This delicious, healthy Pineapple Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is absolutely incredible! Low in fat, high in fiber and extremely moist.
Pineapple Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
More of my favorite guiltless cake recipes are Super Moist Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Skinny Chocolate Cake, Cheesecake Brownies, and 5-ingredient Almond Cake with Fresh Berries.
After browsing through My Baking Addition, I came across this Pineapple Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting which looked absolutely incredible! With all the zucchini in my garden, I knew I had to make this. What’s even more incredible, this cake is low in fat using only 3 tbsp of oil, and it’s high in fiber so I didn’t even have to alter the recipe much to make it low in points. One thing I did cheat on was grating the zucchini. Instead, I put it in my Ultimate Chopper which did a great job of grating it for me, in less than 5 minutes. I also omitted the ginger and nutmeg because I am personally not a fan, but I left it in the recipe in case you like it.
A delicious, healthy cake… is that an oxymoron?
Pineapple Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup flaked coconut
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg, optional
- 1 pinch ginger, optional
- 3 tbsp canola oil
- 2 whole large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups grated zucchini, unpeeled (squeeze excess liquid)
- 20 oz. can crushed pineapple in juice, drained well
Frosting:
- 8 oz 1/3 fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, coconut, baking soda, salt, and spices; stir well with a whisk.
- In a medium bowl, combine oil, eggs, and vanilla; stir well.
- Add grated zucchini and pineapple; mix well.
- Fold wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, batter will be stiff and dry but keep folding it and it will all come together.
- Spoon batter into a Bundt pan or 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray.
- Bake at 350° for about 33-40 minutes, depending on pan size or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and cake is pulling away from sides of pan.
- Cool cake completely on a wire rack.
- To prepare frosting, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
- Spread frosting over top of cake.
- You can garnish with chopped pecans or walnuts, if desired (extra points).
is it necessary to use 2 kinds of flour
perfect combination
Gina, do you happen to know what size Bundt pan you used?
Thank you for sharing all your recipes with us!!!
made it into muffins, caramel drizzle, so very good.
Outstanding! I made this for my parents 49th wedding anniversary and we all enjoyed it. It was not over sweet and the icing complimented it perfectly. Very moist.
I made this as a birthday cake for my grandson. It was a HIT! Delicious, not overly sweet and very moist. Planning on making it again for the holidays.
Do you have nutrition info for this recipe without the frosting? It’s so good, we don’t even need it!
So I made 24 cupcakes, I subbed out the oil and one of the eggs for 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce, and unsweetened coconut instead of flaked and with the frosting it was 5 ww points per cupcake. They are sooo good, I will absolutely be making them again!
Heads up: when entered into the recipe builder for WW these are 8 points per serving , WITHOUT the coconut. Not sure why the difference in point but I’ve triple-checked this and I keep getting 8 points. It’s CRAZY delicious though!!! I’ll make again, just without the frosting to cut down on points.
I just updated the nutritional info, yes it was off.
Gluten free flour higher in points than regular? Two ingredient Bagels were one extra, correct? Looking at the pineapple zucchini cupcakes and the pineapple cake only difference is 1 tbsp of oil, correct? Not understanding why cupcakes are so much higher in points?
Can you make this with gluten free flour?
Sure!
Perfect! I just found your site and I’m loving it. I bought the Bob’s Mills gluten free flour. does GF flour have more points than regular? I noticed the two ingredient bagels were four as opposed to three for the regular. And last question, can you tell me why this cake has less points than the cupcakes? Thanks a lot from a new cook.
Can you tell me the grams of sugar? The number is missing. Thanks! 🙂
Thank you, I’ve just updated the info, its 27g sugar
How many smart points for this cake?
Made this last night did my boyfriend’s birthday, and it turned out so Fabulous!! The only changes I made were to add a pinch of clove to the spices (personal preference), and I added the zest of an orange plus a little OJ to the cream cheese. My mom makes a spice cake with this orange butter cream frosting and I wanted to recreate that taste here. This was awesome!! Definetly making this for a dinner party next week. Thanks, Gina!
Maybe a dumb question but, 2 cups zucchini before or after squeezed?
Great question. I used 2 cups zucchini *after* I squeezed it (which required grating & squeezing a second zucchini in order to get to two cups after squeezing). Now I’m trying to bake it to bring to a Thanksgiving dinner — it’s already been in the oven for an hour and is still pretty liquid-y. I’ll feel bad if I’ve wasted so much time & so many ingredients and still can’t bring it to dinner as I’ve promised. If I ever use this recipe again I will only use one zucchini no matter what. (And yes, I drained ALL the liquid I could from the crushed pineapple.) I believe this recipe should’ve specified that it’s 2 cups zucchini BEFORE squeezing it. Or just say one zucchini!
