If you’re dreaming of a tropical getaway, these pineapple cupcakes will transport you to a sunny island with just a few bites! Light, moist, and bursting with sweet pineapple flavor, I paired these cupcakes with my fluffy pineapple buttercream. These tropical treats are perfect for any occasion.
✨Recipe Highlights
- FLAVOR: packed with vibrant pineapple taste, featuring a full cup of crushed pineapple in the cupcakes and an entire bag of freeze-dried pineapple in the frosting.
- TEXTURE: the cupcakes are soft and moist while the frosting is oh so creamy.
- EASE: these cupcakes are incredibly easy to make and taste amazing—minimal effort for maximum reward. Definitely a keeper!
- FUN VARIATIONS: keep the tropical vibe going with a silky coconut frosting or mix things up with a sweet and tangy strawberry cream cheese frosting for a fruity twist.
Gather your ingredients
Jump to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients with quantities.
For the cupcakes
Here are everything you’ll need to make the pineapple cupcakes and some notes on the key ingredients.
- Oil – this pineapple cupcake recipe is oil-based which means you’ll get light, soft and moist crumbs. You can use any flavorless oil like vegetable or canola oil. I did test this recipe with butter but the cupcakes didn’t turn out light and moist.
- Crushed pineapple – I used canned crushed pineapple in juice. No need to strain out the juice, simply measure out 1 cup of crushed pineapple with the juice. You can use fresh pineapple, but you will need to chop it up really fine or chop it in a food processor or blender and then measure out 1 cup with juice.
For the frosting
And here’s what you’ll need to make the pineapple buttercream frosting.
Freeze-dried pineapple – a must to give your pineapple frosting an amazing vibrant flavor without adding moisture! You should be able to find it in store or online. If not, pineapple extract is a good substitution, or you can use pineapple jam. But since you can only add so much jam before the frosting gets too runny, the flavor may not be as bold.
Breaking down the steps to make pineapple cupcakes
Skip to the recipe card for detailed instructions and step-by-step photos. Below, I provide some recipe testing notes and tips as you go through the process of making it.
Step 1 – make the cupcakes
Oil-based cupcakes are super simple to make. You just need to blend together all the wet ingredients — this includes brown sugar and pineapple too — then mix in the dry ingredients. And voila!
TESTING NOTES: I tested this pineapple cupcakes recipe sooo many times with both butter and oil to make sure I got it just right.
I really liked the version with butter for the taste but it was really difficult to get the pineapple juice and butter to mix nicely. And when I did, the results weren’t consistent. While the taste is really buttery and yummy, the cupcakes were dense and became very dry the next day.
I finally settled on the oil-based version since the batter is much easier to work with, not finicky at all, and you’ll get consistent results. While you don’t get the buttery taste, the pineapple flavor shines through brightly and the cupcakes are super soft and moist, even a few days later. A++ for texture.
Step 2 – make the frosting
This American style buttercream frosting is also very easy to make. It gets its delicious flavor from freeze-dried pineapple powder. I recommend making the frosting when the cupcakes have cooled down completely so you can frost them immediately.
How to fix runny frosting: start with softened, but not melted, butter. If the butter is too soft, the frosting may turn out runnier than usual. To fix this, refrigerate it for 15-30 minutes before piping. You can also add more powdered sugar to thicken it, but keep in mind this will make the frosting sweeter.
Step 3 – decorate the cupcakes
Transfer pineapple frosting to a pastry bag fitted with an open star 1M tip or a piping tip of your choice. Pipe frosting on top of cooled cupcakes — if cupcakes are still warm, your frosting will melt off! If you don’t want to pipe, simply smear on frosting with a spatula or butter knife.
Add optional toppings such as: fresh pineapple, dried pineapple flower, pineapple candies, etc.
Storing and freezing instructions
You can keep your pineapple cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. After day 3, you can still eat them, but the cupcakes will start to dry out. So it is best to enjoy them as soon as you can. Serve them at room temp for the best texture.
