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Hummingbird Bread

Hummingbird bread is a tropical banana pineapple quick bread loaf with toasted pecans baked until deeply golden. It’s crowned with a tangy cream cheese frosting and finished with extra toasted pecans for crunch in every 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: 350
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Bread
  • 2 bananas Ripe; mash until mostly smooth.
  • 1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple with juice Use the juice for moisture.
  • 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
  • 1 cup pecans Additional toasted pecans for topping.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 cast iron skillet
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Bake the hummingbird bread loaf
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
  2. Whisk vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
  3. Stir in mashed bananas and crushed pineapple with all its juice until evenly combined.
  4. Fold in all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until just combined—stop mixing as soon as you don’t see dry flour.
  5. Fold in toasted and chopped pecans.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
  7. Bake for 60–70 minutes, until the loaf is deeply golden and a toothpick comes out clean; cover loosely with foil if the top browns too fast.
  8. Cool the loaf completely before frosting.
Frost and finish
  1. Beat softened cream cheese and softened butter until smooth.
  2. Mix in powdered sugar and vanilla until spreadable and smooth.
  3. Spread the cream cheese frosting over the cooled loaf.
  4. Top with additional toasted pecans before serving.

Notes

Pro tip: toast and chop the pecans first so they stay crisp against the moist crumb—then reserve some for the final topping. Store the loaf, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; keep unfrosted slices frozen up to 2 months (thaw overnight in the fridge) and frost after thawing for the best texture. For a lighter option, use half the sugar by weight and add 1–2 extra tablespoons of crushed pineapple juice to keep the crumb moist.