This is Carol again. I just re-set my oven to 375 and baked it for 10 more minutes and that seems to have done the trick. My recommendation: only use one zucchini (mine was large-sized), squeeze the heck out of it, and if your oven is like mine seems to be, set it for 375.
I really would like to make this…How many smart points would this be?
This is not Gluten Free and it was listed underneath Gluten Free recipes. Just fyi
This looks delicious! Do you think the texture/taste/result would change much if I were to swap out the canola oil for coconut oil? Thanks for all of your posts, my husband and I love trying your foods!
I made a ton of recipes off of this website…it's my go to when I want to make something new. This cake recipe is by far my very favorite dessert recipe on here. I highly recommend it. Every time I make it for company I get tons of compliments!
Made this last night and its really good! I made some tiny changes. I left out the oil all together and added some unsweetened applesauce. It was super moist. I was trying to eat less fat so I didn't make the cream cheese frosting but made a simple vanilla glaze instead. I don't think the cake really needs anything though. Its good just on its own! Oh and I didn't use white flour, I used brown rice flour because it was all I had. My boyfriend loved it too!
Do you think I could do cake balls out of this? It looks really good and I have a pot luck to do. These would be great!
I made this last night as a birthday cake for a co-worker and it was a hit! This cake was not only delicious, but moist as well. I will definitely be using this recipe for more events. You can't go wrong with a yummy yet healthy cake.
Can these be made into cupcakes?
I made them into cupcakes, I got 24 cupcakes that I baked for 25 minutes, but I would start checking at 20 because ovens run differently
I made this tonight and the carrot cake last night. Between the two…I prefer the carrot cake, but the zucchini cake is still very delicious! I'm just partial to carrot cake, but wanted to give this a try. The only thing I did different was omit the oil and subbed it with unsweetened apple sauce. Still super moist and yummy! I also used a spring form pan instead of a bundt. I don't have one of those! I love, love all of your recipes Gina. Keep them coming. =)
This was delish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gina, what do you think of using egg beaters, someone asked above, but I did not see your answer. Another question; I made your delic. banana bread last night and you used apple sauce instead of oil, do you think that would work for this?
Lynn
PS YOU ROCK!
Good for you Tiffany!!!
I think I will make these into cupcakes myself!
Marisa, love the idea of coconut oil!
Can I swap coconut or almond flour (or both)?
I made this last night and it turned out great. I made one change I used coconut oil instead of canola to make it that much healthier 🙂 It turned out great. I have been replacing coconut oil with a lot of my baking recipes and it works out great plus you get the health benefits. Thanks so much for your recipes!
I LOVE your blog! I found it about a week ago and so far have made about 5 different things! I made this recipe last night. I have been trying new baking recipes out on my dad and husbands co-workers. So a tray of what ever I make goes out the door with each of them. Instead of making this as a cake I made it into 24 cupcakes (had to omitt the coconut due to an allergy). They came out so moist and delish! I will update once I figure out the WW pts+…as I am a WW myself. Its recipes like yours that help me keep off my 100 lbs lost!! Thanks Gina!
Hi! I wanted to make these into cupcakes as well. Can you please share how long you baked them for? Thanks in advance!
LOL, I love this recipe 🙂
This cake is SO delicious! I made this today for a dessert to last through the week, but I'm not sure it is going to last that long with my husband digging into it!
Thanks Gina 🙂
I no longer have the info saved, you'll have to plug it into recipe builder. Sorry!
Hi Gina! Do you know how many points plus it would be without the icing? I saw some feedback you provided another person about being 4.5 points without the icing but it was prior to the new system.
Yes it was in a bundt pan, and my oven has been pretty close on all other recipes. I think it just had too much zucchini. How do you measure out your zucchini? Do you pack it into the measuring cup or weigh it or just put it in a measuring cup without packing it? I want to make this again soon, but I will need to wait for a time when I will have lots of helpers to eat it otherwise it won't be a good day for my points! 😉
Stephanie, perhaps that was the difference? Or maybe your oven isn't as hot? I haven't made this in a while, but I know I timed it. Was it a bundt pan?
Hi Gina! LOVE your website. I've made a couple things and have not been disappointed. When I made this though it didn't cook all the way. When I bake things I usually start out at the lowest time listed and go from there. I ended up baking it for the full 40 minutes and then some and only took it out because I was afraid that it would burn. The only thing I did differently was I omitted the coconut. Do think that this would make a huge difference? Also, I used to make zucchini bread all the time and the recipe would call for packed cups of shredded zucchini and if you added extra it wouldn't really matter. So out of habit, I did packed cups of zucchini and I am thinking that it could also be the reason for it not cooking thoroughly. Did you use packed cups of zucchini?
