What Goes With Pineapple

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What goes with pineapple? Learn the best ingredient pairings, meal ideas, popular flavor combinations, and other helpful tips.

Have you ever wondered why pineapples and coconut work so well together? It’s because they have similar flavor profiles making them great flavor matches.

Knowing what goes well with pineapple will help you get started putting meals together using the ingredients you already have on hand. This helps keep things new and exciting instead of always falling back into the same meals each week.

First things first.

What’s A Pineapple?

Pineapple is a well-known tropical fruit with a spiky exterior resemblant to that of a pinecone, hence the name. When cut open, the yellow (and sometimes white) flesh is sweet and fibrous. The flavor is often described as a mixture of apple, strawberry, and peach all mixed together.

Have you ever eaten fresh pineapple and instantly noticed your mouth felt tingly or irritated? This is due to an enzyme called bromelain that breaks down protein (which is why it’s often used as a meat tenderizer). Cooking the pineapple either by grilling, broiling, or roasting it helps to remove most of the enzymes.

Fun fact: the pineapple is a symbol of hospitality, which is why you’ll see them on everything from brass door knockers to light fixtures.

Health Perks

Pineapple is high in vitamin C, manganese, and vitamin B1. The bromelain does more than hurt your mouth though, it breaks down mucus in respiratory conditions such as pneumonia and bronchitis. It’s also been known to greatly reduce swelling in inflammatory conditions. To maximize the bromelain’s effects, eat the fruit alone or between meals.

When to Buy

Pineapples are in season late winter through summer. Peep the seasonal produce guide to see what else is in season right now.

What to Look For

A sweet and fragrant aroma is key to selecting a ripe pineapple. Sniff near the base where it’s most aromatic. Ripe pineapples are also ever so slightly soft when squeezed, have glossy golden yellow skin, and a healthy-looking leaf crown. They should also feel heavy for their size.

Avoid buying a pineapple with no scent because it won’t become sweeter once picked. It also shouldn’t smell funky (like vinegar), which is a sign that it’s overripe.

Storage

To improve its overall flavor, store a pineapple upside down for a day or two before cutting it. Since its sugars are more concentrated at the base (which is why that area is so aromatic), the inversion helps disperse the sugars to the other end.

Store cut pineapple in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three to five days at most.

How to Prepare

Pineapples can be baked, broiled, grilled, poached, roasted, sautéed, or eaten raw. Broiling really heightens its flavor.

What Goes With Pineapple?

Vegetables

Chile peppers (red), ginger, jalapeño, red onion, shallots, spinach, sweet potatoes, and watercress.

Fruit

Apricots, avocado, bananas, coconut, grapefruit, kiwi fruit, kumquats, lemon, lime, mangoes, oranges, papaya, passion fruit, pomegranate, raspberries, strawberries, and tamarind.

Spices

Allspice, cardamom, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, curry, fennel seeds, pepper (black), saffron, salt (fleur de sel and kosher), star anise, and Szechuan pepper.

Herbs

Basil, cilantro, lemongrass, mint, and rosemary.

Nuts & Seeds

Cashews, macadamia nuts, pistachios, and walnuts.

Sweeteners

Honey, maple syrup, sugar (brown and white).

Non-dairy/dairy

Butter, caramel, cream, ice cream, and yogurt.

Proteins

Chicken, ham, meat, and seafood (esp. shrimp).

Pantry Items

Chocolate, coconut products (cream, milk, desiccated), liquor: brandy, cognac, Cointreau, grand Marnier, kirsch, rum, sweet wine, olive oil, rice, tapioca, vanilla, and vinegar (rice).

Popular Pineapple Food Pairings

avocado + watercress
banana + ginger + rum + sugar + vanilla
berries + citrus + mangoes + star anise
coconut + honey + oranges
ice cream + brown sugar + vanilla
lime + sugar
vanilla + rum + walnuts

Meal Ideas

Pineapple is a commonly used ingredient in baked goods, cocktails, rice pudding, curry, marinades, and fruit salad.