Pineapple Coconut Muffins

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Pineapple Coconut Muffins combine sweet pineapple with coconut, cinnamon and vanilla. The addition of pineapple juice to the batter makes these moist pineapple coconut muffins a delight to eat. Enjoy them any time of the day, fresh from the oven, or packed into your bag for an easy breakfast or lunch on the go!

Pineapple Coconut Muffins

These easy pineapple coconut muffins are great for breakfast or an easy brunch. Bake them fresh in the morning, and enjoyed hot from the oven, they are the perfect start to the day. Or I sometimes bake them ahead the night before, particularly if I anticipate a hectic morning ahead.

However, if I am baking these pineapple muffins in the morning I do like a bit of get ahead preparation. I measure out all my dry ingredients into a bowl, the sugars into another bowl, then I drain and separate my pineapple into separate bowls and store those in the refrigerator. Every little helps!

These tasty muffins also make a great sweet treat for any lunch box, or with a cup of my favorite coffee. They also make a great after school snack for the kids.

Pineapple coconut muffins recipe ingredients

• PINEAPPLE: I like to use a can of crushed pineapple to make these muffins. I drain the pineapple and retain the juice to add to the wet ingredients, which not only adds flavor, but helps ensure the muffins are moist.
• FLOUR: I use all purpose flour in this recipe.
• RAISING AGENTS: I use both baking powder and baking soda in this muffin recipe.
• SEASONING: I season the muffins with a little salt and flavor them with ground cinnamon.
• OIL: I use regular vegetable oil in this recipe.
• SUGAR: I use both white and brown sugar in this recipe.
• EGGS: I use 2 eggs in this recipe.
• VANILLA: I use vanilla extract to flavor the muffins. You can also use vanilla paste.
• COCONUT: The coconut flavor in these muffins comes from sweetened coconut flakes, adding some to the batter and using the rest to decorate to top of the muffin.

How to make Pineapple Coconut Muffins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin pan with liners or grease with non-stick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, stir together the drained pineapple pieces and 3 tablespoons flour. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Set aside.

In a third bowl, whisk the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined.

Add the reserved pineapple juice and stir to mix.

Then, stir in the flour mixture until just combined.

Fold in the crushed pineapple and half the coconut flakes.

Spoon the mixture into each baking cup until the cup is full. Sprinkle the remaining sweetened coconut over the top of each muffin.

Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 22 minutes for full sized muffins or 12 to 15 minutes for mini muffins, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Flavor variations

• Pineapple – for ease I used crushed pineapple, but you could also use pineapple chunks or rings, just give them a quick pulse in the food processor first.
• Fresh pineapple – you could also use fresh pineapple, but look for a really ripe one so that it’s nice and sweet, otherwise you will need to add some extra sugar for sweetness.
• Orange – pineapple and orange are a great flavor pairing, try adding the finely grated zest of 2 oranges to the muffin batter.
• Spices – swap the ground cinnamon for some ground ginger or mixed spice.
• Chocolate – stir some milk or white chocolate chips through the muffin batter.

Recipe hints & tips

• You can easily grease the muffin tray with butter or non-stick spray oil, but I prefer to use paper muffin liners. This makes getting the muffins out of the tray a whole lot easier.
• The reason you cover the crushed pineapple in a little flour before adding to the muffin batter, is to help it distribute the pineapple through the batter and stop it from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
• Don’t over mix the muffin batter or you can end up with tough muffins.
• I use a muffin batter scoop, to get an easy, even distribution of the muffin batter into each of the cups.
• Baking times vary depending on the size of muffins. Bake for 18-22 minutes for full sized muffins and 12-15 minutes for mini muffins.
• This recipe is easy to double up if you are feeding a crowd. I like to to do this and enjoy some fresh, freezing the rest for a quick and easy snack another day.

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