How to make Colombian-style limonada de coco (coconut lime-aid) with recipe

This frozen drink, made with limes and coconut cream, tastes like paradise.

The limonada de coco tastes best with a side of Caribbean breezes, but maybe, just maybe, you can capture the flavor and feeling of a beach vacation when you get back home.

“Do you think if I made limonada de coco back home, it would taste just as divine as it tastes right now, right here on this quiet island in the Caribbean?”

This is the question I pondered while I was sipping on the cool, refreshing drink during a visit to the Islas de Rosario (Rosario Islands), part of a Colombian archipelago just off the north coast of South America. My husband, three-year-old daughter and I drank one almost every day while in Cartagena, Colombia, where it is served just about anywhere, from hole-in-the-wall kiosks to high-end restaurants.
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While we were staying overnight at the Eco-Hotel Isla del Sol, I finally had the opportunity to sit down and watch how it was made.

A staff member at the Eco-Hotel Isla del Sol squeezes fresh lime into a blender while preparing limonada de coco.

The bartender squeezed fresh limes with a manual citrus juicer over ice in a blender, then added coconut cream, sugar and sweetened condensed milk — the latter ingredient came as a surprise because most of the recipes I’ve seen for the drink are vegan. Nonetheless, it tasted great in the oven-hot heat that plagues the Caribbean coast. Instead of taking a siesta in the midday sun, I sipped on limonada de coco under a shady palapa on the beach. Ahhhh.

Like all good things, the trip came to an end, but I wanted to keep the flavor of my Colombian vacation alive back home. On the way out of the country, I picked up a hand-painted citrus juicer as a practical and useful souvenir for myself. It was also a good reminder to make limonada de coco.

I love functional souvenirs like this hand-painted citrus juicer I picked up at El Market in Cartagena’s airport.

I experimented with several batches until I got the flavor just right — but I kept this version vegan.

Limonada de Coco (Coconut Limeaid)
Serves 4

2 1/2 cups ice
1 can of full-fat coconut milk
2/3 cup lime juice (approximately 6 limes or 18 key limes)
4 tbs sugar
Optional: white rum, 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk in place of two tablespoons sugar

Add all the ingredients to a blender or Vitamix and blend on high until smooth. Taste, then adjust the lime juice or sugar to your preference. Serve cold with a wedge of lime.