No Waste Pineapple Skin Tea

Name: No Waste Pineapple Skin Tea
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 pineapple core and skin; 2 lemon slices; ¼ cup coconut flakes; 1 piece candied papaya; 1 Tbsp jasmine tea; ½ cup pineapple weed (wild chamomile); 2 Tbsp dried calendula; 4 sage leaves; 1 sprig fresh Indian mint; 8 cups water; ½ cup cane sugar

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Did you know you can get delicious, vitamin-rich pineapple skin tea from scraps you’d otherwise toss? If you love the flavors of this simple, floral brew, you have to try my signature pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting!

pineapple skin tea in tumbler with ice and fruit skewer beside flowers and pineapple chunks in bowl.

Don’t throw away those pineapple scraps just yet! Instead, use them to make this tropical, fruity tea that can be enjoyed either iced or hot. It’s loaded with vitamins and nutrients that make you feel great, and you’ll be proud of yourself for making the most of your produce and reducing unnecessary waste!

Pineapple skin tea is a popular drink in Jamaica, and making it yourself is a great way to bring a bit of that tropical vacation vibe into the home! For more fun, frugal, and low-waste tips, check out my guide to apartment homesteading for beginners.

Table of Contents

🥄 Why This Recipe Works

Pineapple peel benefits are no joke – they’re packed with nutrients that can aid digestion, immunity, inflammation, and more!
This pineapple skin tea is a great recipe for anyone passionate about zero-waste/multi-use living.
Utilizing kitchen scraps is a great way to stretch every dollar!

Estimated Cost of This Recipe ≈ $0.48 Per Serving

I calculate the total cost of each recipe based on the estimated cost of ingredients at average U.S. grocery prices, using only the portion needed for the recipe — not the full cost of entire packages. Keep in mind that prices can vary depending on location, season, brand, and a fluctuating economy.
My goal with these money-saving meal recipes is to make delicious & nutritious home-cooked meals feel more accessible, even during tough times. I believe that good food should bring comfort, joy, and dignity to our lives — no matter the size of our budget.

🩺 Pineapple Peel Benefits

Pineapple has a long history of medicinal use, particularly amongst indigenous peoples in South America. The stem, fruit, and skin are known to contain nutrients such as vitamin C, bromelain (a digestive enzyme), antioxidants, and trace minerals.

Bromelain, in particular, is beneficial for its anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties. Bromelain can also help break down proteins, which is a great reason to consider drinking this pineapple skin tea after heavy meals.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to pineapple peel benefits, but you can check out the National Library of Medicine for a more in-depth analysis on the effects of bromelain.

The antioxidants and vitamin C content can help support the immune system, potentially aiding in fighting off minor colds or infections, and may also support collagen production and skin health.

🛒 What You Need To Make This Recipe

pineapple skin tea ingredients (fruit, herbs, loose leaf tea, etc).

📝 Recipe Modifications And Substitutions

Pineapple: I like to use both the skin & core for maximum flavor.
Jasmine tea: Loose leaf jasmine tea works best but you can also use tea bags. Feel free to experiment with other teas such as green tea, white tea, herbal tea, etc.
Fresh herbs: I like to use sage & Indian mint, but feel free to use regular fresh mint, spearmint, basil, rosemary sprigs, lemongrass, or whatever herbs you like.
Lemon: I had the end pieces of a lemon I’d recently used in the fridge, and they worked just fine! No need to waste a whole lemon. A bit of lemon juice would work too. You can also use oranges or lime slices.
Calendula: Great for added color.
Pineappleweed: This forageable plant is sometimes known as “wild chamomile” as the flavor is similar to chamomile, but offers a lovely hint of pineapple as well. This ingredient can be hard to find, but you can always use plain old chamomile tea, of course!
Candied papaya: Totally optional, but adds a subtle fruity sweetness. You can also use dried mango.
Sweetener: I like to use cane sugar but you can also use white sugar, brown sugar, honey, Stevia, or whatever sweetener you prefer.

*See recipe card for full list of ingredients.

