Healthy hummingbird banana bread with pineapple, coconut and a delicious cream cheese frosting is just like the classic southern hummingbird cake but in a healthy, whole-grain banana bread. It's perfect for your Easter brunch or breakfast table! (dairy-free option)

overhead view of sliced healthy hummingbird banana bread with cream cheese frosting with a gold knife next to it.

When you're looking for a delicious sweet treat that's equally appropriate for a snack as it is for a breakfast or brunch spread, look no further than this springtime banana bread that's loaded with all the flavors of hummingbird cake. Southerners will love this hummingbird cake-inspired loaf for all brunches, showers, Easter, or just because!

What is Hummingbird Banana Bread?

Hummingbird banana bread is a quick bread (or loaf) inspired by Hummingbird cake! Hummingbird cake is a delicious, traditionally Southern, cake made with bananas, pineapple, coconut, and warm spices, usually topped with cream cheese frosting. It's absolutely delightful, but it is a somewhat heavy dessert. I decided to turn this classic southern dessert into a lighter version - opting for a cream cheese frosted banana bread that has all the same mix-ins and flavors as hummingbird cake without the work of a layer cake.

Why You'll Love This Hummingbird Banana Bread

This hummingbird banana bread it's springy and sweet, yet wholesome and light enough to enjoy with coffee for a quick breakfast or to grace your Easter brunch table. It's filled with all kinds of goodies - bananas, coconut, pineapple, pecans, and spices - and is moist, dense, and covered with a rich and tangy cream cheese frosting. PLUS it's made healthier with whole wheat flour, less sugar (because of all the naturally sweet fruit!) and very little oil.

The Ingredients

To make the banana bread, you'll need:

Bananas - the more ripe and brown, the better!
Pineapple - Use canned crushed pineapple, preferably canned in juice, not syrup.
Coconut - Shredded or flaked in small pieces. I like to use unsweetened when I can find it.
Pecans
Sugar
Coconut oil - Unrefined (or virgin) coconut oil adds another nice layer of coconut flavor. If you don't have coconut oil, you can use a neutral flavored oil, such as avocado or canola oil.
Eggs
Vanilla
Whole wheat flour - I like whole wheat pastry flour because it's nice and light. You can also use white whole wheat flour or just regular all-purpose flour.
Baking Soda
Spices - cinnamon, nutmeg and salt

For the cream cheese frosting, all you need is:

Cream cheese - I typically use the reduced fat or neaufchatel style cream cheese.
Butter - I like salted!
Vanilla
Powered sugar

How To Make It

9 image collage showing steps for making healthy hummingbird banana bread.

Make The Banana Bread

Mash the bananas well in a large bowl.
Add the sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and pineapple and whisk well.
In another bowl, stir together the flour, spices, and baking soda. Stir the mixture into the wet ingredients.
Gently fold in the pecans and coconut.
Spread the mixture into a prepared metal loaf pan and bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the bread cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before removing and allowing to cool all the way on a cooling rack.

four image collage showing steps for making cream cheese frosting for healthy hummingbird banana bread.

Make the Frosting & Top The Banana Bread!

Whisk the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until it's smooth.
Spread onto the cooled banana bread.
Top with toasted pecans and coconut, if you'd like (I highly recommend it!).

Tips For Perfect Hummingbird Banana Bread

I find a metal loaf pan is best for baking any kind of banana bread, but especially a super moist one like this, as it will bake more evenly than in a glass or ceramic pan.
If you find that the top is browning too quickly before the center is done, place a loosely tented piece of foil over the top while it finishes baking.
Leave the pineapple undrained. You want all the moisture from the juice!
Make sure the butter and cream cheese are softened to room temperature before making the frosting so that it mixes well and is lump-free! To soften butter or cream cheese quickly, you can microwave at half power (or on defrost mode) for about 10 seconds.
Make sure you let the bread cool completely before frosting it, or else the frosting will melt and slide off!

overhead view of a slice of healthy hummingbird banana bread with cream cheese frosting on a plate with a gold fork.

