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Hawaiian Banana Bread with Pineapple, Coconut & Macadamia Nuts is a delicious Hawaiian-inspired banana bread made with Dole crushed pineapple, coconut flakes, and chopped macadamia nuts. This type of Banana Bread is ambrosial and one of the BEST Banana Bread recipes you’ll ever make. Seriously!
“This was a huge hit with my family and friends. My 5-year-old wanted to take it and share with his entire class. My neighbor was like, just give me the entire loaf. The bread was moist and the flavors were great together. I’m not usually a fan of coconut, but it worked in this. We’ll definitely be making it again. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.”
Richa
Table of Contents
- Inspiration behind this recipe… my trip to Hawaii
- What is Hawaiian Banana Bread with Pineapple, Coconut & Macadamia Nuts?
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients
- Step by Step Instructions – How to make Hawaiian Banana Bread with Pineapple, Coconut & Macadamia Nuts
- Serving Suggestions
- Expert Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Banana Bread Recipes!
- Hawaiian Banana Bread with Pineapple, Coconut & Macadamia Nuts Recipe
Inspiration behind this recipe… my trip to Hawaii
Hawaii has some of the best food I’ve ever eaten in my life. From the fancy restaurants to the road shacks, the food there is indescribably good.
On a recent trip to Hawaii, I had some of the Best Grilled Banana Bread of my life at Kahuku Farms. For a list of all the delicious foods I ate in Hawaii, check out the 15 Best Things I Ate in 2022.
Every store, restaurant, and shack I visited served up some kind of pineapple and coconut dish. From Pineapple Fried Rice to Coconut Shrimp to Coconut Cocktails to garnishing every cocktail with pineapple, it was a no-brainer that I had to make Pineapple Coconut Banana Bread.
And once I visited Tropical Farms where the star ingredient was macadamia nut, I knew that would be my choice of nut in my Banana Bread because you can’t possibly make Banana Bread without nuts. Right? Well, I don’t know about you, but I love my nuts.
I knew once I reached home, I was gonna make a Hawaiian-inspired Banana Bread, one that represents Hawaii. And that’s how this Hawaiian Banana Bread recipe came to life.
What is Hawaiian Banana Bread with Pineapple, Coconut & Macadamia Nuts?
Hawaiian Banana Bread is a variation of the traditional banana bread recipe that incorporates the flavors of Hawaii, in this case, pineapple, coconut, and macadamia nuts. These are the three most popular fruits and nuts I enjoyed on the island.
Just a note: if you do visit the island of Maui, make sure you indulge in Maui’s Banana Bread which is apparently quite famous. When I do take my Maui vacation – someday, I plan on going to Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread which is supposedly the best banana bread on the island.
Alternate Names for this Recipe
This recipe can go by various names – Coconut Pineapple Loaf Cake, Hawaiian Banana Cake Recipe, Kona Banana Bread, Hawaiian Banana Macadamia Nut Bread, Coconut Pineapple Banana Bread, Banana Coconut Bread, and Pineapple Coconut Bread.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ambrosial & Delicious
- It’s a Tropical Treat
- Easy to Make
- Banana Bread is always a good idea
- Perfect with a Cup of Coffee
- Soft & Moist
- Dairy-free
- Gluten-free option available – see FAQ below
- Perfect Combination for Spring or Summer
Ingredients
- Banana: You need to use ripe to overripe bananas in this recipe.
- Pineapple: I used canned Dole Crushed Pineapple with juice. You don’t need to use fresh pineapple in this recipe since the crushed pineapple has sweetness and lots of juice.
- Coconut: I like using unsweetened coconut flakes in this recipe as there is already enough sugar. Feel free to toast the coconut for a more intense coconut flavor.
- Macadamia Nuts: Dry roast the nuts and then chop them up.
- All-Purpose White Flour: You’ll need regular ol’ white flour for this recipe.
- Sugar: I like regular white or cane sugar.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda – Leaveners used in baked goods.
