Carrot Pineapple Banana Bread with Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Glazed Banana Pineapple Bread — Ultra moist, soft, and tender thanks for the box of vanilla pudding added to the batter! The pineapple lends a sweet, tropical flavor to the banana bread! 

Easy Pineapple Banana Bread Recipe

If there’s something I love as much as banana bread, I also hold carrot cake very near and dear. It’s so moist and soft and I love the warming spices and flavors, and of course the mandatory cream cheese frosting. It gets me every time.

I made this banana pineapple bread when I was in Aruba in August and unfortunately a serrated knife got me and I sliced my hand open while slicing this bread immediately before taking the photos. Not my finest morning or photos, but the bread is some of the best I’ve ever had.

It was a 95-degree day in Aruba the day I baked this bread and adding crushed pineapple seemed like a fitting idea to go with the sweltering tropical heat inside my kitchen. The pineapple adds sweetness, a touch of texture, and moisture to the loaf.

I also added six ounces of pineapple Greek yogurt added to the batter. One box of vanilla instant pudding also went into the batter. It’s optional, but three ounces of pudding mix intensifies the vanilla flavor and adds softness and tenderness. I stop at nothing to avoid dry bread.

Not that this loaf needed any help in the moisture and softness department because between the juicy carrots, gooey bananas, squishy raisins, pineapple and pineapple yogurt, it was falling-apart-soft.

I love the ease of this recipe. No mixer required, no creaming of butter and sugars, just a bowl and a spoon or whisk is all that’s needed. When I’m in Aruba, I have no mixer and no dishwasher and am especially mindful of how much elbow grease a batter requires and how many dirty dishes a recipe makes.

Each bite has so much texture. Little bits of tender sweet carrots, shreds of tangy pineapple, chewy raisin chunks, soft sweet bananas.

The flavor is almost tropical from the pineapple yogurt and shredded pineapple. If I would have had any shredded coconut on hand, a half cup or so would make a scrumptious addition, but there was already plenty going on in this jam-packed loaf.

After slicing my hand open, I could not wait to both pour a mimosa and smear cream cheese frosting all over the insides of the bread, not just dotted on the top.

The more then merrier when it comes to frosting. Or mimosas.

What’s in Banana Pineapple Bread?

I made this banana bread with vanilla pudding mix, but it’s completely optional. Keep scrolling to see my suggestions on how to substitute the pudding mix.  

Here’s what else you’ll need to make the pineapple banana bread recipe: 

• Unsalted butter
• Light brown sugar and granulated sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Pineapple Greek yogurt
• Mashed banana
• Grated carrots
• Crushed pineapple 
• Raisins 
• Chopped walnuts (optional) 
• Instant vanilla pudding mix (optional) 
• Cinnamon
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Salt

Can I Substitute the Pineapple Yogurt? 

Yes! If you can’t find pineapple Greek yogurt where you live, you can also use plain or vanilla yogurt, or substitute sour cream. Don’t use watery thin yogurt because it won’t give the bread the body, fullness, or richness that a thicker yogurt will.

Can I Omit the Vanilla Pudding Mix? 

Yes, the instant pudding mix is optional. If omitting, you may wish to add an additional 1/4 cup granulated sugar and an additional 1/4 to 1/3 cup flour, based on taste preference and how your batter looks.

How to Make Banana Pineapple Bread

Melt the butter, then stir in the sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk that together, then stir in the yogurt, bananas, carrots, pineapple, raisins, and nuts.

The pudding mix is added next (add it like you would a dry ingredient), then the remaining dry ingredients. Turn the batter into a greased and floured 9×5-inch loaf pan and bake until done. 

What Size Loaf Pan Should I Use? 

I used a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Although I baked this as one loaf, two loaves probably would have been better since two loaves may have baked more evenly than one. Baking it as a 10- or 12-cup Bundt will also work wonderfully. In the end, one 9×5-inch loaf worked out just fine. 

Tips for Making Banana Pineapple Bread

Eating carrot cake without cream cheese frosting is like eating popcorn without butter and should never be done. I doused the slices in cream cheese frosting that’s made with browned butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla.

If you’ve never browned butter, reviewing this information will help you create the rich, nutty-aroma, and amber-hued butter that’s so scrumptious. Watch the butter closely and stop cooking when the butter is browned, not burned, because burnt butter is like burnt tofu. The smell is hideous and lingers forever.

As a shortcut, browned butter can be made in the microwave and I find it tastes no differently than the stovetop method, and it’s easier. I am in love with browned butter and it makes frosting taste even better, richer, and more luxurious.

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4.50 from 2 votes

Glazed Banana Pineapple Bread

By Averie Sunshine

Ultra moist, soft, and tender thanks for the box of vanilla pudding added to the batter! The pineapple lends a sweet, tropical flavor to the banana bread! 

Prep Time: 1 hour hour

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 2 hours hours

Servings: 12

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Ingredients  

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• ▢ ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted (half of one stick)
• ▢ ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 6 ounces pineapple Greek yogurt, one standard-sized small container; vanilla or plain yogurt, or sour cream may be substituted
• ▢ 1 cup mashed ripe bananas, 1 large or 2 small bananas
• ▢ ½ cup grated carrots, grated and loosely packed
• ▢ ⅓ cup crushed pineapple, with some of the juice
• ▢ ⅓ cup raisins, diced if they are large
• ▢ ⅓ cup diced walnuts, optional
• ▢ 3.4- ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix, not Cook ‘n Serve, optional
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt, optional and to taste

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Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 325F, spray a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan(s) with cooking spray with flour (I use Pam for Baking) or grease and flour the pan(s); set aside.
• In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute.
• To the melted butter, add the sugars, eggs, vanilla, and stir or whisk to combine.
• Add yogurt, bananas, carrots, pineapple (does not need to be squeezed and drained, some juice is okay and adds flavor), raisins, nuts, and stir to incorporate.
• Add the dry pudding mix (Note: You are not making pudding; simply adding the mix as a dry ingredient), add the cinnamon, and stir to incorporate.
• Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and stir until just combined, taking care not to over-mix or bread will be tougher as the gluten will over-develop.
• Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and bake for about 65 minutes (this is for one 9-by-5-inch loaf), or until top is golden and set, and a wooden skewer, cake tester, or knife inserted in the center comes out clean. If bread is browning a bit fast on the top, you may wish to lower your oven temperature to 300F midway through cooking, at about the 30-minute mark if your oven runs hot or tent the pan with foil in approximately the last 20 minutes of cooking.
• Allow bread to cool in the loaf pan for at least 30 minutes before removing from the pan and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

Notes

Vanilla pudding mix: Is optional. If omitting, you may wish to add an additional 1/4 cup granulated sugar and an additional 1/4 to 1/3 cup flour, based on taste preference and how your batter looks.

Loaf size: Makes one 9-by-5-inch loaf (I made as one 9-by-5-inch loaf but suggest dividing batter among two 8-by-4-inch loaves and reduce baking time by about 10 minutes; or bake as a 10- or 12-cup Bundt cake, adjusting baking time as necessary)

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 320kcal, Carbohydrates: 59g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 429mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 35g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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