My favorite kinds of cakes are the ones that need only 5 minutes of prep!
This easy old-fashioned pineapple cake needs just 5 ingredients and comes together faster than you can preheat the oven! It comes out so moist with lots of pineapple flavor.
This moist, sweet cake can be served plain or topped with cream cheese icing or a dollop of freshly whipped cream. No fresh cream? Whipped topping works like a charm!
Why We Love this Easy Cake Recipe
As you likely know, I love recipes that are quick (and yummy) but don’t require tons of dishes or ingredients. This one tops my list.
- This homemade Pineapple Cake is so easy to make, and even easier to serve.
- With just 5 ingredients, if you’ve got crushed pineapple you likely have all of the ingredients on hand.
- Prep takes just a few minutes and one bowl. No stand mixer is required!
- It’s simple to bake in a 9×13, no fussing with layers or multiple cake pans.
- This pineapple cake is best made ahead so all the flavors can meld together!
Ingredients
This cake uses simple ingredients you most likely have on hand!
DRY All-purpose flour, sugar, and baking soda are mixed together to create the dry portion for this cake.
EGGS This recipe uses eggs and crushed pineapple.
PINEAPPLE This cake is full of crushed pineapple for flavor and moisture. If you don’t have crushed pineapple, pulse pineapple tidbits or fresh pineapple in a food processor a few times. Do not drain, the pineapple juice is needed for moisture.
FROSTING Cream cheese frosting or fresh whipped cream will both taste wonderful, use whatever you have on hand!
Optional Additions
- Add 1/2 cup of shredded coconut, some lime zest and a teaspoon of vanilla to the batter.
- Shredded carrots pair perfectly with the crushed pineapple.
- Toasted pecans, walnuts, and especially macadamia nuts add a little crunch and texture to pineapple cake.
- Better yet, sprinkle chopped nuts or toasted coconut on the top.
How to Make Pineapple Cake
This recipe is so simple, it bakes in less than 30 minutes!
- Combine dry ingredients, stir in the eggs, and pineapple per the recipe below.
- Spread the cake batter into a prepared 9×13 pan.
- Bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
Top with whipped cream or even cream cheese frosting. Sprinkle with chopped nuts or top with pineapple chunks if desired.
Tips for the Perfect Pineapple Cake
- Don’t drain the juices from the can of crushed pineapple to get that moist, sweet flavor.
- Because this cake has fruit, it should be stored in the fridge. It will keep for 3-4 days.
- This cake can be frozen. Cut into portions or freeze the entire cake by wrapping it in plastic wrap, then foil and label the outside with the date.
- Pineapple cake should last about 6 weeks in the freezer.
More Pineapple Treats
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- Hummingbird Cake
- Easy Ambrosia Salad
- Pineapple Coconut Rice Krispie Squares
- 3 Ingredient Pineapple Angel Food Cake
- Pina Colada Cake
- Grilled Pineapple
Did your family love this Pineapple Cake? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Easiest Ever Pineapple Cake (5 Ingredients)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 20 ounces crushed pineapple with juices, 1 can
- 2 eggs
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13 pan.
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Combine flour, sugar and baking soda in a bowl and mix well.
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Stir in eggs and pineapple until very well mixed. Pour into prepared pan.
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Bake 28-32 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overcook.
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Top with cream cheese frosting or whipped cream.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Cake, Dessert
Cuisine American
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We had a bit of fresh pineapple to use and I found this recipe…. Oh my goodness… so easy and so delicious!!!!
I made it using Bob’s 1:1 gluten free flour and added shredded sweetened coconut to the batter and as a topping… YUM!!!!
Best ever cake! Moist and easy. Love eating it with my morning coffee.
I use sweetener instead of sugar to cut down on the sugar content as I feel the pineapple is sweet enough. Totally popular cake in my household: even my 10 yr old son likes it!
So happy to hear that! Thanks for trying our recipe.
Thanks for the recipe – I had to use both carrot and pineapple so mucks about with it. Cooked mine about 20 mins extra. Lovely result and no fat!