- Salt – Salt is a required ingredient in baking since it really brings out the flavor of the baked item.
- Eggs – You’ll need 2 eggs for this recipe.
- Pure Vanilla Extract – Use really vanilla extract, not the imitation stuff.
- Sunflower Oil: I use organic sunflower oil, you can use any tasteless oil. You can also use vegetable oil, canola oil, or avocado oil provided it doesn’t have a strong flavor.
Step by Step Instructions – How to make Hawaiian Banana Bread with Pineapple, Coconut & Macadamia Nuts
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease your 8.5″ loaf pan (9″ or 10″ works too).
3. Dry roast your macadamia nuts for a few minutes until slightly browned.
4. Once they cool, chop them up. Set aside.
5. Combine your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl – all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix and set aside.
6. Combine your wet ingredients in another large bowl – eggs, vanilla extract, mashed banana, and crushed pineapple with juice, and oil.
7. Mix the wet ingredients well.
8. Add your dry ingredients to the wet. Mix well, but don’t overmix the batter.
9. Add the chopped macadamia nuts and unsweetened coconut flakes.
10. Fold the nuts and coconut into the batter. Again, do not overmix.
11. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan. Into the oven for 55-65 minutes at 350 degrees.
12. Use a clean knife to make sure the banana bread is not sticky on the inside. Allow your banana bread to cool completely and come to room temperature before cutting.
Serving Suggestions
This Hawaiian Banana Nut Bread gives you 10 slices, you can slice them even further and end up with 20 smaller slices.
- Enjoy this delicious banana bread for breakfast with a cup of coffee/tea.
- You can also enjoy it as an afternoon snack/dessert – any time of the day!
- It’s perfect for weekend brunch.
Expert Tips
- Dry roast the macadamia nuts. This only takes a few minutes so don’t over-roast them else they will burn.
- Make sure your bananas are very ripe with brown spots for the best results.
- Feel free to toast the coconut flakes for a more intense coconut flavor.
- Mix your dry ingredients and set them aside. Mix your wet ingredients and set them aside.
- Do not overmix the batter, or else you’ll end up with slightly tough banana bread.
- Use a loaf pan. I recommend using a standard size with dimensions 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75, however 9×5 works too.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a knife comes out clean after being inserted into the baked banana bread.
Frequently Asked Questions
For a vegan option, you can omit the eggs and replace them with a flax egg.
For Flax Egg – mix 1 tablespoon ground flax meal + 3 tablespoons water until it thickens. This ratio is equal to 1 egg. For this recipe, you need 2 eggs.
Yes! Simply replace all-purpose white flour with gluten-free white flour. It’s a 1:1 substitute. Also, make sure to use gluten-free baking powder.
Yes! If you have a nut allergy or don’t like nuts, just skip them.
Sugar in this recipe will help with the texture of the banana bread. You can certainly replace the sugar amount with honey or coconut sugar, but that’ll certainly change the texture of this bread, not to mention, the color too.
If you want to cut down on sugar, feel free to omit the sugar completely since the banana and crushed pineapple already have a good amount of sugar. Again, by omitting sugar, the texture will be affected.
5. Can I turn this Hawaiian Banana Bread into Hawaiian Muffins?
Yes. Absolutely. Just note, the muffins’ bake time won’t be 55 minutes. You definitely want to check the muffins at 20 minutes and every 5 minutes after that. To check if the muffins are done, perform a toothpick test.
Absolutely! That would be a great gift idea for Easter or Spring. Again, note the mini loaves’ bake time won’t be 55 minutes, but more like 20 minutes, hence start checking the mini loaves at the 20-minute mark and every 5 minutes thereafter.
More Banana Bread Recipes!
Tried this recipe? If so, please leave a comment & rate this recipe. That would mean so much to me. If you’re on Instagram, please tag me so I can see your creations. I’m happy to share and mention you. Thank you!
