How to Cut a Pineapple

The best ways to cut a pineapple into rings, spears, and chunks! Find out how to cut up a whole pineapple in our video. 

We are all about the fresh summer fruit right now and have been devouring a pineapple daily. There are so many fun things to do with fresh pineapple, from serving pineapple spears on sticks, grilling pineapple rings, adding to fried rice, making creamy ice cream, and hollowing out for tropical smoothies. You can buy pre-sliced pineapple at most grocery stores, and my kids always want to grab a pack at Trader Joe’s. The thing is, there’s just so much unnecessary plastic and additional cost. 

I remember the first time I bought a pineapple as an adult and had no idea how to cut a pineapple. So before I share any more pineapple recipes, I wanted to share a tutorial on how to properly peel and slice a pineapple several different ways depending on how you plan to use your pineapple. You may also want to know how to cut Papaya, Dragon Fruit, and Avocado. 

How to Peel a Pineapple

As you may have noticed, pineapple has tough, thick skin that doesn’t work well with a vegetable peeler. To peel your pineapple, cut off the leafy crown and the base. Using a sharp knife, cut the skin off in strips, from top to bottom, and discard. 

How to Slice a Pineapple

Decide what shape you want your pineapple: spears, chunks, or rings.

• For rings, cut crosswise about 1/2 inch thick. If you’d like to remove the round core in the center, use a 2-3″ cookie cutter, or a paring knife. 
• For spears or chunks, use your sharp knife to cut from the top, just to the side of the core, down to the bottom, making a large half-moon shaped piece. Next, cut that larger piece either vertically or crosswise into spears, and again the other direction, if desired for chunks. 

When kids come over, pineapple on a stick is a fun healthy snack. Just cut wooden skewers in half and insert. This also makes them easy to grill. 

Though we’ve always cut our pineapple by hand, we wanted to test out a pineapple cutter/corer/slices so we could tell you how it works. At around $6 I think it’s a worthwhile purchase. I got mine on Amazon. You can find the exact one using my Amazon Affiliate link here. It really makes cutting a whole pineapple super quick and easy, and makes very pretty rings. As a bonus, it makes a nice pineapple boat that you can fill with a tropical smoothie. You can see how it works in our short video. 

How to Store Pineapple

• Keep whole pineapple at room temperature for up to 3 days 
• Store freshly cut pineapple in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. 
• Store frozen pineapple chunks in the freezer, in airtight freezer bags, for up to 10 months. 

Freshly Cut Pineapple Recipes 

• Easy Vegan Pineapple Ice Cream
• Virgin Pina Colada  
• Fruit Salad 
• on Guacamole 
• Freeze for smoothies 
• Vegetable Kabobs 

Did you know you can regrow a pineapple from its top? Here’s a tutorial. 

Continue to Content

Yield: Serves 8

How to Cut a Pineapple

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

The best way to cut a pineapple. How to properly peel, slice, and core a pineapple into spears, chunks or rings.

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Ingredients

• 1 pineapple

Instructions

1. Lay the pineapple down on its side on a cutting board.
2. Cut off crown and 1-inch off the bottom.
3. Stand the pineapple up on a cut side.
4. To peel the pineapple skin, use a sharp knife to slice strips of skin off from top to bottom. Work your way around the pineapple until all skin is removed. About 5 large strips should do it. Discard the skin.
5. To cut the pineapple into spears, cut from top down just to the side of the core, creating a half-moon piece of pineapple. Cut that piece into 2-inch slices. To cut into chunks, cut each slice crosswise.
6. To cut the pineapple into rings, lay the peeled pineapple on its side and cut crosswise into 1/2" slices. Use a paring knife to carefully remove the core from each ring.
7. Store cut pineapple in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days, or in the freezer for up to 10 months.

Notes

We tested out a pineapple cutter and found it to be a very easy and efficient way to cut a pineapple, especially if you like rings!

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Stainless Steel Pineapple Corer Peeler Stem Remover - All in One Pineapple Tool

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 83Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 2mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 2gSugar: 16gProtein: 1g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Nutritionix. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your favorite calculator.