This Hummingbird Banana Bread is super simple to make and tastes just like an authentic hummingbird cake! Chock full of pineapples, pecans, toasted coconut and banana flavors in one moist and delicious bread!
The more I live in Sacramento, the more I realize there is a sore lack of really good bakeries around here.
I just returned from Paris, Land of Bakeries, and spent 10 days being swooned by every baked good under the sun. Macaron shops as far as the eye can see. Beautiful, towering cakes lining shop windows. Croissants – so. many. croissants. Eclairs. Parfaits. Kouign Amann, which is freaking fantastic and pronounced “queen a-mahn” if you didn’t know. I mean, shoot, even the Parisian McDonald’s had freaking macarons! At my local McDonald’s, I can’t even get the 18 year old working behind the counter to fix the McFlurry machine.
All I’m asking for is for someone to open up a bakery (don’t you dare say me!) in my county and have it serve fantastic cakes, tiramisu, pies, and all the like. And again, please don’t suggest I do it. I’ve worked in a bakery before and there is no way in actual hell, heaven, Earth, or in the universe I would EVER open one. Waking up at 1am to bake breads and cupcakes is not my idea of a good time. It’s also not very fun when you run out of red velvet cupcakes on Valentine’s Day at 6pm, minutes before closing, and some idiot man screams at you because he waited until the very last second to get his girlfriend cupcakes. (Also, red velvet cupcakes are not even good, much less worth screaming over, but please, regale me again with the tale of how I ruined Valentine’s Day because you’re a procrastinating thoughtless oaf).
ANYWAY. What I’m trying to say is there’s a real lack of good cakes around here, and I don’t think the average Californian has heard of hummingbird cake which is a crying shame. If you didn’t know, hummingbird cakes actually hail from Jamaica, where they’re often called “Doctor Bird” cake. It’s essentially a very moist cake made with bananas, pineapples, pecans and coconut and topped with a cream cheese icing. Talk about DELICIOUS, right?
Well, since I’m determined to Make Californians Hummingbird Cake Eaters (official campaign slogan TBA) I decided to make this Hummingbird Banana Bread and boy, was it a fantastic decision.
If you haven’t tried my Best Ever Banana Bread, here’s your formal invitation to try it. This takes my classic best-ever banana bread and doctors it with so many amazing flavors and textures that your whole world will explode with happiness upon the first bite. The bread itself is more cake-like but that’s not to imply it is dry or crumbly. This cake-bread is super moist and flavorful, thanks to the banana, pineapple, Greek yogurt, and instant dry pudding mix which is my secret ingredient for ultra moist and delicious banana bread! Then we add in some chopped pecans and toasted coconut for extra flavor and richness.
The result is the most flavorful and delicious Hummingbird Banana Bread ever! Trust me, you do not want to sleep on this recipe!
*adapted from my Best Ever Banana Bread recipe
Best Ever Hummingbird Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt plain or banana flavored
- 2 cups mashed bananas about 3-4 small bananas
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 (small 3.4 oz box) instant banana pudding mix (JUST the dry powder)
- 1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple drained
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup lightly toasted coconut divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally grease a 9" loaf pan with cooking spray. For best results, I like using a light metal loaf pan or a disposable pan as they cook more consistently. Note that your bread may take longer or be cooked inconsistently with a dark loaf pan or glass loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar with a handheld electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, followed by the Greek yogurt, bananas, and vanilla extract. Switching to a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the cinnamon, baking soda, salt, flour, and dry pudding powder into the batter until just barely combined. Do not over-mix, as this leads to tough bread! Gently fold in the pineapple, pecans, and 1/2 cup of the toasted coconut. Batter may still be lumpy, that's okay!
- Spread the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top. Top the bread with the remaining 1/2 cup toasted coconut.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then loosely tent a piece of foil over the top of the bread and continue baking for another 30 minutes or until a toothpick or cake skewer inserted near the center comes out clean or with moist, not wet, crumbs. Cool completely before cutting into slices.
- NOTE: To toast coconut, add the coconut flakes to a dry skillet and toast on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes or until barely toasted. They should have a touch of light golden brown color but should not be darker than that as the coconut will continue to darken in the oven.
Amazingly moist, tender, flavorful and delicious bread – you’ll love it!
Check out these other easy breakfast treats!
Best Ever Zucchini Walnut Bread
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
Tash says
Does this freeze well?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Tash, I have not tried freezing this but I imagine it would!
Veronica says
This cake is super moist and delicious. Great combination of ingredients! Crowd pleasers
thedomesticrebel says
Thanks so much, Veronica!
Terri says
Looking forward to trying this out soon. Another name that I’ve read for this as a cake is “Granny Cake.” There are many variations of it.
Pamela says
This sounds simply amazing and I am going to try it. I am always trying out different kinds of banana bread but I love the different combinations of flavors you have here.
I live in Japan and there is absolutely no pudding mix here. Can I add just a couple of tablespoons of almond flour in place of the pudding mix, I wonder?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Pamela! You can just omit the pudding mix and the recipe will work just fine!
Cass says
I have a loaf in the oven can’t wait to try.
Trina Strong says
Any idea how many calories?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Trina, no, I’m sorry!
Brenda says
Can I make this as muffins? If so, what would be the bakking time and temperature?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Brenda, you can. Temperature stays the same but baking time will vary. I have not tried it as muffins so I can’t say for sure. Maybe test around 18 minutes or so and increase from there if they’re still not done.
Vickie P. says
Hi! I baked some mini-loaf pans (about the size of 2 muffins) and it took 30 minutes. I tested them at 20 minutes, but they weren’t done yet.
Love L. says
This recipe is delicious. I piped cream cheese icing on top! Added just enough sweetness.
Vickie P. says
I hardly ever leave recipe reviews, but this hummingbird banana bread is AMAZING! So good! The only changes I made were to accommodate what I had on hand this morning. I substituted sour cream for the Greek yogurt. And I used vanilla instant pudding because I didn’t have banana. I’m going to make this to take to our quilt guild meeting next month. The ladies are going to love it!
Barb says
This loaf is moist and delicious. But. Two cups of mashed bananas is a lot more than three small bananas.
Is there a misprint there?
Elaine says
Should the pineapple be drained?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Elaine, you can drain the pineapple yes!
KarenR says
These are great. I baked them in a muffin tin with paper liners. The recipe makes 24 muffins and they baked for 20 minutes.
Bob says
I have never heard of Hummingbird Bread but this sounds really good! I will have to try this recipe instead of regular banana bread next time! Thanks for the recipe!
Tammy says
Fabulous!! Great recipe, adding to my recipe box.
I made a smaller size loaf and 4 muffins. Wish I could post a picture, they turned out perfect 🤩