Hawaiian Banana Bread with Pineapple, Coconut & Macadamia Nuts
VIDEO
EQUIPMENT
INGREDIENTS
dry ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
wet ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups ripe bananas
- 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice, I like Dole
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp organic sunflower oil, or any tasteless oil
add-ins
- 1/2 cup macadamia nuts, dry roasted & chopped
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease your loaf pan.
- Dry roast your macadamia nuts for a few minutes until slightly browned.
- Once they cool, chop them up. Set aside.
- Combine your dry ingredients – all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix and set aside.
- Combine your wet ingredients – eggs, vanilla extract, banana, and crushed pineapple with juice, and oil.
- Mix the wet ingredients well.
- Add your dry ingredients to the wet. Mix well, but don’t overmix the batter.
- Add the chopped macadamia nuts and unsweetened coconut flakes.
- Fold the nuts and coconut into the batter. Again, do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan. Into the oven for 55-65 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Use a clean knife to make sure the banana bread is not sticky on the inside. Allow your banana bread to cool completely before cutting.
Dear Nisha,
I live in Western Canada. I saw your recipe for Pineapple Banana Coconut bread, so decided to give it a try. It was soooo delicious & so easy to make. I intend to make it over & over again. Followed your recipe but just had peanuts & cashew nuts on hand, so used them instead. It made a BIG loaf, so I was able to treat all my family & friends. I can’t thank you enough. Keep sending recipes.
Lyla.
HI Lyla – Your comment absolutely made my day. I am so happy to hear that. Thank you for your thoughtful comment – means so much to me! 🙂
I decided to bake muffins instead of a loaf and they turned out so good! I did blend the wet ingredients since my pineapple was rings instead of crushed. I also substituted coconut sugar instead of white sugar. I will be keeping this recipe for sure!
HI Erica. Thank you for sharing. That makes me so happy to hear. Love that you used coconut sugar, I’ll have to try it myself now. 🙂
Hello,
If I use sweetened coconut (all I have) how much should I reduce the sugar by or if at all?
Thank you!
HI Samantha, I haven’t tested this so I always hesitate to give advice, but if I was making this bread with sweetened coconut, I would cut down the sugar by 3 tablespoons. So currently this recipe calls for 1/2 cup sugar which is 8 tablespoons, reduce sugar by 3 tablespoons. Also, keep in mind the crushed pineapple and bananas have sugar too.
Test with reducing the sugar by 3 to 4 tablespoons max. Hope this helps.
Could you use almond or coconut flour or part of either? Thanks
HI Jo Lang – Unfortunately, this recipe hasn’t been tested for coconut or almond flour. I know with coconut flour, the ratio is not 1:1, however you may try this recipe with almond flour and see how it goes. ALmond flour is high in fat, so I’m not sure how this would work out with eggs, oil, crushed pineapple. I would just google a ‘Almond Flour Banana Bread with Pineapple” and see what comes up to avoid any issues.
Can you use butter instead of oil? How much butter would be needed? Thank you!
HI Lisa.
You can test this if you’d like, however I would stick with oil as I haven’t tested with butter. THere is pineapple + juice, and bananas too, adding butter will make the bread quite dense.
With some alterations, this was a big hit with my (not-loving-banana-bread) hubby. Left out the coconut and added pecans instead of the macadamia nuts (just to use what was on hand).
Thank you for sharing!
Colleen
HI Colleen, That makes me so happy to hear! I’m glad your hubby loved it. Pecans probably tasted amazing too. Thank you for your comment. 🙂
This recipe looks terrific, and I’m baking it today. Quick question: would you advise using coconut oil?
HI Tom. Thanks! Coconut Oil should work fine – I would make sure it’s melted (not solid) when adding it.
Let me know!
After trying many banana bread recipes, this is my favorite one ever.
How many bananas is 11/4cup?
Yes, 1 1/4 cups ripe banana – mashed. That should be 3.5 small-medium bananas. Just fyi! Please measure.
Made this and it turned out amazing! My fiancée loves it and we will definitely be making again!
HI Sami. I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing your sweet comment. 🙂