Christmas Eve isn’t the same without this classic Puerto Rican drink, and it’s one of the easiest recipes you’ll make this holiday season.
With its tropical element of coconut, generous pours of rum, and warm spices, my Authentic Coquito recipe is one I’m proud to share with you and your family this time of year.
Due to a hectic schedule during the holiday period, it might be advisable to start making your Coquito earlier. But how do you keep it fresh through freezing?
This article answers all the questions you might have about Coquito. Pin this recipe to find it easily for your Christmas batch.
Can You Freeze Coquito?
You can freeze the Coquito if you want it to last longer. As there’s rum in this, the drink will not freeze solid. Be sure to use a freezer-safe container. Add it back to the blender when ready to serve without thawing it first.
What is Coquito?
Coquito is a holiday cocktail from Puerto Rico made with simple ingredients like coconut milk, warm spices, and rum.
Though it’s most often served during the holiday season, you can serve it anytime. This thick, creamy, and full of coconut flavors, rum, and punch is perfect for the holidays.
Everyone makes their coquito recipe differently. All contain coconut, but some use cream of coconut, while others opt for coconut milk or coconut cream.
Coquito is similar to American eggnog, but the cream of coconut gives it a smooth and creamy consistency. However, the Coquito is coconut-flavored and typically doesn’t contain eggs or heavy whipping cream.
The spices make the drink so warm and cozy that you will want to enjoy this delicious coquito drink all winter and not just at Christmas.
How to Make Coquito
Coquito is easy to make. Follow the steps below to make your delicious Coquito.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Refrigeration Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 8; 9-ounce
Serves: 8
Serving Glasses: Collins Glass (preferably with a tiki vibe), Rocks Glass, or Hurricane Glass
Coquito Ingredients
- One can (15 ounces) cream of coconut
- One can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
- One can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup water
- One teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup rum
Directions
Step 1: Blend
- In a blender container, combine all of the ingredients except for the cinnamon sticks.
- Add less or more coconut cream, depending on your sweetness and flavor preference.
- Blend on low speed until well combined, about 1 minute
Step 2: Refrigerate
- Refrigerate until chilled.
- Chill the Coquito for at least four hours to meld the flavors and thicken the cocktail. You can chill it in the blender for short-term storage.
- If chilling it for over a day, transfer it to a sterilized glass bottle with a tight-fitting lid or an airtight container.
Step 3: Serve
- Stir in the rum before serving.
- Coquito is traditionally served in a chilled shot glass.
- Coquitos can last up to 1 month in the fridge unopened.
- If you open it before that, we recommend drinking it within two weeks
Nutrition value of Coquito for ¾ cup
- 488 calories
- 17g fat (12g saturated fat)
- 30mg cholesterol
- 132mg sodium
- 63g carbohydrate (63g sugars, 0 fiber)
- 7g protein.
Tips and tricks for making Coquito
- Use real vanilla to enhance the other flavors of the Coquito.
- The longer the drink gets to chill, the more the flavors blend and taste better.
- If the coconut fat solidifies after being chilled, allow the drink to sit on the counter for a couple of minutes before shaking it to combine.
- If you want to add warming spices to your drink, ginger, cloves, and star anise are great options.
Recipe Variations when making Coquito
a) Use different flavors
- Add cocoa powder or nut butter to the blender to flavor your Coquito.
b) Include a spice tea
- Heat the water with cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and other spices.
- Bring the water to a boil for two minutes.
- Let the tea steep for about 10 minutes.
- Strain the tea and let it cool before adding it to the blender.
c) Make it non-alcoholic
- Most coquito recipes are made with rum, but you can always leave the alcohol out.
d) Use plant-based ingredients
- Use non-dairy milk alternatives such as sweetened condensed coconut milk and evaporated coconut milk.
- This dairy-free recipe will have coconut, and the consistency may be slightly thinner, but it will still taste great.
What are some variations I can make with Coquito?
There are so many ways you can change up the Coquito. Add chocolate, Nutella, strawberries, bananas, or pistachios to the blender. Make it your own with your favorite flavors.
Drink | Recipe | Instructions | Preparation Time | Fridge Storage Duration |
Irish Coffee | – 1 ½ oz Irish whiskey – 1 tsp brown sugar – 4 oz brewed coffee – Whipped cream | 1. Combine whiskey, sugar, and coffee in a heatproof glass. 2. Stir well and top with whipped cream. | 5 minutes | Best consumed immediately |
Chocolate Martini | – 1 oz vodka – 1 oz chocolate liqueur – ½ oz cream – Chocolate shavings or syrup (optional for garnish) | 1. Shake vodka, chocolate liqueur, and cream with ice. 2. Strain into a martini glass. 3. Garnish with chocolate shavings or syrup, if desired. | 5 minutes | Up to 1 day |
Manhattan | – 2 oz bourbon or rye whiskey – 1 oz sweet vermouth – 2 dashes Angostura bitters – Cherry (for garnish) | 1. Stir whiskey, vermouth, and bitters with ice in a mixing glass. 2. Strain into a chilled glass. 3. Garnish with a cherry. | 5 minutes | Up to 1 day |
White Russian | – 1 ½ oz vodka – 1 oz coffee liqueur – ½ oz cream | 1. Pour vodka and coffee liqueur over ice in an old-fashioned glass. 2. Top with cream and stir. | 5 minutes | Up to 1 day |
Whiskey Sour | – 2 oz whiskey – ¾ oz lemon juice – ½ oz simple syrup – Lemon twist or cherry (for garnish) | 1. Shake whiskey, lemon juice, and simple syrup with ice. 2. Strain into a glass filled with ice. 3. Garnish with a lemon twist or cherry. | 5 minutes | Best consumed immediately |
How Strong Should I Serve Coquito?
