My 1-Ingredient Upgrade for the Best Zucchini Bread

Zucchini bread is one of those gifts that keeps giving in all directions. It’s a gift to me because it’s so easy to make in a flash, even with little kids tugging at my shirt or (gasp!) asking to help bake. It’s a gift to others because it’s one of the few baked goods I can reliably make without screwing up, so I regularly give it as a thank-you present. It’s also an easily customizable gift: add chocolate chips for dessert lovers, use gluten-free flour for the gluten-averse or allergic, nuts for texture, or herbs for savory notes.

However, there's one unusual ingredient I always put in my zucchini bread. It adds moisture and sweetness. You might not even notice if I didn’t call it out. Crushed canned pineapple is the secret ingredient that turns my zucchini bread from good to great.  

You know the crushed pineapple in the can that sits next to the other canned fruit and apple sauce in the grocery store? It’s a sneaky workhorse of an ingredient, adding so much for only the extra effort of twisting the can opener.

How To Add Crushed Canned Pineapple to Your Zucchini Bread Recipe

You can swap out one cup of zucchini for an eight-ounce can of drained, crushed canned pineapple. It's as easy as that. It’s a great substitution if you’re short on zucchini or want to add some sweetness without more sugar. 

Mix the pineapple in when you add your zucchini, which typically goes into the wet ingredients. 

If you don’t want to swap out any zucchini, make sure your shredded zucchini is as dry as possible—squeeze out all the moisture you can. Then, start by adding 1/2 cup of the drained, crushed pineapple and see if the batter’s consistency is pourable but still thick. Add the rest of the can if you think it could stand a little more moisture and sweetness. Quick breads are forgiving, so you have more wiggle room to experiment.

Whether you’re swapping in a cup of pineapple for a cup of zucchini or adding pineapple into the equation, it’s very important that you first drain the pineapple. I do this by keeping the pineapple in the can and pressing down into the pieces with the back of a spoon while letting the juice run out. (I save the juice to drink!) The pineapple doesn’t have to be squeezed dry; in fact, a little extra juice is part of what contributes to a moist loaf. But you want to remove most of the liquid.

I love the sweetness the pineapple imparts, as well as the moisture it adds. Zucchini is, of course, very moist on its own, but the almost syrupy quality of the canned pineapple juice adds a little something extra.

The Best Kind of Canned Pineapple To Use

I’m partial to Dole crushed pineapple, which I’ve always used, but other brands, such as Del Monte, will work just fine. Make sure, however, to use crushed pineapple and not pineapple chunks.

The crushed pineapple almost disappears into the bread, so you pick up a nice hint of flavor and a little extra texture, but you’re never biting down into a large chunk. It’s still zucchini bread, in other words. You haven’t stepped into pineapple bread territory.