One of the Best Holiday drinks to make is the Puerto Rican Coquito. Now you’ll learn all the tips and tricks to make the best authentic coquito recipe ever!
As a Puerto Rican, when I think about holidays, my mind goes straight to our Puerto Rican Coquito. Then I think about the pernil, arroz con gandules, and pasteles.
What is coquito?
The original coquito is a popular Puerto Rican drink that is made with coconut milk and a coquito spice tea. Part of the flavor comes from the tea that is made with cinnamon, star anise, cloves, ginger, and rum. Some people may know it as the Puerto Rican eggnog.
In Puerto Rico, we make coquitos of almost any flavor you can think of. We make a lot of chocolate flavors like Snickers or Ferrero Rocher, to more tropical ones like passion fruit flavor.
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Why This Recipe Works
- This is the base for all the coquito flavors.
- From the popular coquitos like Oreo flavored coquito, pistachio flavored coquito, Nutella flavored coquito.
- The seasonal coquitos like pumpkin flavored coquito, strawberry flavored coquito.
- The not so popular coquitos like guayaba flavored coquito or coffee flavored coquito.
- To the new coquito flavors like peanut butter flavored coquito, orange flavored coquito, or the mint flavored coquito.
Recipe Ingredients
- Coquito spice tea- The tea is a mix of cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and fresh ginger. Some people don’t add the ginger, but trust me, is part of the flavors that you need.
- Coconut milk & cream- I always suggest using canned coconut milk. This is going to give you the best flavor and consistency. The coconut cream I like to use is Coco Lopez, but any brand will do.
- Evaporated milk- The evaporated milk adds a very distinct, delicious taste. Any brand works fine in this recipe.
- Condensed milk- The condensed milk is a must because it is partly responsible for the sweetness of the recipe. If you leave this out but still want a sweet recipe, you’ll have to add sugar.
- Vanilla & cinnamon- The vanilla and the cinnamon add a lot of flavor, so don’t leave them out.
Coquito Variations
- Coquito tea. The tea always has the base ingredients, which are cinnamon used in sticks, cloves, and star anise. Then some people like to add ginger, like in this recipe. But others like to add different spices like allspice or nutmeg.
- Low-carb coquito- For a low-carb version, swap the cream of coconut for coconut cream, which is unsweetened. Also, you have to remove the condensed milk and add some type of low-carb sweetener.
- Low-fat coquito- To make a low-fat version, the first thing you need to change is the coconut milk. Instead of using canned coconut milk, use the carton version, which has lower fat.
- Vegan coquito- To make a coquito vegan, all you have to do is swap the evaporated milk for your vegan-friendly milk. You also have to remove the sweetened condensed milk and as your preferred sweetener. Or use the coconut version.
- Puerto Rican Eggnog coquito- Coquito has no egg yolks, so it is not an eggnog. But if you like to try and make an eggnog with a Puerto Rican flavor, you can use the coquito recipe and add eggs to it
- Rums- The preferred rum is the Bacardi white or gold. To make the Bacardi coquito. But you can use coconut flavor, Don Q., or make a Hennessy coquito by using Hennessy.
Coquito Tea
- The coquito tea is very important because it is the base flavor of every coquito recipe. It is a quick 15-minute recipe that you can make days ahead.
Bottles for Coquito
- There are bottles that are typically used when making coquitos. They are the swing top bottles. But in reality, you can use any bottle that you have. Best if it’s a glass bottle. You can use old maple bottles or empty liquor bottles.
How to Make Puerto Rican Coquito
- Photo 1: In a small saucepan, add the water, cinnamon sticks, cloves, ginger, and star anise. You’ll cook on high heat for ten minutes uncovered. Let it cook before adding it to the coquito mix.
- Photo 2: To a blender, add the coconut milk, evaporated milk, condensed milk, cream of coconut, the tea, vanilla, ground cinnamon, and rum. Mix for a minute. Enjoy immediately or chill.
Recipe Tips
- When I want to make different flavor coquitos, I like adding flavored syrups.
- The coquito should always be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- My preferred way of serving coquito is cold over ice.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best rum is the Bacardi. You can use Bacardi white or gold. But you can get very creative. You can use flavored liquers or rums to make different flavor coquitos. You can also use any brandy or cognac, like Hennessy.
Eggnog and Coquito are not the same. The eggnog is an American drink popular during the holidays that is made with yolks, cream, milk, salt, and nutmeg. The coquito is a Puerto Rican holiday drink that is not made with egg yolks. It has a spice tea, coconut milk, cream of coconut, evaporated milk, cinnamon, and vanilla.
An authentic Coquito does not have egg yolks or eggs in general.
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Puerto Rican Coquito Recipe
Ingredients
Coquito Tea
- 1 ½ cups water
- ¼ ounce ginger (about 1 inch piece)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 star anise
- 6 cloves
Coquito
- 13.5 ounces coconut milk (1 can)
- 15 ounces cream of coconut (1 can)
- 12 ounces evaporated milk (1 can)
- 14 ounces condensed milk (1 can)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup rum optional
Instructions
- Make the tea. In a small pot over high heat, add all the tea ingredients. Add the water, ginger, 2 cinnamon sticks, 3 star anise, and 6 cloves. Cook for 10 minutes. You can also use a greca to make the tea.
- Strain the tea and let it cool to room temperature. Or cool it in your fridge to get it cold faster.
- Make the coquito mix. In a blender or large pitcher, add 1 cup of the tea, the coconut milk and cream, the evaporated milk, condensed milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and rum. Mix for 1 minute on high.
- Serve immediately over ice and garnish. Or chill and serve when ready to enjoy. It is best served cold. Buen provecho!
Recipe Notes
- Mixing. You can mix the coquito by hand or in a blender. The difference is that in the blender, you’ll get some bubbles and foam. So if you want to avoid this, just mix by hand. When mixing coquito by hand, mix the thicker ingredients first. This will make it easier for the ingredients to come together.
- You can choose to add rum or not. You can leave it out and add some individually to each cup. For each serving is 1 ounce of rum. You can use any rum you like, but the typical one is Bacardi.
- Yield. Each drink is a little over 8 ounces, and that’s without the ounce of rum.
- Always leave space when filling up your coquito bottle. This is because you have to mix the drink before pouring. This is due to the coconut milk and coconut cream solidifying when cold.
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