1-Ingredient Pineapple Sorbet (for Ninja Creami)

I’m sure you’ll never guess the ingredient… Just kidding.

Fresh pineapple makes the best sorbet ever. No cooking, no extra ingredients needed, just fresh pineapple all on its own.

When you buy a Ninja Creami, it comes with a pamphlet full of recipe suggestions, and some of them are dubious. One of the suggestions is to pour canned, diced pineapple in syrup directly from the can into a Creami pint container, freeze it, and churn it. I decided to try it.

Can you make sorbet with just canned pineapple?

You can, but it can also be improved by a very simple ingredient change.

Canned pineapple smells like if moldy cheese had a baby with a robot. Seriously, why does it smell like that? I had very little faith that this would taste anything like pineapple. Also, the amount the recipe called for was too much; I could not fit the entire can of pineapple into my pint. I ended up just pouring it in until the max fill line.

Besides for canned pineapple’s revolting smell, I encountered another problem: my canned pineapple did not have any added sugar. This is a problem because added sugar is what makes frozen dessert soft. Without it, I worried it would freeze into a solid puck of pure ice and break my machine.

Nevertheless, I froze the pineapple, churned it, and was pleasantly surprised by both the taste and the smell. The offensive odor still lingered a small amount, but it was mostly gone, and it tasted decent. It also did not break my machine. Passable!

But I decided that we, as the human race, deserve more than canned pineapple. We deserve fresh, healthy pineapple sorbet that goes beyond “passable.”

How to make sorbet with fresh pineapple

This whole post is just to say that you can and should make pineapple sorbet in the Ninja Creami with fresh, blended pineapple. Yes, it requires the extra step of blending the fruit before freezing, but this extra step makes the creamiest, most pineapple-forward sorbet you will ever have.

You can also blend fresh pineapple with other ingredients, like a teaspoon of vanilla extract for a creamsicle-like flavor or some coconut milk and a splash of rum for a summery treat. I like to keep it simple with one ingredient: fresh pineapple.

Happy summer, everyone.

I had leftover yellow and green royal icing from decorating cookies and decided to make some pineapples as decoration! Cute, right?

1-Ingredient Pineapple Sorbet Recipe (for Ninja Creami)

Ingredients

500 g fresh pineapple

1 tablespoon high-proof alcohol, such as vodka (optional)

Directions

1.       Blend pineapple and alcohol (optional) until pureed.

2.       Pour pineapple puree into an empty Creami pint and keep in the freezer until completely frozen.

3.       Shave off the top of your frozen pineapple puree if it formed a bump.

4.       Churn in the Ninja Creami. Re-spin as many times as needed to reach a creamy texture. Enjoy!

Notes

I used the Lite Ice Cream setting when I churned since I didn’t know any better, but now I use the Sorbet setting even for healthy sorbets like this one. Either button has worked for me. I do not recommend using the regular Ice Cream setting.

If you have concerns about the pineapple freezing too hard and breaking your machine, you can add 1 tablespoon of vodka (or whatever high-proof liquor you like) to soften it.

Q and A

Q: Do I need to blend the pineapple before freezing?

A: If you are using fresh pineapple, then yes. You must blend it first or you risk breaking your machine. It does not need to be perfect, but it should be blended.

Q: Should I use alcohol in this sorbet?

A: I recommend using alcohol just in case your pineapple is very high in water content or low in sugar. Alcohol, like vodka, helps your sorbet churn without adding flavor. You could also use liquor to add an extra flavor on purpose, like rum, if that strikes your fancy.

Q: Can I add sugar to this sorbet if I want it sweeter?

A: Sure! Just blend it in with the pineapple. However, you might find that this sorbet doesn’t need it. It’s healthy without added sugar, and it tastes fantastic. I do not recommend adding lots of sugar, but 1-2 tablespoons should be fine.

Q: What should I pair with pineapple sorbet?

A: This strawberry lemonade sorbet or this vanilla ice cream will do nicely.