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Hummingbird Bread

Hummingbird bread is a tropical banana pineapple quick bread with toasted pecans baked until deeply golden. It’s crowned with a smooth cream cheese frosting and finished with extra toasted nuts for a sweet, Southern loaf-style slice.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 420
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Hummingbird Bread Loaf
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple with juice
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 cup pecans toasted and chopped
Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 4 oz cream cheese softened
  • 2 tbsp butter softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 0.5 tsp vanilla

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Bake the hummingbird bread
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
  2. Whisk together vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
  3. Stir in mashed bananas and crushed pineapple with all its juice.
  4. Fold in all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until just combined.
  5. Fold in the toasted and chopped pecans.
  6. Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for 60–70 minutes at 350°F until deeply golden and a toothpick comes out clean; cover loosely with foil if the top browns too fast.
Frost and finish
  1. Cool the loaf completely before frosting.
  2. Beat cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
  3. Spread the cream cheese frosting over the cooled loaf.
  4. Top with additional toasted pecans before serving.

Notes

For the best sliceable texture, let the loaf cool completely so the crumb sets before frosting. Store covered at room temperature up to 2 days (refrigerate up to 5 days) and freeze without frosting up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the fridge and frost after thawing. For a lighter option, use half the sugar or swap in a 1:1 baking sugar substitute.