This Pineapple Banana Bread is a simple egg-free, dairy-free, and refined-sugar-free banana bread recipe full of tropical flavors from the crushed pineapple.

While the whole recipe is just below, don’t miss all my tips further down, including ingredient swaps, my cooking tips, and step-by-step shots!

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Ingredients and Substitutions

This paragraph gives you all my tips about picking the right ingredients. For the full recipe with measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post!Go to Full Recipe

You only need a few simple ingredients to make this recipe. Here’s how to pick and swap them.

Mashed Banana – This provides the natural sweetness, moisture, and flavor for the banana bread. Using ripe bananas with dark skins will give you the best flavor, sweetness, and moisture.
Crushed Pineapple – This brings tropical flavors and extra moisture to the bread. It’s important to use canned crushed pineapple in its own juice, without draining, for the best results. Prefer one without added sugar.
Unrefined Cane Sugar – This adds sweetness to the bread. You can skip it entirely if you prefer a less sweet bread, or swap it for other granulated sweeteners like white sugar, brown sugar, or coconut sugar.
Melted Coconut Oil – This contributes to the bread’s tenderness and moist texture. Any low-flavor oil, such as light olive oil or canola oil, also works well here.
Vanilla Extract – This enhances the overall flavor profile of the banana bread with its warm, aromatic notes.
Self-Rising Flour – This forms the structure of the bread and already contains leavening agents for a good rise. You can make your own by combining 2 teaspoons of baking powder with 1 cup of flour. The recipe doesn’t work with almond flour or oat flour, and I don’t recommend all-purpose gluten-free flour as it might be gummy and dense.
Shredded Coconut – This is an optional addition that adds a subtle tropical flavor and textural interest. You can omit it or swap it for other nuts or cherries.
Cinnamon – For more flavors that complement the fruits.
Glace Cherry – These are optional additions for a pop of color and extra sweetness on top of the bread.
Pineapple Chunks – These optional pieces of pineapple, whether canned or fresh, add a decorative touch and more tropical flavor to the top of the loaf.

How to Make Pineapple Banana Bread

This recipe is super simple to whip up in just a few minutes of prep. Here’s how in pictures.

Mash the banana in a bowl and measure the exact amount needed.

Adding crushed pineapple to the mashed bananas.

Add the crushed pineapple with its juice and pour all the liquid ingredients.

Incorporate the flour and other dry ingredients.

Stir the batter until just combined and transfer it to a loaf pan.

Pineapple Banana Bread dough in the pan with glace cherries on the top.

Decorate the bread with pineapple chunks and glacé cherries.

Bake the bread on the center rack for 50-55 minutes at 350°F (180°C).

Carine’s Baking Tips

Let me share a few more tips for a perfect banana bread.

Undrained Pineapple – Make sure you use crushed pineapple in its own juice and do not drain it. The juice is important for the bread’s moisture and consistency.
Sweetness Control – If you’re using very ripe bananas with black skins, you might find you can skip the added unrefined cane sugar entirely for a naturally sweet fruit bread.
Alternate Add-ins – If you want to change up the texture or flavor, you can swap the unsweetened shredded coconut for chopped pecans, walnuts, or even additional glace cherries.
Prevent Over-Browning – Keep an eye on your bread during the last part of baking. If the top starts to brown too quickly, loosely tent the loaf pan with aluminum foil after about 30 minutes to protect it.
Cool Completely – Allow the bread to cool for a good 1 to 2 hours on a cooling rack before slicing. This helps the bread set properly and prevents it from crumbling when cut.
Parchment Lift – Leave enough parchment paper hanging over the sides of the loaf pan. This creates convenient “handles” that make it much easier to lift the baked bread out of the pan.