Pineapple Coconut Muffins Recipe

Juicy pineapple and sweet coconut add tropical flair to these tender muffins.

Overhead closeup view of pineapple coconut muffins, cooling on a rack.

Serious Eats / Yvonne Ruperti

Why It Works

  • Adding coconut milk to the muffin batter adds extra flavor and results in a moist, tender crumb.
  • A portion of the shredded coconut is sprinkled on top of the muffin batter before baking so that it can toast and caramelize.

Who doesn't love the quintessential tropical summer flavor combination of pineapple and coconut? I know I do, though preferably when used in conjunction with rum. Except when it comes to breakfast. Though many a vacation morning I'd gladly wake up to a heavily blitzed piña colada, most days dictate otherwise. These delicious tropical blast muffins are a fine alternative. Creamy and rich with coconut and filled with juicy pineapple, I promise when you smell the buttery tropical flavors wafting from your oven, you won't miss the rum.

I've been making this muffin for years, but with a completely different batter. At my bakery, I'd mix up a big batch of milk-based muffin batter and stir in a variety of add-ins. For these muffins, I bumped up the coconut by swapping coconut milk in instead. Coconut milk (not to be confused with Coco Goya cream of coconut) is luxuriously creamy, and its subtle coconut flavor is just right. The extra fat of the coconut milk, when combined with butter, makes a ridiculously rich muffin with the tender texture of a cupcake. I always use canned pineapple because I find it much more consistent than fresh. Sweetened, shredded coconut adds crunch inside the muffin, and on top.

These muffins are easily hand mixed. By using super soft butter, a whisk and a bowl is all you need. Start your morning right with an easy recipe that's full of the tropics.

September 2013

Recipe Details

Pineapple Coconut Muffins Recipe

Active 15 mins
Total 40 mins
Serves 12 muffins

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, very soft

  • 1 cup (7 ouncesgranulated sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1/2 cup coconut milk

  • 1 1/4 cups sweetened, flaked coconut, divided

  • 1 1/4 cups (6 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour

  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 cup (6 ounces) drained pineapple cubes, chopped

Directions

  1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Stir butter with sugar and salt in a large bowl until creamy. Whisk in eggs, one by one, until combined. Whisk in coconut milk and 3/4 cup coconut.

  2. Add flour and baking powder to the bowl and whisk until combined. Whisk in pineapple cubes. Divide batter between muffin cups and sprinkle the tops with the remaining coconut. Bake until golden and just set, about 20 minutes. Let muffins cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool.

Special Equipment

Muffin pan

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
264 Calories
13g Fat
35g Carbs
3g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 264
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g 17%
Saturated Fat 9g 46%
Cholesterol 51mg 17%
Sodium 230mg 10%
Total Carbohydrate 35g 13%
Dietary Fiber 1g 5%
Total Sugars 21g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 7mg 34%
Calcium 70mg 5%
Iron 1mg 8%
Potassium 98mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)