Zucchini Pineapple Bread with coconut and crushed pineapple makes a delicious tropical treat! This extra moist quick bread is a great way to use up all those zucchini.
Zucchini Pineapple Bread is made with crushed pineapple, shredded coconut, and healthy zucchini. This quick bread is inspired by my favorite cocktail. You could also call it Pina Colada Zucchini Bread and like a Pina Colada (check out my recipe for a Virgin Pina Colada), it tastes so summery and bright. Perfect for a summer breakfast, dessert, or as a quick snack!
Making this zucchini quick bread is super easy and doesn’t take long. I also added instructions on how to make this bread in a muffin pan so you don’t have to have the oven on for too long when it’s already hot outside. Baking muffins takes only half as long as baking a quick bread and we all know every minute counts on a sunny day!
This recipe is great for using up all those zucchini from your garden, you need one medium zucchini per loaf and you can easily double the ingredients to make two loaves. But don’t worry this bread won’t taste like zucchini because zucchini doesn’t have a ton of flavor in itself. The zucchini (and the pineapple) make this bread super moist and it will keep fresh for several days in the fridge.
Julia’s Tips and Tricks
- You can easily double the recipe and make two loaves at the same time.
- Want to make it healthier? Use ½ cup whole wheat flour and ¾ all-purpose flour instead of 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour and ¼ cup natural applesauce and ¼ cup coconut oil instead of ½ cup vegetable oil.
- I always use fresh pineapple or crushed pineapple in juice instead of the one in heavy syrup.
- If your shredded zucchini is super moist blot it with paper towels before adding it to the batter. Don’t let the shredded zucchini sit long as it will sweat out.
- You can easily convert this recipe to a muffin recipe. See the instructions below.
- I like to use rum or rum extract for this bread to give it an extra little flavor kick. 2 Tablespoon rum = ½ to 1 teaspoon rum extract. But if you can’t consume alcohol just leave it out! You could add a little bit of coconut extract instead if you have it on hand.
Storage and freezing
Store the loaf in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months (I recommend not adding the glaze when you freeze it). I like to slice the loaf before freezing it and defrost individual slices by lightly toasting them or defrosting them at room temperature or in the microwave.
Looking for more Quick Bread and Muffin recipes?
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe
- Blueberry Bread
- Banana Nut Bread
- Coconut Raspberry Muffins
- Banana Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel
How to make muffins from a quick bread recipe
On the other hand, if you want to convert a quick bread recipe to a muffin recipe divide the batter into a 12-cup muffin pan that’s greased or fitted with paper liners. Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about or a little less than half the time called for in the original recipe.
Tools used in the making of this recipe
Loaf Pan: I really like this loaf pan because it has a non-stick coating that really works and is easy to clean.
Muffin Pan: I love this muffin pan! It comes with a lid so it’s easy to transport baked muffins or cupcakes and it’s super easy to clean, everything slides right off.
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Zucchini Pineapple Bread
Ingredients
For the quick bread:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup desiccated coconut
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ tsp rum extract, (optional)
- 4 ounces crushed pineapple, drained
- 1 cup finely shredded zucchini, about 1 medium zucchini (see tips above)
For the glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp pineapple juice
- Desiccated coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a medium loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper leaving an overhang to make it easier to lift out the bread.
- In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and shredded coconut. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine eggs, sugars, oil, vanilla extract, and rum extract. Beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in the shredded zucchini and crushed pineapple.
- Add flour mixture and mix with a rubber spatula until just combined. Don’t overmix!
- Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few moist crumbs attached.
- Let cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then remove from pan, transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before adding the glaze.
- To make the glaze combine powdered sugar and pineapple juice one tbsp at a time until you have a thick glaze. Drizzle over bread and garnish with shredded coconut.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Florentina says
Really tasty!
Tim says
Love this cake. I found it in some of my moms favorite recipes that I have been lucky enough to acquire over the years. It dates back more than fifty years. I remember me and my sister eagerly helping her make it when I was 5 years old. Always had to make a double batch just so she could freeze one. Shelf life of this cake was pretty short. Usually a couple of hours at best around our house.She always used fresh pineapple and grated the zuch course. Also can use coconut rum for glaze. I like to use both rum and pineapple glazes. She would often do muffins because it cuts the cooking time in half. Great recipe for muffins!
Tim says
Sorry forgot the stars. It deserves 5 I haven’t had this cake in a long time
Thank you for reminding me of how good it is and stirring up precious memories.
Libby says
My family loved this bread! It was so easy to make even so I’m not really good at baking. Thank you for the recipe!