Moist Pineapple Quick Bread with Pineapple Glaze

This Pineapple Quick Bread is sweet, moist, and bursting with tropical flavor, topped with a simple pineapple glaze that takes it completely over the top. Made with crushed pineapple, cream cheese, and sour cream, it has a tender, rich crumb that makes it nearly impossible to stop at one slice.

Recipe Highlights

• Incredible moisture: The combination of cream cheese, sour cream, and well-drained crushed pineapple creates a crumb that stays soft and tender for days.
• Natural sweetness: Crushed pineapple adds so much flavor and sweetness on its own that you could easily cut back on the added sugar without missing it.
• Simple ingredients: Made with basic pantry staples and one can of crushed pineapple, this recipe comes together quickly and without any fuss.
• No yeast required: Quick breads skip the rise time entirely, which means you can have a fresh loaf out of the oven in just over an hour.
• Easy glaze: A simple pineapple glaze made from powdered sugar and the reserved pineapple juice adds a beautiful finishing touch with minimal effort.
• Freezer-friendly: This bread freezes beautifully, making it a great option to bake ahead and pull out whenever you need it.

Ingredients in Pineapple Quick Bread

Crushed pineapple: The star of this recipe! Use a full 20-ounce can and drain it very thoroughly using a mesh strainer, pressing firmly and blotting with a paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible. Reserve the juice — you’ll use it for the glaze.

All-purpose flour: The base of the bread. Bread flour works as a substitute. Whole wheat flour can be swapped in for part or all of the flour, though the texture will be denser and the flavor will change slightly.

Baking soda: Provides the leavening that helps this bread rise without yeast. Make sure yours isn’t old or expired for the best results.

Salt: Just enough to enhance and balance all of the other flavors in the loaf.

Cream cheese: Softened to room temperature so it blends smoothly into the batter. Regular, low-fat, or non-fat all work well here.

Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness and helps create that lightly golden exterior. Because the pineapple brings its own natural sweetness, you can reduce the sugar if you prefer a less sweet loaf.

Vanilla extract: Rounds out the flavor beautifully. The higher the quality, the better.

Egg: Beaten lightly before adding to help bind everything together and give the bread structure.

Sour cream: Adds richness and keeps the crumb incredibly tender. Plain or vanilla Greek yogurt is an easy and delicious swap.

Tips for the Best Pineapple Quick Bread

Full instructions can be found on the recipe card below, but here are a few helpful tips.

1. Add the glaze at the end: The glaze can go on while the bread is still warm or after it has fully cooled — either way works beautifully.
2. Drain the pineapple thoroughly: This is the most important step. Too much moisture in the batter can prevent the bread from baking through properly. Press it well and don’t skip the paper towel blot.
3. Don’t overmix: Once the dry ingredients are added to the wet, mix only until just combined. Overmixing develops gluten and can make the bread tough and dense.
4. Use the right pan: This recipe is written for a standard 9.5″ x 5″ bread pan. Two smaller pans work too — just reduce the baking time to around 45 minutes.
5. Test for doneness: A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. For the most accurate result, a cooking thermometer inserted into the center should read 200°F.
6. Tent with foil if needed: If the top is browning too quickly before the middle is done, loosely cover the pan with foil for the last few minutes of baking.

Make-Ahead and Storage

One of the best things about this pineapple quick bread is that it actually gets better the longer it sits. The flavors meld and deepen overnight, so if you can resist cutting into it right away, a slice on day two is even better than a slice fresh from the oven. If you’re making this for a brunch, a gift, or a holiday gathering, baking it the day before is genuinely the move.

Room temperature: Once completely cooled, wrap the loaf tightly in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container. It will keep at room temperature for 3-4 days. If you’ve already added the glaze, leave it uncovered for about 30 minutes to let the glaze set before wrapping.

Refrigerator: Because this recipe contains cream cheese, storing it in the refrigerator is a good idea if your kitchen is warm or if you plan to keep it longer than a few days. Wrapped tightly, it will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to one week. Let slices come to room temperature for about 15 minutes before eating — cold quick bread straight from the fridge can taste a little dense, but it softens right back up at room temperature.

Freezer: This bread freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Let the loaf cool completely, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil or a freezer bag to protect against freezer burn. To thaw, leave it wrapped on the counter for a few hours or overnight — do not add the glaze until after the bread has fully thawed. A freshly drizzled glaze over a just-thawed loaf looks and tastes like it was just baked.

