Indulge in one (or more!) of these Skinny Pineapple Cupcakes for dessert! Made with only 3 ingredients, this lightened up dessert won’t leave you feeling weighed down. Only 100 calories each!
Love pineapple treats? Be sure to give our pineapple upside down cake a try next!! Readers love our pineapple orange cake recipe!
Why this Cupcake is Best
I am by no means a healthy dessert blogger. However, if I can eat a dessert that tastes AMAZING and is lower calorie, then I’ll take it.
When it comes to lightened up desserts, it doesn’t get better than these Pineapple Cupcakes.
I’m a big fan of baking with pineapple, especially in the summer. While I can’t spend my days lounging on a tropical island with a fruity drink in my hand, I can at least pretend with recipes like Pina Colada Smoothie and Pineapple Sangria.
These cupcakes are so light and fresh, they remind me of a JELL-O poke cake. And best of all–they’re even easier to make!
This is a great recipe for the kids to help out with. Because there’s no messy frosting to deal with and you only need one bowl, clean up is a breeze too.
- easy to make
- easy to clean up
- delicious pineapple flavor
- low calorie
Ingredients Needed
THREE ingredients. That’s all you need for today’s pineapple cupcakes.
- One box of yellow cake mix (the dry mix only)
- One can of crushed pineapple (with the juice, don’t drain it)
- One container of Light Cool Whip (thawed)
For my purposes, I’m not counting the optional sprinkles! Easy peasy and it’s perfect for your next potluck. I’ve brought these to birthday parties on several occasions and everyone raves about them.
Easy Instructions
To make the cupcakes you just dump the cake mix in a bowl, add the can of pineapple and mix. Scoop the batter into a lined muffin tin and bake.
Yes, that’s really it. Don’t overthink it! I promise that’s all it takes to make these cupcakes. Be sure to mix the pineapple well until there are no clumps of dry mix left.
Instead of frosting, these cupakes are topped with a dollop of cool whip! If you’re like me and can’t resist a little extra pizzazz on your lightened up desserts, add a few sprinkles on top, too.
I’m all about the convenience of cool whip here but you can certainly use your own homemade whipped cream topping instead.
Let the cupcakes chill in the fridge until the topping has firmed up, serve and enjoy.
After you make these classic pineapple cupcakes, you’ll also want to try Low Calorie Pineapple Orange Cupcakes for a citrusy spin. You can also make this recipe as a full pineapple cake instead of cupcakes.
More Lightened Up Desserts
- Skinny No Bake Cookies: while they are guilt free…you may be guilty of not sharing these sweet cookies!
- These Skinny Banana chocolate chip muffins have the perfect consistency. A great breakfast OR dessert!
- Pig Picking Cupcakes
If you couldn’t tell by the abundance of rich dessert recipes on this site, I feel no guilt in indulging in a great decadent treat from time to time. There are times, though, when I want a sugar fix that won’t leave me feeling weighed down.
More Delicious Dessert Recipes
- Toffee Cashew Cookies
- JELL-O Poke Cake Trifle
- Pineapple Pie
- No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake
- Watermelon Cupcakes
- Butterscotch Marshmallow Bars
Skinny Pineapple Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 box Yellow Cake mix dry ingredients only
- 1 can crushed pineapples (don't drain) 20 ounce
- 1 container Light Cool Whip (thawed) 8 ounce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degree. Line cupcake tin with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix dry cake mix with the can of crushed pineapple. Using a 1/4 cup measuring scoop, spoon mixture into cupcake liners. Fill about 2/3 full.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes. Remove and cool completely.
- Once cooled, scoop Cool Whip onto each cupcake using a cookie scoop. Add sprinkles if desired. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours until chilled. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
- I’m all about the convenience of cool whip here but you can certainly use your own homemade whipped cream topping instead.
Nutrition
These low fat pineapple cupcakes are just the ticket! Refreshing and sweet, they’re the perfect easy dessert for any day of the week.
Would this recipe work with the Pineapple Supreme cake mix vs the yellow cake mix? Just wondering, to get the extra pineapple flavor?
I don’t see why not 🙂
Ive used angel food cake love it,it’s very light but I will tried the cake mix
I only had chunks of pineapple so I used my food processor to ‘crush’ it … worked well.
I made the cake in a loaf pan, easy slicing. Even used blue berries for topping. No whipping or whipped imitation cream. I’m happy 🙂
Have you calculated this recipe for sugar, carbohydrates, etc.?
Nope! But you can plug the ingredients into MyFitnessPal or other apps to figure it out 🙂
Have you calculated this recipe for sugar and carbohydrates?
Thanks! I made this cake and it is extraordinarily delicious! My cake hardly rises and is very dense. This was very easy and very tasty!
Hi there, can I bake in a sheet pan instead of cupcakes? Thx!
Hey Shugary………… does it make a difference as to which yellow cake mix you use? I had one in the cupboard (looked after and it said it had pudding in the mix) and mixed according to your directions and baked ditto. They were a bit too wet on the bottom as the pineapple all went there. The cake part was baked well, I did test it before removing from the oven. Second pan I baked a bit longer, but ended up taking off the paper cups and broiling the bottom pineapple part, which was yummy. Any ideas? I usually do well in the baking dept., this was a suprise as we were looking forward to eating them up, it’s going a bit slower than I thought, still some left today. They ARE yummy though and I want to make them again. Also, we had them with whipped cream cheese as we don’t like cool whip type products. Thanks for any help you can render for me to be more successful.
Hmmm, I just use a regular yellow cake mix. I wonder if the pudding in the mix made it too heavy?
These look yummy, but they’re not skinny. Sugar is what causes weight gain, not butter or oil.
I guess for me “skinny” is a relative term. These aren’t loaded with fat, and the calories are lower than a conventional cupcake. So for those of us who enjoy a sweet, but don’t want to totally break our diets…this works.
Hi!! Thanks for sharing!! They look delicious!!!! Could you tell me (as I´m from Europe): do the yellow cake mixes” in America include eggs? We normally have to add eggs, milk, oil here. Thanks for your answer!! Emmi
Our cake mixes are dry as well, with the need to add eggs, oil, etc. HOWEVER, for this skinny pineapple cupcake recipe, you’re only using the dry cake mix with a can of pineapple. NO EGGS, etc…. ENJOY 🙂
I’m gonna try this with sugar free cake mix! (My husband and I are diabetic, so I’m always looking for treats we can have without screwing up or blood sugar). Can’t wait to test this!
These look amazing! and only 3 ingredients…I’m totally sold. 🙂
What perfect cupcakes! I have never tried a pineapple flavoured cupcake before but they sure look and sound delicious.
YES to minimal ingredients and I love how healthy these are! 🙂
The best dessert are the ones you can enjoy and not feel guilty about! Love these Aimee!
I cannot believe how easy they are! and I bet delicious too 🙂 perfect for our busy summer
That recipe is pretty darn amazing~ 3 ingredients and BAM gorgeous cupcakes!
It’s so crazy that a can of pineapple and a box of mix actually make cupcakes!!!
I know. You can also do this with an angel food cake. BAM. Even lighter!!
I have that exact same problem! I love all food, so I eat probably too much. Always telling my wife, I wish I was a dog and someone would just feed me 3 sensible meals a day and control what I ate and how much I ate. Cupcakes look great.
Don’t ever become a healthy dessert blogger, Aimee! I’m too fond of all the not healthy stuff. But these are a fantastic way to have your cake and all that. They look so fluffy!