🍵 More Ingredient Ideas

This pineapple skin tea is tropical, floral, and light – like summertime in a glass! There are, however, many other directions you could go in when making your own.

For a spiced spin on this fruity brew you can consider adding fresh ginger, cloves, a cinnamon stick, a pinch of black pepper, or turmeric.

If foraging is your jam, try it with elderflowers, honeysuckle, orange blossoms, dandelion, hibiscus, or any other edible flowers you like to steep in tea.

Just looking to use up what you’ve got in the kitchen? Get creative, or use ingredients like strawberries, dragon fruit skin, carrot, burdock root, etc.

🥣 What Equipment Do I Need?

I recommend using a vegetable brush for cleaning the pineapple skin. You’ll need a large pot to simmer it in, as well as a cheesecloth or extra fine-mesh tea strainer for straining out the sediment. I like to store the tea in a glass pitcher (after cooling, so it doesn’t shatter) and I usually serve with a cocktail pick garnished with fresh pineapple and flowers.

🍍 How To Make Pineapple Skin Tea

Step 1: To a large pot, add pineapple core and skin, lemon slices, coconut flakes, candied papaya (cubed), jasmine tea, pineapple weed, calendula, sage, and mint. Cover with water.

Pro Tip: Pineapples, unless they’re organic, are often grown with pesticides, which the skin can sometimes retain traces of, along with dirt and bacteria. Always wash the skin with a vegetable brush and baking soda or vinegar solution before steeping.

pineapple skin herbs, tea, etc. all in pot.

water covering pineapple skin tea ingredients in pot before boiling.

Step 2: Stir and bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to low heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Pro Tip: Bromelain is a heat-sensitive enzyme and will begin to denature (lose its enzymatic activity) at around 158°F and is mostly inactivated at 176°F and above. Boiling water is 212°F, so boiling pineapple skin will largely destroy bromelain. To retain as much of its nutritional value as possible, try to keep it at a simmer, not a boil.

pineapple peel tea ingredients simmering.

Step 3: Strain & serve hot or iced, or transfer to an airtight container and let it cool in the fridge for later. You can either sweeten the entire batch with 1/2 cup cane sugar, enjoy it unsweetened, or sweeten each individual serving to taste.

Pro Tip: Why not stretch our pineapple scraps a little further? You can cut pieces from the pineapple crown and use them as a garnish, along with fresh flowers and fruit!

pineapple skin tea in tumbler with ice and fruit skewer beside flowers and fruit.

Want more fun ways to make your own teas? Check out this guide to drying blackcurrants and my juniper berry tea recipe!

🤷🏻‍♀️ Recipe FAQs

What is pineapple skin tea good for?

Pineapple skin tea is valuable for its bromelain content, which has been used as a digestive aid and immunity booster for hundreds of years. It can also help reduce swelling and inflammation.

How long should you boil pineapple tea?

Boiling pineapple skin for 20 minutes is sufficient time to extract the flavor. You can boil it for up to an hour if you want a stronger taste.

Is pineapple tea good before bed?

Because pineapple contains compounds like melatonin, serotonin, and tryptophan, it can help promote better sleep! It’s also just a nice, caffeine-free herbal brew that can be super comforting before bed.

Does cooking pineapple remove bromelain?

Bromelain is a heat-sensitive enzyme and will begin to denature (lose its enzymatic activity) at around 158°F and is mostly inactivated at 176°F and above. To retain as much of its nutritional value as possible, try to avoid boiling pineapple skin and keep it from exceeding 158°F when cooking.

👩🏻‍🌾 Pro Tips

Make sure to put a lid on the pot before simmering so your tea doesn’t evaporate!
You can steep the pineapple skins from frozen if you don’t plan to brew the tea right after enjoying the fruit.
Depending on how you strain it, there may be a small amount of sediment that collects at the bottom. Totally fine to consume!
Pineapple skin tea should be refrigerated in an airtight container and should be enjoyed within 3-5 days.
Want to stretch your pineapple scraps even further? You can use them in a simmer pot for some all-natural aromatherapy, then add them to an indoor compost bin.

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