Freezing slices: If you’d rather not thaw a whole loaf at once, slice the cooled bread first, wrap individual slices in plastic wrap, and freeze them in a zip-top bag. You can pull out a slice at a time and let it thaw on the counter in about 30-45 minutes, or warm it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.

PINEAPPLE QUICK BREAD

Pineapple Quick Bread is sweet, moist and absolutely delicious, especially with a simple pineapple glaze on top! This quick bread is made with crushed pineapple, cream cheese, sour cream and a few other basic ingredients.

4.55 from 35 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: bread

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pineapple quick bread

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 12 slices

Calories: 280kcal

Author: Jessica & Nellie

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going to sleep

Ingredients 

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• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 oz. cream cheese softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg beaten
• ½ cup sour cream
• 20 oz crushed pineapple drained (save 2-3 Tbsp of the juice for the glaze)

GLAZE

• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 2-3 tbsp reserved pineapple juice

Instructions

• Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium mixing bowl.
• In a separate bowl, beat egg, sugar, cream cheese and vanilla until smooth.
• Add flour mixture and mix well. Add the sour cream and mix just until combined. Stir in the thoroughly drained crushed pineapple.
• Pour into a greased bread pan and bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Cool in pan for about 15-20 minutes and then let it cool the rest of the way on a wire rack.
• Pineapple Glaze: Mix powdered sugar and pineapple juice together and drizzle over bread. 

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 280kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 303mg | Potassium: 112mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 200IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg

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Can I make this into muffins?

Yes! Pour the batter into a greased muffin pan and bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes. This recipe yields 12 regular-sized muffins or 24 mini muffins.

Can I reduce the sugar? Absolutely. The crushed pineapple adds significant natural sweetness, so you can cut the sugar by half and still end up with a delicious, flavorful loaf.

Can I substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream? Yes, plain or vanilla Greek yogurt is a great one-to-one swap for the sour cream. It adds a bit of protein and works just as well in the batter.

Do I have to use the glaze? Not at all — this bread is wonderful on its own. The glaze just adds a little extra sweetness and a pretty finish if you want it.

Why did my bread sink in the middle? The most common culprit is underbaking or too much moisture from the pineapple. Make sure to drain the pineapple very thoroughly and always test the center with a toothpick or thermometer before pulling it from the oven.

Is quick bread healthy?

Quick breads generally have a high sugar content, but there are things you can do to make the bread a little bit healthier.

• Reduce the sugar. The pineapple in this quick bread recipe adds a lot of sweetness so you can cut out half of the sugar and you may not even miss it!
• Substitute the sour cream with greek yogurt. Plain greek yogurt adds a bit of protein and is a great swap for sour cream.
• Skip the glaze. This bread is delicious without the glaze – I promise!
• Swap all or part of the flour with whole wheat flour. This swap is one that will be noticeable, especially if you swap all of the flour. The consistency will be different and the flavor will change, but it will still be yummy!

More amazing quick bread recipes that we love:

• Made with poppy seeds, eggs, and a beautiful blend of vanilla, almond, and butter extract, our Perfect Poppy Seed Bread is a sweet, flavorful loaf you will want to make again and again.
• Bursting with cherry almond flavor and turned a lovely shade of pink from the cherries, Glazed Cherry Almond Sweet Bread is topped with a buttery almond glaze that takes it over the top.
• If you love oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bread is the quick bread version, soft, moist, and incredibly easy to make.
• Topped with a cinnamon streusel and a warm vanilla glaze, Dutch Apple Bread is a from-scratch loaf packed with fresh apples and amazing flavor in every bite.
• Soft, moist, and just a little bit special, Blueberry Banana Bread puts a juicy, fresh spin on classic banana bread with bursts of blueberry in every slice.

If you enjoy pineapple cherry bread, you’ll want to check out our popular Easy Pineapple Bundt Cake, or a slight variation on a classic, our Pineapple Banana Bread. We love passing along tips on how to make bread with buttermilk!

This Pineapple Quick Bread is the kind of recipe that earns a permanent spot in your rotation, easy enough for a weekday bake, special enough to bring to a gathering, and delicious enough that it never lasts long.