How to Make Dried Pineapple Flowers
2
Updated May 26, 2025, Published Mar 12, 2022
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
These Dried Pineapple Flowers might look fancy, but they’re incredibly easy to make with just one ingredient — fresh pineapple! They’re sweet, tart, and the perfect edible garnish for cakes, cupcakes, cocktails, and even tacos. With minimal effort, you can transform simple pineapple slices into a tropical bouquet that’s almost too pretty to eat.
What Are Dried Pineapple Flowers?
Dried pineapple flowers are thinly sliced rounds of fresh pineapple that are baked until lightly golden and crisp around the edges, then shaped into blossoms. The core becomes the flower’s center, while the edges curl into petals. These edible flowers are sweet, tart, lightly chewy, and so charming.
They’re believed to have roots in Southern baking and are often used to top Hummingbird Cake — a banana-pineapple spice cake with cream cheese frosting.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Only one ingredient – Just fresh pineapple!
- Naturally beautiful – No food coloring, no fuss.
- Easy to make – Just slice, dry, and shape.
- Versatile – Perfect for cakes, cupcakes, drinks, grazing boards, and more.
- Great for gifting – Wrap a few in tissue and tie with ribbon for a handmade touch.
Ingredients & Tools
You’ll need just a few basic things to make these edible pineapple flowers:
- Fresh pineapple – The riper, the sweeter!
- Sharp knife – Or mandoline for even slices.
- Cutting board
- Cooling rack + baking sheet
- Paper towels or clean tea towel – To dab excess moisture.
- Muffin tin – Regular or mini to shape the petals.
The full list of steps and instructions is in the printable recipe card below!
How to Make Dried Pineapple Flowers
Step 1: Peel the pineapple. Use a sharp knife to remove the rind and “eyes” of the pineapple. A melon baller works well for the eyes if you want to get fancy.
Step 2: Slice thinly. Cut the pineapple into very thin horizontal slices — about ⅛ inch thick. Try to keep the core intact; it becomes the “center” of your flower.
Step 3: Dry the slices. Use a paper towel or clean kitchen towel to gently pat each slice dry. This helps reduce baking time and encourages crispier edges.
Step 4: Bake. Preheat oven to 200°F. Place slices on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet (to catch drips). Bake for 2–3 hours, flipping once, until edges are lightly browned and the slices are dry.
Step 5: Shape the flowers. While still warm and pliable, press the dried slices into a muffin tin to create a flower shape. Let them cool and set in the tin.
Step 6: Store or serve. Once cooled, your pineapple flowers are ready to use! Store them in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Serving Suggestions
These golden blooms are the ultimate edible decoration. Try them:
- On top of a pineapple carrot cake, pineapple upside-down cake, or coconut tres leches cake
- Garnishing cupcakes or individual desserts
- Floating in a flor de piña cocktail or agua de piña
- Scattered like tropical confetti on a charcuterie cheese board
- Added to any platter — perhaps on a plate of tacos al pastor — for a beautiful presentation
- Used to garnish a bowl of pineapple mango salsa or guacamole al pastor
- Layered onto a colorful platter of Mexican paletas or pineapple empanadas
No matter how you use these dried pineapple flowers, they’re sure to steal the show.
Dried Pineapple Flower Expert Tips
- Humidity matters – If your climate is humid, store flowers with a silica packet to maintain crispness.
- Slice evenly for the best results. Too thick and they won’t dry; too thin and they’ll crisp too much.
- Dry before baking to cut down on oven time.
- Don’t over-bake – you want the edges curled, not crispy all the way through.
Storage Instructions
Once cooled completely, store pineapple flowers in an airtight container at room temperature. They’re best enjoyed within 2–5 days, but can last up to a week depending on the weather.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dried pineapple flowers are made by peeling a fresh pineapple, slicing it thinly, drying the slices in the oven, and shaping them in muffin tins while warm to create beautiful edible blooms.
To dry pineapple for decoration, slice it thin, pat it dry with paper towels, and bake it low and slow at 200°F for 2–3 hours until the edges curl and the slices are dry. Shape in muffin tins if desired.
For fruit-based dried flowers, like pineapple blooms, use a low oven to dehydrate thin fruit slices. For actual flower petals, air-drying or using silica gel are common methods. This recipe focuses on edible fruit flowers made at home.
If you’re talking about the fruit version, baking thin pineapple slices and shaping them into flowers gives the illusion of a “pineapple bloom.” If you’re wondering how to make an actual pineapple plant bloom, that requires a different process involving ethylene gas and time!
More Recipes You’ll Love
If you tried these dried pineapple flowers or used them to decorate your latest dessert, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know in the comments below!
How to Make Dried Pineapple Flowers
Ingredients
- 1 Fresh Pineapple
Instructions
- First, remove the skin from the pineapple. If needed, use a melon baller to remove any remaining "eyes."
- Next, thinly slice the pineapple with a knife, keeping the core intact. Using a mandolin is an option, but being that the pineapple is very wet, I recommend a sharp knife.
- Dry pineapple slices on paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible.
- Preheat oven to 200 F.
- Carefully lay the slices of pineapple on a cooling rack and then place the rack over a large baking sheet. Now place the rack and baking sheet in the oven for 2 to 3 hours or until the slices are fully dried out and brown on the edges. The baking sheet underneath will catch any drippings.
- While warm, place dried pineapple slices into the inside of a muffin tin or mini muffin tin with smaller cups to create the shape you'd like. Allow pineapple to fully cool in the muffin tin. Once cool and dried, they will hold their curved flower shape!
- Allow pineapple flowers cool in the muffin tins to set, then remove. Use immediately, or store in an airtight container for 2-7 days (depending on local weather conditions).
Notes
- Nutrition Info: The nutrition facts provided are for the entire pineapple. The exact values per flower will vary depending on how thinly you slice your pineapple.
- Storage: Store dried pineapple flowers in an airtight container or zip-top bag. They’re best used right away but can last 2–7 days, depending on your local humidity.
- Serving Suggestions: Use as a garnish for cakes, cupcakes, or tropical drinks. Beautiful on platters with tacos, fruit, or paletas. Find more ideas in the full blog post!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Jenna Sparks
Hello my beautiful friend Yvette!
Thank you so much for your wonderful ideas for recipes with these beautiful pineapple Flores.
Please can you tell me what that cake is in the photo you show decorated with the Flores de piña?
and also what the other garnishments are that decorate this scrumptious looking cake ?
Is it the Jamaican spice you mention in your blog ?
I love the way you explain things . You make it so easy . You and Patti Janich are to me great examples of Mexican cooks !
Linda Hernandez
Just wanted to offer a tip for the eyes of the pineapple I learned from a friend. If you go around the pineapple on the diagonal of the eyes after you have peeled it off with a paring knife, they connect diagonally! So you can just slice them off working your way diagonally around the pineapple and you lose a lot less fruit! Love your recipes and thank you!!!