Pineapple Zucchini Bread combines a classic zucchini bread recipe with crushed pineapple, all in one delicious quick bread recipe!
We love zucchini bread and last year I tried a recipe for zucchini bread that had bananas in it which ended up being amazing. I thought it might be fun to try some other variations as well and this Pineapple Zucchini Bread is absolutely incredible. The pineapple flavor is subtle, but makes for a really light and refreshing version of zucchini bread!
Ingredients in Pineapple Zucchini Bread
Eggs – Lots of eggs needed to bind this bread together. You’ll need 3 of them! I always use large eggs in recipes.
Sugar – Granulated sugar adds most of the sweetness that we love in zucchini bread.
Oil – You can use vegetable oil or canola oil, but I like to use coconut oil in recipes. Make sure the coconut oil is liquefied before adding to the batter. You can swap all or part of the oil with applesauce, but the consistency of the bread will be different. Still delicious though!
Vanilla extract – Adds great flavor to the bread. The higher the quality of the vanilla, the better!
Shredded zucchini – You can just leave the skin on the zucchini before grating. After you grate the zucchini, squeeze out the extra water if you can so you don’t add too much liquid to the recipe.
Flour – I use all-purpose flour, but bread flour works too. You can swap out some or all of the flour with whole wheat flour, but the consistency and texture of the bread will change.
Salt, baking soda and baking powder – Make sure the baking soda and baking powder aren’t old or expired or the bread will not rise properly.
Crushed pineapple – You’ll need a 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple. Make sure to drain it really well before adding to the batter or you will end up with too much moisture. I like to use a fine mesh strainer for this and then press the pineapple to help get even more moisture out.
How to make Pineapple Zucchini Bread
Preheat oven to 325°.
Beat eggs until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add sugar, oil and vanilla and mix for another 1-2 minutes.
Add the dry ingredients and mix just until everything is combined.
Add the pineapple and zucchini and stir in just enough to fully combine. Don’t overmix!
Pour batter into two well greased 9X5 loaf pans and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool in pans for about 10-15 minutes before removing from pans and placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
Pineapple Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup oil
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups zucchini grated
- 3 1/4 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 can 20 ounces crushed pineapple, well drained
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- Beat eggs until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add sugar, oil and vanilla and mix for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix just until everything is combined.
- Add the pineapple and zucchini and stir in just enough to fully combine. Don’t overmix!
- Pour batter into two well greased 9X5 loaf pans and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool in pans for about 10-15 minutes before removing from pans and placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
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DO YOU HAVE TO PEEL ZUCCHINI TO MAKE ZUCCHINI BREAD?
No you do not have to peel zucchini before making zucchini bread. The peel on the outside of a zucchini is a lovely dark green and very tender. I just wash the zucchini, cut off the ends and then grate the entire vegetable. It’s very simple to do and I love seeing the tiny flecks of green in the bread after it’s baked.
SHOULD I SQUEEZE EXCESS WATER OUT OF MY ZUCCHINI BEFORE MAKING ZUCCHINI BREAD?
Yes, you should squeeze out excess water from grated zucchini before adding it to your batter. Zucchini naturally has a lot of water in it. that becomes quite clear after grating it, if you simply leave it to rest for 5-10 minutes, the water will begin accumulating in the bowl! I like to squeeze as much out as possible before making it into zucchini bread. Interestingly enough, each zucchini is a bit different when it comes to water content. I find zucchini straight from my garden has quite a bit more water in it than zucchini from the grocery store. Both work well in this recipe! I say use what you’ve got!
CAN I USE FROZEN GRATED ZUCCHINI TO MAKE ZUCCHINI BREAD?
Yes you can use frozen grated zucchini to make zucchini bread. Just defrost it, then squeeze out as much water as you can before mixing it in. Personally, I’m not a fan of how frozen zucchini tastes, so I like to bake several loaves of bread, then after cooling completely, I wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them in a ziplock bag until we’re ready to eat it.
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST QUICK BREADS
There are a couple of tips that will help you to get the perfect pineapple quick bread every time!
- Make sure to use the right bread pans! The recipe for this quick bread is two 4″X8″pans. You can use regular bread pans (9.5″X5″) if you’d like, but your loaves will be a little flatter and you’ll need to adjust the cooking time to about 40-45 minutes.
- If you use non-stick pans, you won’t want to use any cooking spray, but if you are not using non-stick pans, make sure to use a baking spray like this one or line the pans with parchment paper so your bread doesn’t get stuck to the pan! There is nothing worse than making a beautiful loaf of bread and having the whole thing fall apart when you try to get it neatly out of the pan!