Even though it didn't cook all the way it still tasted amazing!!! Thanks for the recipes!
Yum! This turned out amazing! Thank you so much for all of your recipes! I feel like I hit the jack pot by finding this blog!
Soooo Good! I split the batter up into two separate pie pans and add a layer of frosting in the middle it’s amazing,
Thanks
I'm baking this right now and can not wait to dig in! I actually used my kitchen aide on this, so I'm hoping it turned out. The consistency reminded me of my normal zucchini bread batter, so I'm thinking it will be okay. Fingers crossed!
I made this for a potluck and it was AWESOME! Very moist and very tasty. I love all of your recipes that I've tried so far. Thank you!
Omg! Had to comment on this one. So easy and so delicious! Made it today for hubby and it was a big hit. Thanks Gina!
It sounds like you added more flour and you shouldn't have.
I tried making this yesterday, but the recipe said the dough would be dry and stiff.. it was actually very very sticky, so I added more flour because I was concerned.. and it ended up coming out dry and hard 🙁
Did I do something wrong? I followed the recipe to the T, but the dough was sticky before baking it…
Thanks! Yes, The ones that don't have both have not been updated yet. I'll try to get to this one soon!
I've noticed some recipes have points+ and some don't. Is this cake have a different point value now on the new system? BTW: You're site is AWESOME!!!:-)
Gina, I love this site! I have made a few of your recipes and they are very yummy! Quick question, is it good to bake with Egg beaters or does it turn out better with actual eggs? Thanks for your help! Thanks again for all your hard work that you do!
Gina,Thank you again for a wonderful dessert.I made this last night and tasty is the word.
Happy Canadian
Funny you ask! I'm experimenting with carrots tommorrow! I will let you know how it turns out. The coconut you can eliminate without a problem.
GREAT Site Gina! I am sooo impressed with your real food for real home cooks approach. So do-able! Question here on the Zuc Cake. I don't care for pineable or coconut. If I were to omit them is there a substitue I should do for either or both? I assume the pineable is needed for moisture. could I use applesauce instead? If so, how much? I am intereste in hearing back. This would make a great Easter dessert. Also, can I assume that the same amount of carrots could be used? Thanks.
@Stacy, I know! The fact that it's low in points is a bonus!!!
I made this cake today and it is seriously one of the best cakes I've ever tasted! So happy you posted it!
Probably right in front of me, but I do not see the fiber grams listed … anyone know?
You're welcome 🙂
Lovely cake!! Thank you this really hits the spot.
Seriously delish! fam. and friends loved it! one of my new favs
All I gotta do is VEGANIZE it!!!
I'm salivating already!!!
@Andrea, I always use my friends as guinea pigs when I bake, so I too was so happy with this one!!
Thank you so much! I made this yesterday for my craft ladies and they loved it!
Thanks! This picture got rejected from Tastespotting. Go figure!
OMG your pictures are soo yummi looking and this cake wow so moist it was delicious thanks!!
Hi Gina!
I'm so happy I found you blog. I joined WW 4 weeks ago so I really need some good recipes to stay motivated. Maybe you like to come around some time to gimme so extra motivation? 😉
http://sonnyslimsdown.blogspot.com
Hugs from Germany,
Sonny
This was yummy! Moist & delicious!!
Wow that looks so moist and delicious, yum!
Now I'll know what to do with all the extra summer zucchini we get! Thanks so much.
Riley
Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen
Yes, the 5.5 points per slice includes the frosting. Without the frosting it's 3.5. If you make the frosting with Splenda instead of powdered sugar it's 4.5 per slice.
This healthy cake will fool the kids every single time!
Gr8 Job!
Quick question – does the point total of 5.5 per slice include the frosting? If so, WOW!
I absolutely loved that cheese frosting.
Hope to see more dessert recipes soon! Great and delicious recipes Gina!
Just found your blog … lovely. Made this cake last night. It was great! Thanks.
@The Apple Hill Adventurer I'm not a big cake person either, I do love carrot cake and this was very similar in taste!
@Jamie, it was delicious! So so moist, loved it!!!
looks DELISH! almost like carrot cake! i am not a fan of cake overall, but a good carrot or spice cake can win me over. i bet this cake is a keeper! cant wait to try it out!
Lovely cake and thanks so much for the shout out! I absolutely adore this cake and hope you did too! 🙂
Looks yummy 🙂