These tropical Pineapple Coconut Banana Muffins topped with a buttery macadamia nut crumble and coconut milk icing will take you right back to Hawaii!
When I created this recipe, all I could think about was Hawaii. Hot sun, sandy beaches, flower-scented breezes, fresh pineapple and bananas, palm trees, shave ice... all things opposite of a dark and wet West Coast winter. These "Hawaii muffins" will bring a little taste (literally and figuratively) to even the dreariest day.
Also inspired by Hawaii, my Macadamia Nut Shortbread Cookies are another great recipe to make when dreaming of sunny places. Coconut Scones, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, or Coconut Cream Tarts would also do the trick!
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⭐️ Why You Need to Make This Recipe
- Texture - The banana and crushed pineapple work together to make these muffins incredibly tender and soft.
- Flavor - Vibrant flavors of coconut, banana, pineapple, and macadamia nuts make for a truly tropical-tasting muffin!
- Method - Starting with melted butter means we don't even need to use an electric mixer to make these simple muffins.
For other yummy breakfast recipes, be sure to try my Maple Vanilla Pecan Granola and Olive Oil Walnut Banana Bread recipes!
🧈 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make these Hawaiian banana muffins with pineapple and coconut.
Ingredient Notes
- Butter - This recipe calls for salted butter but you could easily substitute with unsalted butter. Simply add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the batter and a pinch of salt to the crumble topping.
- Pineapple - Canned crushed pineapple makes these muffins extra moist and tender and distributes the pineapple flavor nicely.
- Bananas - Make sure your bananas are super ripe with lots of black spots all over for the best muffins!
- Coconut and Coconut Milk - We will add shredded coconut to the batter as well as make the icing with coconut milk for extra flavor. If you don't have coconut milk, you could definitely use regular milk or cream instead!
- Macadamia Nuts - I like to use roasted and salted macadamia nuts for yummy flavor and a salty hint.
See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients with measurements.
📃 Instructions
Step 1: Whisk together the melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the mashed bananas, drained crushed pineapple, and shredded coconut.
Step 2: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
Step 3: Add the combined dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and stir just until no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix!
Step 4: Scoop the batter into a prepared muffin tin, filling each cup to the top with batter.
Step 5: In another bowl, stir together the melted butter, sugar, flour, and macadamia nuts to make the crumble.
Step 6: Top the batter with a generous amount of the crumble mixture.
Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Let cool for 10 minutes while you whisk together the coconut milk and powdered sugar to make the glaze. Drizzle over the slightly cooled muffins.
💡 Top Tip
Bananas vary in size, so always mash and then measure your bananas to ensure you have the correct measurement called for in the recipe for the best results. For this reason, I call for a measurement of mashed bananas in most of my banana recipes rather than a number of bananas.
🍌 More Banana Recipes
Looking for other recipes made with bananas? Try these next:
If you tried these Coconut Pineapple Banana Muffins or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and write a little note telling me how it went in the comments below. Thank you!!
📖 Recipe
Pineapple Coconut Banana Muffins
Equipment
- 12-count muffin tin(s)
- muffin liners or non-stick spray
- mixing bowl
- measuring cups & spoons
- whisk
Ingredients
For the Batter:
- ½ cup salted butter * melted
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups mashed banana * (around 4 or 5 bananas)
- ¾ cup canned crushed pineapple drained and patted dry with paper towel
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
For the Crumble Topping:
- 2 tablespoons salted butter * melted
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup chopped raw macadamia nuts (I use salted)
For the Icing:
- 2-3 tablespoons coconut milk *
- 1 cup powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line two 12-count muffin tins with parchment paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray or grease with butter.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the mashed banana, drained pineapple, and coconut.½ cup salted butter, ¾ cup white sugar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 cups mashed banana , ¾ cup canned crushed pineapple, ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add to the bowl of wet ingredients and stir just until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain, being careful not to overmix.2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Evenly distribute the batter between the prepared pans, filling each cup or liner to the top with batter. In a small, bowl stir together the crumble ingredients: melted butter, sugar, flour, and chopped macadamia nuts to make a crumbly mixture. Top the unbaked muffins with the crumble topping, evenly distributing the topping between all the muffins.2 tablespoons salted butter, 2 tablespoons white sugar, ½ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup chopped raw macadamia nuts
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pans for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling before topping with the icing.
- Stir together 2-3 tablespoons of coconut milk and the powdered sugar to create a drizzle-able icing/glaze. Drizzle over the mostly cooled muffins and serve. Enjoy!2-3 tablespoons coconut milk, 1 cup powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
Notes
- You could easily substitute with unsalted butter. Simply add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the batter and a pinch of salt to the crumble topping.
- Bananas vary in size, so always mash and then measure your bananas to ensure you have the correct measurement called for in the recipe for the best results.
- If you don't have coconut milk, you could use regular milk or cream instead.
sarah
I wonder how much sugar I can leave out before it affects the texture of the muffins. I realize sugar adds to this but im trying to eliminate carbs when possible and I find im ok with the amount of sweetness from the other ingredients.
Thanks
Margaret Gallagher
I made your Hawaii Muffins and I was really disappointed. The banana flavor was overwhelming. I did not taste the coconut or the pineapple. It felt it was missing sugar and salt. I could taste the baking soda and felt two tsps was too much for the recipe. I did like the topping with macadamia nuts. At the same I made your Hawaiian Banana Bread with Coconut and Pineapple. It was delicious, but again the prime flavor was banana. Even though the Muffins looked amazing I had to put them in the garbage. Two teaspoons seems like a lot. Looking forward to trying your Macadamia Nut Shortbread Cookies recipe.
Naomi Andres
Hi Margaret,
I'm sorry to hear that you were disappointed with this recipe.
I hope you find the cookie recipe to turn out more satisfactory.
Naomi