 seconds, until the shaker is frosty on the outside and you can hear the ice breaking down.
- Fill the rimmed rocks glass with fresh ice. Strain the margarita over the ice.
- Garnish with a pineapple wedge.
