
This homemade Spiced Pineapple Cordial is simple, delicious and perfect for making all kinds of drinks this summer. Mix this cordial with lemonade, ginger beer, sparkling water, or something a little stronger. It pairs well with spiced rum or tequila (trust me!) and you could get creative mixing it into cocktails and mocktails.
This recipe uses frozen pineapple, so you can enjoy the tropical flavour all year round. Pineapple goes perfectly with warm spices like star anise, cardamom and ginger, rounded out by cinnamon and vanilla. I can tell you, it smelled absolutely incredible as it was simmering away! The flavour is sweet and refreshing with a little complexity because of the spices. I think you’re really going to like it!
What is a Cordial?
A cordial is a sweet syrup concentrate that is diluted to drink. It’s non-alcoholic but can be used as a mixer or flavouring in a cocktail. It’s also a great way to preserve fruit. The origins of cordial can be traced back centuries, beginning as medicinal beverages and concoctions of spices and herbs. I can imagine the bottles on the shelf at the apothecary – some to settle the stomach, treat scurvy or ‘enhance vigour’ – whatever that means! It was even used as an aphrodisiac.
Some classic cordial flavours are blackcurrant, elderflower, ginger and lime. Today, cordial is going through a sort of renaissance with interesting and modern flavour combinations (and also gorgeous packaging) taking the forefront. We love to see it! However, some of these fancy cordials cost almost $30 per bottle!

Here in Australia, we grew up with a multitude of flavours of cordial – full of pure sugar and available in literally all the colours of the rainbow. Yes, even bright green! I’m not sure if they are as popular in other countries, but I will always have a soft spot for them. However, as an adult, I find the flavour of store-bought cordials are often a bit artificial, one-note and overwhelmingly sweet.
That’s why I love making cordial from scratch with slightly more grown-up flavour combinations. Making homemade cordial gives you complete control over the flavour and level of sweetness in your drink. You can be really creative with flavour combinations and create something you literally can’t just go out and buy.
When making this Spiced Pineapple Cordial, you will need muslin cloth or cheesecloth. It is made from fine cotton gauze and is much finer than a sieve when straining solids from liquids. It’s very affordable and easily found at supermarkets, kitchen supply shops and craft shops. I like to use whole spices wrapped up in a piece of muslin. This allows their flavour to infuse into the pineapple mixture but makes it much easier to remove and discard them before you blend it up. I don’t know about you, but picking out cardamom pods and cloves individually is so tedious!
The cordial is strained through muslin cloth (or you could also use a nut milk bag if you have one) to remove any remaining pulp or impurities that could cause it to spoil faster. I like to store my homemade cordial in swing top bottles and keep it in the fridge. It usually doesn’t last very long!

How to serve Spiced Pineapple Cordial
Once you’ve made your own cordial, here are a couple of ideas to use it in delicious and fun ways.
- Simply mix it in with ginger beer, lemonade (7up or Sprite if you’re American) or sparkling water. I like a roughly 1:3 or 1:4 ratio but you can of course make it up to your own liking.
- Mix it with coconut water and lots of ice. Seriously, this might be my favourite way to drink this cordial because I’m not the biggest fan of fizzy drinks. It’s so delicious and refreshing!
- Use it in a Pineapple Mojito. The cordial can replace the simple syrup in a classic mojito recipe with white rum. I would muddle the cordial in with fresh pineapple, lime and mint to release all those fresh aromas.
- Make a Spiced Pineapple Margarita. If it was me I would grill some sliced pineapple as a garnish and rim the glass in a mix of salt and cinnamon, chilli flakes or Tajin (which is a little sweet and spicy)
- There is a whole world of Tiki style cocktails with fun garnishes! I haven’t really explored making a Mai Tai, Zombie or Daiquiri at home but they generally have tropical, fruity flavours and white or dark rum so I think this cordial would work perfectly here!
- Make a mocktail inspired by any of these classic drinks, either using a non-alcoholic spirit like Lyre’s or just omitting it.
Related Post: Spiced Pineapple and Coconut Jam with Rum


Spiced Pineapple Cordial
This homemade Spiced Pineapple Cordial is perfect for making drinks all summer long. Mix with lemonade, ginger beer, sparkling water, or something stronger.
Ingredients
- Thumb size piece of ginger, cut into rough slices
- 10 cardamom pods
- 4 star anise
- 3 whole cloves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 kg pineapple, frozen but thawed – juice included
- 150 g white granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup water
- 3-6 tablespoons white granulated sugar, extra
- Water extra
Instructions
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Place the ginger, cardamom pods, star anise, cloves and cinnamon stick into a piece of muslin cloth and tie up with kitchen twine to enclose.
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Add pineapple and any juice, sugar, vanilla, and the muslin cloth full of spices to a saucepan and set over high heat for 30-40 minutes, stirring often. Add 1/2 cup water and cool to room temperature.
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Remove and discard the muslin bag of spices.
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Process pineapple mixture in a Nutribullet or high powered blender until as smooth as possible, adding a little water if needed.
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Measure the pineapple puree remaining and add it to a saucepan in a 1:1 ratio with water, so for example if you have 1 cup of pineapple puree, add it to 1 cup of water. Add 3-6 tablespoons of sugar (adjust the sweetness to your taste, keeping in mind that this is a concentrated cordial syrup that will be diluted) and bring to the boil for 5-10 minutes.
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Allow to cool a little. Strain through a muslin cloth lined sieve or nut milk bag and carefully squeeze out as much liquid as possible. This helps to remove impurities that can cause the cordial to spoil faster. Discard the pulp and pour liquid into hot sterilised bottles. Seal and cool to room temperature, then keep refrigerated.
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Serve, diluted to taste with lemonade, soda or sparkling water. You could also add your favourite spirit, or use in a cocktail.