This Banana Pineapple Bread is incredibly moist and is ever so slightly coconut flavored thanks to the coconut oil in the batter. You’ll definitely want seconds of this easy banana bread recipe! 
Ultra Moist Banana Pineapple Bread
I’m no stranger to banana bread recipes. In fact, I have 35+ Favorite Banana Bread and Banana Recipes. But this is the first time I’ve made banana bread with coconut oil and it won’t be the last. The results are magical.
This bread makes me think of spring, warmer weather, and of being on a tropical vacation. Like all my banana bread recipes, it comes together with a whisk and just one bowl. No mixer, no creaming ingredients, nothing fussy.
Paradoxically, when baking with coconut oil, it doesn’t impart a blast of in-your-face coconut intensity. I liken it to a vacation-scented flavor rather than licking a bottle of tanning oil. There’s barely a hint of detectable coconut flavor, perfect for those who aren’t fond of coconut.
I think when most people object to coconut, it’s shredded or flaked coconut that they’re thinking of. Those forms have very distinct and powerful flavors and scents. And there’s that stringy texture that’s also a consideration. I love coconut oil, but even I have to be in the right mood for shredded coconut.
Courtesy of the coconut oil, buttermilk, and bananas, this bread is springy-soft and bouncy. It’s like a trampoline I wish I could jump on because it’s so cushioney, soft, tender, and ridiculously moist.
The pineapple and its natural juices also tenderize the bread. I used frozen pineapple chunks from Trader Joe’s, and stirred them in straight from the freezer.
The sweetness from the bananas and pineapple, coupled with the coconut oil, made these loaves scrumptiously good. This is pineapple-banana bread, rather than banana-pineapple, and the coconut oil is hardly noticeable. It’s in the background and adds flavor you can’t quite put your finger on, but you’ll want more of it.
The pinch of nutmeg I added was a departure from my usual cinnamon-fiending ways. Nutmeg adds a nuttiness, warmth, and fullness of flavor. It’s almost like using browned butter and adds a homey quality. It’s less intense than cinnamon, and a perfect compliment for the pineapple.
Feel free to freeze the second loaf for a rainy day. Or give it away to a friend. Or just hog it. They’re pretty small loaves and go fast.
I made this bread the night before I started my 3-day juice cleanse and it was one of the first things I ate after the cleanse. Knowing I had it waiting for me on the other side of those three days was wonderful. Four days after I made it, it was still totally fresh, soft, and it’s perfect as is!
How to Make Banana Pineapple Bread
In a large bowl, combine eggs, melted coconut oil, buttermilk, sugars, and vanilla and whisk to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt, and stir to incorporate.
Stir in bananas and frozen pineapple, then pour batter into greased 8×4-inch loaf pans. Bake until the top of the banana pineapple bread is golden and set.
This banana bread with coconut oil lasts for days at room temperature, but you can also freeze the slices and reheat them later when a banana bread craving hits! You can make a homemade strawberry butter to go on top, or enjoy plain. However you eat this banana bread, you’re sure to love it!
Tips for the Best Banana Pineapple Bread
I’m always in the mood for coconut oil because of the moistness, softness, and tenderness it lends to baked goods. If you absolutely don’t want to bake with coconut oil, you can use melted or browned butter, canola or vegetable oil. I’ve done them all, but coconut oil is my new favorite.
If desired, you could swap out the frozen pineapple for mango, peaches, nectarines, strawberries or your favorite frozen or seasonal fruit. No matter what type of fruit you use in this banana bread recipe, my top tip when baking with frozen fruit is to stir it in frozen rather than first thawing them. Frozen fruit is less mushy and fragile, and it runs less all over the batter.
This banana pineapple bread recipe makes two smaller 8-by-4-inch loaves, and I’d imagine you could bake it as muffins or some muffins plus a little loaf. I find loaves to be faster and easier; filling one big pan versus twelve muffin wells, but do what you like.
Whatever you do, don’t try to bake it as one big 9-by-5 loaf because I fear it would either overflow or the center wouldn’t cook through before the tops and sides became too browned.
More Banana Bread Recipes:
- Six-Banana Banana Bread — Not sure what to do with overripe bananas you have on hand? Make this Six-Banana Banana Bread! This is the best banana bread recipe EVER — it’s so moist and flavorful!
- Brown Sugar Blueberry Banana Bread — Super moist blueberry banana bread made with Greek yogurt and dark brown sugar. Smear some homemade blueberry butter onto a slice of this blueberry brown sugar banana bread and prepare to fall in love!
- Cream Cheese-Filled Banana Bread — Banana bread that’s like having cheesecake baked in! Soft, fluffy, easy and tastes ahhhh-mazing!
- Zucchini Banana Bread — This Zucchini Banana Bread is so soft, tender, uber-moist, dense enough to be satisfying, but still light!
- Carrot Banana Bread — This super moist, springy, tender carrot banana bread is bread that reminds me of cake and I’m not complaining. It’s an easy, no mixer recipe that goes from bowl to oven in minutes.
Enjoy!
Pin This Recipe
Enjoy AverieCooks.com Without Ads! 🆕
Go Ad Free
Coconut Oil Banana Pineapple Bread
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted*
- ⅓ cup buttermilk**
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg, optional but recommended
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 to 1 ¼ cups mashed ripe bananas, 2 large or 3 small ripe bananas
- 1 cup pineapple, diced (I used frozen)***
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray two 8-by-4-inch loaf pans with floured cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, coconut oil, buttermilk, sugars, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, optional salt, and stir to just incorporate; don’t overmix because the gluten will overdevelop and bread will be tougher.
- Stir in bananas. Stir in pineapple (if using frozen, just add it frozen, no need to thaw it first. If using fresh or canned, make sure it’s well-drained or it could water-down the batter).
- Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for about 45 minutes, or until top is golden and set, a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean (banana bread is gooey and it may not come out perfectly clean). If bread is browning too fast on the top, you may wish to lower your oven temperature to 325F in last 15 minutes of cooking, or tent the pan with foil; although I don’t suspect this will be an issue.
- Allow bread to cool in pan for about 15 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Optionally serve with Browned Butter Vanilla Glaze or Make Pineapple Butter rather than Strawberry Butter.
- Bread will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container or large Ziplock at room temperature (I wrap my fully cooled bread in Clingwrap, then I place it in a gallon-sized Ziplock). Second loaf may be frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Even More Banana Recipes:
Vegan Coconut Oil Banana Muffins — These Vegan Banana Muffins are extra fluffy and moist thanks to the combination of coconut oil and ripe bananas in the batter. This is a quick and easy muffin recipe you’re bound to love!
Fudgy Banana Bars with Vanilla Bean Browned Butter Glaze — Fudgy is the only word that describes the bars. They’re the banana equivalent of moist, fudgy brownies with zero traces of cakiness.
Six-Banana Banana Chocolate Chip Cake — Yes, six bananas in one cake means it’s super SOFT, moist, and has robust banana flavor with chocolate chips in EVERY bite!
Oh my, this looks incredibly soft and moist. This sounds like a delicious flavor combination :)
i used to despise coconut when I was younger but now I can’t get enough. I’ll take any tropical flavors can get my hands on – maybe it will make the weather more tropical! Good for you for doing a juice cleanse. I don’t think I could or would want to do one.I
I always felt that way…but check my Friday post :)
I’m posting a muffin recipe that uses coconut oil next week too. It is amazing in baked goods, isn’t it?! I only wish I had discovered it sooner! My first jar of coconut oil was rancid and I didn’t realize it–I just figured coconut oil was nasty. :) It took me a year and a half to try it again!
Eekk…what a story! I’ve had things like that happen and it just revolts you from the food forever. I have to say my early coconut oil experiences, although not rancid, were pretty gross. Just bad luck of the draw on brands chosen.
Coconut oil is so awesome! I love to see that it makes such wonderful banana bread as well.
I’ve spent an unholy amount of time on Pinterest lately trying to figure out what on earth I want to make for breakfast on Easter, and I think I’ve found my pick! (SO convenient, especially since I’ll be using pineapple juice on my ham, and instead of being persistent and trying to find just pineapple juice, I decided to buy actual canned pineapple in juice and just use that juice, which means I’ve got all this pineapple sitting around that I had no idea how to use…until now!). I do have a question, though: can the dry ingredients be combined with each other ahead of time and mixed into the wet as one big group, or do they need to be added to the wet ingredients individually? I’ll be running around like a chicken with my head cut off on Saturday, and I’m looking to maximize my few minutes of afternoon free time with prep work for baking I plan to do later in the evening.
Unrelated, but I recently bought a food processor and you have no idea how excited I am to give your peanut butter recipes a whirl. I’ve been drooling over them for months and I cannot WAIT to actually make them!
Literally the prep on the banana bread takes less than 5 minutes. You stir together everything, pretty much one thing after the next in succession, and pour into 2 small pans and bake. There is nothing fussy or complicated about it and it will take you minutes. I recommend just doing it all at once like I indicate in the recipe rather than trying to make bits and pieces ahead of time. Seriously, it’s a 5-minute stir-together job. Enjoy the bread! LMK how it turns out!
Averie, this bread looks so good. I just started baking with coconut oil a few weeks ago, and I love it. I made granola with it the other day. The subtle sun-kissed coconut flavor is amazing.
And you’ve got to try it with cookies. I have a few versions, white chocolate, peanut butter, and brown sugar/molasses and they are all sooooooo good!
I need to try out a coconut oil.
Oh my goodness, I love how much you’ve been using coconut oil and the wonderful recipes you’ve been creating with it! I love the stuff, and totally need to be using it in more stuff. Definitely making this banana bread, if for no reason other than to make it feel like summer in Washington.
And I don’t know why I waited so long to bake banana bread with it – one of my alltime fave things to bake!
How perfect that I have a bag of frozen pineapple just waiting to be used up! I love how tropical this banana bread is. I haven’t made banana bread in ages and I always love to switch things up!
My husband has the same issue with the texture of shredded coconut. But I love it and I really love coconut oil! This looks excellent!
You are really loving this coconut oil! Can’t wait to try it. How does it compare pricewise to butter or other oils? I bought a big container at Costco and it seemed a bit pricey but I’m anxious to see how long it lasts. Looks like another great recipe!
Like anything, there is a WIDE variety of prices, i.e. olive oil for example. Same with coconut oil. But you can find many for very reasonable and a jar will last you a long time (unless you bake for a living and blog about it :)) Trader Joes now carries some or go on iHerb (code AVE630 will save you $5 on your order) Enjoy!
Banana bread is a favorite in our household – I haven’t tried making with coconut oil, but I happen to have a jar in my pantry for next time.
Well you’re in business then!
Can’t wait to try this recipe! I tried your Coconut Oil cookies with white chocolate chips and I fell in love with coconut oil! I love cooking with it, it’s so delicious! :)
Thanks for LMK you tried the cookies! I just love baking with coconut oil and those cookies are so good!
I’ve had banana bread with coconut oil on my agenda for weeks now – and ripe bananas begging to be used up! I can only imagine the amount of moistness between the coconut oil and bananas. And the addition of pineapple – tropical perfection!
And had I had any Chob on hand, I would have tossed a dollop in, but the buttermilk was fine. And they didn’t lack for moisture!
This looks like perfection, a tropical perfection. And trust me, I need tropical right now.
Me too…don’t we all :)