You can also freeze these cupcakes for up to 3 months. For easy freezer storage, I recommend flash freezing the frosted cupcakes on a baking sheet. When they are frozen solid, you can wrap them up nicely in foil and plastic and toss them all into a freezer bag to save space.
📖 Recipe card
Pineapple Cupcakes Recipe with Pineapple Frosting
Equipment
- Pastry Bag
- 1M Piping Tip
Ingredients
For the pineapple cupcakes
- 3 oz oil (vegetable or canola, 6 tablespoons, 74 g)
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup brown sugar (light or dark brown, packed, 132 g)
- 1 cup crushed pineapple (with juice, 238 g)
- 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (180 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the pineapple frosting
- 1 bag freeze-dried pineapple (1 oz, 28 g)
- 8 oz unsalted butter (2 sticks, 227 g, room temperature)
- 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar (150 g)
- A pinch of kosher salt
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream (60 g, room temperature)
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make pineapple cupcakes: Add 3 ounces (or 6 tablespoons) of vegetable or canola oil to a large mixing bowl along with 1 large egg and ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Beat with a whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Add ⅔ cup of brown sugar and 1 cup of canned crushed pineapple (don’t drain the pineapple), beat again to fully combine.
- In a smaller mixing bowl, sift together 1 ⅓ cup of all-purpose flour along with 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Add ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt and stir until distributed evenly. Note: I don’t sift the salt with the flour and baking powder because kosher salt has larger grains that won’t go through a fine mesh sieve.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredient mixture and mix lightly with a whisk or fold with a spatula until just combined, take care not to over mix.
- Let the batter rest while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a standard size muffin pan with cupcake liner.
- When the oven is ready, divide the batter with a large cookie scoop into 12 muffin cavities and bake in the middle rack for 17-18 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
- Remove the muffin pan from the oven and set it on a wire rack to cool to the touch, about 10-15 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes from the pan, and set them on a wire rack to cool completely before adding frosting on top.
- Make pineapple frosting: Grind one 1-oz bag of freeze-dried pineapple in your food processor or high speed blender until a fine powder forms. Set aside.
- Cream 8 oz of softened butter in your stand mixer bowl on medium to medium high speed until it is light and creamy.
- Add 1 ¼ cup of powdered sugar, along with the pineapple powder and a pinch of kosher salt. Stir first to combine to prevent the powdered sugar from puffing up. Then gradually increase mixer speed to medium high and beat until completely incorporated and creamy.
- Add ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and stream in ¼ cup of heavy whipping cream. Beat at medium low or medium speed to incorporate. Then continue beating on medium high until the frosting is light and fluffy, an extra 5 to 10 minutes.
- Decorate the cupcakes: Transfer pineapple frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a 1M tip and pipe frosting on top of cooled cupcakes. Serve at room temperature and enjoy!
Notes
- Freeze-dried pineapple substitutions: you should be able to find freeze-dried pineapple in store or online. I got mine at Target. If you can’t find freeze-dried pineapple, you can use pineapple jam or pineapple extract to add flavor to the frosting.
- Runny frosting fix: if your frosting is a bit runny, try refrigerating it for 15-30 minutes before piping.
- Storage: these cupcakes should last 3-5 days in the fridge, and up to 3 months in the freezer.
Nutrition
More pineapple recipes
- For a fun cocktail-inspired version of these pineapple cupcakes, try my Pina Colada cupcakes with rum infused coconut frosting!
- If you love freeze-dried pineapple so much like I do, you have to make pineapple truffles with freeze-dried pineapple.
- If you have leftover crushed pineapple, make pineapple dog treats for your furry friends!
- This pineapple tart with coconut frangipane has gotta be my favorite tropical creation, so unique, you won’t find it anywhere else!
- And last by not least, these Hawaiian dinner rolls made with pineapple juice are pillowy soft, my kids eat these as snacks!
This post may contain affiliate links. For more details on how we utilize affiliates, ads, and sponsored content, see our full disclosure policy. Thank you for your continued support, which enables us to keep bringing you delicious recipes, at no extra cost to you.
Leave a Reply