I made according to the directions. The cake was really moist and spongy/heavy. It was sweet but I didn’t get a lot of pineapple flavor from it. I was disappointed in the way it came out.
Thanks for trying our recipe, Maggie! I am sorry it wasn’t quite what you were expecting.
Well, what I can say is this one was an all-round winner by all objective measures. I am not one that often cooks desserts that much, but at the same time will always be looking to expand my repertoire. Recently, I started doing desserts a lot more because of living with my nieces; the success of haupia at their school convinced me to give it another trial – I had this recipe saved on back-up, and this was my chance.
After the nieces were settled down to bed, and the kitchen was cleaned up after dinner, it was time to shine. One thing about my cooking, is I go for the big batch and opted for triple the amount; this means a fair bit longer than suggested in the oven, nearly an hour after testing and cooking further. When it was all done, my big sister (who is avidly far from a pineapple fan) gave it a try and was impressed. She even mentioned it was more akin to a British-style pudding than a cake. I knew I had hit a winner, with the big gamble I put on myself.
As of writing, I am in the midst of a cut with gym training; therefore, I could only eat a small mouthful to see what she meant. And I saw what she meant without a doubt, it wasn’t too sweet either. That was just from the night before, as per writing this, and with her husband and four of their five kids, the cake is about 80% gone. Putting everything that was against me delivering such a hit, it has turned into one of my most unexpected home-runs.
Hopefully, this is to more great recipes – sweet or otherwise.
So glad it was such a hit, Mikey!
Why did my cake sink in the middle after testing it. The toothpick came out clean.
Hi Marcia, We bake this cake at 350°F. If your cake sinks in the middle the oven might not have been as hot, or it could be the moisture in the cake.
Delicious! Very easy to make in my new stand mixer, worked perfectly with fresh pineapple that puréed a bit, and has a wonderful spongy texture.
Pineapple cake is hard. I’ve tried a few recipes before this one and none of them tasted anything like pineapple, I understand why pineapple extract is often used as pineapple taste itself does not make it through without it in most recipes. This tasted like an egg cake, not in a good way. I usually love Holly’s recipes but this one is a failure
Excellent cake! Everything you think it should be!!! I love the absolute minimalism for ingredients and time investment.
Great easy cake to make
Came out overly sweet (despite adding less sugar), and dense. Definitely not great but edible with a good frosting
need to know how much carrots to add
Hi Jane, I think about 1 ½ cups of shredded carrot should be the right amount for a cake this size.
I made it with carrots testing using half recipe . I had previously asked and I think you said to try 1 1/2 cup for the full recipe I used a good 1/2 cup on the 1/2 recipe ( finely shredded) and it is really good. I also used a little cinnamon and nutmeg. Just wanted to let you know!
So happy you enjoyed it, Donna!
I made this pineapple cake today and it was so good! Moist and flavorful. I was pleasantly surprised how good it was without any butter or oil! I added coconut too but would like to try shredded carrots too How much carrots do I use ? I would be using coconut also
I haven’t tried this with carrots so I can’t say for sure how it would work but I think about 1 ½ cups of shredded carrot should be the right amount for a cake this size. Let us know how it goes!
This cake is EXCELLENT and so easy! My company loved it!
I would love to know how long to cook it if my recipe is cut in half.
I haven’t tried making half of this recipe so I can’t say for sure Brenda. Baking time will need to be reduced so I would begin checking early and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
General rule: When halving a 9×13, use an 8×8 pan and bake for just about the same amount of time.
Made this today and topped it with your cream cheese frosting recipe. Very easy and good cake, but it really doesn’t have much of a pineapple flavor, imo. My husband thought it tasted like spice cake and I found it tasted a bit like carrot cake. Go figure! Thanks for sharing…will definitely make again.
Great recipe made it before and it’s delicious! Can I freeze the pineapple cake with the cream cheese topping or just the cake
Freezing with the cream cheese frosting should work just fine Martha. I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Looks great! Can you please tell me this recipe in grams? Thank you!
I don’t have these available in those measurements and I would suggest using an online converter for accurate conversion amounts.
So easy, so good. Next time I’ll add walnuts.