White rum has 40 percent alcohol. Combined with coconut cream, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk, the final drink weighs about 9 percent ABV. This delicious drink has low alcohol content and is even lighter if served over ice.
What is the difference between coquito and eggnog?
These drinks are delicious, creamy, rich, alcoholic, and served during the holidays. You can make both drinks with or without eggs. However, you make a coquito with coconut milk, and eggnog is made with milk.
How To Serve Coquito
Coquito is always served chilled as it provides a better consistency and flavor. It will be less thick and may separate a bit if you serve it warm.
- Chill it in the refrigerator for about an hour before serving. If the mixture is too thick after chilling, blend it until it is pourable.
- Shake it well before serving, pour it into small glasses, and sprinkle the top with nutmeg or cinnamon and/or garnish it with a cinnamon stick.
- To make it extra cold, you can serve it on the rocks.
Does Coquito Contain Eggs?
The authentic Puerto Rican Coquito doesn’t contain eggs. You can turn this into a coconut eggnog with rum, but an authentic coquito is not made with eggs.
Adding eggs to the Coquito in Puerto Rico turns it into ponche. That said, each family has their recipe, which may or may not contain eggs.
Can I use Spice Tea in Coquito?
Yes, you can flavor your Coquito with a warm spice tea that adds flavor while maintaining an appealing color. You can also add the same amount of spices in their ground forms, causing the drink to become murky and form a sludge at the bottom of the glass bottle.
Add coconut water, one large cinnamon stick (or three small sticks), star anise, whole cloves, allspice berries, and a split vanilla bean to a pot.
If you don’t have one, you can omit the vanilla bean and add vanilla extract to the blender with the rums later.
Can I Make a Dairy-Free Coquito?
You can make dairy-free or vegan Coquito by replacing the sweetened condensed milk with condensed coconut milk.
If you decide to replace the canned coconut milk in this recipe with evaporated milk, you can also use soy, almond, or oat milk.
Coconut milk makes it dairy-free without a bunch of replacements. Don’t add eggs to make this a vegan coquito recipe.
Can I Make Coquito Non-Alcoholic?
To make non-alcoholic Coquito, replace the rums with more coconut milk, half-coconut milk, half-coconut water (or regular water), or more spice tea.
Non-alcoholic Coquito has a shorter shelf life because there’s no alcohol to keep the bacteria away. It is recommended that the drink be consumed within 10 days of making it.
Store this drink at the back of the refrigerator instead of the door to extend its life—the constant fluctuations from opening and closing the doors to the fridge speed up spoilage.
Why Does My Coquito Have Foam and/or Chunks?
The foam in the Coquito is from coconut fat in the cream of coconut. Shaking the can of cream coconut and warming it with the spice tea will reduce the chunkiness.
The foam results from the additives in the canned milk, and the fat from the coconut milk gets excited. You can strain the Coquito into the bottles if the foam or chunks bother you.
How Do I Store It?
Store the Coquito in an airtight glass. Sanitize the bottles by pouring hot water and leaving them for 10 minutes.
Add 2-3 cinnamon sticks to the bottles for flavor. Pour the hot water from the bottles, then add two or three cinnamon sticks.
You can omit them if you don’t have them. Put a fine-mesh sieve lined with a clean tea towel on a funnel. Straining the Coquito through the towel and sieve before curing it reduces clumping later.
Carefully pour the liquid through the strainer and into the bottles using the funnel. Leave a 1-inch headspace at the top of each bottle of Coquito so you can shake the spices back into it later.
Refrigerate and let the Coquito chill for 2 days to allow the flavors to blend and the alcohol flavor to mellow out.
How Long Does Coquito Last?
A coquito that is made with alcohol can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 year, even with the addition of eggs. As with traditional eggnog, the longer the coquito cures, the smoother and more profound its flavor. If it is made without alcohol, consume the drink within 7 days of preparation.
FAQs
1. How long does a coquito last in the refrigerator?
Coquito with alcohol lasts up to 3 months in an airtight container in the fridge. Without alcohol, it stays fresh for about four days.
2. How do you preserve Coquito?
Store the Coquito in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Shake it before serving, as coconut can solidify over time.
3. Why does a coquito get lumpy?
Coquito may get lumpy if made with coconut milk instead of cream of coconut, as coconut fat can separate. Blending it again before serving will smooth it out.
4. Does Coquito get spoiled?
Yes, a coquito can spoil if it smells sour. With alcohol, it lasts longer (up to 3 months), but without alcohol, it lasts about four days.
5. How long does Coquito last?
Coquito with alcohol lasts up to 3 months in the fridge, but it’s best to consume it sooner. Without alcohol, it lasts 4 days.
6. Can you make a coquito ahead of time?
A coquito can be made ahead, making it perfect for holiday parties. It keeps well in the fridge for months if alcohol is added.
7. What kind of rum should you use to make a coquito?
Puerto Rican white rum, like Bacardi, is traditional. For variety, try coconut, spiced, or aged rum for unique flavors.
8. What are the chunks in Coquito?
Coquito may have chunks if made with coconut milk, as coconut fat can solidify. Blend again before serving for a smooth consistency.
9. Why isn’t my Coquito thick?
The Coquito thickens as it chills. If it’s thin, add coconut cream and chill again. If it is too thick, add a bit of water to adjust.
10. Where is Coquito from?
Coquito is from Puerto Rico and originates in Latin American and Caribbean traditions. The name means “little coconut.”
11. Do I have to use three different rums when making a coquito?
No, one type of rum is enough. Traditional recipes use white rum, but you can mix types if you’d like to enhance flavor complexity.