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Made with crushed pineapple, shredded zucchini, coconut, and a tangy cream cheese frosting, this pineapple zucchini cake is a moist, flavorful cake that is perfect for the end of summer.
This is the time of year where my gardening friends and family start to show up with extra zucchini, begging me to take it off their hands. Which is why I have quite the collection of zucchini recipes that I’ve created over the years.
One thing I love is a good zucchini cake. I’ve made a bunch of variations, including chocolate zucchini cake, lemon zucchini cake, and a zucchini cake with maple cream cheese frosting.
This pineapple zucchini cake is a big favorite. Pineapple and zucchini were meant to go together, and when you add a tangy cream cheese frosting? Totally perfect.
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I remember first finding this pineapple zucchini cake recipe on The Pioneer Woman’s Tasty Kitchen. I had a bunch of zucchini that needed to be used and just so happened to have what I needed to make this cake.
I was most intrigued by the fact that the recipe only called for 3 tablespoons of oil. I was nervous that it wouldn’t be enough for a moist cake, but turns out that I was wrong.
The zucchini and pineapple both add flavor and moisture to this recipe, making for a perfectly textured, delicious cake.
And you know how much I love cream cheese frosting, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I love it on this cake. The tanginess of the cream cheese is the perfect complement to the sweetness of this cake.
If you love carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, this pineapple zucchini cake is your next must-try recipe.
How to make this pineapple zucchini cake
This is a super easy cake to throw together. You don’t need a mixer, so that’s one less thing for you to clean later.
Ingredients you’ll need
For the pineapple zucchini cake itself, you’ll need:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini
- 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple In juice, drained
If your zucchini is really big, go ahead and scrape out the seeds from the center before grating it. This will keep the zucchini from being overly watery.
After grating my zucchini, I like to spread it out on a few layers of paper towels. This drains off some of the excess moisture without wringing all of it out. After it dries a bit, I measure out 2 cups.
When you drain the pineapple, reserve the juice. This is useful in case you need it to thin out your cake batter or the frosting later.
Making this cake
This pineapple zucchini cake is baked in a 9×13-inch pan. Grease the pan with nonstick spray and optionally line it with parchment paper.
To make the cake batter, start by whisking together the flour, sugar, coconut, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
In another bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, and vanilla, then stir this mixture into the dry ingredients along with the grated zucchini and drained pineapple.
The batter may start off a bit stiff, but should become more moist as you mix it together. If you feel it still needs a bit more liquid, feel free to add a small splash of the pineapple juice.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 33-35 minutes, or until the cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack.
When the cake is cool, make the frosting by beating the cream cheese and butter together with a mixer for about 5 minutes. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth, then add the vanilla. Beat the frosting on medium speed for about 5 more minutes; add a splash of the pineapple juice if you feel it needs to be thinned out a bit.
Spread the cream cheese frosting on top of the cooled cake and garnish with chopped pecans or walnuts if you like.
Storage tips
Store this pineapple zucchini cake covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
If you want to freeze the cake for longer-term storage, that is an option as well:
For more details, check out my post on how to freeze cake.
Freeze the whole, unfrosted cake wrapped in a layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of foil for up to 2 months.
Freeze the frosting in an airtight container for 1-2 months. After thawing, bring it to room temperature and whip it with a mixer for a few minutes before adding it to the thawed cake.
Freeze individual slices by placing them on a sheet tray in the freezer until firm. Wrap slices in plastic wrap and place in a zip-top freezer bag. Freeze for up to a month.
Recipe FAQs
If you do not like coconut or have an allergy, feel free to omit the coconut from this recipe. You can also choose to use unsweetened coconut if you like.
If you don’t like baking with vegetable or canola oil, you can substitute avocado oil or another neutral-flavored oil.
You want to retain some of the moisture in the zucchini in order for the cake to turn out moist, so don’t press out all of the water.
Instead, remove the seeds if working with a large zucchini. After grating, lay the zucchini out onto a few layers of paper towels. This will soak up excess moisture without taking out all of it.
Chopped pecans or walnuts are an excellent addition to this pineapple zucchini cake! I add ¾ cup to 1 cup of chopped nuts. If you have the extra time, toasted nuts bring even more flavor to the recipe.
If cream cheese frosting isn’t your thing, try topping this cake with brown butter frosting or brown sugar frosting instead!
Pineapple Zucchini Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini *see note
- 1 can crushed pineapple In juice 20 ounces, drained (reserve juice in case you need it for the cake batter or the frosting)
For the frosting
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- splash of milk or pineapple juice if needed
- chopped walnuts or pecans optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray (1) 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, coconut, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, and vanilla. Stir egg mixture, grated zucchini, and pineapple into the flour mixture. The batter might seem to be a bit dry and stiff, but as you mix, it should become a bit more moist. If it still seems too dry once it is thoroughly combined, add a little splash of the reserved pineapple juice to moisten the batter.
- Spoon batter into the prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 33-35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs and cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, prepare the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter until well combined, about 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar until thoroughly incorporated and smooth. Add vanilla and mix to combine. Turn the mixer to medium speed and mix for approximately 5 more minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.
- Frost the cake and if desired sprinkle the top with toasted and chopped pecans or walnuts.
Video
Notes
- If your zucchini are large, scrape the seeds out of the center before you shred it so it’s not too watery.
- When prepping my zucchini, I spread it all out on layers of paper towel to drain it and dry it off a bit before measuring out the 2 cups.
- Nuts can also be added to the cake batter if desired. I would add about ¾ to 1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts.
- This recipe makes a very generous amount of frosting, if you prefer less frosting, I would suggest halving the frosting ingredients.
- Helpful resources:
- Make sure you know how to measure flour correctly before you start baking.
- Learn how to make powdered sugar so you can whip up a simple substitute if you run out.
- Learn how to soften cream cheese and how to soften butter in case you forget to set yours out ahead of time.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