Storing Hummingbird Banana Bread

Because this banana bread has so much moisture and relatively little sugar, it doesn't hold up well at room temperature for very long. I suggest storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator after the first day to make it last longer.

The banana bread loaf freezes well, unfrosted. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer bag or container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

More Healthy Banana Bread Recipes You'll Love

If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating in the comments!

Healthy Hummingbird Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

overhead view of sliced hummingbird banana bread with a gold knife next to it.

Print Recipe

★★★

3 from 1 reviews

Author: Kaleigh
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 1 loaf 1x
Category: breakfast
Method: baked
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
2 med bananas, very ripe
½ cup sugar
¼ cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
⅔ cup crushed pineapple, undrained
½ cup coconut
½ cup pecans

For the frosting:

1 tbsp butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese, softened
½ tsp vanilla extract
⅓ cup powdered sugar

For topping:

Additional coconut and pecans, toasted

Instructions

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a metal 9x5 inch loaf pan or line with parchment.
In a large bowl, mash bananas well. Add sugar, coconut oil, eggs, vanilla and pineapple. Whisk until well combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk pastry flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
Pour dry mixture into wet ingredients. Gently stir until combined, careful not to over mix.
Gently fold in pecans and coconut.
Spread into prepared loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. If your oven tends to run cool, it make take even longer.
Remove from oven and cool at least 10 minutes before removing loaf from the pan. Place on a cooling rack until completely cooled before frosting.
To make the frosting, whisk butter, cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth.
Spread onto cooled bread and sprinkle with toasted coconut and pecans.

Notes

To toast coconut and pecans for the topping, spread in a single layer on a baking sheet, and toast in a 350°F oven for 5-10 minutes, watching carefully so they don't burn.
I find a metal loaf pan is best for baking any kind of banana bread, but especially a super moist one like this, as it will bake more evenly than in a glass or ceramic pan.
If you find that the top is browning too quickly before the center is done, place a loosely tented piece of foil over the top while it finishes baking.
Leave the pineapple undrained. You want all the moisture from the juice!
Make sure the butter and cream cheese are softened to room temperature before making the frosting so that it mixes well and is lump-free! To soften butter or cream cheese quickly, you can microwave at half power (or on defrost mode) for about 10 seconds.
Make sure you let the bread cool completely before frosting it, or else the frosting will melt and slide off!

Keywords: pineapple coconut banana bread, hummingbird banana bread with cream cheese frosting, hummingbird cake banana bread

This post was originally published April 2019 and has been updated.

Comments

Sarah says

February 29, 2020 at 1:23 pm

This looks yummy. I’m allergic to pineapple can I just not use it?

- Kaleigh says
  
  February 29, 2020 at 4:09 pm
  
  Hi Sarah, The pineapple provides a significant amount of moisture. You might try replacing it with applesauce, but I haven't tried it so I can't say for sure if it works!
  
- Cora says
  
  May 21, 2020 at 5:58 am
  
  Nope you don’t need it I don’t like pineapple so I skipped and it turned out perfect
  
  ★★★
  
  - Kaleigh says
    
    May 21, 2020 at 1:19 pm
    
    Thanks for sharing how it worked out for you, Cora!
Linda Tucker says

May 03, 2019 at 11:06 am

I’d like to make this tonight but I don’t have whole wheat pastry flour on hand, only the Bob’s Red Mill unbleached white all-purpose flour. Will this recipe work with the regular flour?

- Kaleigh says
  
  May 03, 2019 at 11:14 am
  
  Hi Linda,
  Yes, AP flour will work!
  
Ashley Charles says

April 20, 2019 at 11:19 am

I made this beautiful bread this morning and it's amazing! It's so good. As a student of Dietitics I normally try recipes created by RD's. This is one for my recipe box for sure. Thanks for the recipe!!

- Kaleigh says
  
  May 06, 2019 at 3:12 pm
  
  Hi Ashley, I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
  
Tara Rochford | Tara Rochford Nutrition says

April 17, 2019 at 9:15 am

This sounds perfect for Easter!! Yum!

- Kaleigh says
  
  April 18, 2019 at 7:33 am
  
  Thanks Tara!