5 Minute Chi Chi Frozen Cocktail w/ Vodka

A tiki cocktail has never tasted so good

Forget the beach vacation and sip on this tropical two-serving Chi Chi Cocktail instead. Made with pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and vodka, the smooth and slushy texture goes down easy and is so refreshing on a sunny day. 

Just like our frozen Mango Margarita and blended Dirty Banana Cocktail, I’ve added frozen fruit to this blended cocktail to give it a smooth and creamy texture. It’s made with almost all of the same ingredients as a pina colada but swaps the rum for vodka. This allows for the pineapple and refreshing flavors to come through in each sip. 

This is an easy chi-chi recipe you can blend together in seconds and even prepare ahead of time. It’s perfect for lounging by the pool or beach days along with other one of my other cocktails!

What is a chi chi cocktail?

If you love the creamy and coconutty texture of a piña colada, then you’re going to love this 5-ingredient chi chi drink just as much. The distinct difference between the two is in the liquor: a chi chi is a frozen blended cocktail with vodka and a pina colada with rum. You might as well call them cousins and add them both to your list of frozen vodka cocktails for summer!

Ingredients you need

This all-out vodka cocktail for summer is made with a lot of fresh ingredients. Made in a blender with vodka and ice, you end up with a tropical slush that is almost too easy to drink.

Pineapple Juice

Pineapple juice can make or break your cocktail. The best flavors will come from fresh-pressed juice but if you don’t have access to it (which we don't!), canned juice will work just as well. Don’t use juice from leftover cans or bottles because it has the tendency to spoil quickly when it’s exposed to air.

Vodka

Vodka is what separates the chi chi recipe from a pina colada. You can’t taste the booze in this recipe, which means you can get away with using a low to mid-priced vodka if you'd like.

Using vodka instead of rum in this cocktail means the flavor is more pineapple-forward. You can barely taste the vodka even though each glass has 1.5 ounces each! Make sure you sip slowly and only go up to 2 ounces of vodka per glass if you want to increase the alcohol.

Cream of coconut

While it’s similar to coconut cream, cream of coconut is a much sweeter alternative. It’s a staple in many tropical cocktails, helping them taste rich and indulgent. You can buy cream of coconut online or at liquor stores.

Lime juice and frozen pineapple

These untraditional ingredients really bump up the flavor in a chi chi drink. The lime adds balance while the frozen pineapple chunks add a burst of fresh flavors and make it even more smooth and slushy. You can buy frozen pineapple in grocery stores or freeze a fresh pineapple yourself and serve the finished cocktail inside the hollowed fruit!

To freeze fresh pineapple, chop and freeze the fruit pieces on a parchment-lined baking sheet. They’ll fully freeze overnight and will be ready to use the next day.

Ice

As always, freshly made ice is best!

Garnishes

Nothing makes a cocktail more fun than a cute and easy garnish! For this easy tropical cocktail, you can go all out or keep it simple with some of these ideas:

• Cherries - maraschinos are a great classic addition, luxardo cherries will make the drink fancy, and fresh are great when they are in season.
• Pineapple - cut cute wedges of fresh pineapple, grill some slices if you're already grilling, or try some of these pretty dehydrated dried pineapple slices.
• Lime - since lime is an ingredient in this creamy cocktail, a wedge or wheel of fresh lime would also be a great garnish!

How to make a chi chi cocktail

Grab your high-powered blender (I love the Vitamix!) and let’s get started! Making this frozen cocktail is easy:

Recipe