- Make sure to test the middle of the bread at the end of the cooking time – I like to use one of these for that! If your bread is still gooey in the middle, bake for a few more minutes. If the edges and the top are starting to look too brown and the middle isn’t done yet, go ahead and put some foil over the bread for the last few minutes of baking until the bread is done in the center. This will prevent the outside from burning, but still allow the middle to cook all the way through.
AVOID SUNKEN BREAD
The easiest and best way to avoid sunken bread is to use a cooking thermometer to check the inside of the loaf. Fully cooked bread will register 200°F on a thermometer. My all-time favorite thermometer is the Thermapen. It’s super fast and incredibly durable. Another great cooking thermometer is the ThermoPop which is a more basic version that works just as well!
BEST BREAD PAN?
I bake a lot of bread and the pans I prefer are either ceramic, glass or cast iron. These pans will bake bread more evenly and release the bread more easily after baking. I don’t like using dark or nonstick pans because the bread cooks unevenly. It darkens on the outside before the bread is cooked on the inside, so the coloring is uneven. Read more about which bread pan is the best here!
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.
- 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!
- Replace some of the oil with applesauce. The consistency will be a little more dense, but the taste isn’t affected at all!
MORE AMAZING QUICK BREAD RECIPES THAT WE LOVE:
- Sweet Coconut Quick Bread
- Best Zucchini Bread recipe
- Easy Lemon Quick Bread
- Yogurt Banana Bread recipe
- Dutch Apple Quick Bread
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Quick Bread
- Caramel Banana Nut Bread
- Best Ever Pumpkin Bread
- Lemon Buttermilk Quick Bread
- Caramel Apple Quick Bread
- Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread
- Peppermint Chocolate Quick Bread
- Cranberry Orange Quick Bread
- Cinnamon Roll Quick Bread
- Glazed Strawberry Quick Bread
- Orange Zucchini Bread
Pineapple Zucchini Bread combines a classic zucchini bread recipe with crushed pineapple, all in one delicious quick bread recipe!
Fred Zedd says
When I use frozen chopped spinach or shredded potatoes, I use two layers of cheesecloth to squeeze out excess water. I place the vegetable on two crossed sheets of cheesecloth, wrap around the vegetable and twist/squeeze out the water. Would this work here for the zucchini? My method removes a lot of water. Would this be too much water removed? If it’s OK, it is a really easy and effective method.
Nellie says
I think your method would work fine, but may not be necessary for this recipe. Often I barely squeeze out any moisture from the zucchini before adding it, unless there is a lot of extra moisture in it.
Nandini. says
Hi ..
Loved the recipe. Will surely try it. Just had a question in my mind. Is it possible to replace the canned crushed pineapple with fresh pineapple? Asking this as I stay in a place with ample fresh and sweet pineapples and I would love to use them in my bread.
Nellie says
You’re so lucky to live near fresh pineapples!I’m not sure if it would work…I’m guessing it would as long as you dice up the pineapple pretty small. Let us know if you experiment!
Sheilakaye Howard says
Found this recipe Tonight. Could not wait to make it in the morning. In the oven right now. Smells wonderful.
Melissa says
I love this zucchini pineapple recipe, however I had some issues arose which were all on my end.
I used frozen zucchini which gave up so much moisture drain off and I may have overly drained my pineapple.
The batter was very thick, too thick really. I remedied this by adding a 15 oz can of unsweetened applesauce which fixed the problem and did not affect the taste. I guess it ended up being a way to add some extra fiber.
Diana walburn says
This recipe was so easy !! And when i waited and flipped my loaf pan over it did not stick like some other pineapple recipes i tried ! This one i printed and marked #1 Pineapple Zucci Bread
Nicole says
Glad to hear it 🙂
Chris says
I made this and followed the instructions but it didn’t rise and the top wouldn’t get brown. A lot of work and disappointing. What the heck happened??
Nellie says
So sorry to hear that Chris! There are a couple potential issues…were your baking soda and baking powder old or expired? Or possibly the mixture was overmixed before pouring into the bread pan? Or it could have the bread pan itself…certain kinds don’t bake as evenly.
Lynn says
This bread was so moist. I added raisins and that was a great addition. Thanks for the recipe.
LOIS says
still in the oven…. followed recipe exactly and it said to POUR into baking pans, mine was so thick I had to put it in with a spoon and spread it around..
Did I do something wrong? It smalls good !
Nellie says
It should be pretty thick, so I think you’ll be fine. Can’t wait to hear how it turned out!